The latest issue of New Idea is claiming that the queen of England is beginning “preparations to abdicate” after the annual Trooping the Colour event was held in a “low-key” manner “without its usual pomp and ceremony” due to the coronavirus.
The tabloid points to Andrew Morton, a royal family biographer, who told The Telegraph in an interview that “the Queen’s reign is effectively over” and that “Corona has practically put Charles on the throne.”
Considering that this rumor is entirely based on a Telegraph interview, it doesn’t seem like the tabloid actually read the full article. Though isolated at Windsor Castle, the queen is continuing to carry out her duties virtually – she’s working from home, like so many of us. Earlier this month Queen Elizabeth and her daughter Princess Anne appeared on a video call together speaking to caregivers around Britain.
The same Telegraph article the tabloid cites lauded the event as a “seminal moment” in Her Majesty’s reign, suggesting that it “shows how quickly the monarchy has adapted to the coronavirus era.”
Later in that piece, the newspaper offers those quotes from Morton, but then refutes them as a “gross underestimation of the Queen’s ability to adapt to challenges put in her path.” It also suggests that rather than her role being diminished, it has “arguably been enhanced and needed more than ever” amid the crisis. It’s clear that in context, Morton’s words aren’t being taken as fact.
This is hardly the first time New Idea has been caught trying to push phony rumors about the Queen amid the global pandemic. In March, the tabloid insisted that Prince William and Kate Middleton were taking the throne, insisting on its cover that an “official palace statement” had been issued on the matter.
As Gossip Cop pointed out for what felt like the 200th time, Prince William cannot skip over his father in the line of succession just “because.” The heir apparent to the throne is determined by parliamentary law.
But the tabloid has been pushing this theory since long before the outbreak began – just because it’s been given a new coat of paint doesn’t make it any more true. Back in 2018, we busted the magazine for the exact same claim, with Queen Elizabeth allegedly deciding Prince William would be a better monarch than Prince Charles would.
Just the week before, the queen had called on the territories within the British Commonwealth to name Prince Charles as the organization’s next leader, which they did. Queen Elizabeth has made it perfectly clear that she has faith in her son’s abilities as the next king of England.