Prince William, Kate Middleton ’Stepping Up’ While Palace Downplays Queen’s Retirement Rumors

Prince William and Kate Middleton continue to step up in terms of their royal duties while Queen Elizabeth II is slowing down.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are still very visible amid the lockdown. They have been doing video calls via Zoom and have been sending positive messages as the world battles with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Royal biographer Katie Nicholl pointed out how the future king and queen are stepping up their game while the monarch is slowing down.

“The Palace is keen to play down rumours of the Queen retiring or even scaling back,” Nicholl said.

“But the reality is that we have seen Prince Charles and the Cambridges stepping up to the plate more now than ever before. We're seeing them letting their guard down and that is a result of what we are going through.”

Nicholl stressed that in time like this, the people turn to the royal family for support, comfort and hope. With Queen Elizabeth II isolating in Windsor Castle and Prince Charles doing the same, the Cambridges are forced in the frontline.

Nicholl said that the pair is giving the people a good impression on how their leadership will be when Prince William is crowned king.

“It’s uplifting for Britain, particularly for royalists, to see what the future of the royal family is going to look like,” she added.

Nicholl also recognized the Queen’s effort. Even if she is quarantining, she appears online from time to time to give the people a message of hope.

“The queen is very aware that the role of the royal family during a national crisis like this is to be seen, to be able to support her people, and she's having to do this through a digital platform and it's quite incredible that at the age of 94, she's embracing that,” the expert continued.

Meanwhile, royal biographer Andrew Morton predicted that the Queen won’t be able to return to work due to the pandemic. The monarch is already 94 years old and her husband, Prince Philip, is 98 years old.

If Queen Elizabeth would still do her usual engagements, she might catch the virus and it could be fatal for her. Not only that, it would also put the Duke of Edinburgh at risk, according to Morton.