The Royal Dispatch
A king delivers CPR and royals at Ascot
Hi Royal Clubbers, it’s Millie back this week with The Royal Dispatch in its brand new Saturday lunchtime slot. Thanks to Danielle for last week’s wonderful newsletter, and you will be hearing from her tomorrow in this month’s edition of The Royal Wardrobe.
For those of you curious, the results from your favourite Prince Edward moment poll are in! A very decisive 47 per cent of you chose his wedding to Sophie in 1999. We do love a royal wedding!
But before we get on to the best royal pictures of the week, time for some royal history.
On this day…
On 16 March 1792, King Gustav III of Sweden was shot in the back during a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm.
Prior to that fateful evening, the tide of popular opinion in the nobility had turned against Gustav as a result of his war with Russia and the Union and Security Act, which would increase the power of the king.
He received threatening letters, including one on the night of his assassination which read:
To the King — with the greatest humility.
Pray, allow an unknown whose pen is guided by tactfulness and the voice of conscience, dare take the liberty to inform You, with all possible sincerity, that certain individuals exist, both in the Provinces and here in the City, that only breathe hatred and revenge against You; indeed to the extreme of wanting to shorten Your days, through murder.
They are greatly upset to see this not happening at the last masquerade but they rejoice at the tidings of seeing that there will be a new one today. Bandits do not like lanterns; there is nothing more serviceable for an assassination than darkness and disguise. I dare, then, to appeal to You, by everything that is holy in this world, to postpone this damnable ball, to such times as are more positive for Your present as well as coming benefit...
It seems King Gustav heeded the warning but dismissed its severity, at first choosing to sit in an open box before going down to the ball. He said: "This would have been an opportunity to shoot. Come, let us go down. The ball seems to be merry and bright."
The assassin, Jacob Johan Anckarström, managed to get close enough to the king as he entered the ball to shoot him. Gustav had turned slightly to speak to a companion, a move which initially saved his life as the bullet entered his lower back. Thirteen days later, however, the wound became infected and Gustav died.
Jacob was arrested, and later was executed for regicide.
Subsequent examinations of evidence suggest that the sudden infection was caused chemically by attending surgeon Daniel Théel, a known enemy of the king. The moral of the story: don’t make an enemy of your doctor.
Best Royal Pictures of The Week
King Charles
King Charles was tickled pink as he performed CPR on a medical test mannequin as part of a celebration for the 1,000th RCN King's Nursing Cadet at the Royal College of Nursing on Tuesday.
Zara Tindall
The Princess Royal’s daughter shares her mother’s love for horses, and is an annual attendee of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Zara was joined by husband Mike Tindall, who matched her bold headpiece with a yellow tie.
She was also snapped with Princess Eugenie, who attended day two of the races and was spotted laughing and chatting with Zara and husband Jack Brooksbank.
Belgian royals
Belgium’s queen was a vision in green on Tuesday during a visit to a school in Vilvoorde, Belgium, in support of a campaign against bullying.
Queen Mathilde joined her husband King Philippe looking incredibly glamorous as they hosted the annual spring concert at the Palais Royal in Brussels on Thursday night.
Queen Camilla
A Queen and a former Spice Girl are perhaps an unusual combination, but it was in aid of a good cause as Queen Camilla hosted a reception to mark the 15th anniversary of Women of the World (WOW) at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
Cheltenham is certainly a nail-biter! Rocking a fur hat, Queen Camilla attended ‘Style Wednesday’ for day two of the Cheltenham races, watching the drama from the royal box.
Prince William
It’s been a busy week for the Prince of Wales as he stopped by an FA referee training course on Tuesday. The visit is part of Prince William’s role as patron of the Football Association, supporting the FA’s Reflective and Representative campaign which aims to recruit 1,000 people from Black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds into refereeing roles.
He certainly took his role very seriously!
Crown Princess Victoria
The future queen of Sweden certainly polishes up well! Crown Princess Victoria looked the part during her Name Day celebrations at The Royal Palace in Stockholm on Wednesday.
Royal Diary
This week will mark a return for the Princess of Wales to the annual St Patrick's Day parade, after missing the ceremony last year during her recovery from abdominal surgery.
There will also be an overseas trip for the Prince of Wales, and two family birthdays.
Read on to find out more…