Royal Fam Releases Portrait of Prince William, King Charles & Queen Camilla—But Something Feels Off

The British royal family has been operating with a fairly limited team, as of late. With Kate Middleton currently taking a break from the public eye (with minimal exceptions like Trooping the Colour), Princess Anne recovering from an injury and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle over in America, the royal roster is certainly smaller than it once was. In fact, the fam has even had to call in the reserves, Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie, for a number of recent events.

But big team or not, the royals have still been keeping quite busy. And yesterday, it became clear that a member of the supporting team was being asked to step up—and it definitely caught my eye.

The royals shared the above photo on their social media account and something immediately felt off. As a royals reporter, it was strange—and almost surreal—to see Prince Edward standing in the spot Princess Catherine normally occupies. Obviously, her absence is understandable…but still an odd feeling.

The family captioned the post, “The King and Queen with The Prince of Wales (known as The Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland) and The Duke of Edinburgh following the Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh today.”

Would Catherine have been in the photo had she been present? It’s hard to say for sure, but she most definitely would have been in attendance at the event. The image is striking, but stands in large contrast to the normal group of four (well, normal since Meghan and Harry split), Charles, Camilla, William and Catherine.

Take, for example, their gorgeous portrait from December.

The image hearkens back to a simpler—and happier—time, before both the monarch and the princess were diagnosed with cancer and while the royal A-team was still operating at full capacity.

It’s moments like these that royal stans like myself are grateful for the backup team, but also sending their absolute best to King Charles and Princess Catherine.

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