Royal Report: June 2020
June brought about big changes as The Royal Family finally came out of isolation as the country opened back up! There was also big news on the two most gossipy and dramatic fronts in the family with some big missteps from Prince Andrew and some major drama from Meghan and Harry. My highlights included:
Meghan recorded a graduation speech for students at her high school Alma Mater in LA where she focused on Black Lives Matter and her experience being biracial. It was heartfelt and emotional and I’m glad that she used her platform to speak up.
The press has FINALLY started paying attention to my favorite, the Countess of Wessex. This profile on Sophie in the Sunday Times is lovely, although I wish it hadn’t taken Harry and his family leaving to get her this well-deserved praise.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that their non-profit Archewell (such a terrible name) won’t be launching this year as they focus on Covid and Black Lives Matter. I was initially very supportive of them making this change to focus on the most pressing issues, but then it was revealed that the trademark application for Archewell had been denied before they made the announcement. I wish they had said “Archewell is delayed, but in the meantime, we will keep doing work on these issues” instead of acting like they chose to delay.
The Royals got back to work in the world on June 16th with a series of coordinated appearances to thank frontline workers. Charles and Camilla visited Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Prince William stopped by to visit ambulance workers, Princess Anne made a visit to the Duke of Gloucester Barracks in Gloucestershire to meet soldiers involved with COVID-19 operations and The Countess of Wessex visited the NPSCC, while the Earl of Wessex met the Surrey Resilience Forum the following day.
One of the favorite events each June is Royal Ascot, when we get to see the family show up in large amounts and fabulous hats to one of the most prestigious social events of the year. This year, they held a virtual Royal Ascot, with the horses running without spectators. The Queen won a race with one of her horses (!), and Zara Tindall, the daughter of Princess Anne and an Olympic Silver Medal winner, dressed up with her husband on social media so that we got a taste of Ascot fashion!
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall welcomed French President Emanuel Macron to the UK, the first major diplomatic visit since Covid, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of General de Gaulle’s ‘Appel’ to the French population to resist the German occupation of France during WWII. I love Prince Charles’ “namaste” greeting!
The Duchess of Cambridge made several in person appearances including visiting a gardening center and then using the plants to create a garden The Nook, a hospice that is part of EACH Hospice’s, one of her long time patronages.
A few disappointments:
Prince Andrew spent the month fighting with the FBI about his willingness to cooperate with the Epstein investigation. While Andrew claims to have offered to be interviewed three times, from what we know, he actually refused to conduct an in-person interview, instead offering written responses to questions, which the FBI was not interested in.
The Duchess of Sussex found herself unfortunately at the center of drama as Meghan’s best friend, Jessica Mulroney, who is married to the son of the former Canadian PM, was called out for abusing her white privilege. Jessica made the huge mistake of referencing Meghan in her multiple apologies (very “my best friend is black”), so it looks like that friendship is done, at least in the public eye. I can’t blame Meghan for cutting her off, but it does seem like Jessica has done a ton for Meghan.
Key Celebrations in June
June 10- Prince Phillip celebrated his 99th!!! Birthday. This book about his early life is fascinating, even if the family trees were hard to keep track of!
June 13 - Trooping the Colour is The Queen’s official birthday parade where we typically see every single royal, working and non-royal out in full force. This year instead, a mini version was held at Windsor Castle and Her Majesty was just so delighted to watch it all take place!
June 19 - The Wessexes quietly celebrated their 21st anniversary.
June 21 - Prince William celebrated his 38th birthday with the release of new photos of him with his children, and a lovely photo of him with Prince Charles!
What I’m Looking Forward to in July
July 17 - Duchess Camilla’s 73rd birthday
July 22 - Prince George’s 7th birthday
Plus the Royals being out and about more now that they can be!