On Wednesday, Kensington Palace made the announcement that Prince William was being sent to New Zealand in April. This trip is not a goodwill tour and it’s not part of some commonwealth agenda – the trip is William’s to undertake at the request of the Queen, and his mission is to honor the fallen, the victims of the massive terrorist attack two weeks ago. Here was the announcement:
The Duke of Cambridge will visit New Zealand on behalf of The Queen to honour the victims of the Christchurch mosques terrorist attack.
The visit in late April will be made at the request of the Prime Minister of New Zealand. pic.twitter.com/rFPlDo8dmJ
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 27, 2019
William is the obvious choice – the Queen no longer travels abroad (or she won’t travel for more than a few hours at a time). Prince Charles’ schedule is so jam-packed, it would likely be a massive headache to shift things around on such short notice. So William and Kate are next in line. In fact, the only real surprise is that Kate isn’t going too? It could be a calculation by everyone involved – if Kate went, the conversation would be about clothes and hair, and if just William goes, the victims and their families will get the attention. That being said, the trip would get more media attention overall if Kate went too. As I said, it was a calculation to just sent William. They had to weigh a lot of different considerations.
But because everybody is weird, there’s also a conversation about how William could “miss” the birth of his first niece or nephew, Genderless Polo Baby Sussex. We don’t know Meghan’s due date, but many believe she’s due at some point in April. I think her due date is probably mid-April, but first babies usually come a little bit late, so it’s anyone’s guess. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are some sketchy scheduling choices made by royals over the years, but this isn’t one of them. It’s not “bad form” to travel when your sister-in-law is about to give birth. William’s not the father, and he’ll see the baby when he comes back, if Meghan gives birth while he’s away. Besides, I don’t think William had a choice about this NZ trip.
Photos courtesy of WENN and Avalon Red.
Idk, I don’t put my life on hold when my in-laws are having babies. 🤷
+1 completely agree…
+1
This is not a “hey, wanna go?” kind of event. You go when it’s scheduled by the host. He may also be missing Louis’ first birthday (on the 23rd). Them’s the breaks. I’m sure along the way, as heir/POW, he will have a schedule like his father’s, and miss a lot more (first days of school, school plays, etc). But w/out a supreme amount of planning, and with the universe dictating events, it will happen.
Even if at home, William would not be sitting in the waiting room, waiting to hear if Meg has a boy or a girl. Also, I’m sure William is familiar with FaceTime/Skype and will be able to congratulate H&M if he misses the actual birth.
Yep. He’ll see Polo Baby at some point..
the last person i wanted to see when i gave birth was my brother in law. he is a lovely man and still….the last person
I think he did have a choice and is going alone as it good PR for him (also to deflect from the Real housewives of Norfolk drama) and yeah Kate going would have taken focus away from the victims and what happened. Its quite sad that the narrative around her is all about her hair and what she is wearing, not about what she has to say or whom she is representing but that is on her and the image she spent years crafting for herself.
Its going to take more than additional engagements for the Cambridges to shake off their work shy ways. Its a narrative that has taken hold, partly because its true and because they have allowed it.
There were rumours he would be making a trip to NZ in regards to the terror attack even before the Norfolk drama blew up last weekend.
The Cambridges were set to step up engagements after the DOE retired. They did. It doesn’t negate their multitude of previous false starts but they’re working now. Let them get on with it.
The numbers show that William has increased his numbers a bit more (although in February Harry had higher numbers than him). Kate has not really increased her numbers from last year.
William is going to honor those killed in a horrific act of violence. Can we maybe just respect the dead and not try to make this about William’s schemings.
👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻
A voice of reason!
FGS, this is a gossip website!! We all know what happened was horrific, but that’s not the point of this post.
Sometimes criticism and gossip veers into really absurd territory and that’s where we are now with the Cambridges. So tired of people going overboard and then saying, “but it’s gossip!” Make the choice to be a reasonable person.
@Shrutes FWIW I don’t think it’s a big deal at all if William is in NZ when Harry’s baby is born. But that is the topic of this post and it is obnoxious when people try to act all sanctimonious on a gossip website that is literally called “Celebitchy” (I’m not directing this at you at all — just in general. It seems like it’s been happening a lot here lately.)
If you’re hearing it more and more, that’s probably a sign that things have crossed a line. We all know what the site is called, doesn’t mean we have to act like a pack of unhinged mean girls.
Well said SBF.
Of course I think both William and Kate going would be a great thing.
Since it’s just William this would be an opportunity to act like one of the heirs to the British throne.
As opposed to yesterday, when William (as the heir) conducted an investiture honoring a Muslim man who saved lives during the Finley park attack?
It does all get a bit silly.
I doubt Harry saw Williams children right away either. In my country other than the father of the child males can see the mother and baby only after 40 days.
Umm yeah I don’t think that’s a custom the BRF follows. William has to work and he shouldn’t plan his life around when his SIL might give birth, but I doubt he will wait that long to meet neice or nephew.
i am so confused on why this is a story or even a problem? As long as Harry is there….it’s fine
We are in a weird timeline.
