It was announced today that Princess Eugenie, younger daughter of the Duke of York and his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, is engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Jack Brooksbank. The couple are due to wed this autumn at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor – the same venue at which Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry in May.
Continue reading “Princess Eugenie is Engaged, Due to Marry in the Autumn [UPDATED]”
Well, that’s a weird title, but I think it hits the highlights. Where to begin with the last few days? Let’s start outside the UK where the Danish Royal Family has been dominating headlines. Denmark’s monarch, Queen Margrethe II has reigned for 45 years, is enormously popular and is supported by her two sons and plethora of grandchildren. That support does not, apparently, extend to her husband, Prince Henrik, a Frenchman to whom she has been married since 1967.
Henrik boldly stated that he had no desire to be buried alongside his wife at Roskilde, the traditional resting place for Danish monarchs and their spouses, because he had never been granted the title of “king.” His argument is that his prevention from receiving the title is 1) his wife’s fault and 2) sexist, because female consorts are given the title “queen.”
Continue reading “Royal Roundup: Henrik, Earl Spencer & the Succession”
This past week Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Philip will be retiring from public duties at the end of August. While he will remain patron of his 700+ charities, he will not carry out engagements unless he so chooses and he has left the door open for the organizations to choose a successor – a member of the Royal Family or not – if they wish. The Queen, the Palace stressed, will continue working as usual, though in the past few years she has scaled back certain duties by relying more heavily on her eldest son, the Prince of Wales, and curtailing overseas travel.
Continue reading “What Prince Philip’s Retirement Means for Everyone Else”
On Friday we discussed the press release Kensington Palace issued on Prince Harry’s behalf regarding his relationship with Meghan Markle. But that was only the first part of “Strange Statements From the Royal Family in 2016.” The second part came less than a month later when Andrew, Duke of York, the second son and reportedly favorite child of Elizabeth II, took to Twitter to address press speculation that he was feuding with his elder brother, Charles, Prince of Wales over the role of his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
The tweet was a simple link signed “AY,” denoting that it came from Andrew himself and not a member of his staff.
Specifically, Andrew said it was inaccurate to claim that he had ever asked that future husbands of his daughters be given titles upon marrying into the royal family, and that there was no dispute with Charles over them. The full statement can be read here.
But let’s back up and discuss these “fabrications.”
Continue reading “Andrew v. Charles: The Case of the York Girls”
