The Colonel, The Coronation, The Court
The Princess of Wales Stuns, Harry Stumbles, and Louis gets a Big Role!
This week’s Royal Rundown covers the events of St. Patrick’s Day - as it turned out to be quite busy in the Royal news department!
First, a much-anticipated engagement for The Princess of Wales, her first St. Patrick’s Day as the new Colonel of the Irish Guards. Princess Catherine was named by King Charles III in December, 2022, taking over from her husband, Prince William.
Prince William had served as Colonel since 2011, he was named by the late Queen Elizabeth two months before his wedding, and famously wore the uniform on his wedding day.
After being created Prince of Wales, The King decided William should also assume his old role, as Colonel of the Welsh Guards.
If you haven’t seen full coverage, I encourage you to check out the photos and videos online, they were absolutely exceptional. The Princess looked beautiful, her ensemble perfectly matched to the plumes on the Guards’ bearskins, but more than that, The Prince and Princess of Wales were clearly in brilliant form.
After the parade, they met with families, and toasted the Guards’ with a pint! They also gave pitch perfect speeches:
William: ‘It has been one of the great honours of my life to hold that title’
Catherine: ‘I am here to listen to you, to support you, and to champion you in all you do, this is a responsibility I do not take lightly’
The British Army covered the day on their website:
“The Irish Guards removed their caps and gave a rousing three cheers to the Prince of Wales and then another to their new Colonel, The Princess of Wales.
The parade concluded with a march-past where Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, the Irish Guards new Royal Colonel, took the salute for the first time.”
The second story that started bubbling at the same time, Harry back in court. When is he not?
It’s hard to keep track of his many legal cases at this point, but important to note this hearing did not pertain to his actual security fight - rather it involved just the press coverage of his security fight! (Anyone else exhausted?)
Harry is suing the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline for libel, because of this headline:
“Exclusive: How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret… then – just minutes after the story broke – his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute”.
The hearing brought out some strange details of Harry’s complaint. His lawyers reportedly argued he offered to pay for his security, but never formally told the government, as he assumed “it would be passed on” after the Sandringham meeting. They then said he offered to pay, but only when he could afford it.
The Telegraph then reported court papers reveal that Harry was asked by the Home Office to give notice of a trip to the UK, so RAVEC could determine if security arrangements were needed.
It’s most peculiar that Harry would balk at even that, his lawyers saying it would:
“hinder their ability to plan for and manage his security arrangements; may lead to [the Duke’s] actual arrangements being inadequate and compromise his ultimate security.”
So, Harry wants an elite, highly trained, armed security team available on a moment’s notice, should he decide to pop in? Unrealistic, and makes you wonder if the real quote to staff was:
“What Harry Wants, Harry Gets!”
I’ve written about Harry’s legal challenges on security twice: he wants his elite security reinstated when he’s in the UK, and he wants the right to pay for it.
If you need to catch up, you can read those articles here:
Prince Harry’s Strange New Lawsuit - The Royal Rundown (substack.com)
Prince Harry: Time to Face Facts - The Royal Rundown (substack.com)
Finally - fantastic news on The Coronation! The Times got access to official rehearsal plans, and after seeing the documents, revealed that the Wales children are expected to be in the procession leaving the Abbey, and in the carriage procession that follows. And yes, that includes little Louis!
“Plans show that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are all set to join their grandfather and the Queen as they leave the abbey at the end of the ceremony on May 6… documents show that after processing out of the abbey, they are expected to join their parents in a carriage behind the King and Queen, who will be in the Gold State Coach.”
Low also reported that the plans show only working members of the family will be included in the official procession:
“As expected, neither Harry or Meghan nor the Duke of York will take part in the procession, which is confined to working members of the royal family. Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will not be in the procession either.
Apart from the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, the only other royals in the procession out of the abbey will be the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent and his sister Princess Alexandra.”
Today, we are just seven weeks away from the Coronation of King Charles III, it will be incredible to witness this historic event!
Plans will be circulating around the palaces, government offices, and media by now, so expect more details to leak as the weeks progress.
As always, I’ll keep you posted as news is released, with regular Royal Rundowns and newsletters! Subscribe by adding your email, if you’re not seeing newsletters or articles always be sure to check junk or spam folders, even a few of mine ended up there!
Thanks for reading!
Ugh Harry. I hope he loses in the court mainly because that means he will have to pay the long-suffering taxpayers back the money the gov't has been forced to pay to defend their own decisions. I think of my elderly cousin to whom the family is giving monthly donations because her expenses--especially heating and food--have increased. We don't begrudge this wonderful 86 year old a dime (in US money terms) but it sticks in my craw that Harry is demanding so much and offering the UK so little. Oh well. Hopefully after the Coronation he can slink off to very soggy Montecito and his and Meghan's "news" be absorbed into the much-larger US news streams. I may never hear of them again! At least unless I outlive certain loved Royal family figures :(