Like really who cares where William is when baby Sussex is born.
I agree. I don’t think this is an issue for anyone except for the royal conspiracy theorists on social media. I rarely see my brother-in-law and he sees his nephew maybe once a year. It’s not a big deal to me at all.
“Genderless Polo Baby Sussex” What does “Polo” have to do with anything?
We started calling the baby “Polo Baby” after “kind of” guessing that was when the baby was conceived. Meg was at one of Harry’s Polo matches, in July, newly wed, and looking very hot together. They announced the pregnancy in Oct.
Jus’ sayin’….🤔😉😄
This is a very good undertaking for William and I hardly think it matters if he isn’t there right at the minute that his brother’s child is born. He will see the baby very soon after the birth anyway. I am glad he is doing this and I think they’ve made the right calculations in not including Kate. As you’ve said, it would be all about her clothing unfortunately, and in these circumstances, that’s not an appropriate focus.
I doubt he would care considering how relaxed he was with his KP staff abusing and bullying his sister-in-law
Pretty much.
Stop with all of this it’s Harry’s job to protect Meghan not William’s. William protected his wife when she needed it. Harry didn’t . That’s the problem.
Harry has been protecting Meghan. The issue is all the negative stories leaked by staff at Kensington palace that is you know headed up by William.
@kitty no he didn’t protect his wife, and please, his and his wife’s friends had leaked enough about his brother and his SIL. I thought that his job was to be next to his brother not to hurt him. And BTW William and Catherine didn’t leak anything. You just don’t like William so you extend the hate for his wife and believe whatever you want that shows them in bad light.
Louis’s first birthday is April 23rd so he will probably go either before or after that. I doubt he’d miss that (although with William, who knows).
I just had a thought. What if Meghan has her baby on Louis’ birthday?
Will she be accused of stealing his day?
You know she will. She masterminded the Brexit vote and the resulting 2 year fiasco so she could seduce Harry.😂😂😂
I read on Quora that the Tory Party is actively trying to find a way to blame BREXIT on Meghan. LOL! LOL!
He spent Charlotte’s first Easter with Jecca. At least this time it wouldn’t look that bad.
No, he did not spent Charlotte’s first Easter with Jecca, he attended her wedding along with a bunch of other guests.
After his rugby comment, hopefully he’ll at least try this time.
What rugby comment? If you don’t mind….
William said the following when at the Wales vs Ireland 6 Nations rugby match: “I think that no matter which side you’re supporting today, our hearts and our thoughts are with our New Zealand rugby family, particularly in Christchurch after the senseless attack that happened yesterday. Rugby is a big community so it will pull together.” Rugby is huge in New Zealand, but not many Muslim New Zealanders play rugby (except Sonny Bill Williams, who’s an unbelievable player). Focusing on the “New Zealand rugby family” and not mentioning the victims was more than a little tone-deaf.
Now we know why he needs notes.
He also said right after that, “But that shouldn’t take away from a great spectacle today” (referring to the match). It was embarrassingly tone-deaf all around.
Didn’t he also mention, in the same breath, that it was a sad day for the Welsh team as the Kiwi manager was leaving?
I don’t think it was too much of an issue to focus a little on Rugby as it was at a Rugby match (and Rugby is a bit deal in NZ). He should have stopped after the first part – he dug himself into a bit of a hole afterwards.
I am a Muslim darling. I don’t mind what he said. In reality I liked that he talked about it. You won’t care about Islam more than me. But anyway thank you
I doubt William is gonna be on Meghan’s mind when shes giving birth
Harry wasn’t there when Kate gave birth, he was out of town for at least one or two of the babies, right? This is a nonstory.
Exactly
Silliness. William is not the father or part of the medical team so why would he be expected to be there when Meghan gives birth.
I don’t see why William being in the UK when polo baby is born matters at all. There’s a lot he can be criticized for but this isn’t one of them.
Seriously. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted my BIL to be one of the first people I saw after giving birth. And he’s a perfectly nice guy who I like a lot, but let’s be real!
With all the advances in modern medicine, babies still arrive when ready unless induce.
It’s not like William is in control of the epidural.
ha, even with an induction the timing can be a surprise. Mine were 3-day affairs.
True. They induced my mom twice to get me out.
I always told her she should have known how stubborn I’d be after that. lol
Would Baby Sussex be aware of his absence?
MM and Harry want privacy. As I stated before, I really don’t believe there is a baby presentation planned at hospital….unless the British people are camped out for days outside the hospital and KP caves…..the privacy will extend to relatives visiting newborn Sussex etc….the William heading to NZ story is not a snub at all.
I think that it is really good William is coming to NZ. I think the response regarding the Christchurch terrorist attack from our Head of State has been paricularly poor. I dont care if Kate comes or not but no what she is wearing will not be a distraction. What a ridiculous notion, given the gravity of the situation. I’m just stoked that a senior royal is coming. ( I thought it would be Charles and I thought he’d be here last week as we had a national service e.g. our whole nation did Friday prayers). We are hugely devastated by this and it’s still pretty raw here.
