On his daughter’s ninth birthday, Prince William was in Birmingham, seated in a luxury private box, watching his favorite football team lose. Aston Villa lost their semifinal match last Thursday, and William looked like a man without a care in the world, totally engaged with the game and chatting with his man friend (who was seated next to him). He certainly didn’t give the appearance of a husband who was “going through hell” with his wife, who has not been verifiably seen in public in over four months. Nor did Prince Work-From-Home look like he was keen to get back to a regular work schedule – please, not when he could go to football matches. So, it looks like Kensington Palace heard the criticism and they dropped this into People Magazine’s coverage of William’s outing:
Despite his team losing the game, a close source tells PEOPLE that watching Aston Villa has given Prince William a lift as both his wife, Kate Middleton, and father, King Charles, are undergoing treatment for cancer.
“He has been hugely buoyed by the results of Aston Villa,” the source says. “You shouldn’t overlook the importance of soccer in these moments.”
LMAO, what self-respecting Brit code-switches for an American audience and refers to it as “soccer”? Besides that, the palace’s answer to the criticism of “William is going to football matches while his wife is ill and his daughter is celebrating her birthday??” is “don’t you know that William LOVES SOCCER?” You can’t make this up. William expects people to be happy for him that he’s out enjoying a relaxing football match instead of working or spending time with his family.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see William’s schedule for the next week, especially with Prince Harry coming into town. Harry will be seen in London on the 8th (Wednesday), and Harry might have other things on his agenda, like seeing the king or stopping in to see a charity. William will want to “compete.” So his office has thrown together two days of events on Thursday and Friday. What about the bloody school run??
The Prince of Wales will make his first official visit to the Isles of Scilly since becoming Duke of Cornwall. Prince William will carry out engagements in Newquay, in Cornwall, on Thursday May 9 and on the Isles of Scilly on Friday May 10.
On Thursday he will visit the site where the Duchy of Cornwall’s first homeless housing project will be built, in Nansledan, Newquay. The project, delivered in partnership with Cornish charity St Petrocs, will build 24 homes, with wraparound support, for homeless people. Construction will begin in September, and land for the homes is being provided by the Duchy. The Prince will meet the development’s leaders and the chief executive of St Petrocs, Henry Meacock. He will then visit Fistral beach, where he will meet organisations who take care of it.
On Friday, he will make his first official visit to the Isles of Scilly since becoming the Duke of Cornwall in September 2022. Prince William will visit St Mary’s harbour, which is run by the Duchy, and handles passengers and vessels. He will spend time with harbour operators before paying a visit to St Mary’s Community Hospital.
Making his first trip to the Isles of Scilly since he became Prince of Wales twenty months ago? The situation over at Kensington Palace sounds dire. Ten bucks says that William will have a “surprise event” on Wednesday as well.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red, Cover Images.