I’ll open this post by explaining how deeply sad I am at the passing of The Queen. As you’ll know by now, Buckingham Palace confirmed Her Majesty passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle yesterday (8th September 2022).
I knew something was afoot around midday. MPs in the House of Commons were having a serious discussion about the Energy Crisis and the plan to cap prices. Politicians were passed notes and pulled aside. My husband and I suspected something was going on and after a chat, agreed it had to be a serious, domestic issue. “It might be the Queen,” he said. “I hope she’s not ill.” I replied. Ever the optimist, I wondered if she’d finally had enough and was about to announce her abdication. Perhaps the engagements were taking their toll (she’d cancelled one the night before). Maybe she’d decided to remain at Balmoral for the foreseeable.
Sadly, this wasn’t the case.
Within half an hour, Buckingham Palace announced doctors were “concerned for Her Majesty’s health and recommended she remain under medical supervision.” They told the public the monarch “remains comfortable”. Now skeptical, I suspected officials were downplaying the situation. You don’t pass the Prime Minister a note during a very important announcement in parliament just to tell her the Queen is “comfortable”.
Not long after, it transpired that the Queen’s children and grandchildren were on their way up to Balmoral. If not there already. Politicians were tweeting messages of worry and well wishes. I grew concerned.
Victoria Murphy, the respected royal journalist, tweeted “this seems very serious to me”. The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor, Rebecca English, wrote, “this is as grave as it gets, I am so sorry to say.”
And it was. After several hours of silence, Buckingham Palace confirmed the worst. The Queen had died. Reports say her daughter Anne and son Charles were at her bedside.
After the announcement, I noticed William and Kate’s office had changed the couple’s official Twitter account name to The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge. With Charles acceding to the throne, the couple automatically gained the title of Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, the title of the heir apparent. Kensington Palace confirmed the couple would keep their ‘Cambridge’ title too.
However, 24 hours later, it changed again. Charles gave his first address to the nation as King. He confirmed William will take on the responsibilities of the Duchy of Cornwall. He also confirmed he’d bestowed the title of Prince of Wales to William. Which also means Catherine is now the Princess of Wales.
Of course, Diana held the Princess of Wales title for more than a decade after marrying the-then Prince Charles in 1981. She is strongly associated with the title and the public still know her as the Princess of Wales today.
According to a source closely associated with the new Prince and Princess of Wales, this has not escaped Kate. The source says she “appreciates the history associated with the role but will understandably want to look to the future as she creates her own path”.
The source added that William and Kate are “focused on deepening the trust and respect of the people of Wales over time,” and “will approach their roles in the modest and humble way they’ve approached their work previously.” I strongly suspect the couple approved this comment and source. Perhaps an aide from their office.
During the afternoon, photographers snapped Kate driving out of Windsor Castle. The Princess had not travelled up to Balmoral with her husband as the Queen’s condition deteriorated. She’d stayed in Windsor, presumably to collect her three children from school and tell them the news.
I feel ever so sorry for the three youngsters. Their great-grandmother had passed away on their first full day at their new school. (They’d just spent an afternoon settling in the day before and had only moved house ~six days prior.)
As one would expect, Kate dressed in black. Here’s just a fleeting look at the clothing Kate wore in the car—as is the point of this blog, to chronicle Kate’s outfits. The Princess wore a merino knit dress by Cefinn (ID: Bojana), her Bvlgari sunglasses and her Annoushka pearl earrings. I umm’d and ahh’d over including style identifications in the post. However, my analytics software shows me hundreds of people hitting the site are looking for this information.
Dear Carly,
it took me some time and rewriting this comment – I just want to say thank you. This entry is very respectful and shows how much you care and that your site is not “just for the clicks” or something similar. And especially your “umm and aaah” if you should write about Kates style these days or not.
All the best from Austria,
Stephanie
Thanks Stephanie, your comment means a lot to me. I was so conflicted knowing people want this information and my site ought to provide the answers they’re seeking. However, I don’t feel right “chasing clicks” just for clicks sake at this time.
I knew I wanted to add a blog post to express my sadness and mark this moment in history. But I just had no idea WHAT to write. So I just started writing a timeline of how things unfolded for me, Kate’s new titles and that she was spotted at Windsor. And then it just felt right to publish, so I did.
Huge thank you for your comment. I felt so unsure about the post, I nearly scrapped it altogether. It means a lot you let me know how you felt. 🙂
Also apologies to everyone if the grammar is a bit off—I blame tiredness, having a toddler and being time poor.
All the best to you with juggling your professional responsibilities with a little darling one and home life.
I think this is why my admiration for Kate has grown over the years. I realize she has a good deal of help and support, but she seems to handle anything that comes her way.
I love this site and often visit for inspiration. I just wanted to correct the notion that Catherine is now the Princess of Wales. She is not. The title of Prince of Wales can only be bestowed by the sovereign. It is not automatically inherited. While the title has usually been bestowed upon the eldest son of the sovereign, it does not have to be. And, in fact, with the monarchy evolving and modernizing as it has, it’s possible (though perhaps not likely) that the title will not be bestowed again.
Thank you for your site and for your respectful treatment of Her Majesty’s passing.
~Fee
Hi Felicity (great name, I named my daughter Felicity!)
I love that you visit to site often, wow. Thank you!
I believe Charles has bestowed the title to William and Catherine. If you look on the Royal.uk website even her title has changed to Princes of Wales on there: https://www.royal.uk/the-princess-of-wales
Charles mentioned it in his address on Friday evening.
🙂
No need to worry! I visit your site weekly, and appreciate your always respectful and accurate research. It’s not unrespectful to include the clothes: everyone else will be doing that as well. Poor Royal Family. Very poor Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The elder two at the least are always going to remember both the Platinum Jubilee and the funeral and attendant happenings. Louis will have it hiding somewhere in the base of his being, too. So soon after moving! The very day they start school! I thought that the move was probably in part due to the fact that they wanted Prince George to be closer to the Queen to get her “preparation classes”. That’s not to say that King Charles is not equally up to the task, and he also has a degree behind him not to mention the longest apprenticeship in history. But she was so very, very wise and special.