People on Twitter often ask me when Prince William stopped being so close with his in-laws. I always go back to when I noticed the shift, and it was in 2021, all around the unveiling of the Princess Diana statue at Kensington Palace. William and Harry had started planning for the statue well before their big falling out, and Harry’s return to the UK for the unveiling was a major storyline for months in the British press. That’s when something curious happened: William banned Kate from the statue unveiling, and the Middletons absolutely lost their minds. I have no idea why William banned Kate from appearing, but I suspect that he didn’t want another repeat of the “Kate is the keen peacemaker/linchpin of the monarchy” storyline we got after Prince Philip’s funeral. Plus, William didn’t want his wife to keep staring longingly at his brother.
In any case, that was when I noticed a shift. The Middletons’ PR went into overdrive, friendly journalists were called and threats were issued. The Middletons were completely panicked that William was making a point of excluding Kate. Carole overplayed her hand in several ways, including briefing reporters that she was more of a mother to William than Diana ever was. After that, there definitely seemed to be a cooling off between William and the Middletons. It seemed like William and Kate were mostly living separately too.
Well, now that Carole Middleton has been outed as a morally and financially bankrupt scammer, it doesn’t look like William is doing much to help his in-laws. Not only that, but the Windsors writ large aren’t doing much to help out. I would even suggest that the Windsors are at least partially behind the reporting of just how badly Carole mismanaged Party Pieces. Which makes this little story in the Daily Express sort of interesting:
The Prince and Princess of Wales, who celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary in April this year, are known worldwide for being one of the most picture-perfect couples. A fairytale wedding, followed by three beautiful children, the future King and Queen appear to have a union of dreams. But, like any couple, their relationship hasn’t been without its rocky patches. In 2007, three years before their eventual engagement, Prince William and Princess Kate split up, a period well-documented as challenging for both of them.
Eventually, however, they found their way back together, and a royal expert has claimed that it wasn’t only Kate, but her close-knit family, who helped mend the divide.
Speaking in the Amazon Prime documentary William and Kate, Into The Future, released to celebrate their marriage in 2011, Andrew Morton — Princess Diana’s biographer — spoke of how William “yearned” for the stability the Middletons offered after his own parents’ divorce.
He said: “For a kid from a broken home which is, after all, what William is, he has always yearned towards the stable and towards the steady. It’s not just Kate he’s in love with — it’s the family.”In the documentary, royal author and journalist Richard Kay spoke of how William seeks to avoid repeating old mistakes in his own marriage. He said: “Everything about William you can trace back to what happened to his parents. He lived through the bitter break up of their marriage. He knows that what happened to them destroyed their marriage and he is very careful not to make the same mistakes.”
While the Express and other British outlets reaggregate the same old news constantly, it’s curious that they decided to go with this right now, this week, as Party Pieces crashed and burned and the Times and Daily Mail are calling out Carole Middleton’s lies, debt and fraud. Perhaps we’re meant to reflect on just how badly William got played by the Middletons, how desperate he was to be mothered by Carole, what bad judgment he had about this whole family.
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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Michael and Carole Middleton arriving at Westminster Abbey, central London, ahead of the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.,Image: 774175111, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Milligan / Avalon
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- Carole Middleton arriving at Westminster Abbey, central London, ahead of the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.,Image: 774175184, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Milligan / Avalon
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- Prince of Wales, Prince William Coronation of King Charles III, May 6th 2023. King Charles III and Camilla the Queen Consort, members of the Royal family and VVIP’s arrive at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation service.,Image: 774185348, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Unknown / Avalon
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- Carole Middleton, Michael Middleton, Pippa Middleton and James Middleton at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774203418, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Veysey/Shutterstock / Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 06: Prince William, Prince of Wales departs from the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on May 06, 2023 in London, England. The Coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the other Commonwealth realms takes place at Westminster Abbey today. Charles acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II.,Image: 774214323, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Heathcote / Avalon
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- Prince William, The Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales photographed as the Royal Family gather on the balcony following the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace in London, UK on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774232621, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards / Avalon
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- Carole Middleton and Michael Middleton arrive at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774248529, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Phil Harris / Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales at The Coronation of King Charles III at London”s Westminster Abbey 06 May 2023,Image: 774252025, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Mark Stewart / Avalon
Is it me, or does Carole not quite look like herself in these recent pics in royal blue. Face so puffy. I sense hard times are coming.
Too much foie gras?
Too much of the same cut price botox and fillers that Mumbles gets.
I’m sure the stress and humiliation of the last year knowing PP was going under has aged her. Her eyes look older, smaller, which botox and fillers won’t fix.
That is poorly administered fillers, hence her eyes looking like they’re disappearing. Also if you compare her face to 5/6 years ago it becomes very obvious.
