To say this was a pivotal year for Britain's royal family would be an off-with-her-head-worthy understatement.
Whatever news occurred before or after, be it good or bad, scandalous or sweet, all paled in comparison to the import of Queen Elizabeth II's death at 96 in September after 70 years on the throne. While everyone who served Her Majesty—including her heirs—knew what to do, the funeral plans having been in place for years, most people in the U.K. were left wondering, What comes next?
Aside from King Charles III, who became the new monarch the second his mother passed away, just as she became queen on Feb. 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI died. The people knew he was coming.
Rather, what will this transfer of purportedly God-given ceremonial power ultimately mean for the monarchy? So, in addition to 2022 marking the end of an era for the United Kingdom and assorted Commonwealth nations, this may end up being the most consequential year yet for the very concept of royalty.
And, of course, life was still busy happening, with milestones celebrated and Netflix specials breaking the Internet.
We'll take you through it all as we remember this momentous year in royalty:
The United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations got to celebrate the rarest of milestones in June: Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee marking her 70 years on the throne, and thousands of people from all over Britain and beyond gathered to take part in the happy occasion.
The 96-year-old monarch—who up until the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 had maintained a demanding schedule of engagements for anyone, let alone a nonagenarian—was well enough to kick off the festivities at Trooping the Colour on June 2, after which the itinerary was carried out in her stead.
After giving a teaser of what she and Prince Harry might be up to on Spotify two years ago, Meghan Markle's Archetypes podcast finally premiered in August. The series features the mother of two talking with guests such as Serena Williams and Mariah Carey about the common ways women get stereotyped—and how they've busted through those archaic tropes.
It was common knowledge that the queen was slowing down, sporadic mobility issues keeping her from appearing in public as much as usual and the April 2021 death of her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, sapping her of some of her usual vitality.
But it was still a huge blow when she died on Sept. 8, just two days after inviting the 15th prime minister of her reign, already-now-former PM Liz Truss, to form a government. The queen's passing was officially attributed to old age.
Soccer games were postponed, businesses closed and thousands of people left flowers, notes and other mementos outside all of the queen's homes—Londoners at one point were asked to please stop paying homage to her skit with Paddington Bear by leaving marmalade sandwiches outside Buckingham Palace—as a period of national mourning commenced.
The queen, who died at Balmoral Castle, her Scottish home, first lay in state at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh before she was transported to London's Westminster Hall, where the queue to view her coffin stretched for miles and even David Beckham waited more than 13 hours to pay his respects. The BBC maintained a live feed of the solemn but touching scene, which at different points included the queen's four children standing sentry and her eight grandchildren gathering for a silent vigil, up until the funeral procession to Westminster Abbey on Sept. 19.
An estimated 29.2 million people in the U.K. reportedly watched the state funeral on TV, and 11.4 million tuned in from the U.S., but neither figure includes streaming numbers.
When the queen died, her eldest son became King Charles III and his wife Queen Consort Camilla—which, if you paid attention to any of the royal goings-on in the '90s, you know is just wild.
Not the king part, but Camilla didn't exactly start off on the right foot with her future in-laws. Charles had loved her since the 1970s, but pulled up short—one, because she wasn't considered royal-family material at the time, and two, she was dotty for Andrew Parker Bowles when she met the Prince of Wales and since Charles didn't sort out his feelings in time, she accepted Andrew's proposal.
One extraordinarily public affair and two divorces later, Charles and Camilla wed in 2005 with his parents' blessing. Even as the years went by and the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall charmed as a couple, however, there were assurances emanating from the direction of the palace that Camilla would never be known as queen.
And yet, the queen eventually changed her mind.
"When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King," she said in a Feb. 5 statement, "I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service."
New titles for a new era: Upon his father becoming king, Prince William succeeded Charles as Prince of Wales and his wife of 11 years, Kate Middleton became Princess of Wales, following in the footsteps of the mother-in-law she never got to meet, Princess Diana.
Which, again, if you'd followed any of that '90s-era drama, is just wild.
For their first overseas tour with their new titles, Kate and William traveled to Boston, where their itinerary included a Celtics game and a meeting with President Joe Biden—no midnight ride to warn of their impending arrival necessary.
