Gameofthrones QUEEN’S CRISIS TALK POWER TRIP
In light of public dissent, Her Majesty takes control
In the week of the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s hoping rememberingquietlyloved tragic Williamones.andto spend death, privatelyand their their PrincesHarry motherwith time were
revealthe But Queen,that Woman’sDaytheir summoned grandmother,can the grieving princes – who have recently opened up about the heartbreaking days following the Princess of Wales’ death on August 31, 1997 – to an emergency summit at Balmoral.
According to our royal source, in the wake of shock poll results showing the public’s insistence that Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, should never become queen, the 91-year-old monarch called William, Harry and their father, Prince Charles, to her Scottish estate for crisis talks around a succession plan. She also requested that Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, join William at the meetings. Tells the palace insider, “The Queen has learnt a lot in the past few decades about listening to the public and she feels she can’t sit back and ignore the growing sentiment around Charles and Camilla. She wanted to have an open discussion with everyone about what steps they should take next.” The new polls claimed two-thirds of Britons do not think Camilla should be queen – and only 19% believe she is fit for the role. Another poll showed most people wanted the monarchy to skip a and generation,Kate, both with35, taking William the throne next. But as we reported last week, the Queen is said to be planning to pass full power in all but name to Charles, 68, when she turns 95. Charles will be known as Prince Regent, with Camilla as Consort. The meeting was intended to ensure William, Kate and
Harry fully understand their important roles as the “modern royals”, as well as ensuring Charles and Camilla can claw back some popularity. She believes that in the face of recent negative headlines, William, Kate and Harry should be doing more to support Charles and his wife. “The Queen feels that the way forward is with a united front between Charles and his sons. She has urged them to undertake more engagements together, as well as involving Camilla publicly,” reports the source. “She says whispers about discord within the family need to be proven wrong.”
Newrevelations
But in the midst of the succession drama, the princes have opened their hearts again about the loss of their mother, focusing this time on the events that unfolded during the week after her tragic death.
In a BBC documentary called Diana:SevenDays that Shook the World, which screens on TVNZ 1 on August 28, they revealed it was up to their father Charles to break the news to them that Diana had been killed in a car crash in Paris.
Acknowledging Charles’ effort to comfort them in the aftermath of Diana’s death, Prince Harry said, “One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is to tell your children that the other parent has died. But he was there for us, he was the one out of two left, and he tried to do his best and to make sure we were protected and looked after.
“But, you know, he was going through the same grieving process as well.”
Harry’s reaction to being told the news was one of “disbelief”, while William recalls feeling “disorientated, dizzy… and very confused”. He added, “I remember just feeling completely numb. And you keep asking yourself, ‘Why me?’ all the time. ‘What have I done?’”
Harry spoke of their return to London from Scotland, where he and William were overwhelmed by the show of grief from the public.
“People were grabbing us and pulling us into their arms and stuff. I don’t blame anyone for that, of
course I don’t. But it was those moments that were quite shocking. People were screaming, people were crying, people’s hands were wet because of the tears they had just wiped away from their faces before shaking my hand.”
William spoke about being made to walk behind his mother’s coffin at her funeral, describing it as “one of the hardest things I have ever had to do”. He added, “I just remember hiding behind my fringe basically, at a time when I had a lot of hair, and my head’s down a lot.”
While Harry, who was just 12 at the time, promised himself he would never cry in public, he confessed to nearly “crumbling” when Sir Elton John performed the new version of his song “Candle in the Wind”, “Goodbye England’s Rose” at the funeral.
“When the shutters came down and I refused to let myself down about the fact that my mother had died, there were certain things that were like someone firing an arrow straight into that barrier and the head of it getting through,” he said. “Elton John’s song was incredibly emotional. That was part of this whole trigger system that nearly brought me to the point of crying in public, which I am glad I didn’t do.”
While William and Harry have made it clear they’re still working through their grief, our source says they’re more at peace since sharing their memories after 20 long years.
And as William faces the prospect of one day becoming king, he’ll no doubt be calling on his mother’s strength.
“She loved Harry and I,” told William. “Even after 20 years, sitting here, I still feel that love, I still feel that warmth 20 years on, which is a huge testament to her.
“If I can be even a fraction of what she was, I will be proud and hopefully make her proud.” #