The annual event held at Buckingham Palace was attended by around 1000 invitees, including senior royals, government officials and high commissioners.
But among the VIP attendees, none shone brighter than the second-in-line to the throne.
The Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge were the epitome of future monarchs, with Wills dressed in a tuxedo and Kate wearing a navy evening gown topped off with the Lover’s Knot heirloom tiara.
For the occasion, Kate also wore her Royal Victorian Order blue sash and yellow ribboned Royal Family Order badge, both recently bestowed on her by the Queen in recognition of her service
as a working royal.
Their regal demeanour did nothing to quell growing speculation that Wills and Kate will head up the royal family sooner rather than later.
For senior royal aides, the prestigious occasion offered almost a practice-run coronation – although the cost of their real coronation is likely to run into the millions if not billions of dollars.
“There will be a $1 billion televised coronation at Westminster Abbey,” a royal source hinted to In Touch magazine.
Having now completed their final official engagement for the year, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will move into 2020 reigning in everything apart from their official titles.
It’s been a tumultuous finish to 2019 for the royal family –
but throughout the drama, Wills has emerged as a future leader. In fact, a survey this year found that 46 per cent of people believed that the crown should pass directly from Queen Elizabeth II to Prince William.
This was strikingly apparent when Prince William reportedly took charge in the fallout of Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview about his involvement in the Epstein sex scandal.
“William immediately recognised the damage Andrew’s interview presented and demanded his uncle be exiled from the family,” a source told the US publication The National Enquirer. “Her Majesty said, ‘Only William and Catherine can ensure the future of the monarchy’.”
Britain’s OK! Magazine also recently reported that the Queen’s increasingly close relationship with the Duchess of Cambridge is an endorsement of Kate as the future Queen.
They “have a very easy relationship now they’ve both made the effort”, remarked royal commentator Katie Nicholl.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles is said to be disappointed over his handling of the recent royal crisis. Although the Prince of Wales contributed to the decision to oust his younger brother, there was a feeling that he stepped in a little too late.
There are now concerns that Prince Charles’ name may be tarred by Prince Andrew’s brush, which is only adding to the growing chorus that the heir to the throne abdicate in favour of his son.
Meanwhile, at the age of 71, Charles is already the oldest and longest-serving heir apparent in British history – and well past the average UK retirement age of 65. And despite concerns, no special law changes are required for the throne to pass from Queen Elizabeth straight to William, with royal author Robert Blackburn explaining that the handover process would be “simple and straightforward”.
In the meantime, it has been widely speculated that the Queen, 93, plans to retire at the age of 95, as she noticeably decreases her number of work engagements. “We are in a period of transition at the moment,” noted royal expert Robert Jobson in Vanity Fair.
“It is my understanding the Queen wants to hand the regency over to Charles.”
But the question is, will Charles take the throne or kowtow to popular opinion and hand the reins straight to his son and daughter-in-law.
To read more pick up this week’s issue of New Idea, on sale now.
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Prince William and Duchess Kate looked every inch the future king and queen when they attended the Diplomatic Corps reception last week.
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