Queen’s service to country will be ‘lifelong’
ADEVON-BASED royal expert has insisted that the death of Prince Philip will not lead to the Queen stepping down as the head of the monarchy.
Professor Judith Rowbotham, an author and lecturer at the University of Plymouth, said that the Queen had pledged to continue her service to her country for the rest of her life.
Prof Rowbotham insisted that would not change, despite the death of the Duke of Edinburgh last Friday.
She did, however, concede that, over time, the Queen – who is 94 – may be seen on public engagements less and less while Prince Charles undertakes more royal duties.
“No, I do not believe she will [step down],” she said. “The Queen, rather like a priest, has to go through a process of consecration. She has specifically and consistently said that her service to her country is lifelong.
“What she is already doing, and may well accelerate as she gets older, is that Prince Charles does more and more of the duties, he takes on more and more of the constitutional role, and the Queen is less often seen.
“When Victoria aged, finally she permitted her eldest, the Prince of Wales, to become more involved, but the Queen has been much more careful. Encouraged no doubt by Prince Philip, she has involved Charles very consistently in state affairs over the last decade or so.
“I think we will see less in public of the Queen, but she will still carry on as many duties as she is able, with the Prince of Wales acting as her representative.”
Philip, Elizabeth’s husband for more than seven decades and the longestserving consort in British history, died last Friday, aged 99. While stepping down from official royal duties, the Duke remained at his beloved wife’s side at many public engagements. Now, it is expected her only daughter, Princess Anne, will help her mother cope with the loss and fill the void when it comes to public life.
“He [Philip] had already retired from public duty and the Queen, in the years of his retirement, had developed a new style on going on public engagements, either going solo or accompanied by another senior royal,” Prof Rowbotham said. “That hasn’t changed, and Prince Philip was never in the line of succession, so it changes nothing.
“Prince Charles is as he was – the Prince of Wales and the heir apparent to the throne. Things carry on, in constitutional terms, unchanged.”