August 2023 Newsletter
The Waleses in Scotland; Harry launches Heart of Invictus; Meghan is returning to Instagram?
August was about as quiet as expected, although we did see that candid of Kate at the Houghton (not Houston, oops) Festival. Then, just this past weekend, the Prince and Princess of Wales were pictured en route to Crathie Kirk in Scotland, confirming the Waleses are at Balmoral for their annual visit.
This will be a strange year for them, though, as they experience the late Queen’s beloved retreat with the star of the show now gone forever. I would think the memories from last year’s sad and historic events are rolling over them right now. It must be a bittersweet holiday, indeed.
The royals were pictured driving to church on Sunday. On one leg of the journey (I believe on the way there, but it is not clear), William drove the Range Rover with Kate in the back seat and Prince Andrew riding shotgun.
This caused a bit of a flurry in some media quarters, but the reality remains that this is the family’s private summer vacation, even though we do like to follow along. Andrew is still a member of the family. He has not been tried or convicted in any court. A scathing op-ed in the Times noted:
What possessed the Prince of Wales to agree to drive his uncle, the Duke of York, to church on Sunday? I thought William was sound on the Uncle Andy issue. Wasn’t he the prime mover behind getting the late Queen to park her favouritism and boot No 2 son out of the fold after his public self-disembowelling on Newsnight?
Didn’t William threaten to pull out of the big Order of the Garter ceremony last year if fellow garter-wearer Andrew showed up? Doesn’t he know the man is absolute poison to the royal brand?
The answer, of course, is yes. And William has been a strong proponent of banishing Andrew from public circles, but he isn’t obliged to run the man out of the family entirely. I am not an Andrew apologist, and I frankly think he is good for the charges against him, as many of you do, too. But he