The top royal events of the year, as chosen by Hello! Canada readers

In our annual reader survey in November, we asked you, dear Hello! Canada fans, to pick the royal events that were most memorable for you over the last year. As 2020 draws to a close (and many of us have a very long exhale) we are happy to reveal the top 10.
It was definitely a very different year for royals fans, who saw their favourite members of the family doing digital engagements from March to the early summer months as we all dealt with COVID-19. Some of them even came down with the illness themselves. The novel coronavirus affected nearly every single royal event of 2020, and it will continue to do so in 2021, until everyone is vaccinated.
Through it all, though, there have been moving moments and very lovely ones, as the Royal Family carried on the way we also carried on – with big differences, but they also had to adapt.
Scroll through the gallery (or click through if you're on mobile) to see the top 10 royal events of 2020 as chosen by you!
Photos: © Getty Images

No. 10 (tie): Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family
Forty per cent of you said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's huge announcement that kicked off 2020 was most memorable for you this year.
On Jan. 8, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan revealed they were planning to step down as senior members of the Royal Family and work toward becoming "financially independent."
The next few weeks led to an agreement with the Queen for a period of transition in Canada and the U.K. beginning in March. At the time, the Sussexes had just spent six weeks in Canada, staying on Vancouver Island with Archie during the holidays. Meghan returned there and was followed by Harry, with the two returning to the U.K. for a farewell tour of sorts in March, leading up to the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, which would be their final engagement as senior members of the family.
The Sussexes later relocated to Los Angeles, eventually buying a home in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Photo: © Getty Images

No. 10 (tie): Princess Eugenie's pregnancy announcement
In September, the younger Princess of York and her husband, Jack Brooksbank revealed the happy news that they were expecting their first child in 2021.
Taking to Instagram, Eugenie posted a photo of two tiny, adorable slippers, along with a new portrait of her and Jack.
"Jack and I are so excited for early 2021," she wrote, posting a baby emoji.
Sarah Ferguson, who will be a grandma when Eugenie gives birth, was overjoyed by the news.
"Thrilled for them both and in my 60th year cannot wait to be a grandmother," she wrote on Instagram. "Welcoming a new baby into the York family is going to be a moment of profound joy."
Photo: © Getty Images

No. 8 (tie): Prince William launches the Earthshot Prize
In early October, the Duke of Cambridge launched what's been called "the most prestigious global environment prize in history." It aims to inspire "the planet's greatest problem solvers to solve Earth's greatest problems: the emergencies facing our natural world." Five winners per year will be selected.
The prize is centred around five "Earthshots." They're described as "simple but ambitious goals, which if achieved by 2030 will improve life for us all, for generations to come." These are: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Fix Our Climate, Revive Our Oceans and Build a Waste-Free-World. Winners can be individuals, groups or collaborations who offer "evidence-based solutions."
On Oct. 8, William revealed the Earthshot Prize Council, who will judge submissions in the contest. The diverse group brings together people across the world from environmental, philanthropic, business, sport and entertainment sectors. The duke sits on the body, along with Sir David Attenborough. Queen Rania of Jordan, Shakira and Cate Blanchett are also on it.
The Earthshot Prize received huge praise from many people, including former U.S. President Barack Obama.
"It's going to take a lot of big-thinking and innovation to save the one planet we've got - and that's why @KensingtonRoyal's leadership on climate change can make a real difference," he tweeted.
Photo: © Kensington Palace via Getty Images

No. 8 (tie): Prince Philip turns 99 years old
In a very difficult year, royal birthdays provided some much-needed pick-me-ups and were an anchor for all of us needing something to feel good about amidst so much struggle. This was especially true with Prince Phillip's 99th birthday. To mark the very special event, Buckingham Palace released a lovely portrait of him and the Queen standing in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle, where they were both isolating during the COVID-19 lockdown.
We haven't seen much of Philip since he retired from official royal duties in 2017. He's mostly spent his time at the Sandringham estate, where he's been painting water colours and reading and enjoying nature. But during the pandemic, he's been with his beloved wife of 73 years at Windsor as a health and safety precaution. It was lovely to see him and the Queen enjoying the beautiful sunshine in the castle grounds.
Photo: © Steve Parsons/Press Association via Getty Images

