The Royal Family
Expert fears crisis for the monarchy
The British royal family was still in a good mood at the Christmas service. But since mid-January there has been unrest over the health problems of King Charles and Princess Kate.
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The late Queen went through her “annus horrbilis” in 1992. Will 2024 be similarly bad for the Royal Family? An expert speaks plainly.
Three of the four most important “working royals” were recently missing – and of all people, Queen Camilla (76), who was once considered the greatest threat to the monarchy, is holding the flag high. Royal experts see the stability of the Royal Family, which was guaranteed for decades by Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), to be faltering.
Williams’ absence sparked wild speculation
Richard Kay from the Daily Mail made his comments particularly clear. The nobility expert emphasized that the British royal family has “never had so many problems at the same time” in its modern history and is on the verge of a major crisis. Prince William’s last-minute cancellation of the memorial service for King Constantine of Greece (1940-2023), his godfather, who died last year, has sparked the wildest speculation.
Since the royal family does not provide detailed information about Kate’s operation and her health, many rumors are circulating. An official spokesman even responded to the conspiracy theories on Thursday, saying: “We have been very clear from the start that the Princess of Wales will be out of action until after Easter and Kensington Palace will only inform if something important happens reports.” It remains to be seen whether this will calm the heated tempers.
The lack of information in particular “contributed to a feverish and dangerously restless atmosphere,” says Richard Kay, assessing the mood of the British people. The fact that the disgraced Prince Andrew (64) and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson (64) led the representation of the royal family at the memorial service for William’s beloved godfather on February 27th caused an additional stir. That summed up a situation “which, although it does not yet represent a crisis for the House of Windsor, is dangerously close to one.”
The Royal Family is getting on in years
According to Richard Kay, it is now clear that the streamlining of the monarchy that Charles was aiming for is causing problems and “does not fulfill its purpose”. In other words: There are simply not enough royals who can present the family – especially since Prince Harry (39) and Duchess Meghan (42) are known to have disappeared years ago.
Another problem is the old age of the royals: the public faces currently consist mainly of older members from the second row such as Charles’ sister Princess Anne (73), the Duke of Gloucester (79), the Duke of Kent (88) and his sister Princess Alexandra (87). Charles’ brother Prince Edward (59) will also be 60 in a few days. “Through no fault of their own, they are hardly an inspiring bunch,” is Richard Kay’s bitter conclusion. It is “extraordinary” that the once hated Camilla is now “keeping the show going.” But she will be 77 this year “and the question is how long she can keep it up.”
Is there a curse on the family?
In Great Britain, some reporters are even talking about a curse that has weighed on the royal family since the Queen died in 2022. Many have the impression that there is new bad news from the palace almost every day. This week, this also included the fact that Prince Michael of Kent’s son-in-law (81), Thomas Kingston, died completely unexpectedly at the age of just 45, leaving Lady Gabriella (42) as a young widow.