It’s remarkable to think about how Prince William was able to keep his severe case of coronavirus a secret for more than six months. First of all, if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been involved in any kind of coverup about their health, it would be blaring headlines across every paper, with dozens of royal commentators screeching “How dare they!” But in the wake of William’s seemingly strategic leak, there’s mostly just grumbling and an undercurrent of “WTF.” I too have questions – did William decide to keep his corona diagnosis a secret himself, against the recommendations of staff? When did he inform his grandmother and father? Did they sign off on the cover up? How many people did William expose? And on and on. Well, Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair has something of an update… her sources say that Liz and Chuck knew, but there’s no mention of whether they thought the lies were a good idea.
For all the anonymous quotes that can come from Buckingham Palace about one royal scandal or another, it turns out the royals can still keep a secret if they want to—at least for a few months. Over the weekend, the Sun reported that Prince William tested positive for coronavirus in early April but chose to keep his diagnosis under wraps to avoid causing panic.
According to the Sun, William was treated by palace doctors and isolated according to government guidelines. The Daily Mail’s Rebecca English tweeted that Kensington Palace has confirmed that Kate Middleton and the couple’s three children did not come down with the illness. Though Kensington Palace has declined to comment on the story, royal insiders have also confirmed William’s April illness to Vanity Fair.
One source close to the royal family denied the Sun’s claim that William was hit hard by the illness. “My understanding was that he was not bed-ridden and actually coped pretty well with the virus, working for most of the time he had it,” the insider said. “It was no secret among the family, but William didn’t want it getting out because he didn’t want to worry the nation.”
In late March, Prince Charles announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 after traveling to Birkhall, his country home on the Balmoral estate. Another source who spoke to Vanity Fair said that when William was diagnosed, Queen Elizabeth was understandably concerned that both her son and grandson—her two direct heirs—were battling the virus. “The priority was keeping HMQ shielded and safe, which was thankfully what happened,” the insider said. “But of course the queen was worried for Charles and William and relieved that they suffered only minor symptoms.”
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, William and Kate threw themselves into working to support people affected by the virus, and continued to hold in-person engagements through the last week of March. “At a time like this, the royal family is very important in providing stability and support to a worried nation,” a source told Vanity Fair at the time. “The Cambridges are not in the vulnerable sector and they want to help.” By mid-April, however, that plan was abandoned in favor of the video calls and social media posts that became to represent the entire royal family’s approach to the changed circumstances of a world under lockdown.
The timeline of his diagnosis and illness is still under wraps. William took a seven-day break from conducting calls from April 9 to April 16 when he celebrated the opening of a new hospital on a video call. On April 23, he appeared on the BBC’s Comic Relief telethon with Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
He didn’t have to be bed-ridden to feel awful, and I believe the story about how he was having difficulty breathing. I think THAT is one of the reasons why he kept it quiet – because he did have a bad case, and he was worried about his health. His first instinct was to lie and cover it up, which doesn’t bode well for King William’s reign. And this whole idea of William and Kate keeping busy even while William apparently felt like sh-t is bonkers. The timeline makes no sense. No one has a straight answer about when he was actually diagnosed and when he felt like sh-t. We don’t know whether he stayed isolated from Kate and the kids and how in the world they managed to avoid contracting the virus if they were all living in the same palatial Norfolk home. There’s also no mention of whether there was any kind of contact tracing considering Will and Kate were apparently still meeting people in person when William was likely infectious.
So, while we now know that the Queen and Charles knew about William’s diagnosis, we still don’t know if they signed off on the coverup. We also don’t know why William’s team leaked this story NOW and is currently trying to massage it into “King Bill is so brave and he worked so hard when he secretly had Covid!”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
No leaks about Prince Willow. Huh.
Interesting, right? no leaks because KP and William were the ones behind most of the leaks anyway, so William being sick was easy to cover because he wasn’t going to leak it.
That was exactly my thought.
Really makes the source of the leaks about Harry and Meghan pretty obvious doesn’t it?
Yup. Further confirmation that KP was behind the smear campaign against Meghan and Harry.
Exactly this. Amazing how by trying to show how brave he is, he inadvertently shows us where the leaks may be coming from and that secrets can be kept by the BRF.
Mmmhhhmm. Palace was absolutely leaking about H&M. So glad they’re away from that shit show.
