Hello hello everyone! Before I get down to the royal news of March and my thoughts, I want to highlight that May 2023 will be my last Musings on Monarchy post. If you missed it, I’m launching a paid substack newsletter that will be going out on the first and third Sunday of each month, and they will include all of my royal news items. However, I will be covering through the coronation here! But onto the news. In some ways, March has been a typical month with regular engagements but we’ve had a few out-of-the-norm moments! Welcome to Musings on Monarchy: March 2023.
NEW- King Charles III’s State Visit to France is Postponed Due to Protests
This hadn’t happened when I wrote the rest of this post, but I wanted to include this. Charles and Camilla were due to visit both France and Germany for state visits at the end of March. However, their visit to France has been postponed due to ever-growing protests in France over a possible increase in retirement age. (It’s fairly brutal, and I am really unsure if Macron will still be in office by the coronation.)
I’ve seen many people on social media today criticising Buck House for not making the call to cancel it earlier. However, given that France issued the invitation, it was on the French to cancel/postpone the visit. I do think that they could have cancelled it earlier, but they’ve also got more pressing issues at home… My only questions are: will it actually be rescheduled and when will it be rescheduled to? Whether or not Macron stays in office, the French will be busy for a while. And although nothing has been announced, I suspect that the rest of the year will be busy with Commonwealth tours.
Queen Mathilde and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium Visit Egypt
Queen Mathilde and The Duchess of Brabant visited Egypt for three days to recreate Queen Elisabeth of Belgium’s tour to Egypt in 1923. Queen Elisabeth was fascinated by Ancient Egypt and she helped to popularise Egyptology in Belgium in the 1920s and 1930s. (The Queen actually visited the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb.)
Mathilde and Elisabeth followed in her footsteps, and visited several different sites that she visited herself. In addition to visiting Tutankhamun’s tomb, they also spent time at two different archaeological sites, El Kab and Shaykh Abd-al-Qurna. On the first day of their visit, they opened an exhibition highlighting Queen Elisabeth’s passion for archaeology at Empain Palace. Notably, Elisabeth also gave her first official interview, another milestone!
I fully admit my bias as an historian, but I’m finding that I am interested more and more in the European royal families as they seem to spend more time on history. Obviously, not everyone is interested in history, but the British Royal Family tends to be quieter than most about theirs aside from social media posts.
Prince Edward is Made Duke of Edinburgh on 59th Birthday
In what is probably the biggest royal news of March, King Charles made his youngest brother the Duke of Edinburgh and it was announced on Edward’s 59th birthday. It has been known for quite some time that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip wished Edward to take the DoE title after Philip’s passing. After The Duke’s death, it passed to Charles as his oldest son, and once Charles inherited the throne, it then merged with The Crown again. Charles did not immediately name his brother Duke of Edinburgh, many people speculated that he was holding it to give to Charlotte or Louis. Importantly: Edward has been made Duke of Edinburgh for his lifetime; his son will not inherit the throne. (More on this below.)
I personally do not think that Charles was holding this title for Charlotte. Firstly, we do not actually know if Charles will break with tradition and make Charlotte a duchess in her own right. (I would not be against it at all, but there is no evidence it will happen.) Secondly, now that we know he will be holding it for his lifetime, it still won’t work for Charlotte. Unless Edward happens to pass away at a very young age, and obviously none of us want or expect that, it will not be available in the next 20-25 years. Thirdly, I think that Charlotte and Louis are going to be key evidence in Charles’ slimmed down monarchy- we don’t know just how much slimming he would like to do. Perhaps they will not receive separate dukedoms/titles. These lifetime titles very much allow the monarch to bestow without really bloating the royal family, so this might be a trial run for that.
All in all, I think this is wonderful news for Edward and Sophie. The couple works hard and they each dedicate themselves to their patronages. Edward has been very involved with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards for most of his adult life, and it is more than fitting that he holds the title. I found it fascinating to see the number of royal watchers cheering like their favourite team won the Super Bowl. It feels that the royals are becoming more and more like celebrities, and we cheer on their next career move.
Prince Joachim of Denmark Set to Move to the US
Prince Joachim of Denmark and his family will be leaving France and moving to Washington, DC to serve as Defence Industry Attaché at the Danish Embassy. The news is particularly interesting as it seems he is still at odds with the Danish Royal Family after his mother, Queen Margrethe, announced in October that his four children would lose their HRH titles. Joachim and Marie both spoke out publicly about the situation and complained.
I spoke earlier on my thoughts- I think that Margrethe made a hard family decision so that Crown Prince Frederik would not need to when he took the throne. (I also think waiting until each child is 25 to remove the title, like Joachim and Marie were under the impression was happening, makes no sense in the real world- once there is an end date on your title, it loses a lot of weight.) This job may be a good move for the family, though. We’ve seen from the Sussexes in the US, Princess Martha-Louise in the US, and Prince Constantijn in the Netherlands that it can be incredibly difficult for “spares” to find a role for themselves once they are no longer the immediate spare. I don’t know that Prince Joachim will ever be okay with the loss of his children’s HRH, but perhaps this move to the US will help the family move forward.
What are your thoughts on Musings on Monarchy: March 2023?
Cheers,
The Historian
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