(London) In the absence of the convalescing King Charles III, his son William and his also convalescing daughter-in-law Kate, the burden of publicly representing the British monarchy rests largely on the shoulders of Queen Camilla for an indefinite period.
The health problems of Charles and Kate have almost halved the circle of active members of the royal family: Camilla, 76 years old, moderately popular, Princess Anne, 73 years old, Prince Edward, 59 years old, brother of the king who is of interest few, temporarily became the public figures of the royal family.
Prince William, 41, heir to the crown, has indeed made it known that he is suspending his activities, the time to ensure that his wife Kate recovers well from her operation. She returned on Monday to their residence in Windsor (west London) where the couple lives with their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
The hugely popular 42-year-old princess has not been seen publicly since Christmas, and her recovery, after abdominal surgery and 13 days in hospital at the London Clinic, promises to be long. “Improbable”, according to Kensington Palace, that she will resume her public activities before Easter, despite “good progress”. The reasons for his operation on January 16 remain mysterious, but it is not cancer according to the British media.
King Charles, 75, who was operated on for benign prostatic hypertrophy in the same clinic, and who came out smiling on Monday after spending three nights there, also announced that he had postponed certain commitments “to be able to recover in private “. This could take up to a month according to some media.
The schedule of Camilla, who accompanied him on the day of his hospitalization, breaking with the tradition of secrecy surrounding the monarch’s health, is on the other hand busy.
She visited him every day in the hospital, sometimes twice a day.
On Tuesday, she attended a reception at Windsor Castle, for the authors, illustrators and binders of the miniature book collection from Queen Mary’s century-old dolls’ house.
She has three more trips planned this week, including two outside London.
Reduced circle
Prince Edward spent four days last week in Saint Helena, a confetti island in the South Atlantic, nearly 2000 km from the coast of Angola. He notably inaugurated the international airport, planted a tree and met a 191-year-old turtle. His wife Sophie, who remained in London, led several engagements there. But the couple is of little interest to the British.
Princess Anne is more popular, but her activities are little covered by the press.
Last week, she visited a prison in Norfolk and inaugurated the new premises of a sailing association in the same city. She also represented the King at an awards ceremony at Windsor Castle.
While young people are less and less interested in the British monarchy, the absence of Prince William and Princess Kate, who regularly make the front pages of countless magazines, deprives the royal family of its flagship couple.
They were notably expected in February at the Baftas ceremony (British equivalent of the Oscars) and a trip to Rome had been mentioned.
William is the most popular of the “working royals”, with 68% favorable opinions according to a recent YouGov poll, ahead of Princess Anne at 67% and Kate at 63%. The king arrives in 6e position at 51%, his brother Edward at 42%, ahead of Queen Camilla at 41%.
The circle of active members of the British royal family has shrunk in recent years with the departure of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan to the United States, and the sidelining of Prince Andrew after a sex scandal.
Also included are the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, 79 and 77 years old, Princess Alexandra, 87 years old, and the Duke of Kent, 88 years old.