The Prince and Princess of Wales—Not the King and Queen—Will Lead Public Tributes to Honor the First Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death Next Month

For 70 years, February 6 was Accession Day for Queen Elizabeth—the first day of her new role as monarch in 1952 and simultaneously one of the saddest days of her life. That’s the odd part about being royal: The moment you’ve trained your entire life for hinges, unfortunately, on the death of your (hopefully beloved) parent.

Her late Majesty always spent February 6 privately at Sandringham, where her father King George VI died unexpectedly at just 56 years old. It was a day of private reflection and mourning, the end to the Christmas season at the estate, which began the December prior.

But time marches on, and February 6 and all that it represented has now been replaced with September 8, the day the late Queen passed away at Balmoral at age 96 last year. The royal family are nothing if not stalwarts of tradition, and King Charles will take a page from his beloved mother and, instead of the February 6 at Sandringham tradition, will begin a new tradition: Observing September 8 privately at Balmoral, where Her late Majesty died at a place she so cherished.

So, that said, as King Charles and Queen Camilla mourn and reflect privately, that leaves the Prince and Princess of Wales to lead anniversary tributes to the late Queen, multiple outlets report. While it’s unclear just yet what will actually happen that day—although we do know they will deliver a public message of some sort, be it in person, on television, or on social media—William and Catherine will lead the nation in mourning, which includes looking ahead to the future, The Mirror reports.

“Her Majesty’s passing was an event that truly signified the end of an era,” a royal source told the outlet. “The royal family has been in transition since then and, following the Coronation and conclusion of the summer holidays, there will be an expectation to see what is next.”

Although members of the royal family may attend public engagements surrounding September 8, Palace sources said there were “no plans” for any public event or private family gathering attended by all of them. The King is said to currently be retreating at Balmoral and will receive family members there throughout the month, just as Queen Elizabeth once did. William, Catherine, and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are on summer holiday right now and are expected to be at Balmoral this month; the Wales three return to school at Lambrook on September 6. Tatler reports that the King is expected to be at Balmoral until early October after marking September 8 “quietly and privately,” a Palace official said, “just as the late Queen did to mark her own father’s passing.” It is reported that the King and Queen will visit Kenya this fall, the kickoff of a large tour across the Commonwealth.

Of Balmoral, the royal family’s traditional end of summer getaway, “Quite a lot of things have stayed the way they are because Her late Majesty was in the last years of her life and it was entirely right that she had peace, quiet, comfort, and familiarity,” a source speaking to The Daily Mail said of potential future repairs to the estate. “Between that and COVID, a lot of building projects have been put off. Ways are being looked at of increasing [public] access, but those are still being sketched out. People like the fact that the castle is an authentic royal residence that the family still use.”

On September 8, the tradition of the ringing of bells at Westminster Abbey to mark the King’s Accession Day are expected to continue, per People; additionally, a 21-gun salute will be fired in the royal parks of London as a sign of respect for Accession Day.