I follow a UK Doctor (Aesthetics) on twitter who is also on the know via her networks and she has done a deep dive into Carole and Kate. Carole is overdoing the fillers and Kate overdoes the Botox.
Fresh all-over botox. Look at her forehead.
I think it all cooled off when William realized that Carole schemed and managed as much as she possibly could to get William and Kate married. Once he realized that they had all worked to ensnare him, he walked away.
I agree. I still maintain that WIllyboy learned Kate lied about crygate from the H&M Oprah interview and that changed how he saw her. He wouldn’t give a sh*t she lied about Meg, but he’d care if she lied to him. I’ll bet learning she lied about that one thing got him questioning his whole relationship with her. He probably did some digging and discovered a mountain of fraudulent behavior from Middleton Manor. Add in him learning the extent of the Midds’ financial scams at the same time and it would be bad.
But in Spare, the two couples meet right after the story comes out and Harry says Kate right away admitted that it happened in the other way, that she made Meghan cry. This was said in front of William and was not disputed. Then they discussed how it could have come out and William blamed Camilla. So I don’t think that’s the case unless I’m misremembering. Maybe he was upset that Kate had written a sorry note and admitted it and she’d been telling him it went differently than Meghan was saying.
Jais- I had forgotten the Spare story. Maybe you’re right about the sorry note? Or maybe Will discovered Kate lied about something else. IDK. It just always seemed like that interview triggered something.
Oh, I’m thinking that interview triggered a lot of things. The racist royal who we all know is William being at the forefront. But also Kate was exposed as a lying mean girl who let the racist trope of the angry back woman made her cry poor white tears go on for years. Those two things combined make them look like racist assholes. William doesn’t want her to overshadow him but also doesn’t want her to embarrass him. He was triggered
by the fact that she was exposed. He probably holds it against her even though he’s likely equally complicit.
Agreed. In fact I’m not sure the OG Windors don’t feel like it was Kate & her mom who drove them out – in part bc of course their own courtiers can do no wrong, but also they know that they can control their courtiers. I suspect they believe pushing Kate & Middletons out would pave the way for H&M to return which is why they’re so bewildered as to H’s approach to expose the media. That & they consider the media arrangement ‘just how it’s always been.”
Yes – 1000%!
Telling it like it is. What a shock for William. He still hasn’t recovered. Looks like the relationship to Kate sailed years ago and William is no longer on board.
That Crygate lie opened Willy eyes. The breakdown of relationships between the couples and eventually the brothers, could be traced to that lie.
Hereditary peers were excluded from the coronation, but all four Midds were included. Whatever arrangement Kate and William have, it’s approved by Charles and she isn’t going anywhere.
As for the crying incident, there is no way William is going to believe Meghan over Kate.
I don’t think the Midds being at the coronation means anything. They’d naturally be there if the BRF wanted to act like nothing is wrong between W&K. The press stories are a better indicator.
And yes, I do believe Will would believe Meg over Kate. One, Meg says she has a note. Two, I think Will’s hatred of Meg stems in part from her being more respectable than Kate.
William would never see Meghan as more respectable than Kate. Both he and Kate deeply resented that she treated them like equals, rather than bowing and scraping.
@Tacky, I agree. Whatever arrangements they have, Kate is NOT going anywhere. It’s been made clear by Charles, the family and the press. They all back Kate. The press might go after her family (barely) but they know to be in Kate’s good graces because she is the future of the establishment. Her family will always be there. They’re her support system and they love to play the game.
I really don’t think William fell out with them. He has shown more support for then than his own brother. It’s because of William that the press is going lite on the stories. These stories are tame compared to if this was H&M.
They didn’t let the adult children bring their spouses though. Excluding them altogether would have been obvious and noted but this was a bare minimum invite.
Tacky- nah, Will hates Meg cause he knows she’s better than can’t. And he’s jealous Harry got her. Their complaints were just excuses. The fact Will didn’t want Meg to know he assaulted Harry proves he didn’t want to look bad to his Suits crush.
San Diego- Will didn’t financially bail out the Midds as PP went kaput. That says everything we need to know.
Like @Rapunzel, I think Charles wanting to control the optics during the run-up to the coronation and the coronation itself is enough of an explanation for the Midds being there.
Agree rapunzel. William sat there during that Fab Four heads together interview. Meghan was intelligent and charismatic whereas Kate…was not. That vid has been making the rounds again on Twitter. Sure, there’s the hierarchy but William witnessed that and there’s no comparison. Kate could not even compare with Meghan in that moment and William knew it. So who was he mad at in that scenario? Meghan for upstaging Kate through just being herself or Kate for mumbling incoherently. I’m guessing both.
