04 August 2023 , 19:06
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King Charles and Camilla will mark the anniversary of the death of the long-serving Queen Elizabeth privately. No public event is planned to commemorate the late Queen’s death.
Charles and Camilla are on their annual summer break and are not expected to hold a private family gathering at the Balmoral estate. Instead they will mark the anniversary privately, it is understood. Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, died peacefully at Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, on September 8 last year, aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.
Her death was the moment her son and heir Charles became King, and the date will remain a poignant period for the head of state.
It is understood the King and Queen are not expected to attend any public engagements during the week of the anniversary. The late Queen used to mark the passing of her father King George VI, who died on February 6 1952, privately at Sandringham.
This summer marks the first without the late Queen Elizabeth II in decades (Getty Images)Charles has carried out a number of firsts during his time as head of state, from carrying out his first overseas state visit to Germany to delivering his inaugural Christmas broadcast. This summer, like every one, the royal family put their engagements aside to relax in one of their many castles or estates.
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Charles and Camilla will spend much of August and September in Balmoral and during this time it is expected that they will be visited by other family members. But the trip will be a bittersweet one as it is the first summer since the late Queen peacefully died at the royal residence last September. Balmoral was said to be the place where she was happiest and her summer holidays were something she relished.
So with a new monarch in charge, it is inevitable that some things during the annual Balmoral trip will change, while some will remain the same. One significant change is Charles and Camilla reportedly choosing Birkhall as their main base until autumn.
Birkhall, the smaller private residence on the 50,000-acre Balmoral estate, is where the couple spent most of the Covid-19 lockdown and the King has called it "such a special place". He inherited it upon the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.
But sources told the Daily Mail that the family will “decamp” to the main castle for official visits. Disgraced royal Prince Andrew is expected to be amongst those attending along with the rest of the family, it was reported. Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won’t be attending after choosing not to in recent years.