Analysis: William and Harry’s show of unity for the Queen
[ad_1]
It’s been a turbulent two years since Harry and Meghan stepped back as working members of the royal family, with the rift in the clan heavily speculated upon by the public and media alike.
On Wednesday, we will see the pair — along with other members of the family — on foot behind the Queen’s coffin as it makes its way through the streets of central London to Westminster Hall, in a procession like no other.
It will be a somber moment when the city falls silent, the only sounds the tolling of Big Ben and minute guns firing in Hyde Park.
Wednesday won’t be the first time we’ve seen William and Harry together since the death of the Queen last week. The pair were joined by their wives, Catherine and Meghan, on Saturday when they all went to see the floral tributes left at the gates of Windsor Castle.
Screams erupted from royal fans as the four emerged, with many hoping the Queen’s death would pave the way for a reconciliation between the brothers.
The joint appearance of William, Harry, Kate and Meghan came as a surprise and was not announced in advance. It was the first time they had been seen together since the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
While the tension between the brothers is well known, and we don’t know how much of that has been resolved, clearly it has been mended to a certain extent that they are able to appear together in public once more.
We understand that the Prince of Wales extended an olive branch to the Sussexes, inviting them to join him and his wife an hour before the walkabout took place. A royal source told us William thought it was an important show of unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family.
As the “Fab Four” — as Britain’s press previously dubbed the quartet — greeted crowds, Harry told members of the public that “no matter what room of the castle you are in” the Queen’s presence could still be felt. “She was a great granny,” he added.
On Tuesday, as the sun set in Edinburgh, Britain’s longest reigning monarch departed Scotland for the last time. It’s a country she deeply adored and a place where she was often able to figuratively put the crown aside for a short while and simply be the family matriarch, away from public scrutiny.
THE QUEEN OF TRAVEL
Journeys of a lifetime.
During the Queen’s reign, she visited more than 120 countries and witnessed first-hand the revolutions in global travel that shrank the world as her own influence over it diminished.
Elizabeth II lived through the advent of the Jet Age, flew supersonic on the Concorde, saw regimes change, countries form and dissolve, the end of the British Empire and the rise of globalization.
DID YOU KNOW?
Prince William just inherited a 685-year-old estate worth $1 billion.
Royal wills are never made public. That means what happens to much of the Queen’s personal wealth following her death will remain a family secret.
Forbes estimated last year that the late monarch’s personal fortune was worth $500 million, made up of her jewels, art collection, investments and two residences, Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham House in Norfolk. The Queen inherited both properties from her father, King George VI.
But the vast bulk of the royal family’s wealth — totaling at least £18 billion ($21 billion) in land, property and investments — now passes along a well-trodden, centuries-old path to the new monarch, King Charles, and his heir.
WATCH
How Anne learned to be a royal from her mother.
Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter, Princess Anne, is being praised on social media for the way she remained by her mother’s side every step of the way from Balmoral back to London. Many have been admiring Anne for her devotion as the family mourns, but the Princess Royal has always had a notable role in the monarchy. CNN’s Isa Soares reports more on one of the hardest-working royals.
[ad_2]
Source link