Kate is not the future of the establishment. The heirs are. If William wants a divorce Charles won’t stop him
@Rapunzel I agree with that assessment, but I also think the Kkkate the great article and kkkate trying to ice out a Toff really got to him. He saw how his peers viewed her with contempt and disdain and is embarrassed by it. It was one thing when he was insulting her, but his peers looking down on her and him for marrying her, had to be hard for someone as insecure as Baldy. Add in his little brother getting the hot, smart, accomplished and liked wife while he’s stuck with a social climbing, vapid, inarticulate wife, it had to eat at him. Her clothing during the breakup tour was also embarrassing because she has no idea how to be appropriate in most settings. Add her style stalking and laziness, and you have a man who feels duped and is indignant that he had to settle for this while his brother, again, eclipses him. Plus Ma midds inserting herself and trying to make herself royal and calling her mediocre daughter the kingmaker?! That had to humiliate him.
This is probably the most accurate comment here. The guy has absolutely no reason to leave his wife, he is eating his cake and having it.
It was simply that William learned the successful business the Middletons had run which put a little polish on their v ordinary beginnings was a massive fraud
Kate and her siblings education, where they lived etc was all for show and they borrowed from Peter to pay Paul until they could do so no longer
Ponzi-lite
He learned when it had to move from a partnership to a company and at this point they all knew the business was impossible to make a decent return from and effectively over
Maybe William found out they’d lied about being millionaires. Gary’s drug money paid for their school fees, London flat, university fees and rent, plastic surgery, Kate’s travel costs to accompany William around.
Maybe they were actually not at all rich themselves and their millionaire lifestyle was an illusion. If William found that out it might have opened his eyes to the rest of the ways they’d played him.
If so it took him long enough to realise, especially considering British people were constantly commenting on articles, about the way the middletons were playing him like a violin. The public saw it from the beginning. If he ever read the comments it’s strange he still didn’t see it. But maybe he was too lazy to read what people were saying about him.
Recollections may vary but to me, it all started when the story came out that william was lying on carolE’s lap to cry and confide
William never got therapy so in seeking to not repeat the same mistake, he bent over in what appeared the opposite direction and definitely found a woman who would never outshine or leave him, but in the end the same problem has repeated: he didn’t marry for love and now he’s trapped and miserable, just like his father. The difference is Kate knew this and entered willingly into a loveless marriage, whereas Diana was naive and so young and betrayed in the end.
You nailed it, @Withtheamericann! There is no divorce on the horizon. Both W&K got what they wanted only W doesn’t want it anymore. Lucky for him, his dad has paved the way for W to prune all the rose bushes he wants and still become king one day.
Charles was not trapped. After he had the heirs with Diana he more or less cut her loose
He ultimately got to marry Camilla. William is not trapped if he finds someone he wants to marry he would divorce Kate. And remarry
Exactly. When he’s had enough or meets someone who he WANTS, he will throw Kate over as quickly as possible and without the mess of Chuckles and Diana. Charles however, was trapped because he was told that Camilla was not suitable for marriage because she wasn’t a virgin. Camilla didn’t even want to marry him because she didn’t want the scrutiny, she’s old now so she doesn’t care. I do think the the Kate and the Middletons are getting a warning to remember their place. That’s why all the financial shenanigans are coming out. I’m disturbed that Carole, is the only one getting called out like her husband didn’t know or wasn’t in on the nonsense. It’s their business, the mess is theirs.
Mel. Charles told his biographer he was not interested in marrying Camilla when he first met her. He did not tell her that they had a future. If he had told her it us subject to speculation if she would have married him .
@Mel- Those are my exact thoughts about Mike. He came from a better off family than Carole and no doubt greased the cogs to help his own family move on up. He’s not the hen-pecked husband everyone wants to believe.
Henry VIII literally created a new church to divorce his wife. And George IV excluded Caroline of a Brunswick from all society after they had one child. If a king of England or future king wants a divorce or new wife they will do it.
And if Diana princess of wales, formerly lady Diana Spencer can be tossed aside after producing two male heirs, then the girl from Buckleberry with the bankrupt grifting parents is nothing in comparison.
This, all day long.
I do think William was happy to be with the Midds during the early years.
He and Kate were college kids, he enjoyed being with her family, etc.
20 years in, different story.
Also probably every single one of the Midds had an audible sucking sound coming out of their mouths in the beginning. He is definitely the type to enjoy vigorous sucking up.
“It’s not just Kate he’s in love with — it’s the family.”
Whoever theorized that the angle would be that William was duped by the Middletons may have been on the money. The line just feels like the narrative IF they divorce will be poor W who was looking for a stable loving family was preyed upon by these crown chasing vultures.
