The car photos in this post are from Sunday, April 21. King Charles drove to and from Crathie Kirk for a Sunday church service. Camilla rode shotgun. As Beyonce said: Pedal so heavy, like the two most wanted, and I/Don’t know what you’re doin’ tonight, but I/I’ll be your shotgun rider ’til the day I die. People didn’t understand that Beyonce and Miley were singing about Charles and Camilla, but it’s true! Charles and Camilla have been staying at Birkhall for (I think) about two weeks. I guess Camilla flew down to London last week specifically for her one Buckingham Palace event, then she flew back to Scotland?
Anyway, April has been a weird month for royal gossip and royal sightings. While the weeks on either side of Easter Sunday are usually quieter for the Windsors, I really didn’t think that both Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace would go so silent for weeks on end. It looks like BP is steadily making plans for Charles to make a “return to public life” in June. Not only with Trooping the Colour (scheduled for June 15th) but with Royal Ascot as well:
The King is understood to be keen to attend Royal Ascot this summer to “honour the late Queen’s memory”. King Charles, 75, plans to spend “at least” one day at the summer racing festival, which was a highlight in the late monarch’s calendar every year.
A racing source told the Mail on Sunday: “Racing is an important part of the legacy that he inherited from his mother and one that he treasures. That’s why he will be so keen to go.”
The newspaper reported that he will host a lunch for a select “bubble” of friends and family while there.
It comes as the monarch has taken a step back from his public engagements since early February while he has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. He has continued to conduct state business behind closed doors, including his daily red boxes and weekly meetings with the Prime Minister, but has scaled down his public appearances on medical advice from his doctors.
However, aides have spoken of hopes that the King will continue to take “gentle steps” back into public life after he attended an Easter Service in Windsor and undertook an unexpected walkabout to meet members of the public.
His treatment has not caused him serious side effects and the source has added that “the road ahead is looking very positive” as diary plans evolve. Adjusted guidance from his doctors allowed him to undertake the public walkabout over Easter and it is thought that this would also allow him to see members of the public in the open air at Ascot in a few months.
To hear many royal experts talk about the Windsors’ annus horribilis, there’s definitely a movement to make Charles’s condition sound quietly dire, like he probably won’t be around this time next year. It does feel like that’s a factor in the absolute panic we’ve seen from Kensington Palace and Prince William too, although I would argue that Charles seems to be handling all of this better than KP. All of which to say, Charles is projecting a tone of cautious optimism and I sort of buy it. I believe we’ll see him at Trooping and Ascot and he’ll probably host some garden parties too. The real question is: will we see the Princess of Wales at all in the coming months?
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.
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- Ascot, UNITED KINGDOM – King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive on Day 4 of the Royal Ascot Meeting. Pictured: King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort BACKGRID USA 23 JUNE 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend the opening day of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse along with other members of the Royal family Featuring: King Charles III Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 20 Jun 2023 Credit: John Rainford/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UK**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend the opening day of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse along with other members of the Royal family Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 20 Jun 2023 Credit: John Rainford/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UK**
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- Royals attend Day 4 of Royal Ascot. Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 23 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, for a Sunday church service Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Crathie Kirk, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2024 Credit: Paul Campbell/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III (driving) and Queen Camilla leave Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, following a Sunday church service Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Crathie Kirk, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2024 Credit: Paul Campbell/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III (driving) and Queen Camilla leave Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, following a Sunday church service Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Crathie Kirk, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2024 Credit: Paul Campbell/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III (driving) and Queen Camilla leave Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, following a Sunday church service Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Crathie Kirk, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2024 Credit: Paul Campbell/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
So he will be doing some events ok. He must be seen and he knows it. As for the invisible one I doubt she will be seen anytime soon or if ever.
Hard to believe anything regarding his medical prognosis when it comes from second hand anonymous sources and gossip columnists.
Imagine, credible sightings of someone who is gravely ill but (kinda) carrying on. Including a clear photo in a car and tentative plans to return tied to specific events and dates (instead of ‘well maybe at some point later in the future probably’).
Where is Kate?
I think the answer is no. No, I don’t think we’ll see the princess of wales in the coming months. But maybe I’m wrong and there will be a triumphant return at Wimbledon. And then she won’t be seen again until the Christmas holidays.
She can’t just return for Wimbledon, she has to do some work first else she will really look workshy.
That ship has long sailed.
Normally I’d say yes, but William does not seem to have suffered any penalty at home for making the bulk of the “work” he’s done while “unable to do much due to his wife’s precarious health” things like attending a celebrity-packed awards show, traveling to Wales do an appearance with an American celebrity at a pub, and attending a high profile football match. The couple of other appearances he’s made have been shorter, less substantial, and pro-forma, but he’s got hours and hours for the fun/celebrity stuff and no one in the British Media bats an eye.
