She didn’t actually need to say anything. Kate could have toughed it out as royals have done throughout history, refusing to allow their subjects to know what was going on with their bodies or minds. The madness of King George was a secret to most. Victoria was the first
British royal to be caught on film, but never in her wheelchair. There was certainly loads of lurid speculation about the Princess of Wales , but so what? So why did the Princess feel she had to make that remarkable, vulnerable and moving statement? Well, it might be helpful to think of the House of Windsor as a family business, a great British brand to outclass even Marks and Spencer, whose late figurehead was a genius of reinvention but whose board is in a bit of trouble right now: with the elderly chairman living through
cancer treatment, his brother in disgrace, the heir to the company understandably spending a lot more time at home with his wife, also having treatment, and young children, and the spare – who could have been very useful – in exile in America. In this analogy, who keeps the share price up? You and me, whether we like it or not. The House of Windsor sees us as emotional shareholders, believing that as long as we like them – or at least remain indifferent – things will be allowed to go on as they are. As with so much of the thinking in the Family, the inspiration for this comes from the late
Queen . In the 60s, Elizabeth II was the one who invited television cameras to watch her brood doing ordinary things like having a picnic and allowed the Windsors to be portrayed as the model British family. Then, in the 90s, she had to be nimble when scandal, divorce and tragedy shattered that ideal. Elizabeth showed her vulnerability after the death of Diana , speaking directly to the camera “as a grandmother”. She did it again during Covid, evoking memories of the war. Many were moved to see her all alone at her husband’s funeral, obeying the rules to protect those she loved. So although Kate went further than ever before in talking about her own health on Friday, she was following the Queen’s model with quiet, determined dignity. There has, of course, been a huge wave of sympathy for her. Quite right too. Kate is going through a really tough time, whatever her position. But while all this happens, who is keeping the company going? Well, the Windsors are masters of improvisation. They did it before when the Queen was elderly and unwell and Prince Charles stepped up to stand in for her at big gigs including the State Opening of Parliament. It was a kind of soft regency, where the monarch is still mentally fit for the things only they can do, but younger members of the Family take up the more strenuous duties. The constitutional historian Robert Hazell has sketched out what would happen if Charles became too unwell to appear in public: “The King alone would signify royal assent to Bills; and the King would continue to make statutory appointments. Much else could be delegated to other members of the
Royal Family, above all
Prince William, who could become a sort of de facto regent.” William may stand in for his father as heir, even if it means leaving Kate and the kids for the day. What about the rest? Some of the sovereign’s duties can be carried out by counsellors of state, who are traditionally the spouse and next four eligible adults in line to the throne living in
Britain. Camilla is one of them and working hard to represent her husband. William is too, but this is where it gets difficult. His children are too young Harry doesn’t live in this country , nor do his offspring who are under age anyway. Next down the line is Andrew but he is in disgrace, while his daughters have never been seen as working royals, officially. Read Next The Royal Family's year of pain will reconnect them to the country The shortage this leaves was eased by an Act of Parliament two years ago reappointing Princess Anne and Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, as Counsellors, as they had been before William and Harry came of age. Beyond that technical title, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, is very much a full-time member of the royal team carrying out duties on her own. The same is true of Kate, although she will obviously be out of action for a while. For now that leaves six main characters, down from a dozen while the Queen was alive. Here is the slimmed-down monarchy that modernists and King Charles himself have long wanted, but it has come by accident and not everyone is happy, including the Princess Royal, who has said: “It doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing.” That may be because she works harder than anyone else, completing 457 engagements last year. But the others are out and about too, like company directors frantically touring regional offices to keep up morale. They’re all busy. Below the six are three veterans who still carry out some duties, although the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are in their late seventies and the Duke of Kent is approaching 90. And below them in the hierarchy there is evidence of officers of state doing their bit, like the Lord-Lieutenant of
London, Sir Kenneth Olisa, who recently gave out the King’s Coronation Medal at ceremonies with warmth, style and wit. He did so in the name of the King, because in the end – despite what they believe – it actually barely matters how much sympathy we do or don’t feel for the members of the House of Windsor. We swear allegiance to – or campaign against – the Crown. Not Charles himself, but the concept of a king. As long as that continues, the family business will go on.