British Royal Family Current Events 9: January 2017 - July 2018

[Lumutqueen]

I must say I am shocked to not see Philip. I guess when they said he was retiring from public duties, I didn't realize he would also be absent from private events like Easter Service or bigger deal, all hands on deck events like the CW Service.

Truly the passing of an era. I hope he is in good health.

He is having issues with his hip, thats why he didn't attend Maundy or Easter Service.

 

[Zaira]

He is having issues with his hip, thats why he didn't attend Maundy or Easter Service.

Ah, I had not seen that reported. Thanks

 

[Osipi]

I believe it was reported that Philip was out carriage driving prior to the service and its possible that he hit a pothole at too high of a speed or something and jarred his hip. Or it could be inflammation or sciatica or any number of different ailments that affect the hip.

When there is hip pain, it is even more stressful to walk or move around. Especially when you consider that Philip is about to celebrate his 97th birthday. I'm sure his family, his priest and his God excuses him from attending Easter service. The last thing I expect is a Philip that meekly succumbs to being chair bound and inert. He's got over 30 years on me and moves better than I do.

 

[ACO]

I hope Philip is well. All these cancelled engagements is concerning.

 

[Lumutqueen]

I hope Philip is well. All these cancelled engagements is concerning.

He was scheduled to attend Maundy, but not todays Easter Service as I don't believe it's an actual engagement (might be wrong on that though).

 

[Pranter]

They said he has a hip ailment as the reason for the cancellations.


LaRae

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

It was really nice to see the family at Windsor this morning. I hope James is alright and that he was just not feeling well and not upset by anything else. I've never seen him cry in public before so my guess is that he suddenly felt ill and wanted to go home (I reckon that he is more the restless type during church services, as he's only just started to go to the one at Sandringham) but had to stay at the service. There are a lot of bugs going around at the moment. On a different note; both Babies Cambridge and Tindall look as if they're arriving at any minute! Zara looks like she might give birth earlier than Catherine.

No Snowdons or Chattos this year? They regularly attend the Easter services.

 

[TLLK]

Its my opinion that this was planned and how they wanted it to be. They were being considerate of Kate's advanced pregnancy and to make it easier on her, not a whole lot of standing around and curtsying but rather in and out with the minimum of delay and time on her feet. With the Cambridges immediately following the Queen out of church, they would then hop into two cars for the trip away from the church. The others most likely walked.

This is the most plausible explanation IMO. Family is considerate of family.

A very sensible scenario Osipi and I agree that QEII would want to ensure that Kate is comfortable.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

William and Kate could have been stuck in traffic or they got a late start because of the kids (it happens) or because Kate wasn't feeling well. I don't think it is fair to compare her to Zara, even if they have the same due date. Every woman and every pregnancy is different. I thought Zara looked great--high heels and she was able to curtsy without support! I was in flats and had to be helped up from chairs.

 

[Iluvbertie]

He was scheduled to attend Maundy, but not todays Easter Service as I don't believe it's an actual engagement (might be wrong on that though).

Correct. Maundy Service is always in the CC but not the Easter Sunday service. Last year there was no CC for Easter Sunday nor in 2016 or 2015. 2014 records William and Kate's attendance at the Easter Sunday service in Sydney but not any service in the UK. This is a private event not an official one.

 

[christinacg]

It was really nice to see the family at Windsor this morning. I hope James is alright and that he was just not feeling well and not upset by anything else. I've never seen him cry in public before so my guess is that he suddenly felt ill and wanted to go home (I reckon that he is more the restless type during church services, as he's only just started to go to the one at Sandringham) but had to stay at the service. There are a lot of bugs going around at the moment. On a different note; both Babies Cambridge and Tindall look as if they're arriving at any minute! Zara looks like she might give birth earlier than Catherine.



No Snowdons or Chattos this year? They regularly attend the Easter services.

James was in attendance. I saw him walking to the church with his father in one of the videos previously posted.

 

[Iluvbertie]

HereditaryPrincess, I suspect, was referring to the scenes where Sophie was seen clearly comforting a crying James just outside the chapel. Why he was crying we don't know but no one is questioning that he wasn't there as he clearly was seen albeit crying.

