Prince Charles might be involved with ‘Project 70′, some kind of regency?
Something strange has been in the air all year about the royal family and the succession plans. I think part of it has to do with the Queen coming down with that brutal cold over Christmas 2016, and the fact that the cold lingered around long enough that people were quite concerned that the Queen might not recover. Add to that the fact that Prince Philip has retired from public life this year, and the whole situation feels very… morbid. The Guardian even published an article earlier this year about what will happen in the days and weeks after QEII kicks the royal bucket, and the summer brought us interesting gossip about whether or not QEII and the Prince of Wales are basically conspiring to set up his regency. Many of the Queen’s long-time staffers have been resigning lately, and they’re being replaced with Charles-approved people. Even if they’re not calling this a regency, that’s basically what it is. So now E! News claims there’s something called a Project 70 plan. Hm.
Is “Project 70″ real? Well according to reports, it’s real and happening right now. The term Project 70 refers to Prince Charles’ transition to become king and increase his royal involvement by his 70th birthday in November 2018. U.K.’s The Times reports, “Royal sources said that the prince’s staff were keen to ‘accelerate’ plans to increase his involvement in key royal events by the time he reaches 70 in November next year.”
The report continues, “Prince Charles’s team is thought to want him to be more involved in occasions such as the Royal Maundy service, when the monarch distributes alms to pensioners on the day before Good Friday, and in Commonwealth events.”
Prince Charles has been an heir apparent since Feb. 1952 when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned. Now, 65 years later, Prince Charles still remains the heir apparent, but if he is ready to increase his royal involvement, a source tells The Times it would be “to show that he is the king in waiting.” However, despite reports about Project 70, Clarence House has denied its existence. These claims come on the heels of reports that there’s been increasing royal tension. Including claims that Prince Charles played a role in the firing of his mom’s private secretary, Sir Christopher Geidt.
According to The Times report, Geidt ended his position with Queen Elizabeth after “complaints” from Prince Charles and Prince Andrew. The firing is now being called the “climax” in the strain between Buckingham Palace and Clarence House. A statement about the firing was made by Clarence House, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace. The statement read, “While we never comment on the confidential employment details of individuals, it was previously announced in July that Sir Christopher Geidt is stepping down after ten years as private secretary. At the time of the announcement, the lord chamberlain paid tribute to the major contribution made by Sir Christopher, who in turn commended the support offered to Her Majesty by other members of the royal family. Recent years have seen an ever-closer working relationship between all the different royal households and their respective teams. The Prince of Wales and the entire royal family are committed to supporting the Queen in whatever way they can at Her Majesty’s request. Beyond that, we are not going to engage with a story based on rumours from unnamed sources.”
[From E! News]
Honestly, the vibe I’ve been getting from all of these morbid stories about royal succession and death is that the Queen and the Prince of Wales are increasingly on the same page on a lot of things. The Queen is quietly preparing her people – if not the nation – for her death and Charles’ ascension to the throne. Charles and the Queen seem to be working together even if they’re separate staffs are having issues. I also think Charles and the Queen agree on one really important thing: that the younger ones need to do more. That’s what this fall was supposed to be about: William, Harry and Kate starting to pull their weight. Good luck with that!
Also: this story also has sources claiming that Charles has no interest in moving into Buckingham Palace, which his office denied. I think that most royals don’t want to live in BP – it’s apparently pretty drafty and not very homey. But Charles will live there when he becomes king.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Source: Prince Charles might be involved with ‘Project 70′, some kind of regency?
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