After a New York judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit filed against Prince Andrew by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she was trafficked by soon-to-be convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and made to have sex with Andrew several times starting when she was 17, the Duke of York settled the complaint in February for an undisclosed amount.
In a response to the suit, Andrew denied ever having sex with Giuffre or Epstein trafficking girls to him.
Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, who—as alleged in the Peacock documentary Prince Andrew: Banished—was once friendly enough with Andrew that Buckingham Palace security was ordered to wave her through when she visited, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on sex trafficking charges in June. She has appealed her sentence and conviction. (In his lawsuit response, Andrew also denied ever being Maxwell's "close friend.")
Since his mother—who made him take early retirement from The Firm in 2019—stripped him of his military titles in January, Andrew couldn't wear his Royal Navy uniform at her funeral, but was permitted to wear dress blues to the Vigil of the Princes at Westminster Hall.
There are other royal families besides the Brits, and in September Queen Margrethe II of Denmark stripped four of her grandchildren of their prince and princess titles, effective January 2023.
But while that sounds deliciously scandalous, her explanation for taking those designations away from her son Prince Joaquim's kids resembles Princess Anne's reason back in the '70s for not burdening, er, bestowing her own children with titles when they were born.
"With her decision," the Danish Royal House said in a statement, "Her Majesty The Queen wishes to create the framework for the four grandchildren to be able to shape their own lives to a much greater extent without being limited by the special considerations and duties that a formal affiliation with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution involves."
Truth be told, though, His Excellency Count of Monpezat—as Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, and Henrik, 13, will now be known—and Her Excellency Countess of Monpezat, 10-year-old Athena's designation, still sound pretty grand.
While no one seemed to mind too much when The Crown delved into the queen's early days on the throne, domestic disagreements with Prince Philip and all, oh how the tables turned once Peter Morgan's sumptuous Netflix series hit the Charles and Diana portion of the proceedings in November.
The demand that the streamer add a disclaimer to the show was floated last year when the late princess was first introduced to the plot. Netflix didn't acquiesce at the time, but, under more fire than usual from protective royal experts and the likes of Dame Judi Dench, an advisory was added to the season five trailer explaining that the series is a "fictional dramatisation" and only "inspired by real events."
Further enjoying the benefits of his wife, Zara Tindall, not being given a royal title at birth, Mike Tindall competed on the U.K.'s I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here in November and no one batted an eye.
Well, presumably Princess Anne's son-in-law has his critics (maybe the folks who remember Anne's appearance on It's a Royal Knockout with some of her siblings in the 1980s), but for the most part the athlete, activist and co-host of The Good, the Bad & the Rugby podcast has fans. Including his wife of 11 years, who gave him a warm welcome when he was voted out on Day 22, finishing fourth, and got to get the heck out of there.
Lady Susan Hussey—a godmother to Prince William and a longtime lady-in-waiting for Queen Elizabeth II who, incidentally, was tasked four decades ago with getting Diana up to speed on royal dos and don'ts—resigned from King Charles III's staff in November after being called out for repeatedly quizzing a Black guest about where she was from during a Buckingham Palace reception.
"A member of staff, Lady SH, approached me, moved my hair to see my name badge," Ngozi Fulani, chairwoman of the nonprofit Sistah Space, tweeted after the event, sharing that her interlocutor kept asking about her origin despite Fulani's insistence that she was British, period.
The offender was soon revealed to be Hussey, who later apologized to Fulani in person.
"Both Ms. Fulani and Lady Susan ask now that they be left in peace to rebuild their lives in the wake of an immensely distressing period for them both," read a statement released after their meeting. "They hope that their example shows a path to resolution can be found with kindness, co-operation and the condemnation of discrimination wherever it takes root."
Much to their fans' delight and critics' dismay (but also their delight, because headlines!), Harry and Meghan made it a tea party for two on their six-part Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, the first three episodes of which racked up 81.55 million viewing hours around the globe during their first week out.
Because they unpacked so much of what they went through with Oprah Winfrey last year, the net result of this elegantly produced telling of their story was that not a whole lot new was learned. But for those who can't hear enough about how unfair and terrible the U.K. media were to Meghan and how much Harry's family looks super-genteel but actually is pretty terrible, this series was for you.