Again, I’m surprised that People Magazine didn’t devote their cover story this week to Prince William’s 40th birthday. Justin Bieber got the cover! It’s pretty funny. I wonder if Kensington Palace was trying to organize the People cover, especially given that “royal sources” continue to emphasize that the Windsors “know they have an ‘America’ problem.” As in, the Windsors need American tourism, American money, American donations and American media. All of that American money and interest has subsided in the wake of Sussexit and the pandemic. So here we are. William didn’t get the cover of People, but Simon Perry (People’s chief foreign correspondent) did write an embiggening piece about how William has found “contentment” even though he’s still super-mad at Harry. Some highlights:

Bringing the kids out for the Jubbly: When the couple headed to Cardiff, Wales, on the morning of the Jubilee concert, it was clear to those of us there how they were gently teaching their eldest two children what it’s like to work on the royal frontline. As he lovingly placed his hand on George’s shoulders and brought Charlotte in close to talk to a young woman in the crowd, William helped them take some of the first steps that mirrored his own introduction to royal duty at a similar age.

Kate the impeccable spouse: William has been determined that his own family life be as normal as possible — and with his wife Kate, rightly praised for being a solid impeccable spouse as they face the next decades together, he has the best partner.

Mad at Harry: But it’s with deep sadness among those who know the prince, that one partnership that has been lost is with his brother Prince Harry. Their estrangement is an ongoing sore that shows no sign of easing soon and is a source of “pain and hurt” for both William and Charles, a close insider says.

Political work: He has also managed to navigate that difficult terrain of appealing to politicians and decision-makers while not overstepping the mark and becoming party-political on the world stage too — whether it’s urging President Xi Jinping in China to join the ban on the illegal trade in endangered wildlife or deftly treading a diplomatic path in visits to Israel and the neighboring Disputed Territories and, in 2019, Pakistan. “In his early 20s, I always had to pinch myself to remind me that he was still a very young man. He already had an extraordinary maturity,” says Charlie Mayhew, CEO of the Tusk Trust charity. “That, I suppose, comes with a knowledge of his destiny. He has developed into a really valuable statesman for this country and for conservation and the environment.”

Still blaming the Flop Tour on Buckingham Palace: Of course, it hasn’t always been plain sailing publicly. The couple’s tour through the Caribbean in March had an undercurrent of controversy as visits were canceled due to protests about colonialism. The Jamaican Prime Minister told William to his face that it was his intention to push for a republic. Then, there were the accusations that the royals were “tone deaf” as they stood on the back of LandRover to leave a military parade. (For their part William and his team have stressed frequently how they were listening and learning from what they were told during the tour.)

Millennial king: The future challenge for William, alongside Kate, will be to make the monarchy relevant for the millennial generation amid some of the new pressures that will uniquely fall on them as the sole representatives of the younger working royals in the family. They will have to forge a way forward while helping the monarchy adjust and understand “the social and cultural challenges of the age,” a close insider suggests.

[From People]

It’s one of my favorite things in the world when people talk about William and Kate as “the Millennial King and Queen.” Like we haven’t seen them cosplay Victorians and Edwardians for the better part of a decade, like we haven’t seen them dress and behave like mid-century colonialists longing for the “good old days.” And this: “Kate, rightly praised for being a solid impeccable spouse.” Is she though?

As for the Harry stuff… I find it interesting that Perry emphasizes that William AND Charles are mad and hurt. Because Charles met with Harry and Meghan privately and Clarence House hasn’t leaked anything about it. It feels like there is something subtle happening with William’s birthday keenery, which is an over-emphasis on Will and Charles’s closeness now that Harry has been exiled, and how they’re BOTH mad at Harry. William feels like he can speak freely for Charles. Charles isn’t publicly disputing it.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar and Backgrid.