The announcement of Prince Philip’s semi-retirement from public life did not come as a shock, although the realities of it will probably sink in soon enough. By that I mean it’s easy to look at Philip now, a 95-year-old man, and say he does little more than walk behind the Queen and shake hands. But Philip has always been “the power behind the crown” and for literally decades, he’s devoted his life to public service and to serving Britain and the Commonwealth nations. Even in the retirement announcement, the palace noted: “The Duke of Edinburgh is Patron, President or a member of over 780 organisations.” Those are 780 organizations that will need a new patron, president or royal sponsor in the coming months and years. And will the younger royals step up? That’s what the Queen is hoping. Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair has an exclusive new story about how this is basically the moment for William, Kate and Harry to really lean into public life more than ever. Some highlights from the piece:
The Queen will begin to rely more on “Team Windsor”: Having had Philip at her side as a loyal consort for the past 70 years, the 91-year-old monarch now faces the rather daunting prospect of carrying out future engagements alone. Those close to the Queen say that she will rely even more heavily on her family from now on and that this period will see the emergence of what is being billed “Team Windsor.”
Get off the bench: “The Queen sees her children and her grandchildren as her substitutes and now it’s time for some of them to get off the bench and join her,” according to one senior royal source.
The Cambridges were sheltered from duty: Up until now, they have enjoyed a sheltered life in Norfolk juggling their family with royal duties and their charitable commitments. Now their workload is set to increase substantially. The Duke of Edinburgh is patron or president of some 780 organizations and some of these will be taken on by his grandchildren once the Duke steps down officially this summer. I am told that the various wildlife and conservation charities the Duke represents have already been earmarked for his grandsons William and Harry. The Duchess of Cambridge can also expect more responsibility.
Team Windsor needs to travel more too: It is not just patronages the young royals are taking on but more responsibility. They will be expected to accompany the Queen, tour the Commonwealth realms on her behalf, and step in as consorts on occasions. While the Duke won’t disappear from public life completely, he will be in the picture far less. Says a source: “William Kate and Harry will all be expected to take on some of the organizations their grandfather will eventually hand over, but in the immediate future, they will be expected to support the Queen while she is on duty. They are going to be more high profile because quite simply there’s work to be done.”
William’s people insist that he’s prepared to do more: At Kensington Palace, aides say that the couple have slowly been increasing their workload and that the Duke’s decision to leave the air ambulance was motivated by his desire to support the Queen. According to one courtier, “It has been an organic process.” William and his wife will be stepping up their official number of engagements “considerably” from this summer onward, and if Friday’s appearance is anything to go by, then we can expect to see Prince William by his grandmother’s side more often.
[From Vanity Fair]
I wonder how much of this is wishful thinking on the part of the Queen and her royal courtiers? Because it feels like instead of the Queen telling William, Kate and Harry directly that they need to work more, she’s just applying public pressure with the hopes that they’ll take the hint. Part of me believes that she’s doing it this way so as to avoid William’s tantrum-y nature. As for this idea that suddenly William and Kate (in particular) are going to magically phase into full-time royal work… well, I’ll believe it when I see it and not a minute sooner. My guess is that William and Kate are already scheming to figure out a way to jam 700 of Philip’s charities into one “umbrella organization” so they only have to do one appearance a month and claim “but we’ve taken on 700 patronages!”
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News and WENN.
Source: celebitchy.com
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