Following the Prime Minister’s call for a General Election, working royals have had to cancel all engagements. But while Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are likely overjoyed to spend more time with their dad, many people are confused about why the royals can’t work until the election is over.
Many people were surprised by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement to call a General Election, an announcement he made on Wednesday, May 22, with many wondering why he called it now and what it could mean for working parents.
The vote will take place on Thursday, July 4 and while MPs and want-to-be MPs now begin their hard work in the run-up to the date, the royals are doing the exact opposite.
That’s because royals cannot carry out duties when an election has been called until the voting is over. It is standard protocol for all senior royals to, if not cancel all engagements, to at least trim down their schedule in the run up to an election in order to avoid ‘any distractions from the campaigning or risks of perceived political biases,’ Tatler reports.
Following the call, a statement was released by Buckingham Palace explaining, “Following the Prime Minister’s statement this afternoon calling a General Election, The Royal Family will – in accordance with normal procedure – postpone engagements that may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign.
“Their Majesties send their sincere apologies to any of those who may be affected as a result.”
The disruption has added yet more pressure to an already chaotic royal year, though Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, are likely all delighted that their dad Prince William will be at home and spending more time with them until the summer.
William only recently picked up his royal duties again after understandably taking time off of work to focus on keeping his family life as normal as possible following Kate Middleton’s announcement that she was undergoing ‘preventative cancer’ treatment following an abdominal surgery.
However, when his dad King Charles was then forced to step back from the public eye after his own cancer treatment just a couple of weeks later, William was back at work, holding The Firm together. But, perhaps seeing his son worry about his young family, the King quickly returned to work – something one royal expert found surprising though, after hearing the selfless reason King Charles will not step down as King despite his health struggles, we’re not shocked at all.
“I see that Prince William isn’t working at all today, so he’s already nabbed out [tapped out],” Ingrid Seward, royal expert an author of My Mother and I, the story of the relationship between King Charles III and his mother, told Newsweek about William stepping away from duties again.
She added, “It could be a bit of silver lining for William, but people are already saying that William is a little workshy, which I don’t think he is. People will think it’s very odd.”
With all this time off on his hands, we’re sure George, Charlotte and Louis are set to be William’s top priority. As well as joining in with playtime, though we’re not sure he’ll adhere to his kids’ strict playtime rule inspired by Nordic parenting, we wonder if the family will make use of the May half-term and get the kids to one of the most popular holiday destinations kids want to visit in 2024.
In other royal news, Queen Elizabeth is in full mum-mode in never-before-seen photo released by Buckingham Palace and Prince Louis inherited mischievous personality from his dad as unearthed clips show Prince William getting ‘told off’ by the late Queen. Plus, Prince George, Charlotte and Louis very nearly had different baby names as Kate Middleton ‘set her heart’ on moniker with a sweet link to the late Queen Elizabeth II (and we love it).
