UK: Prince Philip's funeral set to Saturday 17 April 2021

Yesterday, just as I had finished writing a piece about Prince Philip, who died at Windsor Castle on Friday 9 April 2021, 99 years old, Buckingham Palace released details about the funeral service:

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Funeral will take place on Saturday 17 April 2021 at 3pm in St George’s Chapel, Windsor. The Funeral Service will begin with a National Minute’s Silence at three o’clock. The service will be preceded by a ceremonial procession inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. 

The plans for the funeral are in line with The Duke of Edinburgh's own personal wishes, and the occasion will recognise and celebrate The Duke’s life and his more than 70 years of service to The Queen, the UK and the Commonwealth. 

It will be a Ceremonial Royal Funeral, the same as for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, rather than a State Funeral – something which is generally reserved for Monarchs. The plans have been approved by The Queen and reflect appropriate Government advice.

See the link above for more details. The funeral will, as the current Covid-19 protocol stipulates, be attended by only 30 members of the royal family. This includes the Duke of Sussex, who will be flying over from Los Angeles, while his pregnant wife will remain, allegedly on advice by her doctor. The funeral service will be televised.

UK: Christening at Windsor

Archie Mountbatten-Windsor (2 months old), the son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, was christened in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle today. The ceremony was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

There is nothing much to add, really.  3 days ago the media received a «Media advisory» informing that «The godparents, in keeping with their wishes, will remain private». In my opinion the Sussexes are still struggling with finding the right balance between their official role and their wish for privacy for their son. I am sure it will be sorted out eventually. Richard Palmer, royal correspondent of The Daily Express, claims that the Sussexes «are in breach of a legal requirement to make the names of Archie’s godparents available to the public». So maybe the names will be revealed later, some way or the other, just like with the place of Archie's birth.

After the christening two photos were released on Instagram. The family photo which was taken in the Green Drawing Room shows Duke and Duchess of Sussex sitting with their son Archie and with the Duchess of Cornwall on the left and the Duchess of Cambrigde on the right. Behind them were (from left to right) the Prince of Wales, Doria Ragland, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale (the last two sisters of Diana, Princess of Wales) and the Duke of Cambridge.

The two photos were accompanied with a short text, which among others said:

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are so happy to share the joy of this day with members of the public who have been incredibly supportive since the birth of their son. They thank you for your kindness in welcoming their first born and celebrating this special moment.

Their Royal Highnesses feel fortunate to have enjoyed this day with family and the godparents of Archie.

Their son, Archie, was baptised wearing the handmade replica of the royal christening gown which has been worn by royal infants for the last 11 years. The original Royal Christening Robe, made of fine Honiton lace lined with white satin, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1841 and first worn by her eldest daughter. It was subsequently worn for generations of Royal christenings, including The Queen, her children and her grandchildren until 2004, when The Queen commissioned this handmade replica, in order for the fragile historic outfit to be preserved, and for the tradition to continue.

UK: Lady Gabriella Windsor marries Thomas Kingston

Lady Gabriella Windsor, daughter of Prince Michael of Kent and Princess Michael of Kent, formerly Marie-Christine, Baroness von Reibnitz, and thus a first cousin once removed to Queen Elizabeth II, married today, 18 May 2019, Thomas Kingston, son of William M. Kingston and Jill M. Kingston, née Bache, in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The ceremony was officiated by the dean of Windsor, David Conner.

Among the guests at the wedding, besides of the nearest family of the bride and groom, were Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Sussex, the Princess Royal (Princess Anne), Sir Timothy Laurence, the Earl of Wessex, Princess Alexandra, lady Ogilvy, the Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York, Princess Beatrice and her boyfriend, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the former occupied with the FA Cup Final later the same day, and the Duchess of Sussex were absent.

The engagement of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston was announced on 19 September 2018.

UK: Foreign royals at York Brooksbank wedding

Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank got married at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on Friday 12 October 2018, and I posted a short blog article later the same day.

In the article I listed the following foreign royals attending the wedding:

• Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece
• Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece
• Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece
• Prince Philippos of Greece (with his partner Nina Flohr)
• Prince Ernst August of Hannover
• Princess Ekaterina of Hannover
• Prince Christian of Hannover
• Princess Alessandra of Hannover

Yesterday (13 October) The Telegraph published the article «Royals, sheikhs, supermodels and oligarchs - what Eugenie and Jack's wedding guest list in full reveals» which adds the following guests:

• Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain
• Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, former Emir of Qatar
• Sheikh Suhaim Al Thani of Qatar
• Sheikh Fahad Al Thani of Qatar

Now, The Telegraph writes that «The inclusion of the Crown Prince of Bahrain is bound to raise an eyebrow after the Duke of York’s friendship with the King of Bahrain has attracted negative headlines due to the regime’s poor track record on human rights.» and «Qatari rulers Sheikh Hamad, Sheikh Suhaim and Sheikh Fahad also made it onto the guest list, also a reflection of Prince Andrew’s middle-eastern ties.»

