Royals
The turbulent year of the royal families
From Harry and Meghan’s scandal interview to Prince Philips death and worries about the Queen to royal babies: a lot has happened in the royal houses in 2021.
© [M] imago / PPE / imago images / ZUMA Press / imago / Starface / imago / ZUMA Press
From corona vaccinations and infections to deaths, births and birthdays to major scandals: 2021 was turbulent for the royals.
Prince Harry (37) and Duchess Meghan (40) ushered in the year with a “letter to 2021” and were positive about the coming months. But 2021 did not only bring good news to the royals: From grief to scandals, the royal families can look back on a turbulent year.
Royals get vaccinated
As with many others, the year started with a corona vaccination: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark started: The 81-year-old was given the spades on the first day of the year. A week later, Queen Elizabeth II (95) and her husband Prince Philip (1921-2021) followed, and on January 15 the Swedish royal couple Carl XVI. Gustaf (75) and Silvia (77). Prince Charles (73) and Duchess Camilla (74) held out their upper arms on February 10, Prince William (39) and Duchess Kate (39) tolerated each other very well until May.
Mourning for Prince Philip
The first few months of the year in Great Britain were also marked by concerns about Prince Philip. The Queen’s husband was first hospitalized in mid-February and spent several days there. At the beginning of March, the Duke of Edinburgh underwent a heart operation before returning to Windsor Castle on March 16 after 28 days in the clinic. About three weeks after his return the palace then announced the death of the 99-year-old on April 9. A great loss for the entire country, but especially for the Queen: The couple had been married for almost 74 years. After an eight-day period of mourning, Prince Philip was buried on April 17th at Windsor Castle.
Four new great-grandchildren for the Queen
Queen Elizabeth II was also able to look forward to four new great-grandchildren in 2021! August Brooksbank, the first son of Princess Eugenie (31) and Jack Brooksbank (35), was born on February 9th. On March 21, Zara Tindall (40) gave birth to her son Lucas – in a dramatic home birth, as reported by husband Mike (43). With Lilibet “Lili” Diana, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan gave the monarch a namesake on June 4th. The little one is named after the Queen’s nickname. On September 18, Sienna, the first daughter of Princess Beatrice (33) and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (38), was born.
But there were also baby joys in Sweden: On March 26th, Princess Sofia (37) gave birth to a boy, Prince Julian. It is the third son of Sofia and Prince Carl Philip (42).
Round birthdays, wedding anniversaries and a wedding
The Royals were also able to celebrate some big birthdays and anniversaries in 2021. Just four days after her husband Prince Philip’s funeral, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 95th birthday. The Queen was born on April 21, 1926 and is the oldest regent of the British monarchy. The traditional Trooping the Color birthday parade on the second Saturday in June could take place despite Corona – but in a weaker form at Windsor Castle.
Prince Philip would have turned 100 on June 10th. The Queen honored her late husband by planting a rose with his name at Windsor Castle and other family members remembered their father and “Grandpa” on social media. Princess Diana was also honored posthumously in 2021: The “Queen of Hearts” would have celebrated her 60th birthday on July 1st. In her honor was unveiled a statue in the garden of Kensington Palace, Her sons Prince William and Prince Harry spoke at the ceremony.
On August 4th, Duchess Meghan celebrated her 40th birthday. On her special day, she launched a charity campaign entitled “40×40”. She asked “40 friends, activists, athletes, artists and executives” to also spend 40 minutes each for the good cause.
The Swedish King Carl Gustaf celebrated his 75th birthday on April 30th. While there was a parade in Stockholm and a birthday party with guests from all over the world for his 70th birthday, he had to celebrate small this year due to the corona.
In the Netherlands Queen Máxima celebrated half a century: Born in Argentina, she turned 50 on May 17th. Princess Märtha Louise of Norway also celebrated this milestone: She turned 50 on September 22nd. A wedding anniversary was celebrated in Norway: The Crown Prince couple, Mette-Marit (48) and Haakon (48), said yes 20 years ago on August 25, 2001.
After all, Prince William and Duchess Kate can look back on a decade of marriage: for the tenth wedding anniversary on April 29th shared the couple new photos.
There was even a small royal wedding in 2021: After a four-year engagement, the Japanese princess Mako (30) was finally able to marry her middle-class partner Kei Komuro (30). With that the niece of Emperor Naruhito (61) lost her title of nobility.
Concern for health
In mid-October, Great Britain was worried about the Queen: The monarch had to spend a night in the hospital and then canceled some appointments. On the advice of her doctors, she spared herself several weeks before she ended November again received guests at Windsor Castle. Son Prince Charles is also relieving his mother of more and more work as heir to the throne: in 2021 he traveled to Jordan, Barbados and Egypt and took part in the UN climate conference COP26 in Glasgow.
Princess Charlène von Monaco (43) also had to struggle with health problems. The former swimmer spent several months in her home country South Africa because of a severe ENT infection – without her husband and their twins. Not until early November she returned to Monaco – however, she still has to take it easy.
The corona virus also did not pass the royals: In March, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (44) and her husband, Prince Daniel (48), tested positive for corona – fortunately, only with mild symptoms. In August, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (17) tested positive for the virus. The big planned celebration for her parents’ wedding anniversary was canceled because of this. On December 5, the Dutch palace announced that Princess Beatrix (83) had Corona with mild cold symptoms.
Scandal interview and lawsuits
When it comes to scandals, 2021 was also a particularly exciting year for the Royals. Not to be forgotten is the Oprah interview with which Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan sparked a scandal in March, including through allegations of racism against the Royals. But the couple’s legal dispute with the British tabloids also made headlines. At the beginning of December, the Duchess got her right before the court of appeal.
Prince Andrew (61) is also still involved in a scandal. Allegations against the Queen’s son were already public in 2019, and he is now being sued in the United States for sexual abuse. The New York trial aims to unearth the truth of his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019).