Queen Elizabeth’s changes to the royal family amid Prince Philip’s car crash, Meghan and Kate’s feud
The Queen has been tested with Prince Philip’s car crash and Meghan and Kate’s feud. Despite the PR disaster, she has a plan to keep the royal family together.
She has reigned longer than any British monarch and presided over a period of immense change. But inevitably, it will have to come to an end.
Despite most people retiring decades before her, The Queen, who turns 93 in April, says she intends to serve until the end — as is her duty.
And so far, she shows few signs of slowing down, or of passing on the crown to her eldest son. Ironically, Prince Charles, at 70, is of the age when most people retire, but is yet to begin his job.
Last year, The Queen carried out an impressive 283 official engagements, substantially more than even her grandsons — Prince William managed 220 and Prince Harry 193.
Marking 67 years on the throne on February 6, The Queen is the ultimate working woman.
She has outlasted her husband, Prince Philip, 97, who retired from official duties in 2017 and now lives in a cottage on the Sandringham Estate, where he spends his time reading and painting — and recently, crashing his car.
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The Duke of Edinburgh hit the headlines for colliding with another vehicle outside Sandringham in Norfolk, on January 17. His Land Rover was hit by a Kia and flipped over, with the prince saying he was blinded by the sun as he pulled out of a side road.
The 28-year-old driver of the Kia and her nine-month-old baby son were unhurt. Passenger Emma Fairweather, 46, however, has been outspoken at her anger that the elderly royal is still driving, especially when he was photographed behind the wheel without a seatbelt, two days later.
She said she is “very upset” by the treatment she has received from police and Buckingham Palace and he should be prosecuted if he is found to be at fault.
“There needs to be a decision as to whether Prince Philip and I are from the same walk of life here or not, and we either both receive the same treatment or we don’t,” she told British TV show This Morning.
Despite The Queen sending a message wishing her well, she says she was upset to see pictures of the duke driving without a seatbelt. “It is highly insensitive and inconsiderate towards me and everybody involved,” she said.
With the crash fast turning into a PR disaster, it puts The Queen in a predicament — should she insist her husband, who has been fiercely independent his entire life, gives up driving for good? No doubt she had a word — after a police caution, Philip was photographed belted up in the passenger seat on Thursday.
WHY SHE WON’T ABDICATE
It will also inevitably lead The Queen to reflect on ageing and one’s final years. There is nothing constitutionally stopping her from abdicating — after all, the reason she is on the throne is because her uncle Edward VIII gave up the crown for Wallis Simpson. King Carlos of Spain abdicated in 2014 aged 76, in favour of his son Crown Prince Felipe.
“A new generation must be at the forefront … younger people with new energies,” he said at the time.
But with The Queen Mother living to 101, The Queen may have another decade in her yet — and most royal experts believe she will never abdicate. In April 1947, on her 21st birthday, she said, “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”
And in 2012, she reaffirmed her commitment to stay on as monarch during her Diamond Jubilee address to parliament, saying with the support of her family, she rededicated herself “to the service of our great country and its people now and in the years to come.”
“As far as The Queen is concerned it is a job for life,” says Joe Little, Managing Editor of Majesty Magazine. “She won’t abdicate and so Charles won’t become king until his mother dies.”
If The Queen became too ill in her final years, then Charles would act as Regent. Royal correspondent Robert Jobson believes The Queen will step aside in two years, at 95, making Charles Regent.
In his new book Charles at Seventy: Thoughts, Hopes and Dreams, Jobson claims The Queen and Charles have had several meetings about it and says she is “practical and unsentimental about her advancing years. They both view these meetings as crucial for both the smooth running of the country and the eventual succession.”
“I think when The Queen reaches 95, she might hand down many of her duties to Charles. Even the healthiest nonagenarians need to take it easy,” agrees Charlie Proctor, editor-in-chief of Royal Central. “I am sure there won’t be an abdication, but we live in unpredictable times. Who knows what lies ahead?”
Certainly, she has begun handing over some of her duties to the younger generation and it is expected she will continue to do so over the next few years.
The Queen no longer travels overseas and last year, made known her wish for Charles to succeed her as Head of the Commonwealth. While she remains at the helm, she has already passed on official duties to the Prince of Wales, who will represent his mother at future Commonwealth meetings, the next being in Rwanda in 2020. She also appointed Harry Commonwealth Youth Ambassador last year.
The most notable duty The Queen has handed over to Charles is the laying of the wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
“Part of the reason for this is because the wreath is quite heavy,” says Charlie Proctor. “Also, The Queen used to insist on walking backwards down the steps of the monument so she didn’t turn her back to it, which could be seen as a sign of disrespect. I think this became a bit too much for her, and the last thing anybody would want is for there to be an accident.”
She is also divesting herself of patronages, cutting down her commitments. As head of around 600 charities, The Queen has been passing on some of them over the past few years.
CHANGE OF ROYAL DUTIES
Earlier this month she gave Meghan, Duchess of Sussex the patronages of London’s Royal National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. She previously gave Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge patronages including Wimbledon and Action For Children, and the English and Welsh rugby union to Harry and William respectively.
While she still racked up 283 engagements in 2018, it was down from previous years, when she attended 296 events in 2017 and 332 in 2016. Most have been given to Charles who has substantially increased his workload, carrying out 507 engagements in 2018, 546 in 2017 and 530 in 2016.
“The number of official engagements The Queen undertakes will continue to go down, which is to be expected for a woman in her nineties,” says Joe Little. “Many of her subjects of a similar age have been retired for 30 years.”
As for the future, Charles has certainly had time to prepare for his new role — he will be the oldest Prince of Wales to take the throne — and insiders state he intends to slim down the monarchy to his household and heirs, streamlining it for the future and signalling the end of funding for minor royals such as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke and Duchess of Kent.
He reportedly blocked Prince Andrew’s request for his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to be made full-time working royals in 2016 for that reason.
“At the moment, the monarch’s cousins and other distant relatives are funded by the taxpayer to be full-time working royals,” says Charlie Proctor. “This might all change when Charles becomes king as he reportedly wants to reduce the amount of royals who have official roles, potentially meaning members of the family such as Prince Andrew and Prince Edward would have less duties.”
QUEEN’S MOVE TO MODERNISE
And while The Queen is seen as the custodian of tradition, she has been consciously modernising the monarchy throughout her reign — including changing succession laws removing male primogeniture, so female heirs to the throne have equal status.
She backed the family’s foray into social media, “jumped out of a helicopter” with James Bond/Daniel Craig for the London Olympics in 2012, made a funny video with Harry and Barack and Michelle Obama for the Invictus Games in 2016, and even sat front row with Anna Wintour at London Fashion Week last February.
And despite the relentless headlines in the British press alleging Meghan’s many faux pas’ and rocking of royal traditions, The Queen has been very supportive of her grandsons and their wives, including their openness about their mental health struggles.
“The younger royals have influenced and swayed The Queen on certain occasions, and she seems to be totally up for it,” says Charlie Proctor. “They certainly make the Royal Family more personable, and that can only be a good thing.”
It appears The Queen is quietly confident she is leaving her throne in good hands.
Originally published as Queen Elizabeth’s changes to the royal family amid Prince Philip’s car crash, Meghan and Kate’s feud
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