Each week The Royalist takes a closer look at the Crown and recaps the biggest stories revolving around the Royal Family.
Sporting News
It has been a lighthearted week for the Royal Family, with a couple of playful gestures by senior royals caught on camera.
After a full slate last week – culminating in accepting Rishi Sunak’s resignation and inviting Keir Starmer to form a government – King Charles III has been mostly out of view this week. He did, however, welcome the West Indies men’s cricket team at Buckingham Palace as they got set to play England in a series of three test matches. The visiting cricketers taught the King a complicated, five-part handshake, which included a high-five and a fist bump. The manoeuvre puzzled him, but he chuckled heartily.
William, Prince of Wales, has also been notably animated this week. First, he was captured through a long-lens video zooming into Windsor Castle on his electric scooter. It had been previously reported that William had purchased a scooter to reduce travel time between Adelaide Cottage, the home he shares with Kate and the kids on the grounds of Windsor Home Park, and the castle itself. It fits his environmental priorities, as it cuts down on car travel though, while the Prince was formerly a fan of motorcycles, his wife is reportedly not.
Meanwhile, after England bested Netherlands the Euro Cup semi-finals, Charles began offering his congratulations in a formal manner, then turned cheeky, in a dry-humoured and roundabout manner. He and Camilla sent their “warmest wishes” and “very best” to the team as they head to the finals, and then the King went on to say, “If I may encourage you to secure the victory before the need for any last minute wonder-goals or another penalties drama, I am sure the stresses on the nation’s collective heart rate and blood pressure would be greatly alleviated!”
Football superfan William, who made a splash with his enthusiastic high fives in the stands the weekend before as England triumphed at the quarter-finals over Switzerland, was unable to attend the Netherlands match, though he did share his enthusiasm for England’s win on social media. We’d put good money on him getting to see the finals: as the patron of the Football Association, he is expected to attend the game against Spain, to be held in Berlin on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Queen Camilla attended Wimbledon on Tuesday with her sister, Annabel, both crisp in creamy white, seated front and centre in the royal box. The two were photographed having a grand old time, their arms in the air at one point joining the crowd doing “the wave.” Camilla also stepped in to thank the ball girls and boys – a task that Kate, Princess of Wales, has often done in the past.
It was also announced that if Kate is unable present trophies as the tournament concludes this weekend, Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, will fill in. As patron of the All England Club, the Princess of Wales usually presents the cups to the winners of each category. An avid tennis fan, she is represented in the royal box at Centre Court this year by a cast of supporting royals, including Princess Beatrice and Zara Tindall, as well as her own mother and father, Carole and Michael Middleton.
Barks and Books
Camilla also had a fun day this week with some four-legged friends. In her role as Patron of Medical Detection Dogs, she was asked to name a new team member, a little blond retriever. She decided on Freddy, in honour of her youngest grandchild. The Queen, a dedicated lover of dogs, and has two senior rescue dogs, Bluebell and Beth, who enjoyed a very special moment in the spotlight when their images were embroidered onto her Coronation gown.
The Queen also spent time this week on another of her passions, reading. Camilla hosted a party in honour of the 30th anniversary of the National Literacy Trust at home at Clarence House, the King and Queen’s official residence.
Up In the Air
The RAF Valley base on Anglesey in Wales was home to William while he served as a search-and-rescue pilot, when he and Kate were first married. Returning to the base this week, William arrived for the first time as Royal Honorary Air Commodore of the Royal Air Force, a title he was given last summer by his father.
He also honoured one of his signature causes, homelessness, by celebrating the first anniversary of his HomelessUK project. The Prince of Wales has previously said that his commitment to the cause was a direct result of his experiences with his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, taking her sons to shelters when they were young. He grew up determined to make a difference in her memory.
Echoes of Diana
Diana’s nieces, twins Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, have been society standouts and Tatler cover stars for years, with their glamorous good looks echoing their famous late aunt. On the occasion of their 32nd birthday this week, society pages were full of lookbacks at the lookalike Spencer ladies.
Good News to Cap the Week
In some good health news for the Royal Family, Princess Anne is (figuratively) back in the saddle fulfilling royal duties. Sporting a sleek grey pantsuit with a jaunty, angled fedora, Anne appeared at the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships on Friday to present trophies. Fans of the Princess Royal flooded comments on the X app with hearts at seeing her back at work after her horse-related injury in June.
And the night before, at the ESPY awards in Los Angeles, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, received a standing ovation as he was awarded the Pat Tillman Award for Service for his contributions to veterans through his Invictus Games.
“This award belongs to them, not me,” he said of the Invictus athletes on the stage who introduced him, and Invictus athletes everywhere.
He said that while conflict rages around the globe, “Our community challenges that. Our community proves that unity is not just possible, but formidable.”
The ceremony was hosted by Serena Williams, a longtime friend of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who gave the royal pair a shout out during her opening monologue. Meghan wore a stunning white backless halter gown, custom made from Oscar de la Renta.
Harry’s award was named after NFL player Pat Tillman, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 after leaving his football career to enlist in the U.S. Army after the 9/11 attacks.
The Prince thanked both Tillman’s widow and his mother, whom he addressed directly with this poignant tribute invoking his own late mother: “The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses.”
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