 

[sndral]

Watching the videos of the family arriving, James walks with Edward, once they line up to wait for the Queen, Sophie and Edward seemed to shield him from camera view a bit. Zara was walking alongside Andrew initially but at the end he just strode on ahead leaving her to arrive alone.
After the service as the family exited through the side gate I noticed Anne paused to makes sure James was following her. Must be tough to be 10 years old and have to parade in front of a lot of cameras, especially if you’re having a bad day from a 10 year old’s perspective.

 

[Princess Larisa]

Must be tough to be 10 years old and have to parade in front of a lot of cameras, especially if you’re having a bad day from a 10 year old’s perspective.

Yeah, I’m guessing James wanted to stay back at the castle and play with his younger cousins and eat chocolate Easter eggs and got a stern talking-to by his parents. We’ve all been there
He looks fine when they are leaving and Edward, Sophie and Louise don’t look worried.

 

[MARG]

Darn, I've been searching all over for a clip with Eugenie and Jack waiting for the Queen. He was practising his "party piece" and it cracked me up. He stood up to attention so ramrod stiff her would have given a military guard a run for his money. Eugenie was smiling and laughing and I thought how lovely that this is his first "family" event and for all their fooling around, he really did want to do Eugenie proud.

ps: I smiled when I heard that Prince Philip's hip was giving him trouble so he didn't come to church and sit on those hard pews. But then again, I wouldn't worry over-much about his general health . . . word had it he had been out carriage driving. Now did he lead Louise astray or did she encourage grandpa?

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

HereditaryPrincess, I suspect, was referring to the scenes where Sophie was seen clearly comforting a crying James just outside the chapel. Why he was crying we don't know but no one is questioning that he wasn't there as he clearly was seen albeit crying.

Thank you, that is indeed what I was clearly referring to.

 

[An Ard Ri]

No Snowdons or Chattos this year? They regularly attend the Easter services.

Yes I too was wondering if we'd see Lady Sarah Chatto .

 

[Molly2101]

If you watch the videos of poor James, you can see he’s crying on the walk down and Edward is walking on the outside. I guess in some way he’s trying to cover him up but also doing his best to ignore him and carry on walking, which I think is the best thing. Don’t make a big deal of it and ignore him, which makes it less obvious to the press. Sophie comes down and sees him crying and of course does the motherly thing and wipes his tears away and hugs him. Edward then suggests to Sophie to take him inside and Sophie goes to take James’ hand but he refuses to go inside. Sophie then shields him and cuddles him and then she chats to Peter who I think asks what’s wrong with him. Who knows what happened but the poor kid wasn’t in a good mood, which is unusual as the Wessex kids are normally very well behaved in public. Perhaps he was having a bad day, or as bad as a day can get for a 10 year old. I think they did the right thing by making him come along if he was upset beforehand and not give into his tantrum, if that’s what he had, as it shows him that he can’t get his own way. That’s just my thinking though, others are welcome to disagree.

It was so strange not to see Philip job Sunday but I guess we will have to get used to that image of the Queen alone. He probably chooses if he wants to do things in the day. He’s allowed to have demands like that as he is after all nearly 97.

 

[Juliette2]

Everybody looked well! It's seemed a very joyous morning, except for James, maybe. I'm sorry Lady Sarah wasn't there. Who is the elegant African gentleman walking behind Zara? I think he also attended Christmas Mass at Sandringham.

 

[Osipi]

I noticed him too. Very distinguished and proper gentleman.

 

[wyevale]

He is one of the Queens Equerries, but i'm afraid I don't know his name.

 

[Juliette2]

He is one of the Queens Equerries, but i'm afraid I don't know his name.

I thought he was a guest at Christmas but seeing him again for Easter it makes sense that he is there in an official capacity.

