The Princess of Wales on the balcony at Buckingham Palace was a sight to lift the spirits of every royalist. There was, however, something about that balcony scene after Trooping the Colour last Saturday that left me feeling uneasy.
And my sense of disquiet was deepened by a conversation I had later with a friend of Catherine’s husband, Prince William.
The sovereign’s birthday parade always used to be a chance to celebrate the extended Royal Family. There was no greater symbol of this than a packed palace balcony for the fly-past, with older royals, such as the Duke of Kent, squeezing in next to minor members of the family including his glamorous granddaughters Lady Amelia and Lady Marina Windsor.
At the weekend, though, the junior royals were asked not to join the more senior members of ‘The Firm’ on the balcony.
Instead, there was the sad sight of Lord Frederick Windsor, son of Queen Elizabeth’s beloved first cousin Prince Michael of Kent, glimpsed behind the curtain in the Centre Room at the palace. Like his recently bereaved sister, Lady Gabriella Windsor, Lord Freddie was asked to stay out of sight, like some embarrassing relative.
The royal line-up on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the King’s birthday on Saturday…
… and the much larger line-up from just five years ago in 2019
This is because King Charles chose to stick with the post-pandemic policy of his late mother and allow only ‘working royals’ on the balcony.
The Duke of Kent was therefore left looking lonely without his wife or children. His sister, Princess Alexandra, was too frail to join him even though she is still considered a ‘working royal’.
In addition to the King, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, the only others on the balcony last Saturday were Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Queen Elizabeth abandoned her tradition of decades because of the ‘Harry and Meghan problem’ as well as the ‘Duke of York dilemma’. She felt that she could not exclude those who had stepped down from royal duties if she allowed other ‘non-working royals’ to join her on the balcony.
So we were left with the wide empty spaces there last weekend that would previously have been filled with the smiling faces of younger royals.
When I later spoke to the friend of Prince William, I had hoped that he would bring news of a change to this uninspiring policy.
However, what he told me left me worried about the future of the monarchy.
The friend said William was in ‘full agreement’ with his father about the need for a ‘slimmed-down monarchy’.
He told me: ‘When the older members of the family retire, His Royal Highness won’t be inviting anyone else to become working royals. It remains to be seen if he will even want his two younger children to be working royals.’
At 59, the Duchess of Edinburgh is the only other member of ‘The Firm’ under the age of 60. This means that by the time William ascends the throne, he and Catherine may be the only full-time royals.
‘That is what William wants,’ the source claims. ‘He sees the small European monarchies as the model for the future.’
William and Kate with Charles and their three children watching the flypast from the Palace balcony on Saturday… William is said to want a European-style ‘slimmed-down monarchy’
However, when King Charles made his plans for a ‘slimmed-down monarchy‘, Prince Harry was a key part of them.
That was made clear at Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 when, after encouragement by the then Prince Charles, the monarch allowed only him, Camilla, William, Catherine and Harry to watch the fly-past from the balcony. It was meant as a symbolic display of the future of the monarchy.
Harry and Meghan’s decision to quit royal duties has, however, thrown the King’s plans into disarray. They were meant to play an important role, sharing duties and patronages with William and Catherine.
In my opinion, it would be a mistake for William to continue with his plans for a radically slimmed-down monarchy when Harry and Meghan are no longer there to support him.
Instead, he should ask his cousins, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor and the Earl of Wessex, to share the burden with him when the time comes.
Queen Elizabeth, who asked her own cousins to help her carry out engagements, showed that the monarchy is stronger when it’s a team effort.
I put what I was told to Kensington Palace and it was a ‘no comment’
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