I am quite certain that The Telegraph by Sheik Hamad means the former Emir, but I am not 100 % sure. And there are several sheikhs named Suhaim and Fahad (Fahd), as the genealogy website The Royal Ark demonstrates, so it is not easy to make a well-educated guess. But Fahad (Fahd) might be the elder brother of the current Emir, Tamim, while Suhaim is one of the nephews of Sheik Hamad and thus a cousin to Tamim.

The Telegraphs also adds the Hereditary Prince and Princess of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg to the party, i.e. Franz-Albrecht and Cleopatra. They were also present at the Sussez wedding in May.

Not a royal, but Count Nikolai von Bismarck was also present, accompanied by his girl-friend, the well-known model Kate Moss.

Concerning members of the British Royal Family not attending the wedding, I mentioned in my Friday article that the Duchess of Cornwall was absent due to other commitments, while Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy had a broken arm and had cancelled (well, I didn't mention the reason then). It seems that the Duchess of Kent was not present either, for reasons I don't know, even if she was said to be listed in the Court Circular (yesterday's can't be found at the official website as of now as far as I can tell). Very well, I will leave the rest of the more or less complete guest list to Nobiliana and other forums ...

UK: The marriage of Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank

The wedding of HRH Princess Eugenie of York, youngest daughter of HRH The Duke of York (Prince Andrew) and Sarah, Duchess of York, née Ferguson, and Jack Brooksbank, eldest child of George Brooksbank and Nicola Brooksbank, née Newton, took place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle today 12 october 2018 at 11 a.m. local time.

The Dean of Windsor, David Conner, officiated the ceremony. Princess Eugenie's elder sister Princess Beatrix served the role as maid of honour, while Jack's brother Thomas was his best man. The order of service can be viewed here.

Bridesmaids were Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Savannah and Isla Phillips (daughters of Peter and Autumn Phillips, the former the son of the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and thus a first cousin of the bride), Mia Tindall (daughter of Mike and Zara Tindall, the latter the daughter of the Princess Royal and thus another first cousin of the bride), Maud Windsor (goddaughter of the bride and daughter of Lord Frederick and Lady Frederick Windsor, née Sophie Winkleman, the former a second cousin of the bride) and Theodora Williams (daughter of the artist Robbie Williams and his partner Ayda Field).

Page Boys were Prince George of Cambridge and Louis de Givenchy (son of Olivier and Zoe De Givenchy, friends), while special attendants were Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, who took good care of the bridal party, and Viscount Severn, both children of the Earl and Countess of Wessex and thus first cousins of the bride.

Most members of the British Royal Family attended the wedding, including Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke of York (and hs former wife Sarah, Duchess of York), Princess Beatrix of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Also present were the Phillips and the Tindalls and most of the Kents and Gloucesters. Absent were the Duchess of Cornwall, who had other official commitments decided before the wedding date was set (for the tabloids and some royal watchers who think this was a snub: you have won the competion of sillyness) and Princess Alexandra, Lady Ogilvy.

As for other guests, and based on comments on Twitter and Nobiliana, members of the Greek Royal Family included Crown Prince Pavlos, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, Princess Maria-Olympia and Prince Philippos with his partner Nina Flohr, while the Hannovers were represented by Prince Ernst August and Princess Ekaterina and Prince Christian and Princess Alessandra.

Present were also representatives of various charities which Princess Eugenie is associated with as well as many other relatives and friends. 850 people were invited to attend the ceremony and the reception, and judging from the various news reports, lots of celebrities were in attendance. As the wedding took place in the middle of the day while I was at work, I have not been able to watch much, and  will therefore not comment on all the guests. I am sure a list will be compiled at Nobiliana in the near future.

The wedding ceremony was followed by a reception in  St George's Hall hosted by the Queen and later a party at The Royal Lodge.

UK: Sussex wedding

HRH The Duke of Sussex, younger son of the Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, married at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on 19 May 2018 Rachel Meghan Markle, daugher of Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland. I was away for the weekend, so I could not post my observations before now.

From a constitutional and genealogical point of view, and that is usually what I focus on, there is not much to write about. The engagement was announced on 27 November 2017 and the Queen expressed that she was «delighted» for the couple. The formal declaration of consent was given on 14 March 2018. From the Court Circular of 19 May we learn that «The Marriage of Prince Henry of with Ms. Meghan Markle was solemnized in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, today».

In the Court Circular the Duke of Sussex was still referred to as Prince Henry of Wales.  Earlier the same day the following announcement was given:

Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle: Announcement of Titles

Published 19 May 2018

The Queen has today been pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince Henry of Wales.  His titles will be Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel.

Prince Harry thus becomes His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex, and Ms. Meghan Markle on marriage will become Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.