A confirmation that when leaks do happen, it is not done randomly by disgruntled staff but rather a sanctioned matter from the highest level of a particular court. Not that we didn’t already suspect this.
This story just boggles my mind. If it was “early April” that he was diagnosed, then Charles was out of his isolation/quarantine so hiding it for that reason makes no sense. Unless he was diagnosed on April 1, and there was concern about his last in-person event on March 20. but if that was the case, then they DEFINITELY should have announced it so that anyone who came into contact with him could have gotten tested or isolated. And they were delivering food in April for that photo op, so if he had it closer to mid-April – I mean, I don’t know. It’s not a good look for KP and I think that’s for two reasons like we’ve discussed – he didn’t notify people he might have exposed, which is a bad look for the future king, and/or he doesn’t want people asking how he got it if no one else in the household was sick and he was on lockdown by that point.
There is no period of time in March or April where they can get away with saying he had and it not mean that the public was exposed, or at least Kate having to sit next to him in zoom calls while infectious. It certainly looks like he was giving food to the pensioners while dealing with covid and of course no mask or gloves. What a raging selfish asshole.
According to the report in the Daily Mail William complied with government guidance on self-isolation.
But he didn’t .
FROM THE GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE:
“If you have COVID-19 symptoms or have received a positive test result stay at home and begin to self-isolate for 10 days from when your symptoms start.
…..A positive test result means you must complete a 10-day isolation period.
….Stay as far away from other members of your household as possible,
…….You could be fined if you do not stay at home and self-isolate following a positive test result for COVID-19
…… If you live in the same household as someone with COVID-19 stay at home for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day the first person in your house developed symptoms ……
…….. You could be fined if you are identified as a contact of someone with COVID-19 and you are notified by NHS Test and Trace that you need to self-isolate and do not to stay at home and self-isolate.
They did not follow these guidelines.
They were together for the video call on the 8th April.
They were together for the BBC interview which was shown on 17th April but probably filmed on the 16th when the BBC filmed the opening of the Nightingale Hospital.
If William had a positive test on the 9th he should have isolated from the 9th to the 19th. Kate should have isolated up to the 23rd.
I’m hoping he caught it from Rose, and that’s why all the subterfuge.
Leaks appears to be a grandiose narcissist and a malignant narcissist rolled into one. Didn’t want to worry anyone, yet he announced it months later. Didn’t want to worry anyone yet he went about mask less and being in contact with people. Worst of all he used his children as part of the subterfuge, delivering food etc. I am astounded at another KP PR flop of this magnitude.
This just shows that the BRF and their staff can shut up and not leak a thing when told not to.
This.
It bears remembering that there was a shortage of tests around that time, and there was some controversy that Charles got tested when healthcare workers were unable to get tests. It would have been even more scandalous at the time if William also managed to get a test simply because he was a royal. That may be why they have been quite cagey about the timeline of his diagnosis.
Lol. Right. Second in line to the throne, can’t get tested because of controversy. I can’t even write that with a straight face.
If he had symptoms like difficulty breathing then he didn’t need to be tested and it is still not a valid reason for keeping it hidden. He could have infected people and they should have been notified. The exact date he was diagnosed isn’t for his own sake but for the protection of the general public so they could get tested themselves.
He didn’t have to announce anything all he could have said at the end of April was “The Duke of Cambridge contracted COVID-19 at the beginning of April and took the appropriate measures. The Duke only took a test after displaying severe symptoms. He is now feeling better and eager to support the public during a pandemic”
Would have avoided lying and deception and would have sorted out the “issue” of getting tested
I agree. I wouldn’t be surprised if Charles & the Queen didn’t immediately know about Wills’ diagnosis & KP kept it under wraps (funny how they ARE able to keep things confidential) which is why you had BP announcing Sophie having to isolate but no announcement over William actually having it.
It’s Katie Nicholls so probably doing KP’s bidding & involving the Queen & Charles in the cover up. I’m actually very amused by this manouevering. It’s what they deserve for failing to get a handle on William
I suspect Wills hasn’t been as responsible as he should have been & that’s why diagnosis was kept quiet.
Your statement, Sophie, is perfect and doesn’t reveal too much or leave anything out. Which is why the pr geniuses at KP never thought to do something similar because not only are they inept, they are also short-sighted. They are so busy trying to cover up William’s activities, they’ve put out a story with so many holes, people are peering through them looking for the truth.
