Bank Notes, Vegetables, and KFC: This Month With the Royals

Here’s the thing about the royal family: they stay busy. To the extent that we can say they have a job—a debate let’s save for another time—that job is to visit various places in the United Kingdom and look very engaged with a wide variety of people on an array of topics. They inaugurate bridges, visit grocery stores, investigate hospitals, unveil plaques, preside over tourist attractions. And there is always, always a crew of photographers there to capture the moment. Hence this, a new, monthly slideshow roundup of stuff the royals have been doing lately. Let’s get into it.

While the Queen’s schedule has been truncated by the coronavirus and Harry and Meghan have departed for California, Will and Kate are even more visible than ever. They recently visited one of the exhibitions mounted as part of the “Hold Still” project, a community-sourced photography series on the coronavirus lockdown, overseen by Kate. The venue was Waterloo Station in London, so the couple walked briefly through the streets like a couple of normals, and William paused to look into the window of a KFC. Apparently, he stopped to speak to a member of the public through the window, but personally, I choose to believe he was simply staring at something wholly beyond his personal experience. Will, hop the pond and I’ll take you to a Popeye’s and really blow your mind.

Even better than the KFC shot, however, was this image of Will and Kate juxtaposed with some hammer and sickle graffiti. I would like to personally congratulate the pool photographer who got this one, because he nailed it.

Not to be outdone by the young people, Charles and Camilla had their own field trip. Specifically, they went to the Headquarters of the Bank of England to learn about what the Bank is doing to shore up the British economy during coronavirus. Vanity Fair reports:

Charles also signed a promissory note worth £1 million, a royal tradition that Queen Elizabeth has participated in since she was a child.

According to the Daily Mail’s Rebecca English, Camilla used the signing as the moment to crack a joke. When the duchess was told that the note would be held in a vault for safe-keeping, she said, “So, I can’t pop it into my handbag?”

Also, they inspected some money. An absolutely classic royal photo op.

I would be remiss to skip the fact that Her Maj, the big cheese, the Queen herself, was back in action this month. After months of royal engagements conducted virtually, she joined William for a visit to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, including “a demonstration of a Forensic Explosives Investigation.” That hat is a good hat.

Further down the pecking order, Sophie and Edward—the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Elizabeth’s fourth child and his stalwart wife—went to Vauxhall City Farm, to see “the farm’s community engagement and education programmes in action, as the farm marks the start of Black History Month.” This is the absolute platonic ideal of a royal photo op, featuring two titled English people gazing with pleasure upon a basket of vegetables, in support of a good cause. Well done, Sophie and Edward—you win the month.