Well, this is interesting. Vanity Fair’s new cover story is all about “Inside the Monarchy’s Difficult Year.” It’s written by Katie Nicholl, a longtime embiggening campaigner with sources deep within the Middleton camp. This might explain the focus of the piece, which is that the Princess of Wales is recovering and she’ll be back to work eventually, and now everyone knows that the monarchy would be in the toilet if she wasn’t around. There’s also a lot of focus on how Prince William and Kate’s marriage is very strong and they’re built to last. We’re basically getting a front seat to recent royal history being rewritten before our eyes. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
The slimmed-down monarchy was nothing without Kate: “Without Catherine, it all seems rather flat. The future of the monarchy is William and Catherine,” says Patrick Jephson, the former private secretary to Diana, Princess of Wales. “And, as we know from any superficial study of the British royal family, it’s the women who pull the show together, who get out there and make things happen. So how fragile is the monarchy? Well, it’s as fragile as Catherine is and at the moment, we don’t know.”
Without Kate, everything would go to sh-t: “The intense public emotion that greeted Catherine’s brave appearance at Trooping underlined her crucial importance to the monarchy,” says Jephson. “Without her, the institution would surely be reduced to a shadow of itself. Given the Windsors’ drastically thinned ranks, she is the crown’s best hope by far. She combines duty and beauty with a piercing vulnerability second only to Prince William’s mother.”
Kate had been hitting her stride? Kate’s cancer diagnosis has come as an even bigger shock [after Charles’s diagnosis]. The 42-year-old mother was just hitting her stride as the new Princess of Wales, working in her field of early childhood development and looking forward to a busy schedule of engagements and overseas tours with William, when her life was turned upside down. As she and her husband and their immediate families came to terms with the devastating news—no one beyond the Middletons and the king and queen were told about Kate’s cancer at first—they worked out how to tell their three children.
King Charles might reconsider the slimmed-down monarchy: The king is said to be acutely aware of the pressures on the core family members, not least his wife and eldest son. Behind closed doors there is talk that in the absence of Harry and Meghan, the king could ask Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to carry out more royal engagements both in the UK and overseas. “Charles is fond of his nieces. He thinks they have grown into very sensible women who could be a real asset,” reveals a source close to the king. “It is something being considered.” Adds a second palace insider: “The royal family has always shown a propensity for learning from past experience and adjusting. It’s one of the great chameleon organizations of the world in that sense, and I think therefore there will be someone saying, ‘Let’s reassess this slimmed-down monarchy.’ ”
Prince Harry didn’t offer to help out: Rumors in the press that Harry, who recently returned to the UK for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, is keen to assist his father with royal duties overseas are wide of the mark. Harry and Meghan’s trip to Nigeria, while not an official royal tour, appeared to have all the trademarks of one and generated mostly positive press for the couple. During Harry’s three-day trip to the UK in May, there was no meeting with his father. Harry was said to be deeply disappointed that Charles prioritized official engagements, including a palace garden party, over him. “While there has been a thawing of relations between father and son, there are still trust issues,” confides a family friend. “Charles was very hurt by some of the things Harry said about Camilla in his book. As for relations between Harry and William, there is a complete breakdown of trust.”
Kate’s hospitalization: When Kate was in the hospital, she did not want her children to see her in a gown and hooked up to monitors and tubes, so only William visited, and she made do with video calls home every day. “Things were so normal at home that George was playing a rugby match against another school while Kate was hospitalized,” notes a friend.
A difficult time for William: “William is a human being like everyone else, and it’s been a really difficult time for him too,” says an aide. “I think what’s important to him is that he’s there to support his wife and his children while continuing with his public duties.”
The Mother’s Day frankenphoto: “The information vacuum that the palace did not have the good sense to fill with honest, harmless stuff allowed these wild conspiracy theories to grow up,” says Jephson, who believes the palace should have been more open from the outset. “The emotional connection between the crown and the people is centuries old. Any time in history when the connection is lost or neglected has not played out well. The public’s love for the monarchy is its greatest strength. Its greatest guarantee of longevity. It is a delicate flower. It’s not the monarchy that’s delicate, it’s that love of the monarchy that’s delicate.” According to a royal aide, “Lessons were learned,” and William and Kate were floored by the reaction.
The Wales marriage: According to Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the Waleses’ marriage is stronger than ever, built on a foundation of friendship and love. “These are two people who really know each other. The strength of their marriage can’t be overstated.”
Kate will eventually get back to work: Contrary to reports she may not return to full-time duties, according to aides, the princess “will pick up where she left off” as soon as she is well enough. As for the future, the prospect of one day being queen doesn’t faze her, even in this moment of vulnerability. “It doesn’t worry her or keep her awake at night,” says a friend. “She just wants her kids to be a bit older before she has to step up to the big job. The fact is she was born for the job, it’s almost ingrained in her.”
There are more quotes and assessments about how William and Kate are super-prepared for whatever the future brings, which I 100% do not believe. Whatever happened over the past six months, a chunk of it was Will and Kate’s childish incompetence and lack of preparedness. They couldn’t even release a photo for Mother’s Day without it turning into a global scandal. They couldn’t even let a woman with cancer have some sympathetic press without throwing her under the bus to protect William and his image. It’s been catastrophe after catastrophe and now the Middleton-Wales machinery is like “but the whole thing would fall apart without Kate.” What’s scary is that it’s sort of true. If another Princess of Wales went away (by divorce, death or a mysterious months-long absence), I’m not sure the monarchy would survive, honestly.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of Vanity Fair.