Royal Year 2013 - Part I: The Queen and Prince Philip

Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

     

     2013 will be hugely remembered for the birth of Prince George of Cambridge, but there were also other developments within the monarchy and the royal family. This posting will review the royal highlights of 2013, and give some insight on what may or will happen in the New Year.

     It will be broken into three parts: Part I (this article) concerns the Queen and Prince Philip; Part II discusses the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry; Part III delves into the Yorks, Wessexes, Princess Anne and her family, and the Queen's cousins - the Kent's and the Gloucester's. 

The Queen 

     The year of 2013 was a successful one for Queen Elizabeth II. In addition to her usual duties, such as attending the State Opening of Parliament, the Maundy Service, Trooping the Color, presiding over investitures, and attending official engagements throughout the UK, she marked the 60^th anniversary of her coronation during a special service at Westminster Abbey in June. It was there that she was formally crowned Queen of the United Kingdom and the overseas Commonwealth realms in a colorful ceremony whose roots date back to the coronation of Edgar the Peaceful at Bath Abbey in 973. Unlike the Diamond Jubilee celebrations last year, this was a more low-key affair, though it nonetheless underscored how important the coronation was to Elizabeth II and the nation at large – so important that St. Edward’s Crown, which was used to crown her, was brought out of the Tower of London for the first time since 1953 and placed on the altar of the Abbey.

     The coronation was also commemorated at a festival at Buckingham Palace in July, and the Queen visited the new headquarters of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which had been responsible for televising the coronation live.

     2013 was also a year in which the Queen was showcased in her role as Head of the Commonwealth. On Commonwealth Day in March, she signed the new Charter of the Commonwealth, which among other things, committed the organization and its members to 16 core beliefs, including democracy, the rule of law, gender equality, and sustainable development. With this charter, the Commonwealth hopes to move from being a legacy of Empire to being an active and vibrant force for positive development in the 21st Century.

     The Queen also met the Pakistani youth activist Malala Yousafzai at a reception entitled "Youth, Education, and the Commonwealth", and presided over the beginning of the Queen’s Baton Relay in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace where the Baton began its journey across the Commonwealth before it ends up in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games in July 2014. There, it will be opened to reveal the Queen’s message to the participating athletes, which will be read by her at the opening ceremony.

     However the Queen, for all of her commitment to her duties and responsibilities, cannot escape the effects of time and aging. She was hospitalized with gastroenteritis in March and had to cancel a number of engagements – including a trip to Rome, and could not attend the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. She has since recovered, and has gone on as usual, but there is a recognition that the Queen is going to have to scale back on some things, particularly long-haul travel. This means that Prince Charles and other members of her family will be increasingly seen performing some of her ceremonial responsibilities, which will aid a steady transition to Charles for when the day comes that he accedes the throne.

     That being said, the Queen is in otherwise good – or as they say in the UK, “rude” – health. She will continue to perform her duties to the best of her abilities until she draws her last breath. There is no talk of abdication, and thank God for that. 

Prince Philip 

     The Duke of Edinburgh carried on as usual with his royal duties, which included a visit to Canada. But following a garden party on June 6th, he admitted himself to the London Clinic for what Buckingham Palace called a pre-planned “exploratory surgery” in his abdominal region. He spent eleven days there, celebrating his 92^nd birthday and missing the Trooping the Colour ceremony for the Queen’s Official Birthday. Philip was then discharged from the clinic to recuperate, first at Windsor Castle and then at Sandringham. Given these recent health issues at his age, there have been suggestions that perhaps Philip should reduce his public activities and engagements. 

     In a 2011 interview commemorating his 90^th birthday, the Duke of Edinburgh stated that he was going to begin to slow down and cut back on royal obligations, saying that he felt he done his bit. Nevertheless, he carried out 347 engagements during the Diamond Jubilee year in 2012 – up from 330 in 2011. If nothing else, this demonstrates his commitment and determination to being at his wife’s side as much as possible, to fulfill his duty as her consort, and pursue his own interests and passions. He is now the longest-serving and oldest-ever spouse of a reigning British monarch and it is expected that Philip will continue to do what he can to support the work of the monarchy. 

     He may have health issues to deal with, but at 92, he his getting around as good – if not better – as anybody at that age, and he would probably be the first to say that nobody ought to be making a fuss over his health. Like most things in his life – such as being constantly moved around Europe throughout his childhood and not having a permanent home life – Philip shrugs off such concerns in part because he realizes that life is life and that there are certain things that are out of one’s hands. Therefore, one ought not to worry about it and carry on as usual, which is what Philip has done after his recent health scares. 

     Since his return to public engagements, it does appear that the Duke has recovered and that it is business as usual for him. Back in October, while visiting a care center in Norfolk, he spotted the great-granddaughter of a resident on a large inflatable ball and jokingly asked, “Do you get bonus points if you knock her off?” In many ways, this showed that Philip is not only back to his usual routine of attending engagements, but also displaying the dry humor which has become somewhat legendary over the 61 years he has been the Queen’s consort.

     In this New Year, the Duke will continue to move forward as his wife’s “strength and stay” – providing a level of support and encouragement that cannot be repaid.

Part II: Charles and Camilla, the Cambridge's, and Prince Harry

Photo Credit: Sodacan via Wikimedia Commons cc, Lzur via Wikimedia Commons cc