Spot on! The geniuses at KP only have one job and they can’t even do it right. Despite the whole UK press machinery behind them, even issuing a factual statement at the right time is beyond their capabilities.
The KP press people might have suggested this but we all know that billy is a massive narcissist who thinks he’s great at PR and everything else he does.
Camilla got tested. If she could get tested, so could William and Kate.
They could have “set an example” by getting tested.
Scarcity of tests is/was an issue when it comes to celebrities or random rich people. Heads of state or government officials, as long as they’re not deliberately reckless, are another matter. For example, if the PM is in a coma, that’s a national emergency.
Of course, one problem is that many of the government officials who have come down with COVID HAVE been acting recklessly, and endangering those around them, while also wasting precious testing and medical supplies.
And I guess it also begs the question, are the royals government officials or celebrities? They occupy a middle space, but are quickly hurtling toward the “celeb” definition, which calls their public funding into question.
The timeline still makes no sense. If he was diagnosed in early April, why was he sitting next to Kate, unmasked, on a video chat on the 8th and 9th? Was he diagnosed right after that and only quarantined for 7 days? Because he appeared again with Kate on the 17th and 18th. Since testing for this virus results in 1 in 3 false negative tests and in some cases virus shedding can go on for weeks, why was he not taking precautions like wearing a mask and distancing?
Charles only quarantined for seven days as well after arriving at Birkhall. He had shown symptoms at Highgrove and then traveled to Scotland while already sick. Camilla quarantined for fourteen days.
Here’s Katie Nicholl to the rescue!
Yep, Old Reliable herself. Kissing Willy’s azz as usual.
My theory: Wills saw how bad his PR move was received and decided to “share” the blame with the family. Slightly, not in direct words… Just to let everyone know that they knew too. So not only Wills lied but the Queen and Charles.
That and to shut up the press (it worked).
@Gina I was about to write the same thing. He’s throwing his family under the bus. He’s basically saying that they lied too, so also be mad at them. What a coward. He can’t even take the heat that he started. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t he leak his own covid news to a bystander? How thick can you get?
Gee, if the Sussexes were the terrible scheming conniving manipulative people the Fail and the rest of the tabs tell us they are, surely they would have leaked this, along with some strategic photos of themselves in masks? Makes you think!
Precisely!
Thank God H&M are not in the UK, otherwise that headline would have read;
“William did not publicize his COVID diagnosis so the Sussexes would not feel left out about being negative”
Well, now their lack of masks when meeting people makes more sense: he had the virus and thinks himself immune.
I agree with others in that he probably doesn’t tell when he had it because he exposed other people. Again, everyone talks about Kate and the kids, but what about the staff? Did they know they were working for someone sick?
Edit to say: I read people on twitter trying to justify this saying that William probably got sick at the same time as Charles and didn’t say anything because media would focus on George.
That cambridge stan theory about George is nonsense because the queen was not affected by covid. They’re just trying to defend William’s wrongdoing. They know that if Harry, as a working royal, had done this they would be criticizing him for withholding information from the public.
All they had to do was state William has it and when, he has isolated from family, wife and kids have tested negative. Simple. William wasn’t protecting anyone but himself and his ego.
And at THIS point, there is no reason to be coy about the timeline. Just for the sake of it, lets pretend that they did conceal it because they didn’t want to panic the nation or put too much focus on George or whatever, because he was sick at the exact same time his father was. but NOW, they can come clean about it and provide exact dates. This whole “early April” bit is weird and just adds to the perception that they are hiding something.
Exactly. At this point they could confirm the dates but they don’t because the source of the infection is likely another woman. (I don’t think rose has been a thing for a while) and we would see all the times he exposed Kate in the zoom calls and more questions about if they actually live together.
Do you think they will make some kind of public statement to that effect? now that the truth, or bits of it, is out there? They need to clarify the timeline, what they did in terms of contact tracing etc. There is no way they can get away with this, is there? That they don’t need to answer to this?
These nuts also had an underlying fear that Harry would somehow usurp his nephew.
Has anyone checked if Rose had Covid in April?
Do William and Kate even live together anymore? Would explain how she and the kids didn’t get it, they just don’t interact with him very much?
My thoughts exactly. The only reason Waity and kids had no Covid is normal Bill doesn’t spend much time with them. So yeah it’s too interesting if Rose had covid or not.
