I didn’t even really catch the interesting “staging” of the Windsors on Remembrance Sunday, but the Telegraph made a point of dissecting it. For most of QEII’s reign, she was down on the ground at the Cenotaph, laying her wreath. When she got much older, she gave Prince Charles the task of wreath-laying while she stood on the balcony of the Foreign Office, flanked by the most senior women in the family. QEII was always supposed to be the “center” of the image, whether she was physically laying the wreath or whether she was on the balcony. But it’s different now that King Charles III is in charge. He was centered on the ground, with William directly behind him, then Anne and Edward behind William. On the balcony, Kate and Camilla were given equal prominence.

The Queen and Princess of Wales were given equal prominence as they shared a balcony to watch the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, ensuring that neither took the place of Queen Elizabeth II. In a break from tradition, the two senior royals stood side by side, while the Countess of Wessex stood on a separate balcony alongside the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

The arrangement meant that no one was deemed to have replaced the late Queen by taking her central spot at the first Remembrance ceremony since her death. The monarch had stood front and centre on a Foreign Office balcony overlooking Whitehall since her son, then Prince of Wales, took on the responsibility of laying her wreath in 2017.

The late Queen missed last year’s service due to a back strain that put her temporarily out of action. Her absence meant that the Duchess of Cornwall, the Countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Cambridge stood together on a balcony, with the latter in the middle, suggesting that Camilla had opted not to pull rank by substituting herself for the monarch. However, royal sources insisted at the time that the arrangement was spontaneous, rather than being pre-planned.

This year’s arrangement ensured the family neatly avoided the issue altogether.

[From The Telegraph]

So last year’s balcony placement made it look like Kate was super-eager to “take the place” of QEII, with Camilla off to the side. This year, Kate and Camilla stood as “equals” on the balcony, and shifted the Countess of Wessex to a separate balcony. Really, the staging would have made more sense with Camilla in the center, flanked by Kate and Sophie on either side. Camilla IS the Queen Consort after all. But it was seemingly more important to “mean girl” Sophie. I wonder who made that call?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.