The title «Duke of Sussex» was for unknown reasons always the favourite of the bookmakers and they got it right this time, just like in 2011 when the Queen conferred on Prince William the title «Duke of Cambridge». Harry's new title was created for the first time in 1801 for Prince Augustus Frederick, the sixth son and ninth child of King George III and Queen Charlotte. The prince married twice in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act (the first time before the title creation), so there never was a Duchess of Sussex. Meghan has thus become the first one. And of course, Prince Harry has become the 2nd Duke (1st Duke of the 2nd creation).
 https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/997736471154122752
So, when the constitutional aspects have been touched upon, as well as basic genealogical facts of the marriage, I could move on to the guest list. But as far as I know such a list has not been released. In the Court Circular we only learn, following the sentence of the solemnization:

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, with The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and other Members of the Royal Family, arrived at St. George's Chapel and were received at the Galilee Porch by the Dean and Chapter of Windsor.

Prince Henry of Wales, with The Duke of Cambridge, was received at the West Door by the Dean and Chapter of Windsor and Their Royal Highnesses were conducted to the Bray Chapel.

Ms. Meghan Markle drove to St. George's Chapel and was received at the West Door by the Dean of Windsor.

The Service was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Dean of Windsor.

At the conclusion of the Service the Registers were signed in the Ambulatory.

The Bride and Bridegroom drove to Windsor Castle in an Ascot Landau, processed through the town of Windsor and returned to the Castle where The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh gave a Reception in their honour.

And that is not much to go by. Of course I watched the whole broadcast and as far as I know all the members of the British Royal Family were present except for Prince Louis of Cambridge, who was born earlier this year. Prince Philip, who will be 97 next month, had a hip operation earlier this year, but still walked without crutches. Very impressive.

Members of  Prince Harry's mother's side were of course also present. From the bride's family only her mother Doria Ragland was in attendance. Two days before the wedding Kensington Palace confirmed that Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, would not attend, and his health problems was given as an explanation. It had earlier been revealed that he had  had posed for staged photos with a paparazzi photographer and the embarrassment of it all might have made him feel too uncomfortable to attend. One can only feel sorry both for Meghan as well as for her father. She clearly wanted both her parents present for her wedding. Instead of her father, Ms. markle was accompanied to the altar by the Prince of Wales.

It appears that Meghan has had little or no contact with her half-brother Thomas Markle and Samantha Grant and their families for many years. They have created quite a few headlines before and after the engagement was announced, so it is not difficult to understand that they were not invited. That no uncles and aunts or other family members were invited was perhaps more surprising. It might say something about Meghan's priorities regarding family, but then again one should be careful not to jump to conclusions. She surely has her reasons.

The only royals who attended the royal wedding besides the members of the British Royal Family were Prince Seeiso and Princess Mabereng of Lesotho. Prince Harry has known Prince Seeiso, who is the youngest brother of King Letsie III of Lesotho, for many years. In 2006 the two princes founded Sentebale, a charity that «supports the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana,» to quote the charity's own website. Prince Harry has had little personal contact with members of the European royal family, which probably explains to some extent why no-one was invited. Of course he is only the younger son of the Prince of Wales and thus not in the direct line to inherit the throne, so his wedding could not be as grand as his brother's was. But I still felt something was missing. We already knew that no politicians would attend, but I still find it strange that the 6th in line of succession did not even invite the prime minister. One former prime minister attended, though – John Major – apparently because he following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales had played the role as guardian to Prince William and Prince Harry, being responsible for legal and administrative matters.

Instead of royals and representatives of the official UK, Harry and Meghan had invited representatives of charities and organisations Harry has endorsed as well as a long and impressive list of celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Idris Elba, George Clooney and his wife Amal Alamuddin,  David and Victoria Beckham and Elton John and his husband David Furnish, to mention a few.

It was a great and enjoyable wedding ceremony, though. The couple looked a bit nervous, but very much happy and in love, the weather was great and the church was beautifully decorated. So much could be said about the dresses and the hats. Oh, the hats! But I will leave it at that. The ceremony had many highlights, including the introit, the hymns and the song «Stand by me» performed by Karen Gibson and the Kingdom Choir. Not to mention the address by the American Bishop Michael Curry, the presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. How he could preach! The full text of his address can be read here, while the order of service is available here.

The service was lead by the Dean of Windsor, David Conner, while the marriage was solemnized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Postscript Tuesday 22 May 2018 at 23.35: When commenting on non-British royals attending the wedding last Saturday, I obviously focused on reigning families. That is why I only mentioned the princely couple of Lesotho. But there were members of former reigning families and/or «Gotha members», including Princess Xenia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (a grand niece of Prince Philip and thus Prince Harry's second cousin) and Hereditary Prince Franz-Albrecht and Hereditary Princess Cleopatra of Oettingen-Spielberg (others would have to enlighten me concerning the motivation for inviting them – they certainly are not close relatives of Prince Harry, but obviously have learnt to know eachother somehow).

Besides the family members, representatives of charities and organisations and the celebrities – I could have mentioned many more than I did – there were of course also many friends of the couple in attendance, including Meghan's colleagues from the TV series Suits. I decided to give only a few examples. No full guest list has been released, but Netty Leistra and other contributors have assembled a survey in the guestlist section at the forum Nobiliana. Please go there if you want more names and details!

Updated last time on Tuesday 22 May 2018 at 23.35 (postscript added).