Windsors topped headlines this year, welcoming into the world a new heir – the adorable Prince George. From royal baby fever to the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation, Times of Malta relives their best moments
The year 2013 was a key one for the Royal Family as the Windsors celebrated the birth of a future king.
Third in line to the throne, future sovereign and the Queen’s great-grandson Prince George of Cambridge arrived in July amid much media hype. The last time a still-serving monarch got to meet a great-grandchild born in direct succession to the crown was nearly 120 years ago.
This year also saw the Duke of Edinburgh lay low as he recuperated from an operation and the Prince of Wales take on more responsibility as he headed to Sri Lanka to perform Commonwealth duties for the Queen.
Here are some of the main events of the royal year:
Camilla at the State Opening of Parliament
2013 was a significant year for the Duchess of Cornwall when she attended her first ever State Opening of Parliament.
A regal looking Camilla, in a champagne silk and lace Bruce Oldfield gown, wore the Queen Mother’s priceless Boucheron tiara, the Dame Grand Cross of the Victoria Order brooch and sash, and the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II brooch.
Her presence was seen as sending a clear message about the prominent role she will occupy in the future of the monarchy and was a reminder of how things have changed since she married Charles in 2005.
Clarence House has always said it is “intended” that the Duchess will be known as Princess Consort when Charles takes the throne. But in a US TV interview in 2010, when the Prince was asked if Camilla would be his Queen, he replied: “That could be.”
The Duchess also carried out her first ever solo overseas trip – visiting Emmaus, a charity for homeless people, in Paris where she delivered a speech in French.
60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation
June 2 marked 60 years since the Coronation of the Queen at Westminster Abbey.
On June 4, 2013, the Queen returned to the ancient place of worship where she was crowned to commemorate the day.
Leading figures from national life were among the 2,000 guests, including the Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prime Minister David Cameron, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma and senior individuals from the military.
The Duke of Edinburgh undergoes surgery
Two days after the Coronation anniversary service, Prince Philip was admitted to hospital for an operation on his abdomen. He went under general anaesthetic just days before his 92nd birthday.
He left the London Clinic waving and smiling 11 days after he was first admitted and it was announced he would spend around two months convalescing.
The Duke headed to Sandringham in Norfolk to recuperate and he was not seen in public until mid-August when he carried out his first official engagement since his surgery by travelling to Scotland to hand out medals at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, telling guests it was a ‘‘great pleasure to be back in circulation’’.
Philip’s period of convalescence meant he had to wait to meet his new great-grandson Prince George. He was finally introduced in mid-September when William and Kate went to Balmoral in Aberdeenshire for a private holiday when baby George was eight weeks old.
Another royal baby on the way
Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Phillips and rugby player Mike Tindall were expecting their first baby.
The Olympic silver medallist is due to give birth in the new year. Tindall joked on Twitter that he hoped the baby would not inherit his nose.
The birth of Prince George
William and Kate embarked on life as a family of three in 2013 with the arrival of Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge.
He was born on July 22, at 4.24pm, weighing 8lb 6oz and made his public debut outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London, wrapped in a white merino wool shawl, held by both his proud parents in turn. A stretch of his tiny fingers was dubbed his first royal wave.
The first official photos of George – taken by Kate’s father Michael Middleton in a shady spot of his garden – showed the Prince cradled in his mother’s arms with William looking proudly on.
Three months later, a pink cheeked, chubby George was christened on October 23 wearing a replica of the lace and satin christening gown made for Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Victoria, the Princess Royal.
His godparents were named as William’s cousin Zara Phillips, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, who serves part-time as William and Kate’s principal private secretary and equerry, Diana, Princess of Wales’s close friend Julia Samuel and William and Kate’s friends Oliver Baker, Emilia Jardine-Paterson, Earl Grosvenor and William van Cutsem.
The service in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace was an intimate affair, with only close family and friends including the Middletons and great-grandparents the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh invited. The Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Wessex did not attend.
William leaves the armed forces
In September, Kensington Palace announced that William had left the military after more than seven years of service, finishing his stint as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot on Anglesey.
The Duke was said to be having a ‘‘transitional’’ year and mulling over options for his public service, as well as planning to expand his conservation work.
William also began to support his grandmother the Queen with her investitures. He presented Wimbledon champion Andy Murray with his OBE when he carried out his first ever investiture in October. He was trained to knight recipients by his father Charles during a family holiday at Birkhall in Scotland.
Moving house
William and Kate finally moved into their new home – Apartment 1A – the 21-room former home of Princess Margaret at Kensington Palace which was refurbished for the Cambridges at a cost of more than £1 million to the taxpayer. The bill for decorating the rooms, which is expected to be substantial, was met privately.
The couple are also overseeing work at Anmer Hall, the 10-bedroom house on the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk which will be their future country home.
Duties for a future King
The Prince of Wales deputised for the Queen when he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka in November.
It was the first time the Queen had not attended the opening ceremony since she missed the first one in Singapore in 1971.
The move was interpreted as preparing the way for Charles to become the next head of the Commonwealth, even though he has no automatic entitlement to the position. Buckingham Palace said the decision to send the Prince was taken after a review of the amount of long-haul travel taken by the 87-year-old Queen.
In March, the monarch was admitted to hospital for the first time in 10 years after she suffered symptoms of gastroenteritis.
The Queen missed a number ofengagements throughout the month including the first Commonwealth Day Observance service she had not been present at in 20 years.
Charles, who became a grandfather for the first time with the birth of Prince George, also became a pensioner during his tour to India and Sri Lanka, turning 65.