Why Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla Don’t Host Royal Investitures — But Princess Anne Does
Recognizing deserving citizens for their services and accomplishments with investiture ceremonies has been a long-standing tradition in the royal family. Typically, the ceremony is hosted by blood members of the royal family, and currently, only three people share the responsibility of presenting the honorees with their awards: King Charles, Prince William, and Princess Anne. With Charles fighting a cancer battle, Anne's royal roster severely packed, and about 30 such ceremonies being held each year, the question arises whether Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla are eligible to host some of them.
According to People magazine, while royals marrying into the family are not forbidden to host these ceremonies, those in the line of succession are traditionally the ones carrying out the duty. In the past, there have been times when a non-blood member has stepped in to host investitures in place of the monarch. For instance, the Queen Mother performed more than 50 investiture ceremonies, from the 1950s to 1980s, during her daughter Queen Elizabeth's reign. The late Prince Philip also hosted these ceremonies. Therefore, Camilla, as Queen consort, is likely to also step in to perform the duty if need be. Meanwhile, given that the spouse of an heir has previously not hosted the ceremony, the Princess of Wales is less likely to be seen presenting the honorees with their insignias.
Among the current members hosting the ceremony, the Princess Royal carries out the most. Often dubbed the hardest-working royal, the 74-year-old has shown an unwavering commitment to the Crown. As per recent reports, she is also allegedly annoyed by William for not partaking in more of these ‘bread-and-butter’ royal duties as heir to the throne. A source close to the Princess recently told The Times, “She is still doing most of the investitures [at Windsor] even though William lives there. It annoys her.” Amid the tension, Camilla may step in to host the ceremonies.
For the unversed, the list of honorees, typically UK citizens or those from the British Overseas Territories, is published twice by the Cabinet Office every year. The titles awarded in the ceremony are knighthoods and damehoods, and among them, the most well-known are the Officer of the Order of the British Empire and Member of the Order of the British Empire. The royal family’s website states that anyone in the United Kingdom can recommend a British citizen to be bestowed with the honor. It reads, “Anybody in the U.K. can make a recommendation for a British national to receive an honor. This ensures that many people who are not in the public eye are recognized for their valuable service and contribution, perhaps to charity, to the emergency services, or to their industry or profession.”