Is Prince William Planning to Put Younger Royals Center Stage?

William’s cousins are there for him

Peter Phillips, Zara and Mike Tindall, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie all turned out to support Prince William at this week’s rain-spattered Buckingham Palace garden party, which William was hosting on behalf of King Charles and without wife Kate Middleton.

The Telegraph reported that this was not the vision of the “slimmed-d0wn monarchy” oft-imputed to Charles, but rather William echoing what grandmother Queen Elizabeth had occasionally done, using cousins of her own generation as support at such occasions.

Palace sources told the paper the appearances were not symbolic of a formal shift—the younger royals would not be imminently returning to official royal duties, the “no half in, half out” rule still applied—but that William “would be keen to extend similar invitations again, in the spirit of including the wider family, as his grandmother once did.”

“They’re very willing to step up and do more at this current time, to help,” one royal source told the Telegraph, of the younger generation. “They’re very fond of their cousin and their uncle, and they want to do everything they can to support them. And they believe in the institution they grew up in.”

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“The cousins are all very close and always have been,” one source said. “I think people liked seeing them being there together and supporting each other.”

Afterwards Princess Eugenie wrote on Instagram to her 1.8 million followers: “Come rain or shine, I was delighted to support my family to meet some special individuals at the Buckingham Palace garden party who have gone above and beyond to support their local communities and the country.”

“I don’t think it means there’s a plan for them to be full-time working members of the Royal family and I’m not sure they’d want that?” a source told the Telegraph of Eugenie and sister Beatrice. “They have careers and families and they’re very protective of that.” But, they added: “I think the rest of the family respects their charity work. They haven’t ever really put a foot wrong.”

Whatever William's intentions, it will be intriguing to see which royals will be on Buckingham Palace’s balcony to mark Trooping the Color next month. Prince Edward has been honing his horse-riding skills with brother Prince Andrew in the run-up to the ceremony, the Telegraph reports. Recently appointed Colonel of the Scots Guard, this will be only the second time that Edward, a lifelong rider, has played such an active part in the ceremony, the paper said—hence all the training to ensure he looks as comfortable on his horse as sister Princess Anne and Prince William.

“The royals have all been riding since they can walk, but they also want their horse to be mentally and physically relaxed [with them riding them] and that doesn’t happen overnight,” former Riding Master of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, Richard Waygood told the Telegraph. “They’ve all played polo and done ponies, but this is about putting a bit of finesse into what they do so they will sit up straighter—get their shoulders straight and their heels down. It’s about finishing it off with presentation.”

Sophie: My Ukraine mission to highlight sexual violence in war

Last month, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, became the first British royal to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion. Now, in her own words, she is revealing why she went there to highlight the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, and how she also delivered a letter from King Charles to President Zelensky.

In a first-person article for the U.K. Sunday Times, Sophie—who is married to Prince Edward—said Ukraine was the latest of a series of countries she has traveled to to highlight the issue: South Sudan, Kosovo, Iraq, Colombia, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She writes that sexual violence, including rape, as a weapon of war has been used “to demean, destroy and control, with the aftermath long felt through stigma, devastating physical and mental health repercussions and children born of rape. It is a weapon requiring no training, no investment, and it is deployed globally.”

In Kyiv, Sophie first met three victims of the violence—two women and a man—before meeting First Lady Olena Zelenska; the women discussed “the importance of access to the survivor centers she (Zelenska) has spearheaded, the collation of credible evidence, Ukraine’s reparation scheme and the training of prosecutors, to ensure justice and accountability for these crimes.”

President Zelensky himself inquired after King Charles’ health, “which gave me the opportunity to hand him a letter from His Majesty,” Sophie writes. “I think he was quite touched and said he would save it for a private moment later to read.”

Outside the capital, Sophie traveled to the “typical suburbs” of Bucha, 30km northwest of central Kyiv, and the neighboring Irpin.

Sophie writes of the violence the invading Russian army subjected Ukrainians to: “Women, men and children were murdered as they fled in cars or on foot, and those who were spared were subjected to sexual violence and torture.” She writes of the determined efforts of Ukraine to rebuild, and its citizens’ collective determination to care for one another, with the help of civil society organizations.