 

[Osipi]

If you watch the videos of poor James, you can see he’s crying on the walk down and Edward is walking on the outside. I guess in some way he’s trying to cover him up but also doing his best to ignore him and carry on walking, which I think is the best thing. Don’t make a big deal of it and ignore him, which makes it less obvious to the press. Sophie comes down and sees him crying and of course does the motherly thing and wipes his tears away and hugs him. Edward then suggests to Sophie to take him inside and Sophie goes to take James’ hand but he refuses to go inside. Sophie then shields him and cuddles him and then she chats to Peter who I think asks what’s wrong with him. Who knows what happened but the poor kid wasn’t in a good mood, which is unusual as the Wessex kids are normally very well behaved in public. Perhaps he was having a bad day, or as bad as a day can get for a 10 year old. I think they did the right thing by making him come along if he was upset beforehand and not give into his tantrum, if that’s what he had, as it shows him that he can’t get his own way. That’s just my thinking though, others are welcome to disagree.

It was so strange not to see Philip job Sunday but I guess we will have to get used to that image of the Queen alone. He probably chooses if he wants to do things in the day. He’s allowed to have demands like that as he is after all nearly 97.

As we now know that Philip has been admitted to the hospital for surgery on his hip, its very possible that James was at Windsor Castle prior to the Easter service to see his Grandpa and it was upsetting to see Philip down and out and in pain with a hip injury.

These kind of things affect children of James' age deeply especially if its a beloved family member. This is only a guess of mine but it seems plausible with what we know now.

 

[Queen Claude]

He is one of the Queens Equerries, but i'm afraid I don't know his name.

Major Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah

https://ca.hellomagazine.com/royalt...-new-equerry-major-nana-kofi-twumasi-ankrah /

 

[Juliette2]

Major Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah

https://ca.hellomagazine.com/royalt...-new-equerry-major-nana-kofi-twumasi-ankrah /

Thank you Queen Claude!!

 

[Molly2101]

As we now know that Philip has been admitted to the hospital for surgery on his hip, its very possible that James was at Windsor Castle prior to the Easter service to see his Grandpa and it was upsetting to see Philip down and out and in pain with a hip injury.

These kind of things affect children of James' age deeply especially if its a beloved family member. This is only a guess of mine but it seems plausible with what we know now.

That’s a potential reason why although it’s probably more likely that James wasn’t alllwed to do something and had been told off before church and he was having a bit of a strop.

I have also noticed in the videos that due to it being the 1st of the month, Louise does “pinch punch first of the month” to her dad as they’re waiting for the Queen to arrive. That made me chuckle a lot.

 

[Osipi]

Learn something new every day! This is the first I've ever heard of "pinch, punch, first of the month".

 

[cepe]

Learn something new every day! This is the first I've ever heard of "pinch, punch, first of the month".

What about "white rabbits" ?

Must be the first thing you say to someone, but before 12 noon.

 

[Osipi]

Wow! Now I have a new routine for the first of the month besides looking for "magic money" that suddenly appears in my bank account and just as quickly disappears.

Just learning about this little British thing makes the family gathering all the more "family" like if Louise and her dad were caught doing it. I love it!

 

[cepe]

Sources of these traditions:

Pinch Punch

According to some, when he was president, George Washington met local Indian tribes on the first day of each month. He would supply fruit punch with an added pinch of salt. It became known as ‘pinch and punch on the first of the month’.

Alternatively, others believe the tradition originated in medieval times, when people believed in witches. Salt was meant to make witches weak, so the pinch signified the use of salt to weaken the witch, while the punch was then administered to banish the witch for good.

White Rabbits

A reference to ‘white rabbits, white rabbits’ is found in the ‘Notes and Queries’ book (a British periodical where experts share knowledge on folklore, literature and history) from 1909.
The entry reads: ‘My two daughters are in the habit of saying ‘Rabbits!’ on the first day of each month. The word must be spoken aloud, and be the first word said in the month. It brings luck for that month. Other children, I find, use the same formula.”

It was also a common belief among RAF bomber aircrew during WW2 that saying ‘white rabbits’ when you woke up would protect you from harm.

This last one is poignant as we have just passed the 100th anniversary of the RAF


EDIT: Apologies for going off topic