Last week’s Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by Prince William made one thing clear, having more royal family members around made the engagement feel… well, more royal. Peter Phillips, Zara and Mike Tindall, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie showed up for their cousin on an extraordinarily rainy day and did not complain about the wet conditions — they looked like they were having a grand time.
It hasn’t been that much fun in the royal family over the last few years, so the optics of a party, even without King Charles III and Kate Middleton in attendance, made things feel festive again. It was also a reminder that the “slimmed-down monarchy” plan isn’t working. Queen Elizabeth II loved having her children and grandchildren surrounding her, and The Telegraph believes the Prince of Wales is stealing this idea from her royal playbook. “The cousins are all very close and always have been,” an insider shared. “I think people liked seeing them being there together and supporting each other.”
Princess Eugenie offered her support after the event with a carousel of Instagram snapshots from the day. Her post warmly captured the exact message William wanted to send to the world. “Come rain or shine, I was delighted to support my family to meet some special individuals at the Buckingham Palace garden party who have gone above and beyond to support their local communities and the country,” she wrote in the caption. A palace source also seemed to confirm that royal fans will be seeing more of the cousins with a possible Trooping the Colour balcony appearance even being thrown around.
“They’re very willing to step up and do more at this current time, to help,” the royal insider noted. “They’re very fond of their cousin and their uncle, and they want to do everything they can to support them. And they believe in the institution they grew up in.” There are rumors that Princess Beatrice, and possibly Princess Eugenie, are about to step into working royal roles, but palace sources seem to be downplaying any official capacity. “It’s a case of ‘watch the gap’, and although there’s no plan for Beatrice and others to become funded, official working members of the family, she has shown she can definitely help,” a royal insider told The Times.
William might also be playing up his close kinship with his cousins in the wake of a heightened rivalry with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, whose recent visit to Nigeria turned out to be wildly popular. He may have realized that it was time to step up the royal glamour a bit in a year that has been tinged with sadness.
Before you go, click here to see the 100 best photos of the royal family from the past 20 years.
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