No. 7: Prince George and Princess Charlotte's debuts at Christmas Day service, 2019
This shows up on our list because we asked you which events had been most memorable over the last 12 months. And since our survey was done in November, this event fell within that time frame. And since we didn't see the royals out this Christmas, we'll definitely take this.
Fans were thrilled to see Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Christmas Day church service on Dec. 25, 2019. The eldest Cambridge kids were dressed very smartly for the occasion, with George in a sweater, dress shirt, blazer and slacks, while Charlotte wore a green jacket and a skirt. Charlotte also perfectly curtsied for her great-grandmother, the Queen, outside the church at the end of the event!
Photo: © Getty Images

No. 6: The Queen's 94th birthday
Her Majesty celebrated her big day in the early, uncertain, anxiety-filled days of lockdown. This year, it fell just after Easter, which she also wasn't able to celebrate in her usual way due to COVID-19. Restrictions meant the annual Maundy Thursday service at St. George's Chapel was cancelled, as was the Easter Sunday service. The Queen is no stranger to quietly marking her birthday, but doing so in isolation must have had extra meaning for her this year.
In June, instead of holding Trooping the Colour, her official birthday, with the traditional celebrations in London, a smaller, socially-distant ceremony was held in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle. It was the first time we'd seen the Queen since her coronavirus address to the Commonwealth on April 5, and she was beaming ear-to-ear as she heard the music and watched the guards march.
We're hoping Her Majesty is able to celebrate her 95th birthday in a more normal fashion in 2021.
Photo: © Getty Images

No. 4 (tie): The Royal Family steps out to the Remembrance Sunday service
While it's an important event that is intended to help us take stock of what we have and honour those who we have lost in wars and armed conflicts since World War I, you might be surprised to see Remembrance Sunday on this list. But it was the first time we saw the royals together in a big group since the Commonwealth Day service on March 9 at Westminster Abbey!
Prince Charles laid a wreath at the Cenotaph, as did William, and the Queen was joined by Duchess Camilla, Kate, Princess Anne and the Countess of Wessex at the service as well.
Her Majesty also visited Westminster Abbey the same week to lay a bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, a grave of a soldier whose name is not known, who has come to symbolize all those we lose in wars.
This year, the service took on even more meaning as we battled COVID-19.
Photo: © Getty Images

No. 4: The Queen knighting Tom Moore
Captain Tom captivated the hearts of millions of people worldwide earlier this year when he started walking laps in his garden with a goal of raising £1,000 ($1,700) by his 100th birthday on April 30. He was donating the money to NHS Charities Together's COVID-19 relief.
By the time he turned 100, Tom had raised more than £30 million ($52 million), and he received the ultimate honour when the Queen made him a Knight Bachelor at Windsor Castle on July 17.
In a socially distanced, safe ceremony, Tom and Her Majesty beamed at each other as she tapped his shoulders twice with a sword in the Windsor Castle quadrangle.
Photo: © Getty Images

