Buckingham Palace released new photos of King Charles for Maundy Thursday (today). In one of the photos, you can see Charles behind his desk, about to delivery his Maundy message. The Royal Maundy service is something QEII always enjoyed – the monarch goes to a pre-Easter church service and hands out Maundy money to peasants, usually specially-made gold coins. Last year, Charles and Camilla did the Maundy service together. This year, Camilla will go alone, but Charles wanted to be included, thus the Maundy message/address. Plus, Charles simply wants to ensure that there is never any kind of clamor for proof of life on his side. He’s been photographed consistently, not just within Buckingham Palace, but also as he’s being driven back and forth in London. This is all part of a larger strategy for the king, according to the Daily Beast’s sources, who emphasize that it will be very significant for Charles to step out to church on Easter Sunday:
The former staffer told The Daily Beast: “There has of course been concern about Charles’ health as there would be for anyone who said they had cancer. But if he can walk to church and wave and smile, that will shut down any speculation that he is not actually doing so well. Announcing his attendance in advance is a sign of confidence because, if for any reason he now can’t go, everyone will assume he is at death’s door.”
A friend of Charles and Queen Camilla told The Daily Beast that Camilla was “thrilled” her husband was going to be attending the Easter Day service. Camilla has been standing in for her husband at a series of events and is due to attend an important Maundy Thursday church service this week.
The king’s determination to remain part of public life (he has made a point of being driven around London to his various medical appointments in a state vehicle with big windows in recent weeks) means he will be far from absent; it is understood an audio message recorded by Charles, which does not reference his recent health struggles, will be played at the service.
The king has taken a very different approach to Princess Kate over his illness, insisting on visibility and inserting himself into the national conversation. An Easter Sunday walkabout is the logical next step. Of course, he doesn’t have young children of school age to protect, a fact which has driven almost all of William and Kate’s strategy. More importantly, of course, he is also the monarch, and the example here is his mother, who never let her bone cancer, which can be a very painful condition, stop her from making her way out onto the balcony when she needed to.
“The king has taken a very different approach to Princess Kate over his illness, insisting on visibility and inserting himself into the national conversation.” LOL. While there have been conversations about whether Charles should reveal much more about his diagnosis and treatment, let’s be real – Charles has never looked more competent and steady than when he’s being compared to the absolute clownery of Kensington Palace in the past three months. Now, all that being said… these new photos of Charles aren’t inspiring a lot of confidence.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.