What’s in store for the royals in 2020?
A wedding, milestone birthdays and lawsuits are set to shape 2020 for the British royal family.
In her Christmas message, Queen Elizabeth II acknowledged that 2019 had been “quite bumpy”, following a year of intense political debate over Brexit and heightened scrutiny of Prince Andrew and his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The same year also saw the birth of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s first child Archie and the announcement of Princess Beatrice’s engagement to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
The new year is expected to bring more landmark events for the Queen and her family.
As the longest serving monarch, Her Majesty will turn 94 in April and reach her 25,000th day on the throne on July 18. She is expected to hand over some official engagements and duties to the younger generations of the family, including her first son and heir apparent Prince Charles.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to continue promoting their environmental campaign. On New Year’s Eve, the couple announced the Earthshot Prize to recognise innovative solutions to environmental issues relating to “climate and energy, nature and biodiversity, oceans, air pollution, and fresh water”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will celebrate their son’s first birthday in May. The pair also has ongoing lawsuits, with the Duchess taking legal action against the Mail and its parent company Associated Newspapers for allegedly publishing “untrue” stories on her and Prince Harry suing News Group Newspapers for alleged phone hacking.
Princess Beatrice’s wedding is also expected to take place this year, with reports that an announcement of the date will be made this month.