Queen Elizabeth Has Already Changed After The Death Of Prince Philip. Here's How
Queen Elizabeth has already changed after the death of Prince Philip. The ruling monarch has begun the process of rearranging her royal duties as she reigns alone for the first time in almost 70 years.
It has been reported that the Queen will now rule directly from Windsor Castle where the couple spent the last year quarantined together throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Prior, she reigned from Buckingham Palace in the heart of London, England.
The Daily Mail reported that the queen will not endure a lengthy period of mourning after Philip is laid to rest. Rather, it was reported she will resume her official duties sooner than later.
In fact, just days after Philip's death on April 9, the Queen temporarily returned to work to say farewell to her lord chamberlain of the past 15 years, Earl Peel. On April 15, she carried out two other tasks for the Commonwealth, including a virtual audience with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and the Governor-General of Australia, David Hurley.
Queen Elizabeth made one change to Prince Philip's funeral plans
According to the Daily Mail, The queen's staff have reportedly been told that all official business will be conducted from Windsor. While she will work at Buckingham Palace, she will not live there, nor does she have plans of stepping down from the throne.
Queen Elizabeth adhered to all of Philip's final wishes for his funeral, but she did change one thing.
She instructed the small group of mourners gathered at St. George's Chapel not to wear military uniforms as to avoid any impending issues with her grandson Prince Harry and son Prince Andrew. Harry had the honorary military titles given to him by his grandfather removed, including the Captain General of the Royal Marines, when he stepped back from his official duties as a senior member of the monarchy. Prince Andrew, who had personal ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, was made an honorary Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy in 2015. He stepped down from his duties and away from royal life in 2020 (via Entertainment Tonight).
The last widow who served on the throne was Queen Victoria, who lost her husband Prince Albert when she was just 42 years old (via The Daily Mail).
The queen's birthday celebration will look different this year
On April 21, 2021, Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her 95th birthday. While ordinarily such a milestone would be marked with some public observance, the queen is still officially in mourning -– not to mention, she's probably not in the mood for anything too festive a few days after laying her spouse to rest. The queen has long had an "official" birthday in June, in addition to her real one. Harpers Bazaar says that the Trooping the Colour ceremony that marks this occasion has been canceled for 2021, as it was in 2020, due to ongoing concern over the pandemic.
In April, the queen typically releases an official birthday portrait on the actual day, but she will not be doing so this year. There's also a traditional gun salute to mark the occasion that takes place at the Tower of London and in Hyde Park, but the British Ministry of Defense says these will not be taking place, either. Instead, the queen will be opting for a small, private gathering at Windsor Castle with close family members. And, as The Sun reports, it is still possible that Prince Harry may remain in the country long enough to visit his gran on her special day.
Prince Charles and Prince William will be holding a summit to determine the future of the monarchy
For nearly 70 years the queen has been the sole head of the royal family, and yet a summit to be held in a few weeks to determine the future of the monarchy will be chaired by both future kings, Charles and William. Whether or not the queen steps down or remains on the throne for the rest of her life, Prince Charles has long been preparing for the monarch's role he was born into. William, as well, is being looped in due to the fact that Charles is already over 70, so his time will likely be coming sooner rather than later.
As the Daily Mail reports, the gist of the summit will be to determine which members of the family will remain as working royals and which ones no longer need be carried on the palace payroll. Even before Prince Harry decided to resign from his position, Charles had reportedly favored a "slimmed-down" monarchy made up of the Queen, Prince Philip, himself, his wife Camilla, William, Kate, and Harry. With one person on that list passed away and another resigned, he's now trying to figure out who, if anyone, should step in to fill the vacancies. Although Prince Charles will be consulting the queen in any decisions he makes, it appears he's just about ready to take over for his mother when her long reign finally comes to an end.