J9NZ, by Head of State, do you mean Jacinda Ardern? Do NZersthink her response has been poor?
I thought Jacinda was handling this like a pro, also. She is being lauded in my country for her response to the horror NZ has suffered.
Isn’t Queen Elizabeth the Head of State in New Zealand?
It really doesn’t matter where William is when Baby Sussex arrives. He is off to represent the Queen which is his job and he won’t have much of a say in the timing. It makes sense for Kate not to be there, as said in the original story, as it would deflect attention from the purpose of the visit.
The Queen is our head of state and NZ is part of the Commonwealth. Jacinda is our Prime Minister and she is absolutely amazing. All our leaders in this country have been incredible. I think the Royal Fams response has been quite average actually …. as I say I thought someone senior would have been here sooner.
I’m trying to understand you, how is the response from your head of State poor?
The Queen and the Royal family sent her sympathy to the people of New Zealand, Harry, Meghan and Anne went New Zealand House to pay their respect.
Charles and Camilla is on tour in the Carribbean, which was planned many months in advance.
Unless the Senior Royals are doing private visits, I would think they would have to wait until the Government extents an invitation.
Invite the Royal family or get a handle on what caused the massacre.
The Queen is very elderly and wouldn’t be able to make such a long trip, and as rightly pointed out, Charles is on a long-planned tour of another part of the Commonwealth. But William is the obvious choice, and he could have gone sooner. I also think it’s unkind to say things like, “get a handle on what caused the massacre.” It seems very clear that access to guns and white supremacy caused the massacre, just as it did in the US with many of the various massacres there.
I’m sorry if you’re are offended, I meant no offense.
What I am saying, is New Zealand’s first priority was finding out how many people were involved in this massacre over having a Member of the Royal family Visit.
I would imagine they are perfectly capable of doing both at the same time. This is not like a natural disaster.
Maybe he is going to atone for his comments at the rugby game about the tragedy. Someone should have been there for the memorial service. Looks like the palace PR people are spending too much time putting H and M in their place. I still maintain they may lose some commonwealth countries if they don’t address the elephant in the room that is racism.
this will not be his first nephew if it’s a boy – that would be pippa’s son. it would be the first nephew he would be biologically related to.
Just as well. The Megan and Harry don’t need Normal Bill’s jealous vibe around them or their newborn. Let hm do some work in New Zealand and then come home and sort out his country matters.
As for Kate not going she has the Chelsea flower show coming up and two
kids in school. I know a few British friends have said this is a really busy time for their kids.
It’s for the best, that William be elsewhere when the baby is born.
I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, I think Kate is fine with Meghan. I think it’s solely William who has the problem with her and Kate feels she has to appease him.
It’s interesting William didn’t visit Quebec when a shooter murdered Muslims in a mosque in Quebec City…..but then Quebec is Quebec.
He would not have been welcome in Quebec City, so I totally understand.
How so? I’m from Quebec and I remember the last time W&K came (I believe in the early 2010s) was quite the popular affair. I’m just curious as to what prompted your opinion!
“Oh well” was my first thought. I just hope that he does a good job, because I love the leadership, and heart, Jacinda Ardern has shown. She hasn’t posted on IG since the attack and did today. There were too many comments to read all of them, but honestly I scrolled reading them for awhile and no trolls! No one was afraid to post their support and love and I’m sure if a troll does appear they’ll all ignore or boot them off the thread. Also, this isn’t to say William will do a bad job and there are degrees. If he can be inclusive, like his wife was, I’d be very happy.
I think if Kate were also going the scummy media would be in a fit saying “The Cambridges are leaving the country when Meghan gives birth!!! Further proof of the growing feud between the couples!!!”
A reaction like that would make them (media) seem even more ridiculous. Are Kate and William labour coaches?
That’s a very good point. Besides, some say Kate is hoping to conceive baby #4 – speculation is that William’s in no position to refuse at the moment.
My first born was born at 39 weeks, all on his own. You just never know and you can’t plan life around when you think a baby will be born.
So what is William misses Polo Baby’s birth, he is not the Father!
Maybe William should be in NZ when the baby is born….
NZ, I am truly sorry that this horrific event took place and my prayers are with those who lost family and friends by this horrific act.
Ck out item on blindgossip.com….seems there may question of paternity if the blind item is correct. Don’t know who else this “blind” could be referring to…could also account for the timing of the NZ trip.
That is 100% rubbish. It is not remotely plausible.
Questioning paternity of Meghan’s baby?! That’s bonkers. Some people will say anything for attention.
Susan, what will be the date Monday? 🙂
They do a fake one every April Fools Day, which is Monday. It says it will be revealed/announced on Monday. Coincidence?
I’d say this is their annual April fool’s day joke
Yeah, it’s likely more important that Grandpa is there to welcome his new grandchild than Uncle, if it comes down to that. Never mind whose sked is busier. Harry likely wants Charles around for the birth.