This has been a wild year for the British royal family, thanks in large part to damaging claims made by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. They haven’t been the only members of the royal family to make headlines, however. Queen Elizabeth, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and even Princess Eugenie have dominated our news feed this year.
Early this fall, Queen Elizabeth suddenly canceled a scheduled trip to Northern Ireland, which sparked a wave of worries about the 95-year-old monarch. The more information that came out about the canceled trip, the more serious the queen’s seemingly declining health appeared. This came, of course, after her husband of 74 years, Prince Philip, died in April.
On a lighter note, Prince William and Kate Middleton seemingly broke royal protocol earlier this year during a private, family vacation. We’ve got the skinny on which rule the Cambridges apparently broke, and why the rule was implemented in the first place.
Princess Eugenie experienced highs and lows during 2021. Probably the biggest high point was the birth of her son, August, who was christened last month in an intimate ceremony. Just before that christening, however, came one of the lows as Eugenie’s family experienced a heartbreaking loss.
Need to know what the rest of the royal family got up to this year? We’ve got you covered with our top royal stories from 2021.
Queen Elizabeth Suddenly Cancels Trip, Here’s What’s Happening With The 95-Year-Old Monarch

Queen Elizabeth’s health has been in the news a lot during the latter half of the year after the 95-year-old monarch canceled several royal appearances, including a scheduled trip to Northern Ireland in late October. As the weeks went on, the queen called off many of her scheduled appearances, including highly anticipated ones, after being told by medical professionals that she had to rest.
Buckingham Palace has been largely silent about what exactly is plaguing the queen, but what they ruled out can be read about it here.
Kate Middleton, Prince William Accused Of Breaking Royal Protocol With Family Vacation

Like many families with young children, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton like to take family vacations and enjoy their private time with their kids. Unlike other families, however, William and Middleton have to follow strict royal protocols even while traveling for personal, not official, reasons. Though young Prince George is still a kid, even he’s not an exception to this rule that governs the heirs to the British throne.
Learn more about this rule, and why it was put into place at all, by clicking here.
Heartbreak For Princess Eugenie Days Before Son’s Christening

Just a few days before the christening of her first child, baby August, Princess Eugenie’s family was hit with heartbreaking news. Eugenie, who married her husband Jack Brooksbank in a beautiful ceremony in 2018, had a death in her small family in the week leading up to her infant son’s traditional, yet intimate, christening.
To read the full story, click this link.