Do Not Disturb, Accidental Death Announcements, and Other Royal Highlights

Tea, Titles & Tiaras with Emily Darlow

Pour yourself something strong this week, it’s been one of those gloriously unhinged royal news cycles that makes this column so enjoyable to write. A future king declines a phone call on national television, a radio station accidentally announces the death of the living King, Mike Tindall drops jokes about Harry and Andrew at a live event (naturally), Edward and Sophie unveil a surprise portrait, the Queen’s fashion exhibition is staying put for longer, and the Danish royal family delivers both a health scare and a heartwarming fun run in the same week.

The Prince of Wales Will Not Be Taking Your Call

Do you know what Prince William was doing last Thursday evening? Not answering his phone. And the whole nation saw it happen.
William attended Aston Villa’s Europa League match at Villa Park, his beloved Claret and Blues advancing to the final in the most dramatic fashion and was, understandably, completely absorbed by the whole affair. Mid-match, his phone buzzed. He looked at it. He declined the call. He put it away. He went straight back to watching football.

It is, on paper, the most relatable thing a person can do. We have all declined a call at an inconvenient moment. We have all looked at the screen, thought “not right now,” and tucked it back in our pocket. The difference is that William did it in the royal box, on national television, and now the entire internet wants to know who he ignored.

The clip went instantly viral. The consensus seems to be: absolute legend. One fan wrote: “I don’t care who was calling – respect the match.” Another noted that the irony of a future king declining a phone call while sitting on a throne, well, a velvet seat was not lost on them.

Aston Villa reached the Europa League final with a last-minute winner. William, it is safe to say, had his priorities completely right.

Mike Tindall: The Royal Family’s Loose Cannon (We Love Him For It)

If you want the tea, then Mike Tindall remains your man.

Appearing at a live recording of The Good, The Bad and The Rugby this week, Mike was asked what the family makes of everything currently swirling around the royals in the media. While teasing co-host James Haskell for managing to behave himself at the reception, Mike joked that “a lot of other people managed to humiliate themselves far better than you,” before adding, “Harry, back when he was fun.”

He also managed to slip in a cheeky dig at Prince Andrew after co-host Alex Payne joked that Mike must have a bedroom at Buckingham Palace. Mike’s response? “Opposite end to Andrew though.”

The crowd, unsurprisingly, erupted. Mike grinned. James looked equal parts horrified and delighted. And just like that, the moment was over, leaving everyone else to decide whether he had crossed a line or merely said aloud what plenty of people have been thinking.

This is hardly new territory for Mike, who has built an almost impressive reputation for saying exactly what everyone else is too polite to. He once joked about punching Prince Harry at a post-World Cup party, described the royal family as “very dysfunctional” on television, and somehow still manages to emerge from every controversy looking more amused than apologetic.

Meanwhile, Zara Tindall presumably watched the whole thing with the expression of someone who has spent years married to Mike and long ago accepted that filtering himself was never going to be one of his strengths.

Radio Caroline’s Very Bad Day

Now for the story that gave Buckingham Palace an unexpected Thursday morning.

Radio Caroline – the legendary UK station, once famous for broadcasting from a ship in the North Sea to circumvent broadcasting regulations, accidentally announced the death of King Charles III this week during what appears to have been a technical glitch involving pre-prepared emergency broadcast protocols.

The station immediately cut the announcement and issued a full apology, stating that a “technical error” had caused the broadcast to go out. Buckingham Palace confirmed, with presumably well-practised patience, that the King is very much alive.

Every major broadcaster has a pre-recorded package ready for the death of senior royals — the BBC famously rehearsed its protocols for decades ahead of Queen Elizabeth’s death. But the protocols exist precisely because these moments require careful, considered coverage. Accidentally triggering one is the broadcast equivalent of sending a condolence card to someone who is standing right in front of you.

King Charles, who has been doing well since his cancer treatment was reduced to a precautionary phase, was apparently entirely unbothered. The palace’s response was brief, good-humoured and gracious. One imagines the Radio Caroline newsroom was rather less serene.

A Portrait, A Surprise, and Portugal Plans

This week brought a genuinely charming surprise from the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, a new official portrait, unveiled quietly before Edward and Sophie head off to Portugal for an official visit.

The portrait was taken by renowned photographer Ranald Mackechnie, best known for the official portraits of King Charles and Queen Camilla and shows the couple in a warmly lit, intimate pose. Sophie is in ivory, Edward in a dark suit. They look happy. Settled. Very much like two people who have quietly become two of the most reliable members of the working royal family while the rest of the institution has been navigating considerable turbulence.

Royal watchers noted that the portrait was released with minimal fanfare and no announcement, no press event, just put into circulation. Edward and Sophie have never been about the spectacle. They just turn up, do the work, and get on with it. In the current climate, that consistency is worth considerably more than they are usually given credit for.

Portugal next – we look forward to the dispatches.

Good News for Fashion Lovers: The Exhibition Stays

A brief but thrilling bulletin, the Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style exhibition at The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace has been extended beyond its original closing date, and I for one am absolutely delighted.

For those who haven’t been following along: the exhibition, which opened in April to mark what would have been the Queen’s 100th birthday, features over 300 personal items across all ten decades of her life, dresses, hats, handbags, brooches, shoes and, thrillingly, a pair of trousers. Nearly half of the pieces have never been publicly displayed before. It has been described by critics as extraordinary.

I will be completely honest with you: this news brings me personal joy. I have been plotting my London trip, staring at flight prices and doing the maths on whether I could squeeze it in before the original closing date. The extension means I now have considerably more breathing room and I intend to use every second of it.

If you love her as much as I do, put it on your list. There are some places you simply have to go.

A Worried Eye on Denmark: Queen Margrethe and the Family She Left Behind

And finally, a note on our friends across the Øresund, because the Danish royal family has had quite the week.

Queen Margrethe II, who so dramatically abdicated the Danish throne last year, handing the crown to her son Frederik, has been hospitalised again, this time with a blood clot, just two weeks after suffering a heart attack. The palace issued a careful statement confirming she was receiving treatment and that her condition was being closely monitored. She is 86, and while Danish royals are famously long-lived, the back-to-back hospitalisations have prompted genuine concern across Scandinavia and beyond.

On a warmer note: King Frederik and Queen Mary, our own beloved Australian-born queen, former Mary Donaldson of Hobart took to the streets this week with their four children for their annual fun run, as they have done every year regardless of the pressures of palace life. There was Mary in her running gear, Frederick beside her, the children charging ahead in various states of competitiveness. Normal family life, royal edition.

Mary has, by any measure, become one of the most admired royal figures in Europe, admired not just for her grace and style but for the sheer human decency she brings to the role. We are watching the Danish royal situation closely and sending all warmth to Queen Margrethe as she recovers.

And there we are, a week of accidental deaths, a deliberate non-answer, a comedian with a crown connection who really should have his own column, and a fashion exhibition that is staying just long enough for those of us who need to catch a flight to London. Until next week – keep the tea piping hot, the tiaras polished, and for heaven’s sake, don’t broadcast anything without double-checking the source.