EARLY RISE’s London bureau
While King Charles III was greeting well-wishers outside the hospital, Queen Camilla was standing by his side. Both of them offered a big grin to the throngs of people who were applauding for them. The message that they wanted to express after the family had a double health crisis was very clear: the crown is still in good shape.
Monday afternoon saw the departure of the 75-year-old king from the London Clinic, which is a private institution. It was seen that a vehicle that was loaded with flowers for Catherine, the daughter-in-law of the King, was being driven away from the same hospital as it had been seen previously. However, there was no evidence of the Princess of Wales, since she had left the area where the cameras were positioned.
Royals have a long history of making public appearances in front of hospitals in order to soothe the general people. The fact that Charles behaved in this manner while Kate did not has become a topic of discussion. There have been times in the past when she has made public appearances, such as following the birth of her children; but, she chose to avoid doing so on this particular occasion.
The Palace has been quite protective of the Princess of Wales, and public remarks have made it abundantly apparent that she is entitled to some degree of solitude. It is understood by Aides that she is well-liked, and that her followers would have want to get a glimpse of their favorite princess as she was leaving, particularly considering that it is anticipated that she would not be seen again for a number of months.
But there is a straightforward reason for her absence, and that is the possibility that she is just not yet in a state of mind where she is ready to grin for the cameras. Despite the fact that we are aware that her procedure was successful, we do not know the precise reason for it.
At the inauguration of Evelina London’s new children’s day surgery facility on December 5, 2023 in London, England, Catherine, Princess of Wales was present. This event took place in London, England. (Image courtesy of Getty Images and Chris Jackson)
On Monday, the Princess of Wales, who was photographed in December, was discharged from the hospital. Picture by Chris Jackson/Getty Images
According to comments released by Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace on behalf of the royal family, the palaces have expressed their appreciation for the supportive messages that have been sent to the family while they have been hospitalized.
Following this, Charles will be removed from the public spotlight for a “period of private recuperation” in a residence that has not been identified. The Princess of Wales is now continuing her rehabilitation in Windsor, according to a representative for the Princess of Wales, who said that she is “making good progress.”
It has been confirmed that Kate and Prince William have cleared their schedules for public engagements until at least Easter.
Some people have expressed their satisfaction with the latest health reports, which were unusually forthright. They see them as a sign that the monarchy is gradually becoming more open and transparent.
However, the fact that three of the most senior members of the family have been sidelined has brought to light a challenging reality: the family is under an incredible amount of strain.
As a result of “the Firm”‘s efforts to reinvent itself in accordance with the current era, the number of “working royals” who interact with the public has decreased in recent years. The 2,710 visits and activities that were carried out in the previous year were distributed among the working royals, who are the only royals who carry out engagements on behalf of the King.
That group was scheduled to include fourteen members of the royal family, including King Charles, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Waleses, the Sussexes, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duke and Duchess of Kent along with the other members of the royal family.
That is, until Prince Harry and Meghan made the decision to stand aside, and Andrew was compelled to do so as a result of his friendship with the deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Currently, we have eleven, with more than half of them being older than seventy years old.
There has been a lot of pressure put on the monarchy over the years to cut down on spending and reflect the fact that the country is presently going through a crisis over the cost of living. The ascension of Charles occurred within a new period in which fewer royals carry out more engagements than in previous times.
(Left right) During the King’s Birthday Parade, also known as “Trooping the Color,” which took place in London on June 17, 2023, Great Britain’s Prince George of Wales, Great Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, Great Britain’s Prince Louis of Wales, Great Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, Great Britain’s Princess Charlotte of Wales, Great Britain’s King Charles III, and Great Britain’s Queen Camilla waved from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. There is a widespread belief that the first performance of the event known as Trooping the Colour took place during the reign of King Charles II. To commemorate the formal birthday of the British Sovereign, the Trooping of the Colour has been performed every year since 1748. There are around 1500 troops who are marching and approximately 300 horses who are participating in the event.
Following their attendance at the King’s birthday procession in London in June of last year, King Charles, Queen Camilla, and several members of the Wales family waved from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. According to Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
Kate Williams, a historian for EARLY RISE, argues that “we have a much smaller royal family going into 2024.” This means that there are far less royals to do engagements due to the fact that the King is becoming older. When it comes down to it, everything is going to fall on William and Kate, Edward and Sophie, and Anne. Additionally, when one or more of them are unable to perform their duties, it has a huge influence on the royal family.
With just seven other people supporting her, Camilla will remain the most senior public face of the British monarchy until Charles, Kate, and William return. She will be the only person to maintain this position.
There are only a certain number of hours in a day, despite the fact that the Queen has greatly increased the number of engagements she is attending over the course of the previous two weeks. There are others who have pondered whether or not it would be advantageous to include Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie into the overall group. As a matter of fact, they did sometimes show their support for the late Queen Elizabeth II at various occasions.
What this time period has shown is that, despite the fact that the royal family of Britain is an institution, they are still a regular family that is prone to the general frailties that are associated with being human. This is something that the King may choose to address in the future.