The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Sunday 10 September 2006

Royal Roundup

Last September I wrote a column with short updates on everyone in the Royal Family, and it seems like a good time to catch up while they are still returning from Balmoral and other vacations, before beginning the next round of royal duties.

The Queen...has turned 80 and is still keeping busy. There is a new film coming out called �The Queen,� set during the aftermath of Diana�s death, that is supposed to be very good.

The Duke of Edinburgh... turned 85 this summer and was still competing in carriage driving competitions, placing fourth at the Lowther Show. He carries on with royal duties too.

The Prince of Wales...has been in the news remarkably little lately, presumably to his relief.

The Duchess of Cornwall...is probably doing fine. There have been rumors of marriage trouble, particularly when Camilla left the Queen�s birthday cruise early, but it�s just press speculation. She does continue to maintain her premarital home and spends some time there, but that is an entirely understandable escape from the royal hothouse, particularly for a woman with non-royal adult children.

The Princess of Wales... How long will Diana have to be dead before she gives up her position as the royal who makes the most news? The most significant news is that the coroner�s inquest on her death will take place next year. Hopefully they can wrap it up before the ten-year anniversary of her death on August 31^st (when we will no doubt hear even more �news� about her). Meanwhile, books about her continue to come off the presses � biographer Sarah Bradford just published one, Tina Brown is working on one, and, of course, Paul Burrell just came out with volume two.

The �revelation� the Daily Mirror chose for its serialization of Burrell�s book was the widely-known fact that the ring Dodi gave Diana was not an engagement ring. The new book apparently gives a tour of Diana�s apartment using Burrell�s photos, which would be a major breach of security and confidentiality if she were alive, but I must admit I�m looking forward to it. It also discusses her relationship with Hasnat Khan. Burrell�s recollections of events such as tracking Dr. Khan down at KFC when Diana wanted him are already in the public domain, but only because a legal document prepared for his trial with the intention of showing his closeness to Diana was leaked in the aftermath of his failed prosecution for theft.

Princes William and Harry...are both in military training. Prince Harry has �passed out� of Sandhurst, but Prince William is still there, so Harry outranks William for the moment. William will outrank Harry in the future because William has a university education and Harry does not. Their relationships with Kate Middleton and Chelsy Davy are still going strong.

The Duke and Duchess of York... Yes, they�re divorced, but who cares? They don�t. They will both attend the memorial ceremony in New York for British victims of 9/11 tomorrow, but probably not as a couple. Princess Beatrice has one more year of boarding school and then is rumored to want to attend university in the United States. The Duchess made a typically unabashed revelation this summer that she and her daughters sometimes watch DVDs all weekend.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex...did not have a second child, as I speculated they would in this column last year. Their daughter Lady Louise has been seen more in public this summer.

The Princess Royal...must be very proud of her daughter, Zara Phillips, who recently won the world championship in eventing, surpassing the distinguished equestrian achievements of her parents.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent...Princess Michael was photographed holding hands in Venice with a man who was not her husband. She claimed they were just friends and the press moved on. She went on vacation with her husband later in the summer. Oh, and they finally sold their home in Gloucestershire, which was on the market for ages.

- Margaret Weatherford

Previous columns can be found in the archive