It was a historic week, as the Church of England installed its first female Archbishop of Canterbury. Dame Sarah Mullally became the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman, in a service in Kent, on Wednesday.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the service to mark the occasion on a blustery and unseasonal day. Perhaps it was the wind of change – it even made way for hail, later on. We expect Catherine was regretting her choice of an – albeit stunning – flying-saucer-shaped hat by Juliette Botterill, teamed with a Suzannah London coat, as she had to hang on to it, to stop it spinning away, like a frisbee.
The duo was, of course, pleased to attend, writing on Instagram, “Marking a historic moment for the Church of England. Attending the Installation of Dame Sarah Mullally as the Archbishop of Canterbury at Canterbury Cathedral – the first woman to take on the role in its 1,400-year history.”
The Wales’ were there to represent the King, who did not attend the event, but met Sarah Mullally at Buckingham Palace last month. The Archbishop of Canterbury works closely with the monarch for formal events, such as the Coronation. And thankfully, that relationship hasn’t come with the peril of a possible beheading for many centuries, which will no doubt be a relief to Sarah. Imagine seeing that clause in your job description – it brings a whole new meaning to termination of a contract.
Meanwhile, Prince William proved what a trooper he is, this week, as he donned his combat gear to visit the soldiers and families of the 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment in Bulford on Thursday. He watched training exercises and presented awards for commitment and dedication to soldiers. But most importantly, he revealed he might shave his beard into a moustache, as he admired the face furniture of some members of the regiment, who are embracing the mo. According to The Telegraph, William stroked his beard and said, “I might end up taking mine off and leaving a ’tache.” Watch this space. Or should we say, face.
They’ve cut a lot of cakes, but this one proved difficult, as the King and Queen collapsed into laughter as they struggled to use a sword to cut a street party-themed confection. They got it half-way through the impressive cake, but it snagged on something inside the house. The pair were in Cornwall, at the Eden Project, on Tuesday, celebrating its 25th anniversary and the cake was to launch The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out street party events in June. Meanwhile, Camilla also became the first royal woman to join the Garrick Club, a famous members-only club founded in 1831, popular with aristocrats, politicians, authors and actors. Women were only allowed to join two years ago and Camilla follows her good friend, Dame Judi Dench.
Considering they received a rapturous reception when they last visited Australia in 2018, Harry and Meghan would have been caught by surprise by the sentiment Down Under ahead of their imminent tour. An online petition, signed by 35,000 people, is protesting against any taxpayer-funded security and logistics being spent on their trip. But the pair have responded, with a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stating the trip is being privately-funded.
There was further bad news for the York family this week, as Sarah Ferguson – who hasn’t been seen in public since the Epstein emails broke – was stripped of her honorary Freedom of the City of York by councillors, on Thursday. They voted to remove the honour, which had been awarded to her on her marriage to then-Prince Andrew, in 1987. Andrew lost his three years ago. Meanwhile, news stories continue to emerge suggesting Princess Beatrice’s marriage is in trouble. Her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, had been active on Instagram, but has removed recent footage. And according to the Daily Mail, the pair might be considering a move to the USA.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source theroyallist.substack.com ’
