As I’ve said, my vibe is that Queen Elizabeth’s summer holiday in Scotland has not been full of mirth in the Highlands. The Queen has not been seen in more than six weeks. She’s reportedly had a “change” for the worse with her health and mobility. She decided more than a week in advance to decline traveling down to Windsor or London for the ceremonial hand-kiss for the new prime minister, and she’s making everybody come up to Balmoral to see her instead. Amongst rumors of her “quiet quitting,” there was also speculation that she would skip the Braemar Games, which were held on Saturday and Sunday. She put off making that decision until the last minute, until Friday the Palace confirmed that Prince Charles would go in her place.
The Queen canceling her appearance at the Braemar Games is pretty notable, especially given it’s usually one of her favorite events of the year and she almost always goes. The Games are held pretty close to Balmoral too – reportedly, it would have just been a seven-mile journey or something. The official excuse was that the Queen’s “comfort” was in mind. So Charles, Camilla, Princess Anne and Anne’s husband Timothy Laurence went to represent the Queen.
The New Yorker ran a piece about Charles and how strange it is that the Queen didn’t assign HIM the task of meeting the new prime minister this week, noting: “Although the Queen could have delegated the responsibility to Prince Charles, she has chosen not to. And so, as the summer draws to a close and another round of royal responsibilities awaits the Prince of Wales, he remains, as it were, in dry dock—an incipiently elderly man with a maiden voyage yet to come.” Sounds about right.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
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- The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay while in Scotland, officially open the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Archway during the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park in Braemar. Picture date: Saturday September 3, 2022.,Image: 719202335, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay while in Scotland, officially open the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Archway during the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park in Braemar. Picture date: Saturday September 3, 2022.,Image: 719202335, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay while in Scotland, officially open the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Archway during the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park in Braemar. Picture date: Saturday September 3, 2022.,Image: 719202348, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay while in Scotland, officially open the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Archway during the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park in Braemar. Picture date: Saturday September 3, 2022.,Image: 719202348, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
“An incipient elderly man”?! This is so perfect.
Surely the PM visit is not going to be able to slip by without an official photo. I suspect it will be another last minute announcement of Charles standing in.
I think the queen is fine and just does whatever she want
@woke, I thought for awhile that she was on her last leg but now I must agree with you that she is probably fine and just doing whatever she pleases.
Right, like who’s going to check her?!?
Yup. She just wants to hang our with her menagerie of dogs and call it a day.
Ive long felt that betty has been carrying a decades-long, passive-aggressive grudge against charles for *ucking up her reign.
Consider: from the late 50s-60s when their former colonies began their march to independence, betty reportedly said she was damned if she was going to be the monarch to oversee the diminishing of the kingdom. Its why her famous dance with Ghana’s president Kwame Nkrumah back in 1961 was such a historic moment because that was betty doing whatever it took to hold the Commonwealth together.
So, given that its been at least 40 years that charles has been a thorn in betty’s side, beginning with the horrible public way in which he humiliated his wife; to his negligence in raising a decent heir; to his downright incompetence in managing his life and court, such that his people felt comfortable in actively contributing to the scapegoating of his second son and demonising his wife until they had to leave the Firm and now the Firm is exposed as the cruel racist cult that it is………betty has been p*ssed at charles for a very long time.
Now, with her in the departure lounge, while she will continue to do what she has to do to ensure the continuation of the monarchy (e.g: giving the greenlight for camilla to be known as ‘queen consort,’ etc) she will not lift a finger to take humiliation away from charles.
Thats why he’s the oldest living apprentice in history.
@Hopey, great comment! Love the description of betty being in the departure lounge.
She’s probably also mad that Chuck forced Andy’s public removal from privileges.
I would like to think that, but I think that she has largely stayed out of the running of her own life.
She started her reign by obeying the small grays and has continued obeying them throughout her life.
She got cowed/trained to do what they told her to do early on.
There is no “there” there
The Palace aides were never going to let Charles meet the new PM. They have to keep the presence up that the Queen is still in charge.
If the new PM travels to Balmoral and the Queen ducks that handshake (pics or it didn’t happen) then I think we can conclude the end of her reign is nigh. That would be a definitive sign.
Certainly not QEII private secretary that is a vile excuse for a human being…….
I think PC needs to wear a different jacket style with his kilt. Look how great the guards look in theirs in comparison. His just looks awkward. And, look at Anne crossing her legs. That’s just NOT protocol.
LOL! I noted the crossed legs too, and thank god Charles has his legs together and crossed ankles … I don’t have time to bleach my eyes today.
Charles pointing again
Seeing them in these outfits brings the ‘tartan disneyland’ comments right back to mind.
I have to say I am amazed by all of these….how useful is for the PM to meet the queen? if there is a need to have something official, why not have a proper inauguration?
All that money paid to maintain a family whose role is ceremonial……in a way Charles is right; only the heir has something to do really no matter how minuscule or useless I might find it, the rest should really find jobs and work like any other human beings!
They have to pledge loyalty to the Queen, never mind the commoners. The peasants will have to fend for themselves.
Given that our new PM is all about giving more back to the rich (because we all know that trickle down economics absolutely helps the poorest) I picture Liz T saying something about how she’s here to ‘do her bit for the people of the UK’ at which point Liz W winks at the her they both laugh.
Anne’s legs are crossed! Surely that’s Just Not Done.
I know!!! Another example of perfectly acceptable for everyone but Duchess Meghan.
Though I have to give it to Anne as she looks smart, unlike her brother and his vile wife.
Can you imagine, the only job you’re suited for—the one you’ve wanted your whole life—can only be attained if you, or someone, or something kills your mother? That’s gotta mess with your head. They have to kind of all hate each other because their livelihoods depend on one person giving them table scraps and approving of everything they do. They live hand to mouth, begging for money (all but the Queen) in stages of arrested development and all need therapy. You simply cannot be a healthy, sane person or functional adult living under or inside that institution. Charles maybe should quit too and go live the rest of his life happy and wealthy, riding his horse…and his equines.
This is such a great comment, from start to finish.
I agree!! Every sentence and sentiment is spot on!! Thank you for pointing out the obvious.
Excellent comment and it explains a lot. I can’t imagine being on death watch for a parent my entire life in order to be king/queen. Plus the monarch knows that his/her death is necessary for the continuation of the monarchy and knows the heir is waiting for that. No wonder the relations between monarch and heir are rife with all kinds of tension. Yet somehow, other European royal houses have appeared to break free of this dysfunctional cycle. I think the Queen’s long reign and intense resistance to change/adjust to the evolving world has done more damage to the monarchy than anything else.
I also think Anne’s public appearance with the Cornwalls means the Queen’s health has gotten much worse.
What’s worse is that there’s no constitutional function for the next-in-line. So, along with waiting for mum to die, he has no real purpose within the institution.
IMO the queen had a stroke and can no longer control her balance or her bowels, and “mobility” is code for “continence”. Even with the best adult diaper money can buy, you cannot hide the smell.
I highly doubt it on the stroke but the chance of that is not zero percent. If it were a stroke, then I imagine that is the exact territory for Charles becoming Prince Regent. Perhaps the Men in Grey we’re waiting for a new PM?
The proof will be in the pudding tmrw — if we get a photograph of new PM Liz Truss & Liz Windsor together at Balmoral. If we don’t get a pic, there can be no denying there is a very serious problem. And I think everyone in Britain and all the men in grey know that too
We might get a picture of the two of them sitting. As far as incontinence, if that is true, one would hope the prime minister is adult enough not to make a face and not to run and share the news like a three year old.