Fall Royal Preview
Fall is a busy time for royals - when the children all go back to school and summer holidays are over, we see a big push from them. This year, I am expecting even more visibility from the whole family since Covid restrictions have finally been lifted across the UK, and they are gearing up for June 2022 and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. I’ve pulled together the 10 royal events that are currently on the calendar, or are annual events, that I am looking forward to!
Fall Royal Preview
September 21-26 - Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show
One of the annual events that we always see The Queen at, and often other royals (like 2 years ago when Kate designed a “Back to Nature” garden in partnership with RHS and did a ton of press around it). We will definitely see The Queen, maybe accompanied by the Countess of Wessex or Prince Charles? The biggest plot at the show will be the RHS Queen’s Green Canopy Garden, to celebrate The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative which asks people to plant a tree themselves before her Platinum Jubilee next year (the motto is “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”!)
September 22 - Prince Philip Documentary
The BBC will air a documentary about Prince Philip’s life that features interviews with all of his children and grandchildren, plus a few of the other family members (I’m thinking people like the Duke of Kent, Princess Margaret’s son Lord Snowdon who walked in his funeral, or one of his Mountbatten relatives).
October 2- Opening Ceremony of the Sixth Session of the Scottish Parliament
The Queen will attend and oversee the opening accompanied by The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay (Charles and Camilla’s Scottish titles). I love the pomp around ceremonial events like this, and it’s very important diplomatically as the Scottish government keeps circling the idea of independence.
October 7 - The Queen's Baton Relay for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
The Queen will be joined by The Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward) to launch the relay from the forecourt of Buckingham Palace. The Commonwealth Games are essentially an off-year summer Olympics, that features teams from 72 nations and celebrates the Commonwealth.
October 8 - No Time to Die Premiere
We usually see the Royals at the London premiere of the newest 007 film with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and Prince Charles and Camilla all making appearances in the past. This year I am predicting Charles and Camilla attend, since the Cambridge’s have another black tie event later in the month.
October 17 - Earthshot Prize Ceremony
Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge are guaranteed to be a huge presences at the first-ever Earthshot Prize awards ceremony which will celebrate the global Finalists before awarding the first five Winners of The Earthshot Prize. The location is the Alexandra Palace in London, which was built during the Victorian era to provide green space and recreational space to people living in the crowded city as a“Palace for the People.” They will also feature other famous landmarks across the city as part of the historic event.
October 19 - Global Investment Summit
The Queen will give a reception at Windsor Castle and I’m hopeful that a few other royals will accompany her! Typically with these larger receptions, they like to have a few family members in attendance so that more people have the chance to speak with one of them and they can link in their other causes. Prince Charles and Prince William are strong candidates for this given their work to get the business community involved in their climate change work.
November 1 - COP-26 Summit
The Queen will attend a reception on the occasion of the COP26 Summit in Scotland, which is the annual UN conference on climate change. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. There will be a number of high ranking government officials there and world leaders - again I expect Prince Charles to make an appearance based on his work with the UN and the Sustainable Markets Initiative, with a focus on his corporate “Terra Carta” agreement.
November 8- Lady Louise Windsor turning 18
This is not only a milestone birthday for the eldest child of the Earl and Countess of Wessex, but also a big one in terms of royal titles. Her parents and the Queen decided to not give her and her brother the Princess/Prince titles and HRH styles upon birth that they were entitled to as the grandchildren of the monarch, but it’s said that when she turns 18 she can decide to style herself as HRH Princess Louise if she wants to. There are unsubstantiated rumors that Prince Charles and Prince Edward have been fighting over this, but I don’t think we will know until the big day.
November 14- Remembrance Sunday
One of my favorite days on the royal calendar, but also one of the most solemn days, Remembrance Sunday celebrates the life and sacrifice of the men and women who have died in war. The main event is the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, which gathers together government leaders, British and Commonwealth soldiers, sailors, airmen and women, and members of the emergency services and civilians for the “march past” parade. Members of the family lay wreaths of poppies in honor of the various branches of the military, and attend a number of other events in the surrounding days. (I’m just hoping Harry doesn’t try to hijack this with his drama again - last year he very pettily leaked that he wanted a wreath laid on his behalf at the ceremony, even though wreaths aren’t laid on behalf of royal family members besides The Queen, and that he was denied, making the day all about him. He and Meghan also released the CRINGIEST set of photos of them in a cemetery, dressed like they were going to be at the actual event).
Those are the highlights - with I’m sure a massive number of unannounced appearances also in there - but there are also a few lowlights that are on the horizon.
Prince Andrew’s legal issues will take center stage with two big moments, the first hearing in Virginia Giuffre’s civil case against him in the US is on Monday, and then on November 29th, Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial is set to start. She is facing charges she recruited teenage girls for Jeffrey Epstein.
I am also expecting some big movement from the Sussexes once their parental leave ends in October. Depending on where things stand with Covid in California, they should start to make more in-person appearances. They also should be announcing more Spotify/Netflix projects, since it’s been a year from when the deals were first signed with nothing more than one documentary, one animated series and a single Spotify episode announced. While I think they should be doing more than just making speeches (and they need to earn the money from those big contracts!) I can’t say that I am excited to see more of them in the press.
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