People Magazine has two covers this week, a tribute to Jimmy Buffett and a tribute to QEII. RIP QEII, you would have loved Margaritaville. People’s cover story about QEII is all about how the royals are still in mourning (they are not) and still dealing with the steady decrease in public support since the wildly popular QEII passed away. Personally, the Windsors haven’t helped their case at all by largely disappearing for the past two months, but whatever. Some highlights from this cover story:

Desperate for relevancy: While Queen Elizabeth was a steady presence in the lives of Britains throughout her 70-year reign, younger generations are skeptical of the monarchy — and King Charles and the royals are working to ensure that “the Firm” — as Queen Elizabeth’s late husband, Prince Philip, called the family — stays relevant in the U.K. and in the Commonwealth realms around the world, including Canada and Australia, where Charles is head of state. “That will be a challenge,” says Robert Hardman, royal biographer and author of Queen of Our Times.

Little hiccups: Moreover, fissures within the family came when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from their royal roles in 2020. In matters both personal and professional, “there is an enormous loss,” says a source close to the royal household, “as [the Queen] played a very important part in all of their lives. But I’m impressed at how smoothly things are moving forward given all the little hiccups that there are in the background.”

Wait, would Harry have been able to stop Charles assuming the crown?? Despite the continued rift between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the rest of the royal family, King Charles rose to the royal role he waited for as the longest-serving heir apparent to the throne. While keeping many traditions, he also has put his own spin on the position, notably taking a less formal approach to engagements than his late mother. “His ability to engage with everybody is a real plus. It has proven he is the right man for the right moment,” says royals author Ingrid Seward. A palace source adds, “He’s always very warm with people and is curious about their lives.”

Will & Kate: The Prince and Princess of Wales have also stepped up to promote their key causes while also balancing life as parents to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Getting that right is key and “something they think about every day,” adds a source close to the family. In doing so, they honor the late Queen. “The prince was incredibly close to his grandmother,” the source continues. “She was such a big part of his life and a real supporter of his work, and I’m sure he and the princess miss her presence.”

[From People]

LOL at “She was such a big part of his life and a real supporter of his work” – it feels like William is going to make a speech about how QEII really respected Earthshot, so much more than she respected Invictus Games. RIP to QEII, you would have loved Homewards, William’s busywork homelessness scheme which we haven’t heard about in months. What is that part about Charles rising to the throne “despite the continued rift between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.” Like, Charles’s accession was never in doubt? It’s not like Harry would have invaded London and declared himself king? Good lord.

There’s also a concerted, multi-year effort to publicly minimize how damaging the Sussexes/Sussexit has been to the monarchy. That’s coming from Buckingham Palace – Charles and his advisors are trying to pretend like the Sussex estrangement is just a minor blip which will be forgotten at some point. They really don’t get it.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Instar and Backgrid.