Kate Middleton Dresses Smartly As She Reportedly Starts To Replace Queen Elizabeth
Kate Middleton and her daughter Princess Charlotte looked a picture, as they surprised churchgoers by attending a Christmas Day service at St Mark’s Church in Englefield, Berkshire. Princess Kate and Prince William created plenty of headlines last week when it was announced that William and Kate would be spending Christmas with the Middleton family. This marked a break with tradition. The Royal Family traditionally join Queen Elizabeth at the royal estate in Sandringham for the Christmas festivities. Kate and Princess Charlotte wore complimentary outfits as they arrived for the Christmas Day service with other members of the Middleton family.
The Daily Mail report that William and Kate chose to snub Queen Elizabeth’s gathering to spend the holidays with her parents, Michael and Carol Middleton, at their home in the village of Bucklebury, Berkshire. It was perhaps sensible for Kate and William to stay away from Sandringham, as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are both suffering from heavy colds. The 90-year-old Queen missed her traditional Christmas morning church service for the first time since the tradition began over 30-years ago.
According to the Telegraph royal watchers, from all over the world, were disappointed when Queen Elizabeth stayed at home. The usual large crowds had gathered in Sandringham for a glimpse of the Queen and the royal family. News of the Queen’s continued illness broke when a Buckingham Palace spokesman announced that the Queen was too ill to attend church and would not undertake any public engagements over the holiday period.
“Her Majesty The Queen will not attend Church at Sandringham this morning. The Queen continues to recover from a heavy cold and will stay indoors to assist with her recovery. Her Majesty will participate in the Royal Family Christmas celebrations during the day.”
By contrast, the crowds were sparse when Kate Middleton, Prince William and the rest of the Middleton family arrived at church. Kate wore a maroon-colored coat with a fur collar, she matched perfectly with Princess Charlotte, who wore maroon tights and a black coat, as she was carried into church by her mom.
The fact that William and Kate were able to take Prince George and Princess Charlotte to church was, in itself, a break from tradition. The children would have remained at home had they spent Christmas at Sandringham. William and Kate were joined by Kate’s sister, Pippa Middleton, and James Matthews for the service in the church where Pippa is rumored to be marrying in May 2017.
Kate Middleton Begins To Replace Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth has been Queen since 1952, and her official duties include being a patron of many different organizations. Being married to Prince William ensures that Kate Middleton will be Queen one day. With Queen Elizabeth now being 90-years-old, it stands to reason that she needs to cut down on her workload. As a future Queen, it makes total sense for Kate Middleton to take over those duties.
According to the Evening Standard, that is exactly what is beginning to happen. Kate will succeed the Queen as patron of the national charity Action For Children. Middleton already has links to the organization, she visited them on a number of occasions during 2016.
It was also announced last week that the Queen is giving up her patronages with a total of 25 organizations. Kate Middleton will doubtless fill the gap in many of those organizations.
Buckingham Palace announced that “her Majesty will continue to serve as Patron to hundreds of charities and institutions but will now share this work with her family.” Kate has already taken over as patron of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. Younger members of the royal family are expected to increasingly replace Queen Elizabeth on Royal engagements, especially where travel is required.
Queen Elizabeth is now the longest reigning living monarch in the world after the death of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej in October.
[Featured Image by Andrew Matthews/Pool via AP]
