Royal Family News: Kate Middleton Took the Queen’s Spot On The Royal Balcony, Does This Signal She is the Next Queen?
British royal family news reveals that the nation is left to worry and wonder what it means that Queen Elizabeth did not attend Sunday’s Remembrance service. The annual event entails the Royal Family attend the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London. Wreaths are laid down and select royals watch from the Buckingham Palace balcony.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement that the queen had a back sprain but no other details were given. Her absence comes after a hospitalization last month and two other key missed events.
With the 95-year old monarch absent, the rest of the Royal Family got all of the attention, especially Kate Middleton. What were the subtle clues from that day that her position in the royal orbit is solidifying at the same time the current monarch seems to be ailing? Let’s unpack what one royal watcher has to say about this situation.
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Kate was a focal point at the event for several reasons. First, she wore three red poppies, and second is the fact of where she stood on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Traditionally it is the Queen who stands in the middle of the Royals on the balcony. This year, it was Kate the Duchess of Cambridge who stood in the middle. On other sides of her were Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall and Sophie, Countess of Wessex. This positioning led royal experts to claim that the positions were a hint that Kate has been given a high-ranking rung on the royal ladder.
Body language expert Judi James told Express, “With the Queen sadly missing from the royal balcony this year there was a very intriguing and possibly significant reshuffle of the royal wives, with Kate emerging looking very much like the highest-ranking woman in the group, not just by taking the central position between Camilla and Sophie but by her non-verbal signals as she stood in that spot.”
James further explained, “With Camilla next in line to the role of Queen [Consort] it might have been expected for her to take that middle position between the two younger women. Even if there’s no actual protocol the non-verbal message is rather emphatic and by standing to one side like this it gives the impression that Kate is very much the Queen’s stand-in at this event.”
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Some have called for Kate’s husband, Prince William to be allowed to leapfrog his father Prince Charles as the next monarch. This positioning would seem to suggest that might happen, but looks can be deceiving.
While Kate was in the spot the queen usually takes it does not necessarily mean she will be the next queen. More likely it represents the simple fact that on that day Kate was chosen to be the one who stood in for Her Majesty in her absence.
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