This is definitely going to be the storyline. And I don’t think it’s that far from the truth. I do think Will was preyed upon and lied to by the Midds. Duped? That might be a bit far, but I don’t think Willyboy is smart and he’s clearly got emotional issues they played on. And he’s got not real guidance from his family. The Midds are vultures and I don’t feel sorry one bit that the bus is coming to run them over.
Agreed and all the reporting on PP’s dealing is a perfect tee-up to the narrative. The BRF could really bury the Middleton’s if they want to.
Duping that idiot William can’t be the slightest bit difficult.
That “narrative” is how most of the British public have seen the middletons from the beginning. It’s only people in other countries, who didn’t hear about Kate until the engagement who ever believed the sugary romance story.
They did “dupe” him – Carole’s a textbook case of narcissistic personality disorder which means she is the mother from hell, and there is no way her children had a happy childhood. The “perfect happy family” image was an act. Possibly they also duped William into thinking they were millionaires when they weren’t. Their relatives claimed Gary’s drug money paid for the school fees, London flat etc.
Kate alternated between putting all her efforts into pleasing him, being the perfect girlfriend, and then breaking up with him, and getting him to chase her for a while. She went back and forth between the two, constantly for years. Both were duping him. The first tricking him into thinking she was a good friend who was always there for him, because she cared, and was kind and caring, when actually she was doing it to get the ring. The second was tricking him into thinking she was leaving him when “she had no intention of letting him ago” and was just playing hard to get.
I’ve no idea of Kate is kind or not in the sense of being nice to people. But she’s never shown any sign of wanting to do things for other people, look after anyone, other than William.
Cairidh will broke up with Kate and over the phone. She.did a media campaign to win him back by apparently alerting the press who published the nightclub photos of kate.no way would Kate break up with him
Meghan said Kate was a good person, which is just interesting. A bad person might be a murderer so idk it never felt like the biggest compliment. What Meghan didn’t say was that Kate was a kind person. In the engagement interview, Meghan talked about wanting to date a kind person in regards to Harry. Being kind seems like an important quality to Meghan and it is not one she used when talking about Kate. She could’ve but I believe she chose not to. Because Kate was not kind in her interactions with Meghan.
They regularly broke up and got back together but it wasn’t reported to the media. Mostly Kate would dump him for cheating. Other times they’d have a row and fall out. William would console himself with another woman. When William tried to make up with kate she’d play hard to get, and refuse to get back together for a while.
It was only when William broke up with her because he didn’t want to marry her (charles told him marry her or end it, stop stringing her along) that it was announced officially and the media reported it.
In his engagement interview he mentioned another time at uni where he’d broken up with her because he felt suffocated, and they’d been apart for a while.
But the fallings out that went on regularly throughout their relationship weren’t announced in the papers. Friends and courtiers were quoted later, describing the pattern.
Caridh, Kate was in it for the long haul. William had called for breakups and cooling off periods. William was calling the shots. He was looking to drop Kate for someone he preferred. But these aristo women did not want him so he settled for Kate. Charles never ordered WIlliam to marry Kate. Kate even was said to tell friends Charles was the one who approved of the breakup that William wanted. I think Carole put a guilt trip on William about how Kate really loved him and was devoted to him. She was not giving up the idea of Kate marrying William that easily. Carole even got them back together at a bonfire gathering. William and Kate never said anything negative about the breakup but she put a positive spin that it made her “stronger.” She had no say in it. I think if it had been up to her they would have married ca. 2005-6. William also was said to have bothered her when he told an interviewer he did not want to get married now. They broke up soon after the Passing out parade (William at Sandhurst) where Kate was in bright (royal) red with her parents and William looked visibly miserable at their outing at a racetrack soon after. Kate did not call the shots. William did. Kate did not even feel secure enough to work full time (not that she wanted to) so she’d miss the calls from William. She had a sporadic part time job at Jigsaw that lasted less than a year.
I know Kate was in it for the long haul – that was my point. She was playing hard to get. She regularly got him to chase her for a while. She had no intention of seriously ending it, she was just playing games to seduce him.
She wore that seethrough skirt as a dress deliberately to seduce him (the designer intended it to be a skirt with a slip underneath, kate chose to wear it as a dress with no slip) then when he tried to kiss her at the after party she turned away and played hard to get.
She told him she was considering moving to Oxford uni to be with Rupert (she had no chance of getting into Oxford and she would hate the workload). She said she was going to move out of their flat share into another flat and started looking at other flats. Another time she said she was considering moving to America to work for a photographer. (Give up chasing the ring for a Job? Yeah right). Each time she had no intention of going, she was just playing hard to get.
