Katie Nicholl already wrote one article for Vanity Fair about the Princess of Wales’s appearance at Trooping the Colour. But why not get paid twice? So Nicholl went to Entertainment Tonight and did some “commentary” on Kate’s swan-like quality and where we might see Kate appear in public again. Last Friday, some of us were joking that the Trooping appearance was all part of Kate’s Keen Math – she had to appear in public at some point before Wimbledon because her real goal is seeing Roger Federer and watching tennis. Kate couldn’t just pop up at the All-England Club as her first public appearance in six months. Well, funny story – Katie Nicholl tells ET that’s basically what happened.
Kate the Swan: “The princess has this sort of swan-like quality about her — she’s sort of gliding on the surface — but beneath the water, I think often she’s paddling quite frantically,” Nicholl told ET. “I can only imagine that a huge amount of preparation and time and effort and energy will have gone into Saturday’s appearance. She was on her feet for a long period of time. There was a moment where she was watching the parade… and was offered a seat, which she gratefully accepted. That’s just a bit of an acknowledgement that she is not as strong, not as fit, as she was before she went into this treatment.”
You would never guess: Even amid her health challenges, Nicholl noted that Kate “looked impeccable” at the royal event, adding, “If you didn’t know that she was going through cancer treatment, you would never have guessed.”
Now Kate needs to rest again: “I think a day like Saturday, where she knows the eyes of the world are on her, there is a huge amount of scrutiny that will take its toll. I think we can probably imagine that she probably had a long and well deserved rest afterwards. I don’t think we can expect to see her in public for a little while. That’s going to take some recovery from.”
How Charles feels about Kate’s reappearance: “Charles has been a great pillar of support to Catherine when she said that she’d really like to be there at Trooping. He was 100 percent behind it. The idea that she was going to upstage him didn’t even cross his mind. He just wanted his daughter-in-law by his side.”
A huge amount of effort: “I think clearly a huge amount of effort went into her appearance behind the scenes, and it wasn’t just about how she looked. It was how she held herself. It was the pride that she took in being there, the way she shepherded her children into the carriage and up onto that balcony appearance. It was obviously very, very important for her to be there on Saturday, and I think she went to great lengths to make sure that she could be, and to do it all with that wonderful smile on her face.”
Kate won’t be back to work anytime soon: “She was very honest in that message. She said there were good days, and there were bad days when she was tired… I think we have to assume that Trooping was a good day, but she is still going through cancer treatment. She’s spoken about this need to be able to go through this period privately for her own recovery, but also for her and her family to have that much-needed privacy.”
But Kate is definitely planning on going to Wimbledon: “I wonder if we might see her at Wimbledon. She spoke in that very personal message about wanting to be able to do the things that bring her joy. I think that’s being in nature, that’s being with her children, that’s taking part in everyday school life, but tennis, don’t forget, is something that the princess absolutely loves. She takes great pride in her position at the Lawn Tennis Association. Wimbledon is a firm fixture in her diary. Every year we’ve seen her attend with her family in the past. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we see her pop up at Wimbledon, because I think that is something that will bring her joy, and a huge amount of her recovery depends on her being happy.”
I laughed at “a huge amount of her recovery depends on her being happy.” That is an added equation to Keen Math, Kate will no longer do anything which does not spark joy, she will not do anything which makes her unhappy. I guess that’s the new deal which was hammered out for six months. Only “happy” events for Kate. Meaning, Wimbledon and wherever she will be the center of attention? All of which to say, Wimbledon did more to smoke Kate out of hiding than an entire national press. Just days before Kate’s return, Wimbledon announced that they were making contingency plans for who would present the singles trophy/plates. That was the urgency, right? Also: “If you didn’t know that she was going through cancer treatment, you would never have guessed.”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.