Category: Royal Roundups

Royal Roundup April 9 – 14: Toronto Jaunts, Maundy Thursday & a New Diana Award

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A few odds and ends from the week:

  • The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh took part in the Maundy Thursday service at Leicester Cathederal yesterday. Queen, as per tradition dating back to the 13th century, distributed alms. This year, the “Maundy money” was handed out to 91 men and 91 women representing the Queen’s age. Back in the day, the celebration included the monarch washing members’ of public feet in addition to the alms, but that fell by the wayside starting with James II in the 17th century. This year each pensioner, as per custom, was handed a white and red purse. One of the recipients told reporters:

“It’s been such a wonderful occasion – she’s amazing because she smiled at every single person and then spoke to the children at the end. I thought ‘She’s just incredible, a wonderful woman.'”

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Royal Roundup April 2-8: Sounds Like an Engagement is Coming

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You guys, a lot has been happening. Let’s get into it:

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  • Perhaps of most importance, Prince Harry’s girlfriend of about a year, Meghan Markle, has shut down her website, The Tig. In a farewell note, Meghan only said that it was “time to say goodbye,” as rumors swirl that she is ready to leave acting behind her and focus on…well, probably marrying Harry. Honestly, all signs point to an engagement coming within months, if not weeks. There’s already speculation and hints being dropped in the press that Harry is eagerly looking to move house from his “bachelor pad” at Kensington Palace to a full apartment that can serve as a family home. Meghan, too, has been spending considerable time in London, limiting her Instagram posts and toeing the rather bizarre line she’ll have to if she becomes a full-blown member of the Royal Family. The shutdown of Meghan’s website, which seemed to be her passion project, is the most definitive sign that an announcement is forthcoming. At the beginning of the year I would have said 1) It was too soon to tell and 2) If an announcement was made it wouldn’t be until the summer. I would revise that now to say it’s entirely possible it’ll be confirmed in mid to late spring with a wedding in the autumn. That said, what do I know? But unlike the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who were in their 20s when engagement rumors began swirling, Meghan is 35 and may be looking to begin a family sooner rather than later, while Harry is 32 and seems more than ready to settle down. It might happen, it might not, but if it does, I don’t think anyone will be shocked.

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Royal Roundup March 27 – April 1: London Pap Shots, Meghan Markle in Vanity Fair & Tuvalu

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Image via the Daily Mail

It’s been a busy week for the RF, even excluding all the news coming out of the Prince of Wales’s visit to Romania and the ongoing to trip to Italy. This is particularly true for the younger set of royals, especially the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

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Royal Roundup March 17-26: George, London & GMOs

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A few things that have happened since Paris:

  • Perhaps first and foremost, Kensington Palace announced that in September, Prince George will start school at Thomas’s Battersea School in London. His matriculation will coincide with when the Cambridges are expected to move back to London full time, allowing the Duke to begin duties as a full time Royal after stepping down from his job as a pilot. Interestingly, the school is co-ed, which will mark a change as compared to William and the Prince of Wales. Likely the move has to do with the practicality of Princess Charlotte following suit in a few years and wanting the siblings to attend school together (or only having to do one school run in the mornings), but the switch to a primary education inclusive of girls feels like a fresh and positive change of pace for the next generation.

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Royal Roundup March 12-16: Malawi, Chi & the Rest of Windsor on a Roll

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The Countess of Wessex in Malawi

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.

Continue reading “Royal Roundup March 12-16: Malawi, Chi & the Rest of Windsor on a Roll” →

Royal Roundup March 4-11: Peter Phillips, Camilla’s Speech & Jamaica

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A few odds and ends from the week:

  • Exciting news from Buckingham Palace yesterday: King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain are officially confirmed to be coming to the UK for a state visit in June.

  • On Thursday Kensington Palace announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge *will* be attending the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on the morning of Friday, March 17 before leaving for their Paris trip. This morning’s post gives some background as to why that’s significant.

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Royal Roundup Feb. 25 – March 3: William & Kate Set for Poland & Germany, Felipe & Letizia Might Visit & Meghan is in Jamaica With Harry

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Some odds and ends from the week:

  • Kensington Palace announced today via Twitter that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to visit Poland and Germany this July. It will follow a two-day tour of Paris scheduled for later this month and supports the theory that William and Kate are being used by the government as a means of soft diplomacy in the wake of Brexit to ensure Britain’s position in Europe. As of yet, no longer overseas tour has been scheduled for the couple, opening up the possibility that smaller European visits are the priority right now. A formal tour of a Commonwealth country is certainly still a possibility for later in the year.

Continue reading “Royal Roundup Feb. 25 – March 3: William & Kate Set for Poland & Germany, Felipe & Letizia Might Visit & Meghan is in Jamaica With Harry” →

Royal Roundup Feb. 18-24: Ivory, Attitude & a Kate Video

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A few odds and ends from the week:

  • I came across this video from the Duchess of Cambridge’s Wednesday engagement after I had written the post and decided it was worth sharing here. It includes an adorable interaction with two young girls towards the end asking after Prince George and Princess Charlotte, but the whole thing does a good job, I think, of showcasing how slightly awkward these engagements can be. That’s not a criticism of Kate at all, but rather an acknowledgement that the level of attention and scrutiny members of the Royal Family receive (obviously) when undergoing these looks daunting, so I can only imagine how it must feel, particularly when you’re first getting used to them:

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Royal Roundup Feb. 11-17: Tea Parties, Dancing & All the Engagements

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Some odds and ends:

  • In addition to three engagements scheduled over the next few weeks and March’s mini-tour of Paris, another event has been added to the Duchess of Cambridge’s calendar in the form of a tea party she will host with the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace on May 13th. The party is for children who have lost a parent serving in the armed forces.

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Royal Roundup Feb. 4 – 10: Kate, Meghan & Pippa

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A few odds and ends from this past week:

  • In sad news, it was announced on Wednesday that Tara Palmer-Tomkinson was found dead in her home. An official cause of death hasn’t been listed, but she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016. The Palmer-Tomkinsons are close family friends of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, while Tara has maintained a friendship with the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry since childhood. She also befriended the Duchess early on in her relationship with William, notably standing by her during the couple’s 2007 breakup when many had written Kate off as the “university girlfriend.” Tara later said that during this time she told her:

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