by Enrica Roddolo
«It was terrible. Probably the hardest year of my entire life”, said Prince William days ago in South Africa.
The Princess of Wales is back. Beautiful, confident, with the poppy commemorating the war dead pinned on the lapel. And hair parted on the side, rather than in the center. Kate is back in public, in the crowd, and this time for one of the Windsors’ big dates. With her on stage, her husband William and the Dukes of Gloucester. And a little further on King Charles, Princess Anne. The Windsors at the forefront for one of the great events, indeed, perhaps the most important event for the British royal family, before Christmas: the great musical moment at the Royal Albert Hall for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrances which precedes the ceremony at the Cenotaph in the heart of London on Sunday. To remember the Armed Forces personnel who served in war or who are now deployed in theaters of war.
Kate is back. Ready to resume her role as a woman with a key, crucial profile in the royal family. As before the hospitalization and diagnosis of cancer almost a year ago now. And just as the other strong Windsor woman, Camilla, has to take a step back, confined to bed by a respiratory infection which has advised her doctors to suggest rest. Instead of the ceremonies for the fallen tonight and tomorrow in London. Camilla is blocked by a “seasonal lung infection”, according to what Buckingham Palace says, which struck the queen as soon as she returned from the long trip overseas to Australia and Samoa for the summit of the Commonwealth countries.
A trip which, on the contrary, seems to have benefited the health of King Charles who was still being treated for cancer. So much so that his doctors have now given him the green light to return to major travel for the next few months. But now it is she, Camilla, 77 years old in July and for months the true center of gravity of a Royal family decimated by hospitalizations and illnesses, who has withdrawn for health reasons. Her doctors have forbidden her to leave Clarence House this evening for the Festival at the Royal Albert Hall which every year marks the climax of the celebrations for the fallen and this year will remember in music the heroes of D-Day and Monte Cassino, but also how many they fought in Afghanistan and the Balkans.
“The Queen feels great regret at not being able to be there, she will remember the moment privately at home and hopes to be able to return to official public engagements early next week,” the palace adds. Camilla won’t even be there tomorrow, in front of the Cenotaph in the heart of Whitehall in London, where the entire Windsors will pay homage to the soldiers who lost their lives in the war, laying wreaths of poppies.
This evening, next to Kate is Prince William, who has just returned from South Africa where he awarded the Earthshot Prizes, his green Nobels. And it was from South Africa that the heir to the throne collected his thoughts in front of journalists to summarize this annus horribilis that the Windsors are preparing to leave behind at the end of December. «It was terrible – said William -. Probably the hardest year of my entire life.” Considering that the prince also had to go through the year 1997 as a boy with the tragic death of his mother Diana, a statement that makes us reflect on how devastating this 2024 has been with Kate in hospital and his father Carlo also being treated for cancer.
In fact, Prince William also said he was “very proud” of how his father and wife were able to overcome so many difficulties. But the mark of the “hardest year” remains indelible. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, the newly elected President Trump recalled for the camera his close encounters with the Royal Family, his sympathy for Queen Elizabeth who welcomed him at Windsor. “Queen Elizabeth was amazing,” Trump told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson for the Art of The Surge docu-series. To add, regarding Carlo and Camilla: “Here I am with Carlo who is now king, a piece of history at the highest levels”. And again: “Hopefully he’s going to be well, because he’s a really good person. Camilla is fantastic. You get to know them so well”. In short, a demonstration of great harmony with the Windsors, with best wishes to King Charles.
November 9, 2024 (modified November 9, 2024 | 11:07 pm)