I hope Charles survives this. I hope he does the right thing and apologizes to Harry and Meghan and restores Frogmore Cottage to them. I hope he restores their security and makes it possible for them to spend time with him. I hope that he sees that William gets the care he needs, whatever it is he is going through, and that his other grandchildren, the working ones, are well cared for and loved and supported. I hope he tells the truth, publicly. It’s never too late, until they slam the lid down.
That recent image of him sitting in the back seat of a car, just does not bode well for his surviving this, IMHO. Get ready for King William the 5 (?)
I have to say that I’m rooting for Charles myself.
I am too. This is not a turn of events I expected.
So am I, he might not be the best but he is better than the only alternative.
Charles’ health yes, I root for that, too; but the return of Frogmore to Harry & Charles begging for forgiveness? Not a chance.
I don’t see the point of restoring Frogmore Cottage because William will be able to take it away, since it’s in Windsor Park. Charles took away the Queen’s gift to Harry when he became king. Charles needs to give Harry something though, in the way all the Queen’s children were given houses and land. He has taken everything away from the good son, and that is apalling.
Will Harry even accept anything from his father now? Charles has made it clear, at least by his actions, how he feels about Harry and Meghan and if it were me I wouldn’t be talking to Charles anymore.
Charles owns plenty of houses personally. He could easily give one of those to Harry and Meghan.
Naw he’ll leave everything he personally owns to Camzilla. What a father, eh?
So, explain it to me like I’m five: King Charles HAS cancer and is in active treatment. As such, he limits his appearances to a select, but meaningful few, keeps his social group to a small bubble, but communicates regularly with the public to thank and reassure them, including limited church attendance and even one walk-about. His wife fills in when possible and gives updates when asked about her husband. And they are previewing a soft return to work in June, even as they cautiously make clear his health is tenuous, and could realistically make a grave turn at any point.
Kate HAD some “concerning” cancerous cells and is having “preventative” treatment, but is well enough to make cheery, jaunty trips to nearby shoppes full of witnesses…er…people…take happy holiday photos with her children and make a single explainer video with the BBC where she looked the same as always, weeks into preventative treatment so debilitating and draining she must take an indefinite leave of absence, can’t do any work at all, is unable to communicate regularly or thank the public, *and* her husband (the Prince of Wales and the historically usual stand-in for the monarch) is absolutely unable to stand-in for her in any way, or the monarch in any significant way, and must cut his own schedule down to intermittent events (but can attend big football games and celebrity packed awards shows) due to Kate’s health?
The math ain’t mathing. Make it make sense.
It makes sense if 1 Kate is much worse than reported or 2 They are actually covering for something going on with William and not Kate (so many possibilities) or 3 they are two grifters who hate their jobs and have found a scheme to opt out for months. I’m wishing the best health wise for both Charles and Kate.
3. I vote 3. With a possible sub-element of 2 as they clearly hate each other and I would accept divorce/negotiations as explaining some of this. No one will convince me he GAF about her and her health beyond as a useful appendage to him.
Yep, it’s 3. That’s how it all adds up.
Oh we won’t be seeing Kate anymore. We may not see much of Willy for awhile either, he was a bad boy and is being punished.
It seems you can’t bring a case in the UK against reigning sovereign because crimes are prosecuted in the sovereign’s name. You can’t have king versus king.
I’m sure Charles will be better soon. But if he isn’t going to be better, all the next king has to do is wait out Charles’ end. Therefore any crime heir has committed Wong won’t be prosecutable after he ascends to the throne. Isn’t that what the authorities did on Charles is bribery/ influence peddling ,/citizenship selling/ honor-mongering scandal?
Perhaps we only know what happened to Kate after William is King
Man, the RR and tabloid industry is taking hit after hit. There are no royals to cover (Camilla, Wills and the miscellaneous others just don’t do it), and rage posting into the wind about H+M living their lives on a different continent and paying ya’ll dust is so yesterday.
Whatever is going on b/w Kate & William, I do not believe that Kate has cancer. She may have had some health issue ( possibly a mental breakdown & some other issue but not cancer) but they are using that as an opportunity to bench her so that all the positive attention is on KC3 & Camilla especially if KC3 also has cancer.
As for William, he may be not be willing to to be the next King but whatever time he has, he is diverting it to amp up his mission of taking down Meghan & Harry so that Harry can be humiliated and come back to being his spare.
He ABSOLUTELY HATES MEGHAN – She stole his brother & Spare . She also gave Harry wings in daring to leave the RF. She is also a clog in his global statemanship ambitions in conquering America. As far as she is alive he is unlikely to win the US popularity contest b/w himself & H&M
‘As for William, he may be not be willing to be the next King’… this same thought has been on my mind. I have wondered what if William did decide he won’t do it, or only until George has completed school, and the courtiers have given him months of very little work and floated he will be the WFH king. It is very, very unlikely, I cannot see him or anyone giving up the power, title, money but he does seem to absolutely hate the work he does have to do.