A courtier at the time of the wedding said she alternated between making herself always available for him, and playing hard to get. Constantly back and forth between the two. Another courtier said she was “not smart – never picked up a book in her life but very calculating. And she played hard to get”. One of their flat mates said “they had a very edgy relationship – they were always in or out”.
Kate said “it was his daddy” behind the official breakup because Charles told him to end it if he wasn’t going to marry her. He told him to “sh%#t or get off the pot”. The queen and Prince Philip also told him to either stop stringing her along or marry her. Williams response was “I don’t love her enough to marry her” so he ended it.
Caridh, Kate’s see through dress ploy would not necessarily have worked. It is not a good look for her. No other future Princess of Wales or Queen had photos of her dressing up in see through outfits. In the long run, it was not a good idea. It takes something away from kate’s “image.” Kate may have done all that but she never was the one to break up with him. She could play games but she (and her mother) knew that it could end badly if she broke up with him and he might have found someone he preferred. Kate was bent on getting to St. Andrew’s. She quickly changed her preferred choice to St. Andrew’s when it was found William was going there. William wanted to drop out of St Andrew’s but it was said Kate talked him out of it (her own interests IMO). The photography training story came later when Testino had to out and out deny that Kate was going to study photography with him. Kate did not work (except for the brief stint at Jigsaw where she had flexible hours). Her boss Belle Robinson said she wanted hours to suit her schedule with William. That does not sound like Kate -playing hard to get William could call the next person if she said no to the lavish vacation he wanted to take her own. I don’t think William had to do much chasing.
***raises hand*** That was me! Although I’m sure others had the same theory.
“Perhaps we’re meant to reflect on just how badly William got played by the Middletons, how desperate he was to be mothered by Carole, what bad judgment he had about this whole family.”
That’s exactly the point. They are getting out there that William was duped/scammed by the Middletons. So if he decides to divorce Kate, he’s the innocent party.
Snuffles- you’re always on point. But I wonder how the “poor Willy” story will play. The Midds might just fight that narrative. They’ll need the interview money. Get the popcorn ready!
It’s a genuinely believable narrative that lets William out scot-free. I’d be surprised if he didn’t try to run with this. If the Midds do a tell-all, they’ll be blasted to oblivion with Meghan-like smears. (I still hope they do a tell-all. I hope we see Kate out in the clubs trying to show William what he’s missing again.)
@Shawna she won’t. First off, she’s not young anymore, she has no friends, or skills besides gold-digging. I can see her chasing tom cruise or some celebrity new money or a Russian oligarch type because she will never land another aristo. If she stays in the UK it’ll only be because of the kids. Otherwise she is going to leave. The press is going to eat her. The years she spent chasing off Harry’s girlfriends, the grifting, they’ll blame her and Ma for Sussexit. It doesn’t help that drunk uncle Gary tried to skip chuck. Like chuck and cowmilla and now baldy are going to get their revenge and make the midds the scapegoats for Harry leaving. Itll protect the invisible contract and alleviate the need for Sussex clickbait. All bs that kkkate has done over the years will feed the beast for years.
@Shawna
How pathetic it would be to see a 41 year old mother-of-three flirting with randoms and falling out of night clubs while flashing her undies at the paps. Like she used to do. I can’t see that happening and anyway, that would be the end of the ‘perfect mother’ narrative she’s been using forever.
This. Is. Not. Good.
It comes across that Will got back with Kate largely thanks to her family and now her family isn’t what they painted (financially) so what else could they be hiding.
Kate better kick off those stilettos and run. She’s next.
Agree.
And I do think he was more in love with her family (or the idea of family they presented) than he ever was with Khate. And I’ve seen that dynamic in action, when my sister was engaged to someone whose own parents were cold and distant with him (they were older when they had him, didn’t ever want kids, decided WTH and had him, and then proceeded to basically ignore him outside of providing for basic needs). Long story short, sister’s fiancé stayed with her mostly because he craved being a part of our family. It did not end well, but thankfully, the relationship broke up before the marriage.
I think Normal Bill was in that situation. He was never that into Khate, and I think the relationship (as it was) lasted so long during college/post college years because he was so fully embraced by the Midds, and he loved being a part of a family. And then Khate was the last one standing when none of the females he was really into returned his feelings. I do wonder just when he realized how calculating the Midds had been.
He also got the family that catered to his whims in a way that his own family never would. Setting up a Boxing Day shooting for him so that he spends the Christmas with the Middletons and not at Sandringham is just one example of how Carole catered to him.
There were also stories in the dating days that Carole offered up the master bedroom for William and Kate’s use most particularly during the reconciliation attempts for one of the more serious breakups.
Whatever happened with the Middletons, he was done with them by 2021.
