Back to Work, A Sussex Bombshell, and Boarding School
You guysss. Where did the fall go? One minute I’m on here yammering on about the future being female and the next thing I know, it’s a new decade? Yikes.
Quick Reactions From What I Didn’t Get to Cover:
A Berry Royal Christmas: *heart eyes emoji*
Prince George and Princess Charlotte doing the Christmas walk: Fiiiiiiinally. And also, everything I’ve ever wanted, especially Charlotte with a little flamingo.
Earthshot Prize announcement: Very ambitious. I’m excited to see what comes of this.
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie are expecting their first child in May: I’m so happy for them. I hope it’s a little princess!
Crown Princess Mary acting as regent for the first time: BOSS
Crown Princess Victoria wearing a literal quilt to the Nobel Prize Ceremony and looking fantabulous while doing so? I stan a queen
Now, onto the new and noteworthy…
Kensington Corner
It was a (relatively) quiet week for the Cambridges, all things considered. No public engagements, just meetings behind the scenes.
On Wednesday, William attended a meeting, as President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, to discuss how to present and promote climate change and environmental actions on television. [I wrote about the meeting for Royal Central here]
Also on Wednesday, Kate held an Early Years Meeting. The Royal Foundation website was updated late last year to say that we’ll learn more about this project soon, and coupled with Kate’s meeting on Friday (see below), I’m anticipating a roll-out sooner rather than later.
On Thursday, William met with Mr Malcolm White (Master of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots) and Mr Paul Tacon (Clerk).
(Stay tuned for news that this could turn into a patronage or an appointment. This was an organisation that Andrew was involved in, as well as The Queen and Prince Philip; and someone tangentially involved tweeted very vaguely and teasingly that this may be the case.)
And on Friday, Kate met with Jason Knauf, the CEO of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Next week:
Upcoming:
ICYMI: Kate turned 38 on Thursday and I posted 38 of my favourite Kate moments over on Twitter.
The Return of the Sussexes
So. When I plotted out this issue earlier in the week, this was going to be the section where I was like “Hey, Harry and Meghan are back! I hope they’re rested and ready to get back to work, it’s going to be a big year, also I forgive you for going to the wrong coast of Canada [seriously, why do royals hate the east coast? We have seafood!].”
Instead…
I’ve been very hesitant to share my opinions on Twitter because we don’t really know the full story yet. All we know is that Harry and Meghan want to carve out new roles for themselves, stop being senior royals, and that they allegedly jumped the gun by announcing it before said roles could be carved out or really discussed with The Queen and Prince Charles.
The rest is noise. There have been so many think pieces and op-eds and “palace aides” and “close friends” talking and tweets this past week that it’s hard to keep the narrative straight. It depends on what you read, who you read, and when you read it to keep updated.
(Frankly I’m amazed that there hasn’t been complaints of light pollution in the UK with all the talk about The Queen or Prince Charles or William or Harry or Meghan being “incandescent with rage.”)
Here are some of my quick thoughts until the matter is sorted and publicly announced (which may be soon because The Queen has summoned everyone to Sandringham on Monday):
The reactions I’ve seen can be narrowed down into two factions: those who favour the individuals (the ones lauding Harry and Meghan for this move); and those who favour the institution (the ones castigating them for disrespecting The Queen and The Crown), to borrow phrasing from Elizabeth Holmes. Who you support informs your opinion on the matter.
I personally don’t see how they can be half-in, half-out. Their request seems very “have my cake and eat it, too.” If they work out a plan to keep them half-in, they need to have airtight regulations around what they can and can’t do, because you know everyone will be watching and waiting for the slightest step out of line.
I don’t buy that the ‘new decade’ photo of The Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince George was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This is only the second time in 1,000 years of monarchy that the reigning monarch and three successive kings have been alive at the same time (the last time, for context, was Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V, and Edward VIII/George VI). Those pictures have incalculable historical value. Do the British royals need to pose for more full family portraits? Yes. The last one was in 2007! But if this photo is truly what propelled it forward, I’d have expected Harry to at least notice that Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis weren’t in the photo either, both of whom are ahead of him in the line of succession.
I also don’t buy the “Sussexes were told they weren’t a part of the ‘slimmed down monarchy’” bit either. Perhaps it’d be inevitable in William’s reign, when presumably the Cambridge kids will be of age and working royals; but in Charles’s reign? I can’t see it. His vision has always been his direct line. Without the Sussexes it leaves the Cambridges as the only working royals of their generation, and that just seems foolhardy from a logistics standpoint.
Can we stop blaming Meghan for everything? Harry has more of a vested interest in this—it’s his life—and he’s never been hesitant to say that he’s wanted to walk away in the past.
Ultimately, we’ll see what happens this week. Expect fireworks—and even more think pieces, op-eds, tweets, and palace aides speaking—either way.
Back to the Alps, Er, School
Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine of Denmark began their 12-week session at the Lemania-Verbier International School in Switzerland.
I wrote about their photocall for Royal Central:
The family answered a few questions from the media, and Crown Prince Frederik revealed that they had chosen Lemania-Verbier International School for the language, the nature and academic activities.
Prince Christian told reporters, “We are really looking forward to getting to know a new country, getting to know the schooling down here in Switzerland, of course also to ski a little more and then, of course, to get to know some people from different countries.”
He also admitted that what he would miss the most during the next 12 weeks is his classmates back at Tranegårdsskolen. Princess Isabella revealed that she expected to become more fluent in English and French.
And:
Crown Princess Mary will stay with the children while Crown Prince Frederik visits as his schedule allows. He’s been in Lausanne this week attending the Youth Olympics.
Elsewhere
The Spanish Royal Family attended the Pascua Militar:
I wrote this retrospective of Queen Letizia’s looks at the various Pascua Militars over the years. (Royal Central)
Also out of Spain, sad news as Infanta Pilar passed away at 83. (Hola!)
The Court Jeweller has a retrospective of Infanta Pilar’s impressive jewellery collection (The Court Jeweller)
It was Prince Vincent’s and Princess Josephine’s 9th birthday on Wednesday and Crown Princess Mary took new photos:
The Countess of Wessex had a sporty engagement this week with Lady Louise. (Royal Central)
Speaking of Sophie:
Get used to seeing her around this space.
Queen Mathilde looking gorgeous at a New Year’s Reception. (Hello!)
Prince Charles released a very thoughtful video message to the people of Australia following the devastating bushfires:
Loving this eclectic look from Queen Maxima (Royal Fashion Blog)
And, a look at other royals, including Princess Madeleine, who have retreated from palace life. (Vogue)
William on a Swing
Since we’re swinging into a new decade (hey-oh!), here’s William on a swing.
See you next week!