Prince William and the Princess of Wales are still catching heat from their decisions, last week, to skip the pre-Christmas lunch and release their Christmas card while the lunch was happening. It looked petty and like William is trying to stick it to his father in some way. It also looked like William and Kate are still lazy as hell, and too dysfunctional to keep up appearances at a family lunch. You can tell that there are murmurs of dysfunction and interfamily beef, because several royal commentators have been sent out to do damage control. Commentator Hugo Vickers gave a hilarious set of quotes to Page Six, in which he went back and forth between “Kate is so ill, we cannot expect her to do anything ever again” and “Kate is obviously ready to be queen at any moment.” Some highlights:
Why William & Kate skipped the pre-Christmas lunch: “No one could have expected what this year has brought for the Prince and Princess of Wales,” said the friend. “Family is so important to them, and the children are the center of their universe. They wanted to start celebrating early. They’re focused this Christmas [season] on being with the family at home and then joining the rest of the Windsor family on Christmas Day. The Prince of Wales has said this has been the hardest year of his life.” Given that he was just 15 years old when his mother, Princess Diana, died in August 1997, that is truly saying something.
Kate is not out of the woods yet: “I’m told she’s getting better and that’s indicated by slightly more frequent appearances … but it’s clearly been absolutely devastating and very difficult for her, and she’s not out of the woods yet,” Hugo Vickers, noted royal historian and friend of the family, told Page Six.
But what if Kate needs to be queen sooner rather than later?? Should she be called upon sooner rather than later, “Catherine is as ready as she will ever be to be queen,” said Vickers.
King Charles looks horrible: “He looks quite knackered up close and red around the eyes and thinner,” said one royal insider who has seen Charles recently, “Especially for someone who normally looks so vigorous, but I suppose it’s only to be expected after 10 months of cancer treatment.
William will be king soon enough: “He must try to be positive,” said Vickers. “But he must be under tremendous stress — not only is his father ill, but the Prince of Wales, throughout history, doesn’t know what morning he will wake up and find himself King.”
A phased return for Kate: We’re told that after finishing treatment a few months ago, Kate is still on a “phased return” to work that will continue well into the New Year, and there are no joint travel plans in the year ahead for the Prince and Princess of Wales. Although, sources say the British Foreign Office would love to see them come to the US in 2026 for the World Cup and to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
No reset button: “There is no big reset button to go back to where they were before,” said the friend. “Cancer is a leveler and every family around the world has someone who has been touched by that disease themselves, so we can all relate to what the Prince and Princess of Wales have gone through. But [Kate] has had to process her illness against the gaze of the world.” Added Vickers: “Her health comes first, that point has been made very effectively — and, of course, her children.”
Kate is preparing to be queen by wearing royal jewels: “We’re starting to see the nods to the family line,” Vickers said. “It’s a dynasty moment and shows she’s conscious at some point of really stepping into the most senior role of queen.”
Is it just me or is “Catherine is as ready as she will ever be to be queen” not exactly a ringing endorsement? Vickers is basically saying that Kate can’t be polished or trained any further, that this is who she is and we’ll never get some new and improved version when she’s queen. Obviously, the whole point of all of these Keen Hype pieces is to endlessly put “William, Kate, king and queen” in the same sentence as much as possible. How are courtiers not filled with dread? How are the most die-hard royalists not panicking over that? What concerns me is that the propaganda machinery is working overtime to put this hazy patina of suffering over the past year, like William and Kate weren’t actively lying and deceiving the public in the middle of their own crisis.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.