The royal family has had a difficult few years—the pandemic, the deaths of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the scandal involving Prince Andrew, and unwarranted media exposure, to name a few. It has also been a year of firsts as a new monarch is on the throne and, as with any change, it came with a mixed bag of challenges and opportunities.
Of course, as it always is with life, the lows have been offset by highs in the last couple of years: Her late Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrating 70 years on the throne, King Charles’ Coronation, the births of new members of the family. After several stinging blows, the royal family is in recovery mode, and has been buoyed by several “stellar wins” this summer, royal expert Dr. Tessa Dunlop said.
As King Charles has officially arrived at Balmoral—the family’s traditional end-of-summer retreat, and where the late Queen died last September 8 at age 96—it is surely a time of reflection, not just on the past year but, more specifically, this past summer. Among the wins the royal family has tallied include Charles’ meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and the Princess of Wales’ stunning appearances—all three of them—at Wimbledon, where she always seems in her element.
The “magic” of the institution—which has weathered storms before, and will weather storms again—is returning, and Dunlop said on the “To Di for Daily” podcast (and via The Daily Express) “I thought it was really clear this summer where there were a couple of stellar wins for the royal family. And one was King Charles, albeit it very briefly, but hosting your President Biden in Windsor Castle, the bromance moment, the arm on the shoulder, the Welsh first guards, the military music, the sunshine—this was optics of state. This was the magic, the tinsel of monarchy that America buys into, that Britain does well.”
The “bromance” between Charles and Biden included the president patting the king’s back, laughing together and chatting as they made their way around the quadrangle at Windsor, discussing climate change.
Then there was Catherine at Wimbledon, where Dunlop said that, despite the impressive celebrity lineup at the tennis tournament—think Brad Pitt, Daniel Craig, Ariana Grande, and so many more—she outshone them all.
“The takeaway from this summer is Kate Middleton, or Princess of Wales…outbox officing every Hollywood star at Wimbledon,” Dunlop said. “Can you even remember the names of the winners of Wimbledon? Because, actually, Kate was such a runaway success. And I think that we have to own when you’re a part of the royal family the building bricks that come with the institution means that you are greater than the sum of your parts.”
While the summer has mostly been a high for the royal family—the Coronation, Trooping the Colour, Prince George turning the milestone age of 10, tiara moments and diplomacy at the Jordanian royal wedding—it is ending on a down note, as Prince William has been harshly criticized for not attending the women’s World Cup final in Australia over the weekend, where England lost to Spain 1-0.
