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Royal source: queen will return to “light duties” this week
The queen’s last-minute decision on Sunday morning to pull out of the National Service of Remembrance in London over a sprained back was a sad day for the monarch, the armed forces, and much of the country, but one that was made far worse by sub-optimal messaging.
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The palace has understandably been unwilling to give a running commentary on the queen’s health. But a palace source sought to allay fears by telling The Daily Beast Sunday that the queen would be performing “light duties” this coming week. They also said the back issue was “not related” to her recent hospitalization.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen, having sprained her back, has decided this morning with great regret that she will not be able to attend today’s Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph. Her Majesty is disappointed that she will miss the service. As in previous years, a wreath will be laid on Her Majesty’s behalf by The Prince of Wales. His Royal Highness, along with The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra will be present at the Cenotaph today as planned.”
The absence of Her Majesty lent an especially somber note to what is always a grave and serious occasion. In the gray, damp streets of central London, royals, politicians, and representatives of Commonwealth and other countries around the world stood in silence for two minutes at 11 a.m. to mark the armistice that ended the World War I in 1918. Buglers then sounded the haunting tones of the Last Post.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, attends the annual National Service of Remembrance at the cenotaph in Whitehall, on Nov. 14, 2021 in London, England.
Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty ImagesPrince Charles, acting on behalf of his mother, was the first to lay a wreath against the white stone of London’s war memorial, the cenotaph, before laying a second wreath of his own. William was next, followed by Prince Edward. The three men’s spouses, Camilla, Kate, and Sophie looked on from a balcony in a nearby government building that was occupied last year by the queen.
No doubt the stubborn queen, ever mindful of her duty, was nobly determined not to throw in the towel until the last moment. But to make this announcement on the morning of the event, giving less than two hours notice to news media, has turned what might indeed well be a harmless back sprain into a national panic.
It is clear from the roster of canceled engagements and her recent hospital stay that the queen is in far from perfect health. However, the mixed messaging coming from her office, insisting that she is absolutely fine, is making things worse.
It now looks very unwise for the queen to have set a deadline for her recovery two weeks ago by saying it was her “firm intention” to attend the National Service of Remembrance.
Setting up an expectation that has now had to be broken was an unnecessary risk. The unforced error on her part made her a hostage to misfortune if she did have to cancel, which is of course exactly what has happened.
The queen herself would have likely been upset that Remembrance Day, one of the most important and sacred days in the royal calendar, and her calendar—she is the head of the Armed Forces, and lived through the Second World War—has been overshadowed by events that, if not predictable, were at least conceivable.
The palace may insist that the queen’s non-appearance today is not linked to whatever mystery ailment landed her in the hospital and prompted her to take it easy over the past few weeks. But the truth is that today’s dramatic scramble will do little to allay concerns for the queen that have been building in royal circles ever since the death of her husband in April.
The queen was, of course, completely devastated by the loss of her spouse and consort on a personal level—yet sought to maintain an astonishing pace of public engagements after returning to public view within just weeks of his death.
However, with the onset of fall, the queen appeared to take a turn for the worse, and three weeks ago she missed a very important church service in Northern Ireland to mark 100 years since the province’s foundation.
It was then revealed, although the palace tried to hide it, that she spent a night in the hospital. It has still not been stated what exactly was wrong with the queen, with the palace simply saying that she was hospitalized for “tests.” It’s understandable that Her Majesty should wish for privacy around her health, but the underhanded manner in which the palace tried and failed to conceal the hospital appointments served to make speculation worse.
Then came the will-she-won’t-she over attending climate change conference Cop26, which ended with a deflating “she won’t” followed by the palace leading with the chin with a statement that it was the queen’s “firm intention“ to attend Sunday’s National Service of Remembrance.
Given that she said this was her “firm intention,” her subjects are inevitably likely to ask if a “sprained back” is really all that is detaining the queen at Windsor Castle this weekend.
Small group outing
No Queen. No Prince Andrew. No Prince Harry. No Meghan Markle. Instead, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles led a distinctly lean collection of royals at the Royal Albert Hall Saturday night for the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance. The queen, of course, was resting with a view to attending Sunday morning’s Remembrance Day service at the cenotaph. Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Edward, Sophie Wessex, and Princess Anne were also at the Albert Hall.
Royal friends could sue The Crown
The queen might never complain and never explain, but the same doesn’t apply to friends of the royals, of course, and now the Sun reports that several of them are taking legal advice over their portrayal in the forthcoming fifth series of The Crown.
The friends—who have not been named—are said to have been advised that they could sue the maker of the hit show, and have “shared the advice” with the royals.
A source said: “Friends of the royal family sought legal advice. The advice they received would also apply to the royal family. Although this is not direct legal advice given to the queen and her family—they have been made aware of this advice.”
The Crown has come under considerable pressure from a wide variety of sources in the U.K. to add a disclaimer to the show making clear it is fiction.
Imelda Staunton filming “The Crown.”
Peter Summers / Getty ImagesIronically, those campaigning against the show do not include Prince Harry, who has a reported $100 million deal with streaming giant Netflix. He told his friend James Corden in a bus-top interview that he had less of a problem with The Crown than he did with dubious news stories about himself and his family.
The Crown has always insisted it does not need to add a disclaimer, with Netflix previously telling EW: “We have always presented The Crown as a drama—and we have every confidence our members understand it is a work of fiction that’s broadly based on historical events.”
Anteater
Prince George ate a live ant, TV explorer Bear Grylls has revealed.
Grylls told Good Morning Britain that he met George at the King’s Cup regatta on the Isle of Wight in 2019, Page Six reported.
“[Prince George] was down here, and just as we were chatting, a stream of ants went across his feet,” Grylls, 47, said. “Him and me looked at them, he looked at me with those amazed wide eyes, and I said, ‘Come on, we’ve got to eat one.’ And he said, ‘Oh, really?’ And we ate.”
Grylls added: “It was a privilege to give the future king his first ant. His eyes lit up, as they do with anyone when they’re out in the wild and they face a few fears and overcome them, so good for him. What a little hero.”
Happy birthday, Prince Charles!
Given the news of the day, he will likely not feel like celebrating, but Prince Charles’ 73rd birthday is today. Happy birthday to him! To mark the occasion, the Mail reports, a new photo of Charles has been released featuring him sitting on a bench at his much-cherished country home, Highgrove. He looks handsome and happy in a pin-stripe suit.
This week in royal history
As well as Charles’ 73rd birthday, this week also marks 48 years since Princess Anne married her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. They married on Nov. 14, 1973, at Westminster Abbey. Their son Peter Phillips was also born this week (on Nov. 15) in 1977. The couple divorced in April 1992, and Anne married her second husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, in December the same year.
Unanswered questions
There are two. First and foremost is the real state of the queen’s health, and what she and the palace do in the wake of her pulling out of the Remembrance Day service. Also: Did Meghan Markle and Prince Harry brief Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand for their sympathetic bio, Finding Freedom, beyond what Meghan has already admitted to the Court of Appeal, claiming to have forgotten telling her then-press secretary to brief the authors in detail? The royal family certainly seems to think there’s more to come, as we reported.