Carole would fill the master bedroom with flowers, scented candles, expensive bedding. Cook Williams favourite meals, and serve his favourite wine. They portrayed themselves as a perfect happy family who spoilt him and treated him like a king.
Giving up the master bedroom for her daughter and her lover and decorating it like a boudoir? This woman sounds like a procuress.
I am beyond disturbed that Kate and William were making use of her parents marital bed – that some effed up sh!t.
Not the master bedroom. I hope that is not true.
I think it also reads as;
“it was great having access to your bank accounts when I was a young student / working Royal, but I’m the PoW now and I have no need for you anymore, especially as you all lied about being rich any way” Thanks and goodbye.
In the pre-Meghan days when criticism of Kate and William was slightly more allowed, there were definitely stories that William paid for Bucklebury Manor or at least help paid for it. It’s how he used the money from his mother, which in the end, until he got his hands on the Duchy of Cornwall funds, left him even more at Charles’s mercy than Harry was.
Hmm.. well maybe this is the set up for a poor Peg was dazed and confused and these grifters got their claws into him. Let’s be real Peg and Can’t were and never will be a fairytale love story. Grifters grift. Gold diggers dig and the inadequate settle for what he can get.
The crown is likely going to whitewash what really happened, but in what fairytale does the woman parade around half dressed to finally get the attention of the prince? Doesn’t exactly scream loving romance.
More and more I’m convinced by the tinfoil theory that the Middleton wealth was all based on ill gotten, shady financial dealings and that Party Pieces was a front for money laundering that wasn’t sustainable post-brexit and/or whatever new EU regulations precipitated brexit. I’d love to read a long form piece examining and exposing he truth behind the suspicious shadiness, but that would require the UK to have a real press.
Thinking about Brexit as a financial pressure is a new facet to add to the story about the end of the Windsors. Meghan’s treatment has already been associated with Brexit xenophobia and racism against immigrants. Historians will go exactly to this place in the future, I think. (Let’s see if Scobie goes there!)
IDK, I think this could be a subtle message from Kate/Ma Midds: “Remember how much you loved us. You don’t want a divorce like your mom and dad.”
Or a message from Chuckles: “you chose this. Lie in the bed you made because if you get a divorce you’re going to look awful, just like I did.”
Thing is, divorce is not a problem in that family.
Charles is divorced. Anne is divorced. Andrew is divorced. His cousin, Peter, is divorced. His aunt Margot was divorced. Who on earth is going to tell William he can’t get divorced?
The Queen’s nephew Earl Snowden is also divorced.
Hench- nobody would say “you can’t get divorced” they’d just imply if he did, bad things would happen to his rep.
But but bad things only happened to Charles’ reputation because he cheated all the way through his marriage with the woman he ended up with. Nothing bad happened to anybody else who got divorced.
Right now, William’s reputation could be ENHANCED by getting rid of Kate. She has no achievements to her name, she’s not loved like Diana and her family have turned out to be scamming grifters. This story is setting up a narrative that William was duped by the family and it would be a very easy step for the press to position Kate as unfit to be royal. Indeed, we’ve started to see hints of that in the whole story about her not going more than 12 miles from her house to do engagements.
Hench- true. Very true. But… what if Charles messes up that narrative? That could be possible.
If Willyboy is hiding something besides affairs, that could be a threat looming over him from Pa.
But it’s all conjecture. I suspect Charles is probably quite happy to lose Kate and helping Willy build a rep saving narrative.
@Rapunzel: for all we know, Charles is happy to let William risk reputational damage, now that Camilla is Queen. (Edit: now I see your response to ML below!)
I’m with Hench on this.
I can’t imagine Charles cares enough about the monarchy to force William to stay married. Charles cares only about the reputations of himself and Camilla. That’s been made obvious by his own actions throughout the years, and everything that Harry wrote in “Spare” backs that up, too.
The only thing that would keep William from a divorce, should he desire one, would be William. He probably thinks that’s the one thing he’s got going over his father: the vision of stable family man. But if that doesn’t exist–and it’s quite clear that it doesn’t–it won’t be long before it’s outed. Queen Elizabeth is dead. The Rota is bereft of Sussex stories now that the coronation is over. And the British media will protect the king and queen, first and foremost. They’re itching to tell stories about the latest War of the Waleses.
And in the end, the media will protect him. Three things that William has going for him: (1) Charles’s reign will likely be short; (2) William is a complete Tory stooge; and (3) Kate isn’t all that beloved, like Diana was.
I think Chuckie only cared about divorce headlines overshadowing his coronation. Now that it’s in the books, he could care less what Burger King does. I suspect Burger King had to play ball while Liz was alive, and then hang in there again until the coronation. Willy is cozy with the press; he will give them what they need to not portray the separation as the War of the Wales 2 but as a modern conscious uncoupling. I think he can swing it.
