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Royal Christmas walkabout ‘canceled’: report
The queen is mulling canceling the traditional royal family Christmas Day walkabout for fear it could become a COVID super-spreader event, the Mirror reports. On the 25th, the royals usually choreograph a walk to and from Sandringham estate and the church. The plan is for them to still do that—though with no well-wishing public in attendance.
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Royal staff told the Mirror they “fully expect” public access to be denied to protect the royals, and the public themselves. A source said: “Of course everyone would love everything back to normal—but the situation is anything but.”
The Omicron variant has exploded in Britain, with London currently its epicenter. The walkabout has been canceled because several hundred people travel to gawp at the royals in their best winter coats— it was dramatized in the latest big royal movie, Diana, starring Kristen Stewart.
Last week, H.M. axed her annual pre-Christmas lunch for the extended family over coronavirus fears, and the truth is that the wider plans for the royals this Christmas, like many other people, are still uncertain.
The queen may not even travel from Windsor Castle to Sandringham this week at all, the Mirror reports, saying plans are “still in the balance.” If she opts to simply stay in Windsor, she will likely be joined by a smaller group of family.
However, if the family does make it to Sandringham, the Mirror says, even though the public won’t be invited, a “socially distanced media presence” will “beam out pictures of their stroll to St Mary Magdalene Church for the 11am service.” If so, without any adoring public to smile at and accept flowers from, may we expect to pick up some deliciously awkward muttering among the group?
Queen asks William to stop traveling by helicopter
The queen has asked Prince William to stop traveling by helicopter with Kate Middleton and their three children because she is “terrified” an accident could happen, the Sun reports.
William flies his family from Kensington Palace in London to their Norfolk home by helicopter. “An unwritten rule stops senior royals from flying together,” the Sun states, and the queen is worried that a terrible accident could radically change the line of succession, elevating Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Currently, Prince William will succeed Prince Charles, and after Prince William, Prince George will assume the throne.
A source close to the queen told the Sun: “Her Majesty has told close friends and courtiers that she would like William to stop flying himself, particularly in bad weather, as helicopters are not the safest form of transport. It keeps the queen awake at night and she is understandably very worried. She knows William is a capable pilot but does not think it is worth the risk for all five of them to carry on flying together and can’t imagine what would happen. It would spark a constitutional crisis.
‘The queen has told William she is worried that, however good he is as a pilot, bad weather and accidents can strike at any time. The queen is delighted in the way William and Kate have risen to the challenge in recent years and knows the monarchy is safe in their hands. She thinks the future is bright with them at the helm after Charles but if something happened to him and the family it doesn’t bear thinking about.”
If William and his family were to die, Harry would succeed Charles, Meghan Markle would become queen, and succession would then pass to their kids Archie and Lilibet, the Sun reports.
Kate’s very Christmassy BBC snub
Here’s a Christmas Eve confection for royal fans; Kate Middleton’s Royal Carols: Together At Christmas, which was controversially switched from the BBC to ITV amidst palace displeasure at BBC Two show The Princes And The Press, which cast a cynical eye on William and Harry’s dealings with the media.
The show, featuring carols, readings and performances, was filmed at Westminster Abbey earlier this month—and a new clip shows Kate in what can only be described as very elegant red Christmas jumper. It’s a case of ho ho ho—and screw you BBC.
A problem like Andrew
Of course, if the royals do get forced to cancel their traditional Sandringham Christmas, that will elegantly solve for them the problem of what to do with Prince Andrew. In 2019, the solution was for Charles to go to church twice, making an early-morning mission with his then newly disgraced brother.
2020, of course, saw the royals shuttered in their own homes, like everyone else, due to the U.K. Christmas lockdown. One senses that any excuse to ditch Andrew again would be gratefully received; the Mail on Sunday reports that his brother Prince Edward has stopped riding in Windsor Great Park for fear of being pictured with him.
“Edward doesn’t think it is wise to be seen anywhere near Andrew at the moment and he certainly has nothing he wants to say to him about the case,” a source told the Mail on Sunday.
A source at Windsor Great Park, said: “Barely a weekend went by in the past few years when you didn’t see Edward and Lady Louise out riding, but not anymore. You ask around and Edward hasn’t been seen here for at least four months.”
A woman was arrested earlier this week after charging up to Andrew’s car while he was driving in Windsor Great Park and banging on the window.
Eye-opening
The queen usually does her best to keep inquiring minds as far from her paperwork as possible. Now, however, the royal household is advertising for a “digitization technician” to bring “centuries of history into the digital age” by transferring to digital “material held by the Royal Archives and the Royal Collection, producing valuable content for high profile public access.” The advert warns that the work will “stretch you, but you’ll be supported all the way, and you’ll be driven by the experience you’ll gain working with these fascinating collections.” The pay? A parsimonious £24,000 ($31,000) per annum.
This week in royal history
All eyes will be on the Queen’s Christmas Speech, which is transmitted to Britons on Christmas day at 3pm GMT. Given the queen’s own health, the sudden and all-enveloping global panic around Omicron, and just general ughhhhh of everything, it could be quite a piece of oratory.
Unanswered questions
How will the royals spend Christmas? Will we see any of them out and about on Christmas Day itself, even if it’s not at the (now likely canceled, see above) traditional walkabout?
