Princess Alexandra has never made an announcement about stepping
back from public life. Yet a quiet debate has emerged among royal
watchers over whether the Queen’s cousin – one of the last working
representatives of her generation – has, in all but name, retired
from royal duties.
The discussion was prompted this week by a rare appearance
alongside Queen Camilla at a service of thanksgiving at the
Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. Listed in the Court Circular, the
engagement served as a reminder that Princess Alexandra, who will
turn 89 on Christmas Day, remains officially a working member of
the Royal Family – even if her public role has diminished.
Responding to a post on social media by the Canadian royal
writer and historian Patricia Treble, royal correspondent Richard
Palmer observed that Alexandra appeared to have been omitted
from her list of those carrying out official duties on behalf
of the Crown.
Treble had identified ten “working” royals – King Charles, Queen
Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of
Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
and the Duke of Kent – who between them have undertaken more than
2,400 engagements this year. Princess Alexandra did not feature. “I
think you’ve stopped counting Princess Alexandra,” Palmer noted,
adding that she had never formally announced her retirement.
Treble agreed, explaining that the Princess had been moved into
the “retired” category of her own records after carrying out only a
handful of engagements since the coronation. “Based on that
trajectory, I shifted her to the ‘retired’ section of my
spreadsheets,” she wrote, while acknowledging that no such
designation has been made by the Palace.
i-Images
Princess Alexandra’s diary in
numbers
The numbers tell their own story. According to the Court
Circular, Princess Alexandra maintained a formidable workload well
into her eighties. In 2018 she carried out 67 engagements, despite
being sidelined for three months after breaking her wrist. The
following year she undertook 55 public duties. The pace slowed
markedly after the Covid pandemic, reflecting both advancing age
and changing priorities within the monarchy. There were a round a
dozen engagements in 2020,doubling to over 30 in both 2021 and in
2022.
Then came a steep decline. Just three engagements were recorded
in 2023, one in 2024, and two so far this year –
including this week’s service at St James’s Palace. The
trajectory has fuelled speculation that Alexandra has effectively
stepped back, even if protocol still places her among the King’s
working relatives.
Those close to the institution note that the term “working
royal” is not a legal designation but a practical one, shaped by
health, availability and the needs of the Crown. Princess
Alexandra’s continued inclusion in the Court Circular, however
infrequent, suggests that she remains willing to serve when able
and asked. Her recent appearance with Queen Camilla – discreet,
dignified and unpublicised by official photographs – fits that
pattern.
Born in 1936, Princess Alexandra is a granddaughter of George V
and has spent seven decades representing the monarchy. She was a
trusted lieutenant of Elizabeth II, particularly during the 1960s
and 1970s, and remained an active presence well into later life.
Even as the royal household has slimmed down, her service has been
regarded with particular affection, emblematic of a generation
shaped by duty rather than celebrity.
Whether she should now be considered retired may ultimately be a
question of semantics rather than substance. In practical terms,
Princess Alexandra no longer plays a regular public role. Yet in
constitutional terms – and in the Palace’s eyes – she has not
stepped aside. As long as her name continues to appear in the Court
Circular, however sporadically, the answer remains clear: she has
not retired. She has simply, and characteristically, faded into the
background without announcement.
For an institution that prizes continuity and quiet service,
that may be precisely the point.
