Royal Roundup: Titles, Houses, & the Coronation

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Real Estate

Let’s start by picking up where we left off – the game of royal residence monopoly. Two weeks ago, the big news was that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that they had been asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage, their UK base on the Windsor grounds. Rumors were then rife that the home would be taken over by Harry’s uncle, The Duke of York, while his current residence of Royal Lodge, also on Windsor grounds, would be filled by The Prince and Princess of Wales.

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Royal Roundup: American Audiences, Donations & Only Children

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On July 20th it was announced that this year’s Earthshot environmental prize will be held in Boston, Massachusetts in early December. The timing of the announcement corresponded with the anniversary of the moon landing on July 20, 1969, while the location is an homage to the Kennedy family since the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is serving as a host partner alongside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. As President Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, currently the U.S. Ambassador to Australia said:

“There is no more important Moonshot today than repairing the planet and no better place to harness the Moonshot spirit than the City of Boston. It is a great tribute to President Kennedy that The Earthshot Prize will partner with the JFK Library Foundation to host the 2022 ceremony in Boston and inspire a new generation with the possibility of a sustainable future.”

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Balmoral, Memoirs & the BBC

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Let’s do a quick round-up of royal news. It’s been reported that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as well as their two children, have been invited by the Queen to visit her at Balmoral over the summer. It’s unclear when this would occur, whether the couple accepted, or even whether an invitation was actually offered. If it did and they do, it’s equally as unclear whether their visit would overlap with that of any other members of the Royal Family.

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Fingers Pointing In Every Direction

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Lessons Learned from the Caribbean

It’s been less than a week since The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were wheels up in The Bahamas, concluding a controversial eight-day tour of three Caribbean nations. Since then, Kensington Palace has been hard at work to separate out its principals – William and Kate – from what proved problematic about the visits. For starters, there was the release of a longer and more personal statement from William than we’re used to. My thoughts on it are included at the end of the post linked above.

Then came a few media briefings from Palace staff to an assortment of news outlets. It’s safe to assume this thanks to a plethora of stories that came out that focused on how William and Kate intend to operate going forward. The two that jump to mind are one from The Daily Mail on how William intends to change the culture of “never explain, never complain” and another from The Evening Standard that says Kate is poised to undertake more solo trips abroad.

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A (Very Long) Sussex Roundup

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Last week, The Duchess of Sussex won her lawsuit against Associated Newspapers over the publication of a letter in The Mail on Sunday that she wrote her father back in 2018. This legal battle has been ongoing for over two years now – as many of you may remember, the Sussexes announced their suit at the end of their otherwise successful Africa tour back in the autumn of 2019 and it’s essentially been a circus ever since.

Meghan released a statement on the win, saying:

“In the nearly three years since this began, I have been patient in the face of deception, intimidation and calculated attacks. The courts have held the defendant to account and my hope is that we all begin to do the same. Because as far removed as it may seem from your personal life, it’s not. Tomorrow it could be you. These harmful practices don’t happen once in a blue moon – they are a daily fail that divide us and we all deserve better.”

The use of “daily fail” is a pointed attack on The Daily Mail, which is occasionally referred to as The Daily Fail by its critics. The anger still runs deep.

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Royal Roundup: Keep Calm & Carry On

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Let’s not talk about Sussexit. Instead, let’s catch up on literally everyone else in the Royal Family, because surprisingly there’s been a fair bit going on. Most of what follows is from the last week, with a few tidbits that date back a little earlier but were lost in the Christmas shuffle.

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Royal Roundup: The Queen’s Speech, Philip’s Hospitalization, & Beatrice’s Engagement Party

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Happy Saturday 🙂 Let’s catch up on some odds and ends from the week, starting with yesterday’s news that the Duke of Edinburgh is in hospital. There was some speculation earlier in the week when he was seemingly absent from the Queen’s luncheon at Buckingham Palace (given that he largely lives in Norfolk now, he, too, would have been seen arriving at some point), but now we know: he’s apparently been under the weather for a few weeks.

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Royal Roundup: The Swedish Royal Family, Football & a Middleton Wedding

JM

Let’s catch up on some odds and ends from the last couple of days. For starters, Thursday is World Mental Health Day, an event commemorated by the Cambridges and the Duke of Sussex for the last couple of  years. This year, the one-time “fab four” have reunited to lend their voices to a PSA promoting the initiative “Every Mind Matters” directed by Richard Curtis.

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Royal Roundup: South Africa, Angola & a Small Parliamentary Crisis

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Oookay, I had been planning on breaking this up into at least two different posts, but this past weekend got away from me, so a one long roundup will have to suffice. Hey, at least we got some history up, no? Let’s start with the Africa tour and then we’ll segue on over to Balmoral and London.

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Royal Roundup: Charlotte’s First Day of School, Balmoral & Andrew’s Engagements

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Princess Charlotte officially started “big school” this morning at Thomas’s Battersea. The four-year-old princess was escorted to her first day by big brother Prince George and her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, while the family was greeted at a side entrance by the same teacher who met William and George two years ago.

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