![]() In the event, the Queen showed no need of physical support, walking steadily to her seat and rising from her chair unaided to sing every hymn. However, given the sensitivity of the occasion, no one was prepared to push back hard on this one, especially once the Queen had made it clear that she was content with the change of plan.Īt least the unexpected appearance of Prince George and Princess Charlotte would soften the general sense of astonishment among the media and viewing public. Royal officials, along with the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge, ‘rolled their eyes’, in the words of one courtier. He was proposing that he should travel from Windsor with the Queen and then escort her into the Abbey himself, on the basis that she would otherwise only be accompanied by a lady-in-waiting (as she had been at the funeral) and that he was the only senior member of the family with no spouse. But the unexpected appearance of Prince George and Princess Charlotte would soften the general sense of astonishment among the media and viewing public, it was thought Royal officials, along with the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge, ‘rolled their eyes’ at Andrew's suggestion, in the words of one courtier. However, just days before the event, word emerged from Windsor Castle that the Duke of York had been suggesting an elevated role for himself during private teatime visits to Windsor Castle. ![]() This was all agreed and the order of service was duly printed. ![]() The ceremonial plans were drawn up in the traditional way, allocating royal positions according to royal seniority. That the Duke should attend his own father’s memorial service was not at issue. ![]() However, his non-attendance was eclipsed by the prospect of a public appearance by the Duke of York, his first since agreeing to a multimillion-pound out-of-court settlement to end the sexual assault claim against him in the USA. The Duke of Sussex had let it be known that he would not be attending due to unresolved questions about security arrangements. The event also brought ongoing family tensions into sharp relief. They included the wider Royal Family, many other royal houses and 500 representatives of the Duke’s many charities, ranging from the Scottish Youth Hostels Association to The Caravan Club. The memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh on 29 March was the long-awaited chance for all those who could not attend his tiny funeral service the previous year to pay their respects. She was saving her strength for Westminster Abbey. The appointment of the Duchess to the Order of the Garter just five weeks earlier in the New Year’s Honours List had been carefully planned to pave the way.īy this point, the Palace had decided not to announce the Queen’s intention to attend anything, on the basis that a pleasant surprise was preferable to explaining a cancellation. Few would quibble with the Queen’s wishes on a day like this, so the thinking went. ‘By this stage of the reign, you are finding that you can’t ignore all those things that were once just consigned to the “Too Difficult” folder,’ said one aide.Īccession Day was seen as an appropriate moment to deal with this one. However, the Queen’s advancing years, as well as mounting conjecture about the Prince of Wales’s plans for the monarchy, had led to renewed internal thinking. Like changes to the laws of succession, no one had been keen to raise this eggshell issue for as long as there had been no pressing need. In it, she had expressed her ‘sincere wish’ that the Duchess of Cornwall should, in due course, become Queen Consort and not Princess Consort. However, a written Accession Day message to the nation was soon dominating the airwaves. The Queen marked the seventieth anniversary of her reign, February 6, 2022, quietly and privately at Sandringham.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |