Maria Laura Avignolo
04/09/2021 11:48
Clarín.com
World
Updated 04/09/2021 11:48 AM
A very sad day in Britain.
The head of the House of Windsor is dead.
The husband, the friend, the counselor,
"the boss"
of the family, "
the great love of Queen Elizabeth.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was irascible as a Greek, determined, modern, and with a strong character, who only managed to impose on Princess Anne, his favorite daughter.
Relations with Prince Charles were difficult but he had an excellent relationship with Prince Andrew, a sailor like himself, and with Edward, his youngest son, whose wife and grandchildren he adored.
Irreverent, with a great sense of humor, he did not fear death but
had prepared his funeral
, many times rehearsed on television channels over the years.
As each death has a code in British protocol, the funeral arrangements for Prince Philip are kept under the name
"Operation Forth Bridge."
That of the queen is saved and several times rehearsed as
"London Bridge is down."
Unlike the death of Princess Diana, where it was a highly resisted ceremony, the flag and royal pavilion are at half mast at Buckingham Palace, in her honor.
Frogmore Gardens, Windsor
Prince Philip will likely be buried in the gardens of Frogmore Garden, where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan and Harry, lived before leaving for California.
That was the place where the Queen and Prince Charles made their walk to celebrate the last Easter together.
Other Royals
are buried
nearby.
Frogmore Cottage.
Photo: archive
Look also
In photos 1921-2021: Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh and consort of Queen Elizabeth II died
The queen will maintain a period of mourning of 8 days, plus 30 days of official mourning.
Funerals in Britain
don't happen quickly
.
The date on which the Duke of Edinburgh will take place is still unknown.
Harry travels to Britain
Prince Harry prepares to
return to Britain
to attend the funeral of his grandfather, whom he adored.
Harry will surely arrive on a private plane from California because he had already prepared that trip, when Prince Philip was seriously ill on his last admission to the hospital.
There are
severe travel
and quarantine
restrictions
between the United States and Britain.
“But he will want to be with his family and especially with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
He is definitely coming, ”said a royal source.
At the funeral he will see the reception he receives from his family, when it is the first time he will see them after the interview where he and Meghan accused the Royal Family of being racist, with the exception of the Queen and Prince Philip.
The one who would have asked about the skin color of the baby to be born from the Sussexes would have been
Princess Anne
, daughter of the queen.
Meghan's presence is more difficult.
You are
pregnant
, your baby will be born this summer although the date is unknown, and you should ask your doctor whether or not it is convenient to travel by plane at this point in your pregnancy, to a country with high cases of Covid and attend a funeral.
Tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, in Piccadilly, London.
Photo: AP
Even after the interview, Prince Harry claimed that they had a very good relationship with the Queen and her grandfather, which is not the case with their father, Prince Charles or Prince William, the other heir.
What will the future of the monarchy look like
It is the
future of the monarchy
that worries the British.
Queen Elizabeth has continued her work after the official retirement of Prince Philip, accompanied by her son and heir Charles, her grandson William, or the Duchess of Cambridge.
But the loss
will be very strong
for the sovereign, who is almost 94 years old.
Hers was a true love story with her husband, just as the Crown faces another battle for his survival, with
family scandals
, Prince Andrew's affairs over the Epstein Case and the famous interview of Meghan and Harry, accusing them of racism and of being "trapped in the institution."
If the increasingly prominent role of the Queen and Prince Charles amounts to some kind of "job sharing", it is perhaps a matter of semantics.
For the queen, the situation would be perfectly clear:
she is the sovereign
, he is the heir.
It doesn't matter how many times you step in instead.
She continues to occupy the throne.
He is responsible for reading his
red boxes
with official documents, he presides over the state opening of Parliament, he has weekly hearings with the prime minister, telephone calls in the pandemic.
What has been going on for some time, and will continue to happen now that the duke is dead, is more of a palace evolution than a revolution.
More Charles, less queen
and more of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
But with the queen in the box.
When the sovereign visited the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in Kensington, it was in the company of her grandson William, the Duke of Cambridge.
When she was Fortnum and Mason, she was accompanied by Camilla, the future Queen Consort, and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Although he still has investiture, Charles, William and the Princess Royal also pay some visits, when Meghan and Harry have left.
With the death of Phillip,
will increase
the share of the burden assumed by
the younger members of the family.
The queen will not abdicate
There is one thing that will not happen:
the Queen will not abdicate
.
Since the abdication of Edward VIII, the royal family has carried a kind of bitter popular memory of the damage caused by his resignation from the throne.
It is
a word forbidden
in the House of Windsor and traumatic.
It is inconceivable that the queen would follow the example of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and simply hand over the throne.
In 1992 he rejected speculation that he would resign and insisted:
"It's a job for life."
The other possibility is that Prince Charles becomes
Regent
.
However, that can also be ruled out, if only for the moment.
There have been suggestions that the Queen has been considering using the Regency Act of 1937, to hand over power to Carlos when he turns 95, in April.
But some royal sources have rejected it.
The day might come when the Queen, or those around her, decide it's time for her to step down.
He has spinal and leg pain.
Some say he suffers
from heart problems.
Around her 90th birthday, a high-ranking figure, who worked closely with the Queen for many years, said: “That would really be a matter for the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister.
But I assure you that if the Queen were advised and felt that she cannot continue in her role in the way she wants, her sense of duty would kick in.
She would only want what is good for the country and the institution of which she is custodian. "
The last regency of Great Britain was
from 1811 to 1820
, when George III's mental illness left him unable to fulfill his duties.
His son, the future George IV, received all powers from his father under the Regency Act, and gave his name to
Regent's Park and Regent Street
in London.
Paris, correspondent
ap
Look also
Prince Philip: the untamed and politically incorrect love of Queen Elizabeth II of England
Prince Philip died: with Britain in mourning, what about the funeral?