No. 3: Kate's Hold Still photography competition
The coronavirus pandemic changed life for every single person on this planet, and the Duchess of Cambridge wanted to give people the chance to document what that has looked like for them with this special project.
Kate, who studied photography at university and is an avid shutterbug herself, encouraged people to submit entries in May, just as the first lockdown was ending in the U.K.
"We've all been struck by some of the incredible images we've seen, which have given us an insight into the experiences and stories of people across the country," Kate said as she launched the project. "Some desperately sad images showing the human tragedy of this pandemic and other uplifting pictures showing people coming together to support those more vulnerable.
"Hold Still aims to capture a portrait of the nation, the spirit of the nation, what everyone is going through at this time. Photographs reflecting resilience, bravery, kindness – all those things that people are experiencing."
In September, the final 100 images from the project were unveiled from a whopping 32,000 submissions. Kate and her fellow judges – National Portrait Gallery Director Nicholas Cullinan, Chief Nursing Officer for England Ruth May, photographer Maryam Wahid and author/broadcaster Lemn Sissay – shared them online in October. The 100 images were later put on billboards across the U.K., and will hopefully be included in a physical exhibition that will travel across the country when the pandemic ends.
The Queen praised the initiative in a very special message that was released at the time the 100 finalists were named.
"The Duchess of Cambridge and I were inspired to see how the photographs have captured the resilience of the British people at such a challenging time," Her Majesty said.
"The Duchess of Cambridge and I send our best wishes and congratulations to all those who submitted a portrait to the project."
Photo: © Getty Images

No. 2: Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's wedding
Many royal watchers were crushed when Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi had to postpone their initial wedding plans in May. The couple wanted to marry at the Chapel Royal in London, but COVID-19 restrictions around gatherings made that impossible.
But we were pleasantly surprised in July, when it was revealed the eldest Princess of York and her beau had gotten married in a private ceremony at All Saints Chapel in Great Windsor Park.
Beatrice looked lovely in a vintage Norman Hartnell gown once owned by the Queen! The bride donned the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara, which Her Majesty also wore the day she married Prince Philip in 1947. The tiara dates from 1919, and was created for Queen Mary, the monarch's grandmother.
Sweet photos of the newlyweds featured Bea's grandparents smiling proudly as she and her new husband basked in the happiness of their special event.
The wedding is said to have had around 20 guests, reportedly including Beatrice's parents, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew, her previously mentioned, grandparents, the Queen and Philip, and younger sister Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank.
Edoardo's parents, Nicola Williams-Ellis and Alessandro Mapelli-Mozzi, were also in attendance. Christopher "Wolfie" Woolf, Edoardo's son from his previous relationship with architect Dara Huang served as his father's best man and pageboy.
Photo: © Benjamin Wheeler - WPA Pool/Getty Images

No. 1: The Queen's coronavirus speech
It's very rare that the Queen makes addresses to the Commonwealth. She's done so just four times: In 1991, when she spoke about the United Kingdom's involvement in the Gulf War; in 1997, after the death of Princess Diana; in 2002, after the death of the Queen Mother; and in 2012, as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
But COVID-19 is an extraordinary event, and it called for such an address.
On April 5, the Queen was beamed to television sets across the Commonwealth as she called on all of us to be "united and resolute" to defeat the novel coronavirus.
Calling this an "increasingly challenging time," she thanked front-line health care workers in the United Kingdom and abroad for their work in fighting the novel coronavirus, along with those who are still continuing to work in essential roles. She also expressed gratitude to those who remain at home, doing their best to safeguard those most vulnerable to the virus.
"Across the Commonwealth and around the world, we have seen heart-warming stories of people coming together to help others, be it through delivering food parcels and medicines, checking on neighbours, or converting businesses to help the relief effort," she said. "And though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and of none, are discovering that it presents an opportunity to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation."
Comparing the challenge to the Second World War, she said we will succeed in beating the virus by using science and compassion.
The Queen's address was a welcome gesture of compassion, hope and kindness that came as the world passed the grim milestone of more than 1 million coronavirus infections. As of the date of her speech's airing, that number had risen to more than 1,200,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
Since then, as we know, many more people become infected and millions more have died. The illness has sickened nearly 83 million people worldwide, though nearly 47 million people have recovered. Worldwide, more than 1.8 million people have died of COVID-19 since the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic in March.
We're thankful we have the Queen to turn to during this difficult time. Her wisdom and experience as a leader are beacons of hope and light during the pandemic, and will continue to be as we hopefully move towards its end.
Photo: © Getty Images