She does have opinions and feelings, of course, but Elizabeth II knows that expressing them could alienate some people and undermine her duty to represent all her subjects as impartial heads of state. If you’re seeking universal approval, the best response is often no response at all.
But behind the palace walls, the Queen can be herself — and that’s what we got this week when Prince Harry spoke about his visit to Windsor Castle with her last Thursday.
“Being with her was great. It was just so nice to see her. You know, she’s in great shape. She’s always had a great sense of humor,” he told NBC.
That was reassuring to many who were concerned about the number of public engagements the monarch has canceled due to mobility issues. In every way she is mentally as fit as ever and keeps track of essential paperwork from her desk in Windsor.
But she was celebrated by her relatives and politicians alike when she reached another milestone, and Buckingham Palace released a new photo of her smiling next to two horses to mark the occasion.
In recent years, she’s started cracking a few jokes and seemed relaxed to those in attendance at her appointments — at the G7 summit last year, she used a giant sword to cut a pie, turning down the offer of a knife because “this is more unusual”.
But the new image of her is fitting, because the time we usually see the Queen herself in public is at the races. She is a respected horse breeder and loves to win; last year she was even inducted into British Racing’s Hall of Fame for her ‘outstanding contribution to British flat racing’.
Elizabeth is currently planning to attend the prestigious Epsom Derby, which falls on a weekend of celebrations in June to celebrate her platinum anniversary. If all goes well, we can see a smile on her face as she entered three horses she bred in the race.
She also smiled in October, when she attended races at Ascot Racecourse. Jockey Willie Carson used to ride for the Queen — the couple got on very well and they were pictured sharing a joke at the October event — so DailyExpertNews asked him what tickled her so much.
“She said to me, ‘Willie, I’ve just been inducted into the Hall of Fame for the turf here.’ She says, “The medal is so, so heavy. The medal is so heavy.”
“She said, ‘Have you ever been inducted into the Hall of Fame?’ No, ma’am. You have to be old or dead to participate.”
When DailyExpertNews expressed surprise that Carson got away with the joke, he said, “Well, I didn’t know what was being said, did you?”
It’s telling that Carson forgot himself for a moment when he spoke to the most famous woman in the world. In those moments she also forgets her role and can be herself. When asked how she is as a person, he replies, “Normal, normal, just a normal person. Very nice.”
NOT MISSING
Harry shines at the Invictus Games.
It’s been a whirlwind week for Prince Harry. After sneaking in with Meghan Windsor on a secret visit to the Queen last Thursday, he flew to the Netherlands for the fifth edition of the Invictus Games, the sports competition for wounded veterans he founded in 2014.
The event was postponed twice due to the pandemic, and Harry and Meghan have spent most of the past two years at their home in the US, raising their two children and building a media empire.
But at the week-long sports festival in The Hague, Harry was at ease, cycling around the tournament complex to meet competitors and promote the games’ mission to the world’s media.
During the week, he was spotted playing table tennis, cheering powerlifters and wheelchair rugby players from the crowd, and even cuddling a service dog between events.
He also used his speech at the opening ceremony to send a public statement of support to Ukraine. “We stand with you. The world is united with you. And you still deserve more,” he told the crowd.
The contest, which concludes Friday, has provided a perfect illustration of the kind of service Harry envisioned when he announced his retirement from the Royal Family in early 2020.
But there were also memories of the intense intrigue in his relationship with the rest of the royal family. Harry made headlines by telling NBC that he wanted to make sure the Queen is “protected” and has “the right people around her,” though he didn’t explain whether he was talking about palace employees or relatives.
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, were asked about those comments when they left an engagement on Thursday, but did not respond.
In the Netherlands, Harry’s mind seems a world away from those difficult subjects for the time being. “He’s just having a blast at the games,” Invictus Games Foundation director David Wiseman told PA Media. “This is what he lives for. He thrives in this environment.”
WHAT MORE HAPPENS?
Tom Cruise leads anniversary celebration.
A handful of A-list entertainers will be involved in the first major televised event of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year next month. Topping the bill are ‘Mission Impossible’ star Tom Cruise and film legend Helen Mirren, who herself played Elizabeth II in the 2006 film ‘The Queen’. The pair will host parts of a theatrical arena event on May 15 that will be broadcast from the grounds of Windsor Castle, British channel ITV announced on Thursday. It is not clear if the queen will be present; she has a busy schedule of events coming up to celebrate her birthday on the throne, including a live concert at Buckingham Palace in June.
The Queen gets the Barbie treatment.
Two institutions – the royal family and Barbie dolls – have finally collided, in the form of a miniature model of Queen Elizabeth II released Thursday to mark the monarch’s upcoming jubilee. Barbie’s newest doll features the Queen in her instantly recognizable ivory dress and blue ribbon, and even has a small crown. The doll is part of Barbie’s Tribute collection, and the company says it will help spread the message that young people “can be anything” — giving parents the daunting task of explaining hereditary monarchy to their little ones.
Charles praises those who shelter refugees.
Prince Charles used his Easter message to draw attention to displaced people who are “wounded by the past and fearful of the future.” The heir to the throne said he was “heartbroken” when he spoke to people who have fled conflict over the course of his life. But he added that it is “deeply moving to see how many people are ready to open their homes to those in need.” More than 200,000 people in Britain have expressed an interest in housing refugees from Ukraine since the British government opened a scheme to resettle those who escaped the Russian invasion.
DID YOU KNOW?
Edward cancels part of the Caribbean trip.
A planned trip to Grenada by Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, was canceled at the last minute on Thursday, with no explanation given.
The move came after discussions with the governor general about the couple’s itinerary. The pair will still visit Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Antigua and Barbuda, as scheduled, on a six-day tour starting Friday.
It is rare for a national royal visit, usually carefully planned long in advance, to be canceled so suddenly.
But the timing is curious; the cancellation comes just weeks after William and Kate’s disastrous trip to the Caribbean, which was derailed by awkward photo ops and demonstrations about the royal family’s role in the slave trade.
Republican sentiment is also pervasive across much of the Caribbean, including Grenada, and that topic has been highlighted since nearby Barbados left the queen as head of state late last year, a decision supported by the royals.
We’ll have to wait and see if Prince Edward’s visit to Grenada gets rescheduled in the coming months, and how smoothly the rest of their tour goes – but it’s clear the royals will gain more control when they tour parts of the Commonwealth.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
An artistic rendering of the “Tree of Trees,” a 69-foot sculpture to be built outside Buckingham Palace. Made up of 350 different species of British trees, it will be the centerpiece of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
