It was, once more, a royal year like no other. As 2021 winds to a close, fading to nothing more than memories, many moments remain, but some linger more than others. The past twelve months have proved challenging for everyone, royalty included, and amongst the joy has been deep sadness, too. As the year comes to an end, the Royal Central team looks back at the memories that remain outstanding for them.
Lydia Starbuck, Jubilee Editor
The one moment that always resonates from the royal year just past is the moving, mournful and in some ways magnificent funeral procession of The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The sight of his coffin being carried on the back of the specially designed Land Rover through the grounds of Windsor Castle while the bell tolled and the cannons boomed was truly awe-inspiring. The sadness wrought on the faces of the family and friends who followed only underlined what a huge impact this one man had had on those he loved and the country he served as consort for so long.
Goodbyes of another sort feature in my other stand out moment. Seeing the Duke of Kent present the trophies at Wimbledon for the final time was poignant and a reminder of the huge role that The Queen’s cousin has played in the story of the House of Windsor. Hearing him talk about the bond it provided for him with his late mother, Princess Marina, was rather special, too. It’s the end of another era leaving its mark on 2021.
Charlie Proctor, Editor-in-Chief
2021 will always be remembered as being the year in which The Queen lost her life partner, the Duke of Edinburgh. The optics of the Royal Family will never again be the same. Like millions of others across the world, The Queen suffered her bereavement at the worst possible time – when we were at war with an invisible killer, Covid-19. As such, Her Majesty mourned alone. The images of The Queen sat alone in St George’s Chapel at Prince Philip’s funeral will long linger in the mind. No matter what the situation, The Queen always leads by example – a lesson our elected representatives would do well to learn from.
On a happier note, 2021 was also The Queen’s most successful ever year as a racehorse owner. Although she didn’t win any of the big prizes, she did have 36 winners on the flat – her best annual total. This is six more wins than she had in the year 1957 when she was crowned Champion Owner. To commemorate her remarkable achievement, Her Majesty was inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame – the official Hall of Fame for British Flat racing.
Kristin Contino, Chief Reporter
Of course, as my colleagues have noted, the standout moment of 2021 has to be the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing. I barely remember watching the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, so this was the first significant royal death I watched happening in real-time and is something I don’t think anyone will ever forget.
But outside of that, I think one of my favourite moments this year was seeing the Duchess of Cambridge step out in her glittering gold Bond Girl dress at the premiere of “No Time to Die.” It signalled a return to glitz and glamour and — for a moment at least — a sense of normality we’d been missing for some time.
Brittani Barger, Deputy Editor
Like Charlie, the one moment that stands out to me was The Queen standing by herself mourning her husband, but as the death of Prince Philip has been chosen several times by my colleagues, I will choose two other events that stood out to me in 2021.
First, the wedding of Princess Mako and Kei Komuro. Seeing Princess Kako embrace her sister as she left the family’s home for the final time that morning made me emotional. You could tell how close they were to each other. Mako and Kei had fought to be together for years, and in the end, true love won out. The happiness on their faces when they appeared for their press conference after their small ceremony was so lovely to see. I hope they are living a peaceful and happy life in New York.
The other moment that stood out to me was the 18th birthday of Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands. The Princess of Orange is now of age and can serve as regent if that is ever required. The day after her birthday, she took her seat on the Council of State and delivered her first speech. The pride in her parents, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima’s eyes, was so touching as Amalia gave her remarks and showed the Dutch a bit more of their future monarch. Until now, Amalia and her sisters have remained mainly out of the public eye, so seeing her confident and presenting herself so well as heir to the throne was wonderful.
Jess Ilse, Senior Royal Reporter & Editorial Assistant
In many ways, 2021 was an especially poignant year with the way the various royals handled the pandemic. Like others on the team, aspects of Prince Philip’s funeral and memorial tributes from his family members are at the top of my list of royal moments, but I’ll go in a different direction for this article and pick the emotional ‘Together at Christmas’ carol service hosted by the Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey.
Her surprise piano performance of ‘For Those Who Can’t Be Here’ with musician Tom Walker was an emotionally packed moment, one that carried me through the holiday season reminded of the grandfather I’m missing dearly, and thinking of the British Royal Family and the beloved patriarch they’ve also been missing this year.
