Royal Family in ‘unprecedented crisis’ and King Charles must avoid making ‘unwise’ move

It has been inspiring to see how King Charles, a workaholic by nature, who is also battling cancer, has carried out so many royal engagements recently, writes royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams.

King Charles has been warned about his slimmed-down monarcy (Image: Getty)

A selfie, which will become iconic, was taken by one of the world’s most successful artists, Taylor Swift, on her Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium.

It featured Prince William, George, Charlotte and her American footballer boyfriend Travis Kelce. It has, predictably, gone viral.

She posted it online with the message “Happy Bday, M8! London shows are off to a splendid start””, M8 is text-speak for “mate”. There was no better way to celebrate William’s 42nd birthday.

He had earlier been captured on social media dancing to her irresistibly catchy songs, this is surely proof that he is a Swiftie, like many millions of others worldwide!

The photograph taken by Catherine to celebrate his birthday was proof of her skill as a photographer. It showed William and all three of their children jumping over a sand dune on a Norfolk beach.

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There is an exhilarating informality about it, their mid-air exuberance symbolises the freedom William was always determined to give to his family.

A week earlier, a photograph of the same group, unusually taken from behind on the same beach, had commemorated Father’s Day. It also contained the first publicly released message from George, Charlotte and Louis on social media to their father, which delighted fans and was a novel touch.

As President of the Football Association, William has been attending matches, sometimes taking George, who is now 10, which has also been popular.

These are morale boosting activities at a truly stressful and difficult time as Catherine undergoes preventative chemotherapy in her battle against cancer. It was particularly good to see Michael and Carole Middleton at Royal Ascot, their first public sighting since her cancer diagnosis and undoubtedly the unsung heroes helping her in her battle against this malign disease.

King Charles speaking at last night’s state banquet (Image: Getty)

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It has been inspiring to see how King Charles, a workaholic by nature, who is also battling cancer, has carried out so many royal engagements recently including Cartier Queen’s Cup polo, the Garter Ceremony at St George’s Chapel, Windsor as well as attending four days of Royal Ascot, this magnificently organised event was blessed with perfect weather throughout. A busy Royal Week in Scotland is planned too in early July.

This period will, above all, be remembered for the appearance of Catherine at Trooping the Colour, which celebrates the sovereign’s birthday. It had been expected climactically, on the Buckingham Palace Balcony, but, in a most welcome surprise, she was also able to view the ceremony from an office in Horse Guards, wearing a mesmerizingly gorgeous outfit.

It was an appearance to remember, especially as, in a moving statement released the day before, she described how she was affected by chemotherapy. She and King Charles have taken every opportunity to connect with fellow sufferers and no one can do this more effectively than members of the British royal family.

Catherine hopes to attend some events in the summer. Hopefully, as she is famously keen on tennis, and is Patron of the All England Club, she will appear during the Wimbledon fortnight.

Princess Kate was able to attend Trooping the Colour (Image: Getty)

The State visit of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, postponed because of Covid, has begun with the customary magnificent ceremonial this week, both are Oxford-educated Anglophiles and this is greatly to be welcomed. However, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which takes place in Samoa this year in October, was to have been followed by the King and Queen touring the Antipodes and Fiji. Already there have been reports that this will be too taxing and that the potentially exhausting itinerary is being rearranged.

We have no idea when Wiliam and Catherine will be able to tour abroad next. Their next tour will, when it happens, be a major event.

It was also a positive move for the King to appoint David Beckham as an Ambassador for the King’s Foundation, which focuses on promoting community harmony. Beckham, both in his sporting career and in his charity work, is a unique national figure. Their meeting caused much comment as it took place during the period Harry was in London for the St Paul’s Service to commemorate ten years of the Invictus Games, which is his creation. What was extraordinary was that, for whatever reason, father and son did not meet.

Though they continue to attract enormous press attention and went on what was termed a faux-royal tour of Nigeria, the Sussexes rift with the royal family appears to be as deep as ever. Their work for Netflix and Meghan’s lifestyle brand are currently the focus of their attention.

Princess Anne was injured by a horse on Sunday night (Image: Getty)

A good deal of press speculation surrounds the King’s relationship with the disgraced Duke of York. However, he has a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge, where he and his devoted ex-wife Sarah Ferguson currently live, and is reportedly resisting pressure from the monarch to relocate to somewhere smaller. I doubt he will do so willingly, his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie might also be involved. However, he remains without a role and without a future.

This is a time of unprecedented crisis with the King and Princess of Wales seriously ill and Princess Anne, one of the most popular and hardest working members of the royal family, has been admitted to hospital with minor injuries and concussion, though she is expected to make a swift recovery. All this demonstrates that the idea of a “slimmed down monarchy” is most unwise, as she recently pointed out with her customary forcefulness.

The recent mixture of the ceremonial and the informal have given us some unforgettable royal memories and images. The royals have also been helping others, despite their afflictions. The world is watching and wishes them well.

Richard Fitzwilliams is a royal commentator, film critic and public relations consultant who has given over 1,500 television interviews. He was Editor of The International Who’s Who, the standard work of its type, from 1975 to 2001.