Being monarch grants you a lot of privileges, but also puts you in a position where you have to make some difficult choices between duty and family. The late Queen Elizabeth knew this better than anyone and according to Woman’s royal editor, Emily Andrews, she committed to what many would view as a harsh reality.
Emily recently reflected on Prince Harry and Meghan's recent reunion with the King and revealed what she believes the monarch's main priority should always be.
"Charles' first duty is not to the spare. It is to the heir and his wife," she claimed in the magazine. "That is the deal Queen Elizabeth II understood and honoured for 70 years. The institution comes first, sentiment a distant second."
Since stepping back as working royals, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven't shied away from sharing their thoughts about The Firm. From their Harry & Meghan Netflix series to the Oprah Winfrey interview and Harry's memoir, their revelations and allegations have often put the monarchy in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
According to Emily, the things that have been said "must still be painful" for the Prince and Princess of Wales. She wrote, "I understand that William believes the couple should not have been rewarded with a family meeting, however private, with the King."
King Charles and Queen Camilla met with Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet at Highgrove and although it was a family occasion, he's monarch 24/7 and his decisions will inevitably influence how the Royal Family is viewed by the public. The late Queen was firm about trying to separate love for her family from what made sense for the monarchy.
Despite Harry apparently hoping for a half-in, half-out role, Her Majesty didn’t sign off on this. She made it clear publicly that the Sussexes would no longer carry out engagements on her behalf, though still treasured them as "much loved members of [her] family".
Queen Elizabeth later also stepped in after the Oprah Winfrey interview aired, releasing her "recollections may vary" statement. Her Majesty had to be able to separate the personal from the professional as much as possible and we also saw her do this with King Charles himself.
When he was a child she went on a tour that lasted almost six months and for most of it, he and Princess Anne didn't see their parents. Although it was likely hard for her as a mother to be away so long, duty called and she answered.
Years later when King Charles got married to Queen Camilla, she didn't attend the wedding ceremony, only the service after. Reports have claimed that as she was Supreme Governor of the Church of England, she didn't feel it was right to attend the civil ceremony of two divorcees.
Behind closed doors at the reception she showed her support for Charles' marriage. As per royal biographer Robert Jobson in Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen "could be the proud mother" at their reception and "showed it by breaking convention" and making a speech.
Putting the institution ahead of "sentiment" might sound impossibly hard, but this was something monarchs like Queen Elizabeth - and now King Charles - must seemingly face.
