As the Duke of Sussex took final leave of London and jetted back to Vancouver, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge carried out a new milestone in their own royal careers: hosting their first reception at Buckingham Palace. The juxtaposition remains startling, but this engagement came as close to a response as we’re going to get from the rest of the Family – a display of unity. While William and Kate headlined Monday evening, the Palace announced that they were to be flanked by the Princess Royal and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Tag: Buckingham Palace
The Queen’s 2019 Christmas Luncheon
Every year the Queen hosts a luncheon at Buckingham Palace about a week out from Christmas. It’s an opportunity for the entire family to gather for the holidays and ensure that even those who don’t decamp to Sandringham have an opportunity to see everyone. The Queen herself is expected to head out to Norfolk on Friday, while I would imagine the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge won’t leave until the weekend. Today’s event is private, but every year we do get arrival shots of cars passing through the BP gates, which is always a bit fun.
The 2019 Diplomatic Reception
Last night the Queen hosted this year’s diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace, an annual to-do that convenes thousands of representatives from over 100 countries. Members of the Royal Family always attend, and given that the event is white tie, we are always gifted tiaras, family orders, and all the other royal trappings.
This is technically a private reception, and as such, historically, we have had to make do with arrival shots of family members going through the BP gates. Last year, however, photos taken from the party were shared, a shift the Palace has doubled down on this year. It’s a subtle change, but I think an important one – opportunities to allow access in a controlled way are almost always a smart move in the long run, in my opinion.
The BRF Hosts NATO Reception at BP
That’s a lot of acronyms in a title, but last night the Queen hosted a reception celebrating 70 years of NATO at Buckingham Palace. Guests included Presidents Trump and Macron, Canadian PM Trudeau, the UK’s Boris Johnson, among many others. And while the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall were in full host mode, the Duchess of Cambridge was the only representative of the “younger” royals thanks to the Duke of Cambridge’s visit to Kuwait and the Sussexes’ extended break from duties.
The Palace Intrigue Continues
Well. We’re 10 days out from the Cambridges’ Pakistan tour and quite a bit has happened, none of it good. Before we dive in, apologies if you stumbled upon a partially-written post on the Richard III series over the weekend. I had high hopes for having it completed, but last week got away from me and I forgot to change its publication date on the back end of the site. So, cringe. Hopefully by next weekend we’ll be back on it.
As for our current Royal Family, they’ve really been giving the Plantagenets a run for their money of late. The biggest missile to launch was the broadcast of a documentary covering the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s tour of Africa, of which the biggest takeaways have nothing to do with their work and everything to do with their role within the BRF.
The Sussexes Take On the Tabloids
Well. Where to begin? For those who have missed the last 24 hours, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are suing the Mail on Sunday for publishing a letter sent by Meghan to her father this past February. I’ve avoided mentioning the ongoing Markle family drama since the wedding, but it was a thing and yet another installment in Mr. Markle’s public lamenting that his daughter has cut off contact.
The suit itself is even more dramatic because it was accompanied by an emotional statement from Harry calling out British tabloids for their recent negative coverage of his wife and comparing her treatment to that which his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales received. The statement was made public on a new landing site, Sussex Official, and you can read it here.
William & Kate Join the Queen’s Garden Party
As I suspected, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge turned up at the Queen’s garden party this afternoon alongside other members of the Royal Family. This the Queen’s second garden party of the season, but the first she attended in person. A third is scheduled for Thursday, with a fourth on Wednesday, May 29.
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Charles Hosts BP Garden Party
The Prince of Wales hosted today’s garden party at Buckingham Palace on the Queen’s behalf, with the Duchess of Cornwall and the Princess Royal by his side. These gatherings have been held at the Palace every spring since the reign of Queen Victoria, while there’s a corresponding party at Holyroodhouse when the Queen’s in Scotland in July.
A Royal Birth & the Media
Slightly off-topic, granted, but I think the rest of today is going to be mainly speculation as we wait to learn Baby Boy Sussex’s name and for the release of official photos. As such, I thought I would share a little bit about what is going on with reporter chatter online surrounding the birth announcement, as well as some interesting takeaways from an article I stumbled across interviewing Miguel Head, the former chief of staff for the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex.
Royal Roundup: Household Split, Meghan’s Maternity Leave & a Tindall Christening
Let’s start with the big news and work our way through: Buckingham Palace confirmed last week that the Cambridges and the Sussexes will formally separate their households. In fact, a new household will be created for Harry and Meghan this spring in coordination with the couple’s move to Windsor and the birth of their first child. Their new joint operations will be based out of Buckingham Palace.
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