Catching up with the royals (June 16, 2025 edition)
A return to normal: Trooping, Garter, and the Sussexes churning through staff, again
What a difference a year makes.
In 2024, Trooping the Colour was a dour affair. The King and Kate, Princess of Wales were at the beginning of their extensive treatments for cancer (it was Kate’s first official engagement of the year). Compromises were needed: The King switched from horseback to carriage, while Kate didn’t take part in Trooping itself, even though her Irish Guards and their Colours were centre stage. Instead, she watched events from a window at Horse Guards. The worry over their health seemed reflected in day’s gloomy weather, which gave way to pelting rain as everyone returned to Buckingham Palace at the end of the parade.
This year, everything was different. Sure, the King again rode in a carriage, but he looked much healthier and the Princess of Wales was back on the main dais at Horse Guards in her role as colonel of the Irish Guards, after completing her chemotherapy and announcing that she’s in remission.
Even the RCMP horse Noble behaved for Princess Anne after being a tad rambunctious last year. For the record, here are the RCMP horses ridden by royal colonels:
Prince Edward on Sir John: Scots Guards
Prince William on Darby: Welsh Guards
Princess Anne on Noble: Blues & Royals cavalry
Sure, some were disappointed that Prince Louis’s childhood antic were toned down now that he’s 7 — still, he enjoyed himself on the balcony when he realized that the crowds were applauding every time he waved.
The sun was shining. Everyone looked happier. Nothing will be as it was — the King is still undergoing weekly cancer treatment. But there was a sense of normalcy.
Even the King’s decision to honour the victims of the Air India crash that occurred two days before Trooping by having mounted officers wear black arm bands as well as a minute of silence was a normal way to commemorate such a tragedy.
That return to business as usual is reflected by the videos released by the Prince and Princess of Wales and the main royal social media account.
ROYAL FASHION CRITIQUE: TROOPING EDITION
Kate wore a Catharine Walker coatdress that drew comparisons to a similar Catharine Walker outfit worn by another Princess of Wales in 1992. For me, that resemblance has less to do with Kate choosing an outfit to “honour” Diana, and more to do with the women both liking the same design brand and hues for big events. Also, the colour of Kate’s outfit is very close to the blue of the plumes in the bearskins of the Irish Guards.
Also, both she and her daughter continued another royal tradition: wearing brooches. Kate wore the Irish Guards brooch, while Princess Charlotte wore the small diamond horseshoe brooch that originally belonged to her great-great grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. It was given to the young princess by her own great-grandmother, Elizabeth II. Charlotte first wore it in public at the monarch’s funeral in 2022.
MORE WALES FAMILY SNAPS
“Happy Father’s Day, Papa (before and after!) We love you! G, C & L” was the note that accompanied photos released for Father’s Day showing Prince William with George, Charlotte, and Louis.
Those images came after a relaxed family photo taken on the steps of their London home at Kensington Palace. Take a look at Prince George — though he’s standing a step higher than his parents, he’s already closing in on their heights even before his 12th birthday in July.
GARTER DAY
That return to baseline that marked Trooping the Colour could be seen at Monday’s Garter Day at Windsor Castle, which features the annual service for the oldest order of chivalry in the world, the Order of the Garter. Kate was there after missing it last year. The weather cooperated with a bit of a wind to help cool participants wearing those heavy velvet robes.
BITS AND BOBS, TOURISM EDITION
Last week, Kate went to the most amazing new attraction in London, the Victoria & Albert Storehouse, which gives the public free access to its massive design collection, which includes the largest Picasso in the world. (Kate is patron of the V&A)
Visitors can order items they'd like to study when they come. I think it's going to become a major tourist site. Just don't wear stilettos like Kate did as they are a gamble when walking on the storehouse's steel mesh floors
SUSSEX STAFF CHURN, YET AGAIN
You will be shocked to hear that the Sussexes have parted ways with yet more of their workers. In this latest purge, six left through a combo of firings and resignations. Most were in PR or communications, including a social media manager. The media linked those departures to that brutal Vanity Fair cover story about the couple that alleged Meghan was bullying staff. Yet that piece came out five months ago, before Meghan’s lifestyle show, her As Ever brand, and her affiliate program, and Prince Harry’s rant on the BBC against his father, his family, and the British establishment after losing the appeal of his security case.
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