Longest reigning monarch in the UK, Queen Elizabeth II. Picture: Instagram
In this week’s royal news update, Queen Elizabeth II travelled to Scotland to attend a week of royal events after it was said earlier this year she would not be in attendance.
While addressing the opening of a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Prince of Wales said it was okay for countries to cut ties with the monarchy, and Meghan Markle has given herself the nickname “pwife”.
While addressing the opening of a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda, the Prince of Wales assured all members that the choice to become a republic or cut ties with the Queen as Head of State was completely their own.
“The Commonwealth contains within it countries that have had constitutional relationships with my family, some that continue to do so, and increasingly those that have had none.
“I want to say clearly as I have said before, that each member’s constitutional arrangement as a republic or monarchy is purely a matter for each member country to decide,” said the prince.
This comes after Barbados made the decision to remove Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State last year. Six other Caribbean nations have said they will follow suit.
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Queen Elizabeth II travelled to Scotland on Monday for a week of royal events and took part in a ceremony in Edinburgh, despite question marks over her attendance.
It was the first public appearance for the 96-year-old monarch, who has been dogged by ill health, since her Platinum Jubilee celebrations ended on June 5.
She had previously held audiences at Windsor Castle with foreign diplomats and the Archbishop of Canterbury but had not been certain to travel to Edinburgh.
She took part in the Ceremony of the Keys, which sees her handed the keys of the city and welcomed to her “ancient and hereditary kingdom” of Scotland.
Other members of the royal family attending the event at the Palace of Holyroodhouse included her youngest son, Edward, and his wife Sophie.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex are known as the Earl and Countess of Forfar in Scotland.
The queen’s heir, Prince Charles – called the Earl of Rothesay in Scotland – and her only daughter, Princess Anne, are also in Scotland this week.
The monarch’s disgraced second son, Prince Andrew – the Earl of Inverness north of the border – is not involved.
He has been frozen out of royal duties due to public outrage over his links with convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and after he settled a US civil claim for sexual assault.
In May, royal officials said the queen would not attend this summer’s royal garden parties at Buckingham Palace nor at Holyrood.
She spent an unscheduled night in hospital last October, forcing her to cancel a series of public engagements.
She has since complained of difficulties walking and standing, and has increasingly been seen using a stick for support.
The Duchess of Sussex has recently been a trending topic after pictures of her taken at Prince Harry’s polo match over the weekend surfaced.
The former Suits actress was spotted wearing a light blue jean shirt, dark blue jean shorts, and big stylish shades as she cheered her husband on throughout the game.
While being a supportive wife who attends her husband’s polo games, Meghan has built a good relationship with Argentine photographer Delfina Blaquier as the two have spent a lot of time together watching their husbands play the game.
Taking to social media, Delfina shared one of the viral pictures of herself and the Duchess standing on the sidelines of the field over the weekend.
In the caption of the post, Delfina expressed how special it has been for her to spend time with Meghan in the past two months, and also revealed that Meghan has given the nickname pwife (polo wife) to women who are married to men who play polo.
“Getting to spend time together over these 2 months was so special. I wish everyone knew you the way you are. My sister, my now fellow “pwife” (polo wife) – genius of you to come up with this,” said Blaquier.
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*Additional reporting from AFP
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