Sophie concludes: “Since returning to the UK, many people have said how brave or courageous I was for going. I am neither. The brave people are those who have endured extreme violence and survived. The courageous are those who have reported the crimes committed against them. I am glad to have made the journey. Inevitably it was sad and emotional, and the painful stories and images, as with all my visits to places of conflict, will live with me…

“While others in positions of leadership engage with the politics of war, I will endeavor to place conflict-related sexual violence on the table as a devastating consequence. It is one that is deserving of our attention, empathy and understanding, and to amplify the voices of survivors, who must be heard.”

Fergie to be Gen Z ambassador

Sarah, Duchess of York sees herself as an ambassador for Gen Z, she announced at the Knights Of Charity gala dinner in Cannes. “I am the generational bridge between Gen Z and the outside world. I’m saying, ‘No, Gen Z, I’m very sorry for hurting your planet and I'm listening.’” Speaking about herself using her tabloid moniker, and in the third person, she told the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden: “I can relate to the pressure they face because Fergie’s always been judged. Gen Z are very strong people. No one should be judged on anything, not race, creed, color, or any other denomination—and I’m a great supporter of LGBTQ. ­Everybody just needs to be themselves—why is that not good enough?”

The Mail also reported that Fergie had made an impassioned speech at the glitzy amfAR charity gala, raising money for HIV and AIDS research, telling the well-heeled and celebrity crowd to shush during an auction overseen by Simon de Pury, who auctioned off a portrait of Queen Elizabeth by Chris Levine for €475,000 ($515,000).

“All I want to say to everyone in this room is stop, stop, stop,” Fergie said. “Did you see I removed the microphone, because all of you are saying ‘I want to go, because where is the next party? What are we meant to be doing next?’ But what I want to say is why are we here? What is the future and why are we not making our planet better for the youth of tomorrow? I am so sorry that we have completely destroyed your planet…’”

Royal family deletes Harry’s Meghan statement

Newsweek reports that the royal family has deleted from its website the strongly worded statement released by Kensington Palace on behalf of Prince Harry in November 2016. The statement was made after the “outright sexism and racism” on social media, and “racial undertones of comment pieces,” centered on Harry’s then-girlfriend Meghan Markle that followed the infamous Mail on Sunday article headlined: “Harry’s girl is (almost) straight outta Compton: Gang-scarred home of her mother revealed—so will he be dropping by for tea?”

The statement was available on the Royal.uk website for over seven years, but Newsweek reported that the link no longer works; the deletion reportedly occurred between Dec. 3 and Dec. 10. The statement, Harry wrote in his memoir Spare, had left King Charles and Prince William “furious,” as it made them look bad for not defending their partners in the same way.

In full, the statement read: “Since he was young, Prince Harry has been very aware of the warmth that has been extended to him by members of the public. He feels lucky to have so many people supporting him and knows what a fortunate and privileged life he leads. He is also aware that there is significant curiosity about his private life. He has never been comfortable with this, but he has tried to develop a thick skin about the level of media interest that comes with it. He has rarely taken formal action on the very regular publication of fictional stories that are written about him, and he has worked hard to develop a professional relationship with the media, focused on his work and the issues he cares about.

“But the past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public—the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments. Some of it has been hidden from the public—the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.

“Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety, and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm. He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay,’ and that ‘this is all part of the game.’ He strongly disagrees. This is not a game—it is her life and his.

“He has asked for this statement to be issued in the hopes that those in the press who have been driving this story can pause and reflect before any further damage is done. He knows that it is unusual to issue a statement like this, but hopes that fair-minded people will understand why he has felt it necessary to speak publicly.”

William presents FA trophy with George

Prince William and son Prince George presented the FA Cup to victors Manchester United, who beat Manchester City 2-1 in the hometown derby contest played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. William also presented winners’ and runners-up medals to members of both teams, and before the match shook hands with all the players. After British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a snap general election set to take place July 4, the royal family announced it would postpone official engagements “which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign.”

This week in royal history

The Duke of Windsor, latterly known as former monarch Edward VIII who abdicated the British throne to be with Wallis Simpson, died on May 28, 1972.

Happy first birthday this week to Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, son of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, who was born on May 30, 2023.

Unanswered questions

Which royal events and engagements will happen—and which won’t—in the run-up to the British general election on July 4? One royal event which will go ahead is the ceremonial Trooping the Color, where the big questions are: will Charles ride, or use a carriage, and which royals will appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony?