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Queen in charge of succession masterplan
“Make no mistake, this was the trailer,” a royal source tells the Sunday Times about last week’s State Opening of Parliament, when Prince Charles and Prince William stood in for the queen. Indeed the monarch, says the paper, is squarely in charge of the transfer of royal power from herself to Charles—while also not ready herself to fully give up the reins of power.
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The aim of the state opening itself was to “soften the edges of transition” before Charles takes over the throne before or after the queen dies. “The prince was dressed in a very regal way, but not to the point of appropriating the sovereign,” the source tells the Times. “Once you adjust your eyes to that, it won’t be so different when we see him wearing the crown. Technically, it wasn’t even necessary to have him read the speech.”
The queen is the brains behind all the visuals, the source insists. “Having her heir read it was a very conscious decision by her. It plays to that point about cementing in people’s minds that his role is coming, be in no doubt. Blink, and you couldn’t tell the difference between Tuesday and when he first reads the speech as king.”
Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, watches her horse 'Balmoral Leia' win the 'Horse & Hound Mountain & Moorland Supreme In Hand Championship' on day 2 of the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Home Park, Windsor Castle on May 13, 2022 in Windsor, England.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty ImagesAfter her no-show at the State Opening, her smiling appearance at the Royal Windsor Horse Show this week demonstrated that the queen still wants to make it clear that she is still around, and wanting to be seen to be around.
“Things have been changing for a while,” the source added. “The queen can still fulfill the [head of state] role though she might not fulfill it as much in public, but people are getting used to that. She is still signing all the legislation, still receiving visiting heads of state and ambassadors, because she can do all that from her office. But we’ve seen more and more handing over of the head of nation elements—the investitures, the charities and patronages.”
"Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales 2nd R) reads the Queen's Speech as he sits by the Imperial State Crown (2nd L), Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (R) and Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) in the House of Lords chamber, during the State Opening of Parliament, at the Houses of Parliament, in London, on May 10, 2022.
ARTHUR EDWARDS/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesIf this all sounds too functional and smooth for the chaos- and rivalry-generating royal family, then other sources in the piece brief that the queen remains “in sharp” and in charge of everything. Then those close to Charles make clear, he is, err, pretty in charge too. “He is as close to concurrent with the information as it is possible to be. He gets to see pretty much everything and is as alongside the Queen on matters of state as is appropriate. Mother and son see each other privately far more than people realize, and I am sure they are discussing matters of state as much as family matters.”
“In the last couple of years, she has embraced the succession, whereas before I think she was quite resistant to it, like an aged grandparent who would not give up driving,” one source told the paper.
The Times says that a Buckingham Palace balcony appearance at Trooping the Color on June 2 may be the queen’s last public appearance, but the final message of the piece is that she is not ready to “bow out” just yet in the words of the Times. So, it’s a very pragmatic transition in one sense; and in another sense think supreme diva who will only leave the stage when she is ready—and absolutely on her own terms.
Royal boo
There is usually nothing a royal fears more than the dread sound of boos, betokening, as it sometimes does, revolution and possible head removal. Prince William, however, did not look particularly surprised when his appearance at a key British soccer match on Saturday night was greeted with a resounding volley of boos, jeers and catcalls.
Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge looks on prior to The FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on May 14, 2022 in London, England.
Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty ImagesWilliam, in his role as president of the Football Association (FA), walked onto the pitch to greet the players in the FA Cup final, which was saw Liverpool defeat London team Arsenal. The Liverpool end let out a deafening roar of boos and whistles as William made his entrance.
Shocking as it perhaps seemed on social media clips doing the rounds this weekend, William appeared to be expecting it and didn’t break his stride. The Liverpool fans have been booing the national anthem since the 1990s, perceiving that there was an establishment cover-up over the 1989 Hillsborough disaster which killed 97 people in Britain’s worst sporting tragedy.
Connor O’Neill, football writer for the Liverpool Echo, told the Daily Mail the city’s hatred of the Margaret Thatcher-led Tory government of the 1980’s was also a factor in the historic protest, saying: “The Conservative Government’s ‘managed decline’ of the city was then followed by the failings of the Government following the Hillsborough disaster, which further entrenched those feelings.”
