Queen Elizabeth
She is planning a "new company" with eight senior royals
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Queen Elizabeth is said to be turning the royal house inside out: the monarch is to plan a new "company" with eight high-ranking members of her family.
"The company" – Prince Philip, 99, is said to have coined this term as a name for the British royal family. The idea is that the Windsors act like the employees of a company, a company called "Monarchy". However, not all family members belong to the "new company" that Queen Elizabeth, 94, is planning for the future.
Queen Elizabeth presents her "New Company"
According to the newspaper "The Mirror" on Tuesday evening (December 8th) it became clear who is in the boat: After their royal tour of Great Britain, Prince William, 38, and Duchess Catherine, 38, were welcomed by the Queen at Windsor Castle in Received. Also present were Prince Charles, 72, and his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles, 73, as well as Prince Edward, 56, and his wife Countess Sophie von Wessex, 55. The eighth of the party that evening was Princess Anne, 70, the daughter of the Queen. A group photo was also taken of them later.
According to "Mirror", the monarch is said to have given the go-ahead for her "new company" that evening with this meeting. Starting next year, Kate, William, Charles, Camilla, Sophie, Edward and Anne will regularly attend various appointments, work together and support each other. The message seems clear: the Queen is building the future of the monarchy on these seven members of her family.
"They are already working on opportunities for the next year and beyond. Once they can, everyone will be on board to make up for lost time," a royal source is quoted as saying. It goes on to say that Charles in particular should approve of his mother's plans, as this arrangement fits his long-term vision of a stripped-down monarchy.
Which royals are not there?
It was also made clear on Tuesday in Windsor who does not belong to the new collective: Prince Harry, 36, his wife Duchess Meghan, 39, Prince Andrew, 60, and Prince Philip.
It is no surprise that Harry and Meghan are not there – after all, at the beginning of 2020 they voluntarily resigned as high-ranking members of the British royal family and thus from "The Company". In addition, they no longer live in England, but have moved to Los Angeles. Nor did the Queen promote her son Andrew to her inner circle. The Royal hit the headlines regularly this year because he is believed to be involved in the Jeffrey Epstein abuse scandal.
In the case of Prince Philip, the Queen's husband, there is a more innocuous explanation as to why he is not a member of the "New Company". He is enjoying his well-deserved retirement at the age of 99 after stepping down from his royal duties in 2017.
Sources used: mirror.co.uk
This article originally appeared on Gala.de.