He is absolutely reckless if he didn’t tell his wider staff and even his wife’s staff. Children can be fomites even if they don’t catch it. People who knowingly have it and still continue business as usual should be arrested.
Giving the food to the pensioners should be questioned because that seems to be smack in the middle of when he claims to be infected.
Indeed.
Aside note. Wow, he looks so much like his grandfather and his father in that top picture.
No one cares about him enough to “worry the nation.” Truly. He’s not that important to most people. If heads of states and major celebrities can share their diagnosis without the world coming to a stand still, he could have too.
He was brought up to be grandiose and have an over inflated sense of self, so he thinks people care about his diagnosis. No one really cares about the monarchy these days and sadly he and Kate have pissed up every drop of goodwill by being lazy.
He was brought up to be grandiose and have an over inflated sense of self, so he thinks people care about his diagnosis. No one really cares about the monarchy these days and sadly he and Kate have pissed up every drop of goodwill by being lazy.
Death to the monarchy.
Here, Here.
I’ve known several people who have had it and no one else in their house did. Normal families who don’t live in giant houses. I can buy that he had it and no one else in the family did. The rest of it….I don’t know.
By panic, does William mean actual falling down on their knees, running out into the streets screaming in sheer terror by the people of his kingdom? Did he imagine the BBC breaking into programming to gravely announce that Will has covid, ala Walter Cronkite saying Kennedy had been shot? Or, does he mean the kind of panic where the tabloids feast on a story for days, running large headlines and unflattering photos and little sidebars with timelines of where Will had recently been …. oh wait, never mind. I see his point.
that man has delusions of grandeur.
That gave me a good laugh on a day when I’m too nervous to enjoy anything. Thanks.
I wanna know if the palace doctors broke lockdown by travelling out to sandringham to treat him
It’s safe to say the answer is yes, which is another reason they are so vague on everything.
This is all so bizarre. What is the plan here with making this public now? Is this to do with the new lockdown? Is this Will jockeying for something?? There are definitely some strange machinations going on behind the scenes….
I saw a comment yesterday suggesting that this ties to his links with Boris/the tories and in it’s original incarnation as ‘brave William’ was to deflect from the massive cock up that has us going into lockdown now with c.40,000+ new cases a day rather than when the scientists suggested it at the end of September with c.5,000+ new cases a day. I’m not big on conspiracy theories but this would play right into both their personalities and Bill thinking he can steer the mood of the nation as FFK.
That makes sense!
If Charles and William had died of Covid it would have been a shock but the wheels of the United Kingdom would have kept turning. We have an elected government, these people are figureheads who DO NOT MATTER outside of all the pomp and pageantry they create around themselves.
Well said! All that is necessary is that the one who is at the top of the list is competent to understand and sign all the documents that need to be signed and to perform the other specific head of state jobs. For all its faults, the hereditary head of state system very conveniently provides a long line of candidates stretching into the hundreds, all already identified. One drops and the next on the list pops up; no need for an election. Those Windsors and their hangers-on think they are far more important than they are.
Not too sure what William was expecting by hiding his diagnosis. I understand wanting to keep it private at the time but once the danger had passed it should have been fine to release a short statement confirming he was sick and recuperated. I can only wonder, did they do contact tracing for him? Did he infect people in London before he left for Anmer? Did anyone die as a result of being exposed to him? Maybe not a direct contact but he could have infected someone who exposed somebody who did pass away? I don’t understand the subterfuge.
Unless all the theories of him being with Rose are correct and he got it from Rose?
Meanwhile back at Clarence House, Prince Charles staff enjoy their morning tea…..
“In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, William and Kate threw themselves into working to support people affected by the virus…”
What??!! I must have missed something.
@ CARMEN-yup, I missed that too 🙄
Tinfoil tiara time. Didn’t the Cambridges advertise for a new housekeeper recently? Did he infect the old one at KP before leaving London?
Exactly. I think the story here is who he got it from if he was supposed to be in lockdown
I think that Rose or one of his other “friends” got Covid and then he got it. Kate found out and the real story is always the cover-up. They don’t really live together and remember that time on tv in the Spring when she shook off his hand from her shoulder. That was the tell that she knew. I’m just surprised that she hasn’t used it for something yet. Wonder who blabbed?