If Will wants a divorce there’s nothing Charles can do to stop him. Charles cares more about not being overshadowed by another new daughter-in-law than what another divorce by an heir would look like for the monarchy.
Rapunzel, If KC thought that a divorce would look awful, he would definitely encourage W to get one. He’s a terrible father; I just can’t see him offering good advice unless he can profit from it.
Maybe. But I doubt Chuckles wants Willy to divorce simply because it will remind folks of what Chuckles did to Diana. And Chuckles wants to avoid that cause it is bad for him.
Rapunzel, that is a very good point.
Charles probably does not think he did anything wrong re: Diana. I see evidence of that in books written by his sympathizers like Junor and Seward. He probably would think it OK for William to divorce and then William can blame Kate and her family. Like Charles sympathizers would blame Diana.
If it benefits Chuck and Cams the will divorce – given his reign has gotten off to a really bad start I’d say a royal divorce is one way to take the heat of him for a great many things.
Digital Unicorn- Excellent points, but I don’t really know how W&K divorcing could not be bad for Charles and sidekick.
If the Keens divorce, the headlines will all be “War of the Wales 2” and this divorce will do nothing but remind everyone of Charles and Diana. There will be all sorts of articles making comparisons. The Jordan photos would be side by side with Chuck and Di in Korea. It would be inevitable. How will that benefit Chuck? Even if he could stop the press, the public would draw connections anyhow.
W&K divorcing, even if spun as “college sweethearts consciously uncoupling” or “evil Midds took advantage of sweet, naive Will” won’t be positive for the family, simply because old events from the 80s/90s will be replayed. Depending on spin, the damage might be minimal. But I doubt Charles will encourage it.
Of course, Charles could go nuclear on Will and really throw him under the bus revealing all Will’s secrets so that he (Chuck) comes out looking good. But that could do long term damage to the institution. Does Chuck want that?
And who knows how the Midds will take being thrown aside? It could get really ugly.
I think Charles will only aide Will when he (Charles) sees that W&K together is generating as bad or worse PR than W&K divorcing. That time might have come. But it’ll be a bumpy ride, for sure.
I’m curious how the new shiny KP social media fits into all of this… who’s idea was it? Kates? Her non-existent secretary? A last ditch effort to save the sinking ship? We got so much of the family around the Chubbly? Now 3 of the last 4 posts are all Willy. Like why make the effort to polish it up if he’s just going to chuck her and the whole Midd family?
Charles won’t stop a divorce. It will place William in the same level as Charles and works in his favour. It’s the Middletons who fear a divorce and they will cling as they have for decades for that not to happen.
I tend to agree with you, Nic. However, I’ve lately wondered if Chuck, or even more important, Cams, fears the ghost of Diana which would be all over any Will and Kate divorce. I think that’s definitely something Charles is considering.
Often, I’ve wondered that the main reason cam and Charles would want Kate to stick around is because she’s the devil they know. Let’s say, they separate/divorce etc and William starts to get more press with his single man thing. And let’s say he somehow(though it’s hard to imagine) ends up with someone smart and glamorous, how would charles and cam feel then? Kate is a known entity that they control. Well, except maybe not considering the whole Chelsea flower show upstaging. So yeah maybe they’re ready to bully in a whole new married-in.
Jais- good point. What if WIll *gasp shock* marries a WoC? If Cams or Chuck is the royal racist….
Whoa whoa @rapunzel, hold your horses, not a WOC! I can’t imagine it but William already has his pure white heirs so why not? Mostly, I just can’t see Camilla and Charles relishing competing for limelight with an on-the-market single dad Wills. But at the same time, they have experience with crushing women like bugs so maybe they don’t care.
I have no doubt that this recent rash of stories about the Middleton’s finances were leaked by the RF, and maybe even William. One thing I learned from the hacking trials is that the tabs get their info directly from sources in the palace and much of it is the truth.
I think they are something the press has known the basics of all along. The bankruptcy being public has given them a reason to write about them. No one is shutting it down.
Exactly. They can’t say it outright but if it’s brought up they can make a mountain out of it.
But the outlets running the story also directly interviewed the creditors themselves. The palaces didn’t hand over quotes from creditors to the papers.
I just wonder if the papers are starting to reassert themselves a bit. If Harry’s suits are successful, the secret agreement between the RF and BM might be damaged, and the papers will have to start doing real journalism. I think it’s starting to happen.
Do we think Will and Kate will ever break up or will they stick it out come hell or high water?
I know Kate will stay forever to get her crown – but I’m wondering if William pull the plug at some point.
