The Prince and Princess of Wales will reportedly lead the tributes to Queen Elizabeth II on the anniversary of her death next month.
William and Kate will take a message to the British people about honoring the legacy of the late monarch and looking “forward” to the future, a source told the Mirror.
The final details for the speech are still being finalized and a decision needs to be made as to whether it will be in person, on television or via social media.
A royal source said: “Her Majesty’s death was an event that truly marked the end of an era.” The royal family has been in transition since then and with the coronation and the end of the summer holidays, everyone will be excited to see what comes next. “
King Charles will reportedly take a step back for the memorial service and spend his time “quietly and privately” at Balmoral in Scotland, where the Queen died on September 8 last year aged 96.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will reportedly lead the tributes to Queen Elizabeth on the first anniversary of her death. Pictured: William and Kate with Her Majesty at the 2019 RHS Chelsea Flower Show
King Charles will mark the anniversary “in secret and in secret,” according to royal sources. Pictured: The King with his late mother at Buckingham Palace in June 2022
Charles began his summer holidays in Balmoral earlier this month after overseeing the period of national mourning following the death of Her Majesty and his coronation, as well as his first Christmas message to the nation last year.
His decision to commemorate the occasion in private mirrors reflects how his mother spent the first anniversary of her own father’s death. She remained at Sandringham from Christmas until after 6 February, the anniversary of King George VI’s death.
A busy few months are ahead for His Majesty as his long-awaited trip to France, postponed at the last minute due to unrest in the country, is set to take place.
The king and queen could also visit Kenya in the autumn as the royal family seeks to ensure ties with the Commonwealth remain strong amid increasing calls from some member states to abandon the monarchy.
Sources claim there are no plans for a major public event or family reunion to mark the occasion, although members of the royal family will be heading to Balmoral for their summer holidays as usual this year.
These include the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as George, Charlotte and Louis, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their teenage children Louise and James; and Princess Anne and her husband Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, together with their son Peter Phillips and daughter Zara Tindall, both with their descendants.
The harried Duke of York will also be spending time up there with his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and their young families.
The king could also have an audience with the prime minister. According to reports, Rishi Sunak and his family are expected to stay at the property.
Charles will reportedly be staying in Balmoral (pictured) for the anniversary of his mother’s death. Her Majesty died at the Scottish estate last year aged 96
It is understood there are no plans for a major public event to mark the occasion. Pictured: The Queen’s funeral procession traveling from Westminster Abbey to Windsor Castle on September 19 last year
However, there are practical difficulties in opening Balmoral to the public as, despite its solid appearance, it is a rather ‘fragile’ building with few public amenities and in need of modernisation.
As a source previously said, “You can’t just open the doors and say, ‘Come in guys.'”
“Much has remained as it is because Her late Majesty was in the final years of her life and it was quite right that she should have peace, quiet, comfort and intimacy.
“Between this and Covid, many construction projects have been postponed. Opportunities for improvement are being explored [public] Access, but these are still being outlined.
“People like the fact that the castle is an authentic royal residence that the family still uses.”
Despite decades of planning for the late Queen’s death, sources say it actually happened “so quickly” that courtiers and royals were inevitably caught on the wrong track.
“It really did,” they insist. After all, just a day or two earlier, we had this extraordinary and moving final photo of Queen Elizabeth welcoming then Prime Minister Liz Truss to her private apartments.
The result was that the monarchy had to “build the plane while it flew it” to adopt palace slang, tear up existing diaries, attend to long-planned foreign visits and domestic engagements, and also merge two large, well-established households.