More than making up for a few boos at the soccer for royals this weekend will be a new poll by the British Future think-tank showing support for the monarchy remains strong: 60% want to keep it, while 85% expect that the royals will still be in post in a decade’s time. One note of caution is that the royals have work to do with the younger crowd: the Guardian reports, “Younger people expressed ambivalence about the future of the monarchy, with 37% feeling that the end of the queen’s reign would be the right time to move on and become a republic. Among those aged 16-18, only 36% agree that, ‘We should keep the monarchy for the foreseeable future.’”
Less or more Frogmore?
Courtiers are pondering whether to try and block Meghan and Harry filming inside their British home, Frogmore Cottage, when they come back to the U.K. for the platinum jubilee, while Netflix, as one can imagine, are keen to grab some footage from the home.
The five-bedroomed “cottage” became a source of controversy after millions were spent renovating it for Harry and Meghan, who then swiftly decided they were leaving the U.K. and wouldn’t be living there after all. They ultimately agreed to pay a commercial rent for the house, and it is now occupied by Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank, and their 15-month-old baby August Philip, under terms unknown.
The Sussexes are believed to be intending to stay there when they come to the U.K. in less than three weeks but the Mirror reports that palace aides could try to block their Netflix crew from filming there, similar to how the couple have apparently been warned not to try and film the queen for the show. The Mirror doesn’t go into the mechanics of any such effort.
An anonymous consultant for the streaming giant said: “The chiefs want exclusive footage ... What goes on at Frogmore Cottage is effectively private interactions between...We are getting to a point within the business where Netflix executives are evaluating what content around the royals and the Sussexes is actually coming into them ... many at the business are wondering what happens if the Sussexes are unable to deliver unique, exclusive and interesting content from the biggest event in recent years for the royals.”
Harry, Meghan, and the Palace balcony, episode 4,672
Omid Scobie, author of the bombshell biography of Harry and Meghan Finding Freedom, has stern words for the sensationalists of the British media in his latest Yahoo! column, opining: “Right now, the biggest threat to the jubilee isn’t coming from within the Windsors or House Montecito, it’s the sections of media hellbent on joyriding the focus towards soap opera-style drama and embellished tales. Whether you are a royalist or not, Her Majesty deserves better than this.”
In the same piece, however, Scobie is not above confiding a rather juicy little nugget himself, writing that Harry and Meghan didn’t want to be on the Buckingham Palace balcony (to which they have not been invited) anyway, saying: “Prince Harry had already spoken with his grandmother about the possibility of not attending Trooping the Color long before last week’s announcements. I’m told by a source that the Duke of Sussex had actually expressed some time ago that he and Meghan were very keen to be a part of the Jubilee engagements, including the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, but less so for the formal balcony moment, which was felt on both sides to be more appropriate for their lives prior to stepping back.”
What great news that everyone is so happy with everything!
Meghan makes Eurovision appearance
Of all the places for Meghan Markle to make an appearance, the inclusion in a Eurovision Song Contest’s entry lyrics is genuinely surprising. Serbia’s entry “In corpore sano” from singer Konstrakta included lines that, the Independent reported, translated from Serbian and Latin to: “What could be the secret of Meghan Markle’s healthy hair? What could it be? I think it’s all about deep hydration. They say our skin and hair show it all.”
The singer, the paper says, had earlier explained: “We’re all a little bit disoriented because of this great field of information offering us many, many opposite ways to be healthy. Behind all of that, there is a great field of consumption, you spend a lot of money to be healthy nowadays.
“This is really a multi-layered song, you need to read the lyrics to dive into the meanings, and you can read it in many ways.”
This week in royal history
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary on May 19, and honestly it feels like 350 years ago given all the bleedin’ drama that’s happened.
Whatever next?
Britain’s Ministry of Defense announced Sunday that more than 70 aircraft from the Army, Navy, and Royal Air Force will take part in a fly-past over Buckingham Palace on June 2, to mark the Platinum Jubilee. After her “Haha!-I-am-still here-everyone!” appearance at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, will the queen appear on the balcony for it, and if so will that be all the public sees of her at the Jubilee?
Farewell friend!
Our friend and Daily Beast colleague Barbie Latza Nadeau helps us get this newsletter sent every Sunday morning, even though she is busy doing a million other things. She is not leaving the Beast, but this is her last Sunday on newsletter duties. We wanted to say a huge thank you to her, and insist, by royal decree, she enjoys lovely, liberated Sundays from now on!
