News about the British Royals in the GALA ticker: First photo of Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas address moves to tears +++ Queen Elizabeth spends Christmas Day with Charles and Camilla +++ Duchess Catherine is unusually sentimental.
Royal News 2021 in the GALA ticker
December 24, 2021
First photo of Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas address moves to tears
It is a touching picture of Queen Elizabeth, 95, that gives a first impression of her Christmas address in 2021: All in red, the Queen looks quite serious, the background of the White Drawing Room of Windsor Castle is decorated for Christmas as always. But most of all, the left corner of the photo catches the eye: On the desk is a picture frame in which there is a photo of Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, † 99, who died in April. It was recorded in 2007 on the occasion of their diamond wedding anniversary.
It seems that Christmas for the Queen this year will be all about Prince Philip. Furthermore, Buckingham Palace announced that a special service in honor of Prince Philips will take place in spring 2022.
December 23, 2021
Queen Elizabeth: Nice Christmas News! Charles and Camilla arrive on the first holiday
The Christmas party of Queen Elizabeth, 95, is not a lucky star this year either. It is the first without her beloved husband Prince Philip, who died in April at the age of 99 – and then there were a number of rejections due to the corona pandemic. The number of infections is currently skyrocketing in Great Britain; In recent weeks, the monarch has also made headlines with health problems. Then the husband of her daughter Princess Anne, 71, contracted the virus and both had to cancel the celebrations.
Well now there is finally good news from the House of Windsor! As Royal expert Rebecca English announced on Twitter, Prince Charles, 73, and Duchess Camilla, 74, have confirmed that they will celebrate Christmas Day with the Queen. The press release stated: “The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will be with Her Majesty the Queen on Boxing Day”. The couple’s plans were still unclear until this morning.
According to the Daily Mail, Prince Andrew, 61, and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 62, and their daughters, Princess Beatrice, 33, and Princess Eugenie, 31, will also be there. Prince Edward, 57, Countess Sophie, 56, and their two children are also supposed to celebrate.
Duchess Catherine remembers the most beautiful moment of her life
This place makes her sentimental: Duchess Catherine, 39, reminds on the Cambridges Instagram channel of the broadcast of the Christmas concert she initiated at Westminster Abbey, which will be shown on ITV on December 24, 2021. Two photos show the radiant royal decorating the venerable church in the heart of London. “I’m so excited to be holding ‘Together at Christmas’ here at Westminster Abbey, a place that is really special to William and me,” she said, looking back on the emotions she felt when the event was recorded on August 8th. December with pop greats like Ellie Goulding, 34, and Leona Lewis, 36, inspired.
Catherine and Prince William, 39, tied the knot on April 29, 2011 in the venerable abbey, just like Queen Elizabeth, 95, and Prince Philip, † 99, before. For the middle-class, Kate Middleton, this day must have been the most exciting of her life: Millions of viewers from all over the world sat in front of the screens, countless people lined the streets of London before, during and after the ceremony to catch a glimpse of the happy couple. In retrospect, however, this event will probably only be one thing for Catherine: the day on which she sealed her great love before God – and on which her life together with William could finally begin.
December 22, 2021
Princess Anne has to be quarantined: her husband has Corona
Bad news for Queen Elizabeth, 95, and the rest of the royal family: Sir Timothy Laurence, 66, husband of Princess Anne, 71, tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Daily Mail. How exactly he is is not known. But both are said to be currently in quarantine at the couple’s country estate, Gatcombe Park.
The illness of Sir Timothy Laurence also means that neither he nor Princess Anne can travel to the Queen at Windsor Castle to keep her company at Christmas. Contrary to the tradition of spending Christmas with the whole family in Sandringham, the Queen has to do without big celebrations for the second year in a row because of the pandemic. Only close relatives should come to Windsor to celebrate the festival in small groups.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are getting involved in their new home, Montecito
Words of praise for Prince Harry, 37, and Duchess Meghan, 40, in public have become rare. Whether royal experts or your own family members – one usually hears rather critical voices about the couple who are now looking for happiness in the USA. But it seems that Harry and Meghan will at least gain sympathy in their new home, Montecito, California.
The two are also getting more and more involved in the community of the city of almost 9,000 inhabitants, as the head of the non-profit organization “Montecito Association” reports on “Good Morning Britain”. “They reached out to us last year and we helped them with some of the problems they had moving in and they said how can we get involved?” Says Sharon Byrne enthusiastically. “They came to the parade on July 4th and no one knew it was them and they waved to everyone and then they called me and said we’d really like to help. So I said our Christmas parade is coming up, how about it it with that and so they did it. “
20th of December
Queen Elizabeth does not celebrate Christmas in Sandringham
After Queen Elizabeth, 95, canceled the traditional Christmas dinner with the family last week, according to British media reports, “with regret” and as a “precautionary measure”, there is now more sad news about Christmas for the British royals: Like Royal Editor Emily Nash announced via Twitter that the Queen will not celebrate Christmas as planned in Sandringham but at Windsor Castle. This is a personal decision by the Queen.
Duchess Camilla reveals secrets of Windsor Castle
In the coming year, Duchess Camilla, 74, will present the “Treasures of Windsor Castle” to the public for the first time in a multi-part Instagram series with the help of knowledgeable experts. “Remarkable objects” are being scrutinized, according to an announcement on the official channel of their virtual “Reading Room”, which they launched in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic for literature enthusiasts.
A first trailer shows how Camilla looks at a 580-year-old book up close – but without the white protective gloves that are often seen when antiquities are examined more closely. For this supposed faux pas, however, there is an immediate explanation: “You ask about white gloves?” Says the comment on the video. “Many scholars and academics today believe that having clean hands is the best thing to do when handling valuable books, as cloth or latex gloves can make the wearer clumsy.” So Camilla did everything right.
Queen Elizabeth is expected to cancel traditional family walk
A grueling and sad year lies behind Queen Elizabeth, 95, and a conciliatory end seems further and further afield. Now the monarch will probably not only have to cancel her traditional pre-Christmas lunch with the family, but also the family walk on December 25th to the Christmas service in St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham.
The Queen and her advisors fear that the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading at breakneck speed in Great Britain, could spread through the public appearance of the family among thousands of onlookers, who appear every year, and also among the royals themselves. Although the royal estate Sandringham will not be completely cordoned off, as the “Mirror” reports, the famous footpath to the church is expected to be fenced off.
On December 25, 2019, Prince Charles, Duchess Catherine, Prince William and Co. came together for the last time for the traditional Christmas walk.
© Mark Cuthbert / Getty Images
Royal news from the past few weeks
Did you miss any news? You can read last week’s Royal News here.
Sources used: twitter.com, mirror.co.uk, dailymail.co.uk, instagram.com