ON THE COVER
HER MAJESTY’S ROYAL CHRISTMAS CRISIS
Christmas is normally a time for families to come together with good cheer and to reflect on the achievements of the past year.
But it seems the Queen will be deprived of all these things this year − her family will not all be with her at Sandringham and as the scandal of Prince Andrew and the paedophile rages on her look back over 2019 is likely to be less than joyous.
In short, it looks like being something of a Christmas horribilis for the 93-year-old.
A royal insider says, “It’s been a tough year for Her Majesty, not that anyone would guess it from the expression on her face. She’s always been a believer in ‘eyes and teeth’ when things are difficult, so expect plenty of smiles and waves on the traditional royal family walk to church on Christmas Day.”
The Queen’s original annus horribilis, as she put it in 1992, saw Andrew separate from Sarah, Duchess of York, Princess Anne divorce Mark Phillips, Diana, Princess of Wales reveal that “there were three people” in her marriage to Prince
Charles (they separated soon afterwards) and much of Windsor Castle burn down.
At the time, the Queen said she did not look back on that year with “undiluted pleasure”.
She may well think the same now given the way 2019 started − with Prince Philip’s car crash. After that, a widening distance between princes Harry and William was revealed in an interview – “We’re certainly on different paths at the moment,” said Harry (35).
Then the Queen was dragged into a constitutional crisis over Brexit after British prime minister, Boris Johnson (55), asked her to suspend UK parliament. She duly obliged but then Britain’s Supreme Court deemed the move unlawful.
The last blow was Andrew’s extraordinary interview with BBC’s Newsnight programme about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He said he had “no recollection” of meeting then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts, let alone having sex with her three times, as she alleges. He also claimed that he couldn’t sweat.
Virginia, now with the married surname Giuffre, has since gone on another BBC programme, Panorama, to say “his sweat was … raining basically everywhere” when they danced. She called his denials “BS”. The jury of public opinion is still out and Andrew will likely have to submit to an interview with the FBI.
While she’s dismissed her second son from public life as a result of the debacle, privately the Queen supports Andrew (59). “He’ll be there on the walk to church. He has to be,” says one palace official.
“He has to face the public and this is a controlled way of doing that. Were he not to join in, that would be a tacit admission of shame.”
Meanwhile, Harry, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and wee Archie (six months) won’t be at festivities either, having taken six weeks off royal duties to get away from the pressure they feel – Meghan (38) has said they are “existing, not living”.
They will be with Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland (63) at her home in California, a spokesman for the Sussexes said, pointedly adding, “This decision is in line with precedents set previously by other members of the royal family, and has the support of Her Majesty, the Queen.”
William (37) and Catherine,
Duchess of Cambridge (37) are, perhaps surprisingly, in favour of this absence. They think Harry and Meghan have been under too much stress and are glad they will be away from the spotlight during the festive season.
“William and Kate are somewhat relieved that they won’t be at Sandringham,” says a friend. “William does, however, feel that it’ll be strange not having his brother around.”
Not that it’s confirmed whether the Cambridges and their brood – Prince George (6), Princess Charlotte (4) and Prince Louis
(1) – will be at Sandringham.
Royal Central’s Lydia Starbuck points out, “They haven’t always gone, like in 2012 when Kate was expecting George. So it’s fairly normal for the younger generation to go and spend Christmas elsewhere.”
It’s likely they’ll at least turn up for the traditional Christmas Eve exchange of presents and the Christmas morning walk to church, then either return to their home, Anmer Hall, or drive to Kate’s parents, which they also did in 2016.
That leaves Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne and
Sir Tim Laurence, the Wessexes, plus possibly princesses
Beatrice and Eugenie and
their other halves to support their father, as well as a host of lesser royals. We’ll only know when they arrive.
The Queen usually takes the train to Sandringham around a week before Christmas and stays, with all the decorations up, until February 6 – a tradition to mark the day her father King George VI died in 1952.
But even that’s in doubt in this strange year for the royals.
The UK has a general election on December 12, which means a State Opening of Parliament on December 19 if the Conservative government wins, but later if the Labour opposition triumphs. Either way, the Queen will have to return to London for it.
All in all, there will certainly be plenty of meat for her annual Christmas Message. One veteran broadcaster thinks he knows what she’ll say.
“She’ll pull people together by mentioning the bravery of spirit of those who responded to terrorist attacks across the Commonwealth, strike a note of optimism about the birth of Archie, throw in what she’s learnt at a couple of charities or receptions and maybe mention the election and Brexit.
“If she does go anywhere near her family’s difficulties, it will be a very oblique reference. She’s very good at that. Almost nobody will notice.”
Andrew Mackintosh