Last week I put this out a bit late and this week I’m putting it out a bit early, but in the interest of clearing the decks for Friday & Saturday’s Paris trip, here’s a quick rundown on what the rest of the Royal Family has been up to this week.
- I’ve not seen this reported elsewhere, but Katie Nicholl wrote an article for Vanity Fair in the Verbier aftermath claiming that the Duchess of Cambridge was none too pleased by news coming out of the Duke of Cambridge’s recent ski trip. According to an unnamed source:
“It was William’s choice to go away, but make no mistake Kate wears the trousers in their marriage, and she won’t be happy with William’s antics. She thought his partying days and larking around with the boys was a thing of the past. I imagine she’ll find this humiliating and William will have come in for a pasting.”
So, do with that what you will. I was skeptical up until the point I saw the byline; there are about five royal reporters that would get a solid source for that quote and Nicholl is one of them.
- Following the poorly-received news that William both missed Commonwealth Day and took in a ski trip to the Swiss town of Verbier, Kensington Palace announced a slew of new engagements for Kate and him over the next few weeks. Kate is now scheduled for a Heads Together engagement on Thursday, March 23 and the 2017 Portrait Gala hosted by the National Portrait Gallery on Tuesday, March 28. Meanwhile, William will open the Memorial Arboretum’s Remembrance Centre on March 29th and accompany the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry in France for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge on Sunday, April 9. Have to say, I’m not sure the announcements did a great job of distracting from the ski fiasco, but what else were they going to do?
- While in Italy in April with the Duchess of Cornwall, Charles is expected to receive the prestigious “Renaissance Man of the Year” award from the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation during a gala at the Palazzo Vecchio. The award is handed out to an individual who best represents the Renaissance ideals of “openness, mutual understanding, and progress through philanthropy, social action, and leadership for the common good.”
- The Daily Mail christened Harry a “model royal” this week, and that’s even in the wake of Italian magazine Chi publishing photos of Meghan Markle and him in Jamaica that were banned in the UK due to privacy laws. Any other week that likely would have been a bigger deal than it was, but all the Verbier outrage helped take care of that. Meanwhile, Harry not only attended Commonwealth Day on Monday, but carried out several engagements this week, including the Veterans Mental Health conference at Kings College earlier today.
- Camilla was at the Boots UK headquarters in Beeston on Tuesday to launch the Wash Bag Project, an initiative she began after hearing stories while visiting Sexual Assault Referral Centres over the last few years. The concept is to supply victims of rape and sexual abuse with a range of toiletries following forensic examinations to help ensure their comfort.
- The Countess of Wessex also missed Commonwealth Day on Monday, but that’s because she was touring Malawi as vice patron of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. The visit has been successful and has garnered more coverage than many of the Wessexes’ engagements typically do. One of the Trust’s initiatives is to eliminate blinding trachoma, and so Sophie has participated in events aimed at providing education and medical assistance, among other projects.
- The Queen re-opened the National Army Museum in London today where the uniform that she wore as an Honourary Brigadier in the Women’s Royal Army Corps from 1949 to 1953 was on display. The Queen was joined by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, as they toured the new facilities after a three-year closure and renovation.
