Welcome to this week’s edition of Royalist, The Daily Beast’s newsletter for all things royal and Royal Family. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Sunday.
Slimmed-down coronation plans revealed
Prince Harry is still TBC, but Prince William is taking an “active role” in planning the coronation of King Charles—probably a good idea as, you know, he’s next.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Telegraph reports that the royals have been advised to axe “archaic,” “feudal,” and “imperial” aspects ahead of the Coronation, which is due to take place on May 6 next year and is codenamed “Operation Golden Orb.” After the religious Coronation, there may be a civil ceremony as a “venture of ‘recognition’ of the new monarch outside the religious canopy.”
William and Kate Middleton are both likely to have a role in the ceremony which will be performed in front of 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey, a massive reduction of the 8,000 who were crammed in for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.
The Telegraph says there is still no “clarity” over a role for Prince Harry. The Daily Beast has previously reported that sources have said Harry will not be invited if he continues to publicly attack the institution of monarchy or Charles or Queen Camilla.
Camilla will be crowned queen alongside King Charles. The recommendations are contained in a report seen by the paper. It quotes Dr. Bob Harris, of The Constitution Unit at UCL, as writing: “The U.K. no longer has the capacity to mount anything like this spectacle [Queen Elizabeth’s coronation], nor should it do so in straitened times.
“The next coronation will inevitably be smaller. Archaic elements such as the Court of Claims could be dropped. So should the homage, and thought be given to how the King as head of the nation should be enabled early in the reign to signify support for, and encouragement of, modern civil society.”
The Crown is filming Diana’s funeral
The Mail on Sunday is very angry over The Crown doing its job of dramatizing royal history, and filming scenes recreating Princess Diana’s funeral. The outraged reporting this time around can’t say this incident didn’t happen, so instead is mad that it is being recreated—“ghoulish staging,” says the Mail, while oddly enough getting past its outrage to run a huge picture of the filming, featuring the characters of Prince William and Prince Philip walking behind the coffin.
The scenes will appear in the sixth and final season of the show, whose fifth season begins on Nov. 9, for which there has already been much fury about scenes being made up, and royal sources and authors banging on to the Mail about how “cruel” and terrible it is that The Crown, A DRAMA, should do such a thing.
Perhaps the real reason for royal nerves is that the fifth season will focus on the dire meltdown of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage. The palace is furious that these skeletons are being reanimated just as the king’s reign begins.
King Charles plans biggest ever royal tour
That thing about King Charles planning to showcase a modest royal family more in tune with straitened times? Forget it. The Mirror reports that Charles has gone all Mariah Carey, and is planning the biggest royal world tour in history to usher in his reign, visiting Australia, New Zealand, and several Caribbean Commonwealth countries.
This is going to be a very solo kind of rockstar thing apparently. Camilla will be left “to attend to her personal projects at home.” Let’s hope Charles has got an “All I Want for Christmas” to wow the crowds.
A two-year-long tour of the globe will introduce Charles to the world (really, do people not know who he is by now?), and “extend a hand of friendship and support,” royal sources told The Mirror. Australia and Canada are top of Charles’ list.
The global tour is, of course, geared to protecting the waning influence of the royal family in all these places, where republicanism and anti-royal feeling are expected to bloom even more vibrantly after the death of Queen Elizabeth. Prince William and Kate Middleton experienced this directly on their Caribbean tour, and so Charles will no doubt be hoping a splashy tour can achieve something of a reset.
However, many countries want their royal connections severed and full independence. What can Charles sell to counter that? His tour of Australia may stir some other memories; when he visited after his marriage to Diana, the crowds’ cheers made clear they had come to see her, not him. A solo trip by him now isn’t just political, but personal. The new king wants it finally to be all about him.
A royal source told The Mirror: “The King and his family are keen to hit the ground running in these crucial first few months and years of his reign. He certainly wants to carry on the long-held mantra from his late mother of being seen to be believed, and is very keen to get out and meet as many people as possible.”
William and Kate will also be dragooned into this wave and smile-athon, conducting some high-profile trips, including to the U.S. next month.
Subscribe here to get all the latest royal news and gossip with Tom Sykes and Tim Teeman.
Rattling around
The Windsors have lots of prime real estate—but now it looks like both Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace could stand empty of royal residents for years to come. King Charles has made it quite plain he and Camila have zero intention of relocating from the luxurious surrounds of Clarence House to the institutionally-themed BP, and have been given significant cover for that decision by the fact that “the big house” is under major renovation, and the works won’t be finished until at least 2027 and more realistically 2028—when Charles will be 80.
The Sun reports that Windsor Castle is also without a tenant as William and Kate have apparently declined to move in for now, saying they are quite happy at four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage which they moved to this summer.
Expect the castles to be more extensively opened up to the public.
Changing of the card
The sending of a congratulatory 100th birthday card to centenarians by the monarch is a beloved British tradition. It was started by King George V in 1917 when the message read, perhaps rather ominously: “His Majesty hopes that the blessings of good health and prosperity may attend you during the remainder of your days.”
Now King Charles is set to continue the tradition, Buckingham Palace has announced, and the first cards were sent out last week. The Daily Mail has seen one and reports that the rather more optimistic message from Charles (and Camilla—both are pictured on the card) reads: “My wife and I are so pleased to know that you celebrated your one hundredth birthday. This brings our warmest congratulations and heartfelt good wishes on such a special occasion.”
This week in royal history
On October 24, 1537, Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, died from childbirth complications at Hampton Court Palace, giving us another chance to remind you, wherever you are reading this, to find your nearest performance of Six, and book tickets immediately.
Unanswered questions
King Charles may be planning a world tour, but how ecstatic will the world be to see him? What will the public finally see of the royal palaces if the royals are leaving them empty?
Love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage? Sign up here to get Royalist newsletters sent straight to your inbox.
