Get ready for “The Cambridge Way”
William and Catherine have declared they're making changes. So, does this signal the end of the grand royal tour?
As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge this week appointed the former chief executive of Bafta, Amanda Berry, to run their Royal Foundation, it signals a clear break with the old formal ways of doing things.
It comes after Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge’s recent tour of Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas was dogged by criticism of colonialism. Kerry wrote about it for The Telegraph this week – here’s an extract:
Royal insiders are reporting William has vowed never to undertake an old-fashioned-style royal tour again. According to the UK’s Telegraph, William had been rocked by criticism and subsequently has done “a lot of thinking” about the kind of king he wanted to be and the tours he would undertake.
At the end of the eight-day visit, last weekend, he put out a last-minute statement of his thoughts. “Foreign tours are an opportunity to reflect,” William said. “I know that this tour has brought into even sharper focus questions about the past and the future. In Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas, that future is for the people to decide upon.
“Catherine and I are committed to service. For us that’s not telling people what to do. It is about serving and supporting them in whatever way they think best, by using the platform we are lucky to have.”
The tour was beset by negative comments on social media, with critics accusing the couple of being “tone-deaf” by riding in an open-top Land Rover in Jamaica and being photographed greeting well-wishers behind a wire fence.
William and Catherine are reportedly conducting briefings to analyse the tour. But certainly, it signals the end of the grand royal tour as we have known it and instead, we can expect to see shorter more personal visits from William and Catherine. According to the Evening Standard, “Prince William has made it clear he wants to do things ‘The Cambridge Way’,” which involves “ditching the old-school model”.
“Just as the tectonic plates are shifting in Commonwealth realms like Jamaica, the plates are also shifting for the monarchy as an institution, and the way it conducts its business on the world stage,” royal reporter Robert Jobson writes.
Royal tours to remember
The Queen’s coronation tour: After the Queen’s coronation, she undertook her longest-ever Commonwealth tour, from November 1953 to May 1954, covering the West Indies, Australasia, Asia and Africa.
Silver Jubilee Tour: To mark 25 years on the throne in 1977, the Queen spent seven weeks touring Western Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and Papua New Guinea and another three weeks in Canada, The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbados.
Golden Jubilee Tour: As time went on, the tours got smaller – by the time the Queen marked her Golden Jubilee in 2002, her trip was condensed to Jamaica, New Zealand, Australia and Canada and by her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, overseas visits were conducted by family members.
The Queen remembers Prince Philip
Putting mobility and health issues aside, there was one engagement Her Majesty was not going to miss – Prince Philip’s Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday. While her first public engagement in nearly six months was bound to grab the headlines, the Queen’s farewell for her beloved husband was overshadowed by Prince Andrew’s involvement.
The Duke of York, who travelled by car from Windsor Castle to London with his mother, then escorted the walking-stick-wielding monarch to her seat next to Prince Charles. Reports suggest Charles, William and other family members were ‘dismayed’ that Andrew, who only weeks ago settled his civil sex abuse case with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, took centre stage for all the world to see.
However royal experts claim the Queen wanted her ‘favourite son’ to walk her to and from her seat, and here at The Royal List we realise although she is our monarch, she is a loving mother too. Almost a year ago the pandemic put paid to the farewell she would have wished for Philip, who died on April 9. The funeral on April 17 was limited to 30 mourners with the Queen grieving alone in her pew. This memorial, surrounded by an 1,800-strong congregation, was everything she had wished for as the final tribute to Philip, so if she felt comforted by having her second-born son by her side, then even Charles and William’s wishes weren’t going to stop her.
Family from across the generations were in attendance. Great-grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Mia Tindall, Savannah and Isla Phillips joined their parents, William and Catherine, Zara and Mike Tindall and Peter Phillips, alongside all senior members of the Royal Family, European royals and aristocratic relations from Philip’s side. The notable exceptions were Harry and Meghan.
Days after the service, Andrew hit the headlines again, this time embroiled in a ‘cash for passport’ scandal as it emerged he had allegedly received a £750,000 as a wedding gift for Princess Beatrice from businessman Mr Selman Turk. Andrew has since paid back the £750,00 but many questions reportedly remain unanswered.
Sophie digs in
The future’s green – at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, Sophie, Countess of Wessex planted an elm tree with pupils from a North London primary school to mark the final day of the first tree planting season for the Queen’s Green Canopy.
Over one million trees have been planted so far and it resumes in October. Sophie presented the schoolkids with Jubilee coins – anyone still have theirs from the Silver Jubilee and Charles and Diana’s wedding? We do!
The Queen also sent a message thanking everyone who has joined in the massive planting initiative, saying she was deeply touched. “I hope your Jubilee trees flourish and grow for many years to come, for future generations to enjoy,” she said.
Farewell to Diana photographer
Fashion lost another star this week with the passing of photographer Patrick Demarchelier, who died on Thursday, aged 78. He was a favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales, famous for taking the iconic black and white image of her in a tiara.
A titan of fashion magazines, Patrick became good friends with Diana, once saying, “We became friends. She was funny and kind – but fundamentally she was a very simple woman who liked very simple things.”
Charles and Camilla join EastEnders
It was a right royal knees-up at Albert Square when the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to EastEnders. Their Walford walkabout with the cast of the BBC One soap took place on Thursday after filming wrapped on a special Platinum Jubilee episode.
Camilla told this year’s Strictly winner Rose Ayling-Ellis (who plays Frankie Lewis) that she voted for her to win and Queen Vic legend Sharon Watts aka Letitia Dean gave Charles a signed Albert Square sign, a perfect gift for the couple celebrating their 17th wedding anniversary this Saturday.
Back in 2005, when Charles and Camilla finally tied the knot on April 9 in a civil ceremony at Guildhall, Windsor, the prince stated: ‘Strictly no wedding list’. Maybe it was the thought of all the ‘Thank You’ cards he’d have to sign, given that he and Diana received over 6,000 gifts for their 1981 marriage.