Queen’s busiest autumn since Diamond Jubilee
Her Majesty set to blow pandemic cobwebs away with packed agenda of in-person engagements
‘There’s a real appetite for it to be business as usual as much as possible’
THE Queen is set for her busiest autumn since her Diamond Jubilee a decade ago, swapping computer screens for in-person engagements.
Her Majesty, 95, who has spent the summer in Balmoral, will return to face-to-face work next week, with seven public engagements in the diary for October and more to come.
Along with her duties within palace walls, including virtual and real-life audiences with dignitaries and her Prime Minister, she will be more visible to the public than since the pandemic and death of the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Sunday Telegraph understands that while she made the best of engagements via video calls during the pandemic, she is keen to get out and about to meet people again, having enjoyed her public work before Balmoral in the early summer. Citing a degree of screenfatigue, aides have designed a programme to fulfil the mantra that she “has to be seen to be believed”.
While she made headlines for embracing modern technology with a series of video calls, and enjoyed seeing people from throughout the Commonwealth, it is understood the Queen missed working in the more personable way she has done for decades.
The openings of the sixth sessions of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments fall in October, with investitures expected to happen in-person with the Queen later in the year.
A source said: “The Queen had an incredibly busy May, June and July, with a real determination to get back, and this is continuing after the summer. There’s a real appetite for it to be business as usual as much as possible.”
While she returned to public duties in May following the death of her husband, the coming year will see the Royal family front and centre as the country gears up for the Platinum Jubilee.
Up to Nov 1, the Queen already has seven pre-announced engagements. In 2019, pre-pandemic, there were three comparable public engagements, along with the State Opening of Parliament and numerous events behind Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace walls. In 2018 there were two, plus the wedding of Princess Eugenie, as well as a state visit from the Netherlands.
Not since 2013 has there been seven public engagements, with two to four events in the court circular each October following. Then, the Queen was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, hosting receptions for the Commonwealth heads of government and visiting the National Theatre and a fish market.
In 2012, the Diamond Jubilee year had fewer traditional engagements but more glamour, seeing them attend a gala celebration at the Royal Opera
House, the newly-developed Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank in London, and unveil the Windsor and Eton Society Diamond Jubilee Tribute. In 2011, the Queen spent part of the autumn in Australia with Prince Philip, with lively court circular entries noting them attending the “Big Aussie Barbecue”.
On Friday she will be joined by the Prince of Wales at Balmoral for the start of planting season for the Queen’s Green Canopy project. The next day, the pair will attend the opening ceremony of the Sixth Session of the Scottish Parliament.
She will be accompanied by the Earl of Wessex to launch the Queen’s Baton Relay for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games from the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.