The downsized monarchy that King Charles longed for is now rapidly entering crisis.
Prince William’s absence from Tuesday’s memorial service for his godfather, King Constantine of Greece – announced just 46 minutes before William’s scheduled arrival – casts a blinding light on this unfolding catastrophe.
Charles is undergoing treatment for cancer. The Princess of Wales is recovering from abdominal surgery and is not expected to resume public appearances until after Easter.
It is left to William to carry the mantle, but his sudden withdrawal from Constantine’s service, for unknown ‘personal reasons’, is a further rupture.
Furthermore, it is believed that William’s absence had nothing to do with the sudden death of Tom Kingston, the 45-year-old husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor (Charles’ second cousin), announced just hours later.
Without William’s expected presence, a hole has been blown wide open in the House of Windsor.
Charles is undergoing treatment for cancer. The Princess of Wales is recovering from abdominal surgery. It is left to William to carry the mantle, but his sudden withdrawal from the service of King Constantine, for unknown ‘personal reasons’, is a further rupture.
Without William’s expected presence, a hole has been blown wide open in the House of Windsor.
It’s one thing for Charles to be out of commission, and not at all unexpected. He is an older man who is struggling with health problems.
Kate’s absence, however, is felt more acutely.
She is undisputedly the most charismatic and glamorous member of The Firm. William, for all his dignified and cheerful dutifulness, just seems boring without her.
It is Kate who gives William real glamour. It is Kate, more than her husband or any other royal member, who signifies youth and futurism.
And now that William is on a changed shift, the monarchy not only feels rusty and dusty, but also in danger.
Look no further than the disgraced Prince Andrew, who apparently sees this sudden power vacuum as an opportunity to emerge from exile and lead the royal family – or what was left of it – to Tuesday’s memorial service. Jeffrey Epstein and the sex scandal payouts be damned.
How could Charles allow this?
In the wake of recent reports that the lost Prince Harry was seeking a way back into the royal fold, and that there was a faction in the palace open to reconciliation, Charles is softening.
Too soft perhaps, and too hopeful.
If only Harry and Meghan weren’t as ungrateful as they are. If only they weren’t so angry and distrustful.
If only they had stayed, they would have served the Crown and done everything they could to secure the future of the monarchy. They would have had the full confidence of the British people, who would have embraced them as never before.
For Harry and Meghan, their time would have been now. They would have been central, the students who had taken the leading roles and taken the place of the Waleses in their quest for Kate’s recovery, Charles’ illness and the upbringing of their three children.
Look no further than the disgraced Prince Andrew, who apparently sees this sudden power vacuum as an opportunity to emerge from exile and lead the royal family – or what was left of it – to Tuesday’s memorial service.
How could Charles allow this? In the wake of recent reports that the lost Prince Harry was seeking a way back into the royal fold, and that there was a faction in the palace open to reconciliation, Charles is softening.
If only Harry and Meghan weren’t as ungrateful as they are. If only they weren’t so angry and distrustful. Their time would have been now. They would have been front and center, the students drafted for the lead roles.
Meghan is said to have finally had her Norma Desmond moment, as she moved closer and closer to the camera under a permanent white-hot spotlight.
The stage would have been all hers. Unfortunately.
Harry and Meghan’s attempted rebranding in the past week – which saw the Sussex website relaunched with Meghan’s royal coat of arms and demand from Canada, during Harry’s Invictus promotions, to call her ‘Mrs’, plus Harry’s’ GMA’ interview in which he talked about his recent visit with Charles – remains further proof that the only thing they have left to offer is their connection to the royal family.
A connection that grows weaker by the moment, with the royal family that they paradoxically try to destroy.
Do Harry and Meghan even realize what they have lost? What does this cost their own children? For the British people?
In an alternate universe, Tuesday’s service would have been led by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, standard-bearers for an intact monarchy, slim but powerful, filled with protagonists of vim and strength, style and star power.
Instead, we were presented with a shameless Prince Andrew in full swing, chest puffed out, smiling broadly and exuding an aura of utter confidence as the royal alpha male.
What an insult to Prince William. What an insult to Princess Anne, who follows behind her smeared brother. Her enormous workload and dedication to the monarchy deserve better.
It was all rather sentimental and colorless, despite Andrew’s beaming white grin – which, to be honest, felt completely inappropriate.
Where does this leave the royal family? The future of a monarchy darkened by the loss of Queen Elizabeth and further diminished by the withdrawal, for now, of Kate?
Could the disappearance of the once-powerful royal family, its multigenerational power on display annually on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, become an existential threat?
Karel is 75 years old. He is sick, and while we are told his prognosis is good, it is unclear when he will be able to resume his full schedule.
Queen Camilla is doing her part, but she lacks star power.
Princess Anne is 73. Despite her esteemed work ethic, she does not attract global media attention. She is not a subject of fascination. She is the workhorse of the Windsors, and it makes you wonder how long she can keep this up.
Where does this leave the royal family? The future of a monarchy darkened by the loss of Queen Elizabeth and further diminished by the withdrawal, for now, of Kate?
Could the disappearance of the once-powerful royal family, its multigenerational power on display annually on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, become an existential threat? (Image: Top Gun premiere, 2022).
What about Prince Edward and Sophie? He is rarely seen, and it appears that Sophie – otherwise so prominent at the funeral services for Queen Elizabeth, so close to the late monarch – has been told to abdicate.
And so it is left to William and Kate, the only top performers among the royals, to ensure the survival of the monarchy.
And if we’re really honest about it, Kate is the most important figure: the most beautiful and – despite her origins as a commoner – truly the most royal of the royal family.
William did his best at the BAFTAs last week. But his lone photo with Tom Cruise was reminiscent of the 2022 premiere of Top Gun, when Cruise reached out to help Kate, resplendent in her strapless black-and-white dress, onto the red carpet as William looked on, somewhat unhappily.
That moment said it all: Kate is the star, and everyone else – even Tom Cruise – is background.