Prince William and Kate ‘will pay tribute to the late Queen on the first anniversary of her death – while King Charles will mark his mother’s passing ‘quietly and privately’ at Balmoral’

According to reports, the Prince and Princess of Wales will lead the tributes to Queen Elizabeth II next month on her death anniversary.

William and Kate will deliver a message to the British people about honoring the late monarch’s legacy and cast their eyes ‘forward’ to the future, a source told The Mirror.

Final details for the address are still being worked out, with decisions to be made on whether it will be done in person, on television or through social media, it is understood.

A royal source said: ‘Her Majesty’s passing was an event that truly marked the end of an era. Since then, the royal family has been in a transitional phase and after the coronation and the end of the summer holidays, it is waiting for the future.

King Charles will reportedly step back for the memorial and will spend his time “quietly and privately” at Balmoral in Scotland, where the Queen passed away on September 8 last year at the age of 96.

King Charles will celebrate the anniversary ‘quietly and privately’, royal sources say. Pictured: The King with his late mother at Buckingham Palace in June 2022

Charles began his summer holiday in Balmoral earlier this month, having overseen the period of national mourning following Her Majesty’s death and coronation, as well as his first Christmas message to the nation in the past year.

His decision to celebrate the occasion in private mirrors how his mother spent the first anniversary of her own father’s death. She stayed at Sandringham from Christmas until after February 6, the anniversary of King George VI’s death.

It comes ahead of what is expected to be a busy few months for His Majesty as his highly anticipated trip to France, which was postponed at the last minute due to riots in the country, is about to go ahead.

The King and Queen could also visit Kenya in the fall as the royal family tries to ensure ties with the Commonwealth remain strong amid growing calls in some member states for the monarchy to be abandoned.

Sources claim there are no plans for a large-scale public event or family gathering to mark the occasion, although members of the royal family will be heading to Balmoral for their summer holidays in the usual fashion this year.

This includes the Prince and Princess of Wales, along with George, Charlotte and Louis, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their teenage children, Louise and James; and Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, along with her son Peter Phillips and daughter Zara Tindall, both with their brood.

The beleaguered Duke of York will also spend time there with his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, and their young families.

The king could also have an audience with the prime minister, with reports that Rishi Sunak and his family will be staying at the estate.

Charles will be staying at Balmoral (pictured) for the anniversary of his mother’s death, it is reported. Her Majesty passed away last year at the Scottish estate at the age of 96

It is believed that there are no plans for a large-scale public event to mark the occasion. Pictured: The Queen’s funeral procession on its journey from Westminster Abbey to Windsor Castle on September 19 last year

But there are practical difficulties in admitting the public to Balmoral, which despite its solid appearance is quite a ‘fragile’ building, with few public facilities and in need of updating.

As one source previously said, “You can’t just throw open the doors and say, ‘Come on in guys.’

“Many things have remained as they are because Her Majesty’s late Majesty was in the last years of her life and it was quite right that she should have peace, quiet, comfort and familiarity.

“Between that and Covid, many construction projects have been postponed. Ways to increase (public) accessibility are being looked at, but they are still being mapped out.

“People like that the castle is an authentic royal residence that the family still uses.”

Despite decades of planning for the late queen’s death, sources say it actually happened “so quickly” that courtiers and royals were inevitably caught out.

“It really did,” they emphasize. After all, just a day or two earlier, we had that extraordinary and moving final photo of Queen Elizabeth greeting then Prime Minister Liz Truss at her private apartments.

As a result, the monarchy had to “build the plane as it flew,” borrow a palatial language, tear up existing diaries, long-planned foreign visits and domestic obligations, and merge two large, well-established households.