While Diana would have rather had Charles love her instead of Camzilla, I think Charles would have continued with the charade had Diana wished to keep up appearances as well. Whether it was conscious or unconscious, it was obvious she wasn’t happy with the status quo — the images of her during their last public appearances together were gutting. IMHO, You can’t fake that level of unhappiness (Diana, re: their last public appearance in South Korea). it was at that point that CH and BP knew that from a press level, a divorce would play out better than pretending that nothing was going on with Diana.
If Kate can make things look on the surface as happy, then William will be painted as the A-Hole in the press, unless the press finds some dirt on her personally. I don’t think the Middleton smear is going to do that in the short term, but its obviously part of a long game of some sort. Maybe William doesn’t want the narrative of how much he loved being with the Middletons anymore — you know… because they are pleebs with bad business acumen.
Anyway .. that all to say that the carpet being laid for a separation will start when the press begins reporting on sketchy things done by Kate… … the winds don’t blow in William’s favour now, but what we have learned through Charles is what the King wants … the king gets.
Yes, at this point, William is the one who cannot pretend to look happy for the cameras when he is around his wife. It does make him look like an asshole, which is why I think they may publicly separate or divorce at some point. If he can’t even try to not look miserable, if the happy couple/family image is not even close to being portrayed, then what’s the point? Now, if they can get it together in public, then they may just keep on keeping on.
Jais — Agreed. And look at the stunning photos from Will’s outing with his aunt Sophie — smiling! Not looking like he is in a bad temper! The writing is on the wall.
I agree, Jais. Plus, how much longer do W&K have to use their children as a distraction before George, Charlotte, and Louis stop playing along? Teens are going to be teens, and their attitudes and body language hide nothing.
Charles would openly put down Diana with snide remarks. Which is what Diana could not stand.
I think the invitation to the royal wedding in Jordan was meant to help. CM could rub shoulders with the royals of Jordan and others and also try for bags of cash. “I won’t give you money, but this worked for me.” Albeit icy help.
And so begins the saga/new narrative of William the Betrayed! As more stories come about the underhanded and scheming Middletons, the more we will hear about these betrayals. I’m waiting for the BM to zoom in on the decade of Kate the Stalker! However will they explain how the RF, aka the Rotten Family, allowed this travesty to happen right under their noses? Kate might need to make room under that bus for C-Rex and his sidepiece. After all, being known as William the Gullible, or William the Fool isn’t inspiring or a good look for a future king. And W is likely looking for a way to escape.
Cynical of me, but this seems to be a Kate and/ or Middleton talking point. A (very) close source seems to have spoken to the Express.
The first shift in coverage seems to have been in 2019 when the Rose Hanbury affair exploded, right? If K was okay with W’s affairs, this one didn’t work for her. And the Rose aftermath has followed them ever since. Kate was shunned by the turnip toffs, the Cambridge lawyers actively tried to bury the story and we learned about how the royals control the press, the Chumlys (no, I’m not going to try to spell that name) have prospered—even after the death of the queen up through the Chubbly, we heard about the prince of Pegging…
Around when Rose Hanbury’s name became public knowledge, that’s around the same time Party Pieces changed to an LLC set-up. Supposedly Rose is the first lover that W fell in love with as well. By 2021, that when the break with the Middletons was super obvious.
I agree that the Middletons lost influence when Willy had Rose’s lap to rest his head on. Rose had her own warm, close-knit family just a hop skip and a jump away over the fields for Willy to fit in with. After all, the Middletons are not the only family in the UK that reads warm when compared to what Charles gave out as a dad. The Hanburys are said to be quite social but seem close knit as well and fun to be around.
So what happens when another woman (Rose) and her family (Marina, David) step into the role that CarolE thought was her claim to fame? CarolE probably felt very betrayed and on edge, became bossier and more controlling, and Willy realized he didn’t need what the Middletons were peddling anymore.
And the Diana statue banning was right before the leaks started about the Wales needing a country home and switching schools. I think that was when the rollout for separate lives was put into action, although it would be another year before Kate got offloaded into Adelaide.
There were those “yummy mummy” rumors about W and the Battersea school run.
Is this all around the time that Kate attended Carole’s 64th b-day ? I did think it odd the DM made a fuss of a 64th Bday in 2019 and reported on it so much, complete with so many pap photos. I despise the DM, but those pap photos are worth a thousand words:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6658423/Kate-Middleton-celebrates-mother-Caroles-birthday-party-Pippas-house.html
I always thought it odd that so many pap shots were published about that event of the whole family. Notice Kate looks completely disheveled in the pics and is even hiding her face from the paps as if she’d had a huge bust up earlier in the day?
Shortly after there are puff pieces by Richard Kay about PP’s and also Carole goes on a massive PR offensive stating she is stepping back a little from W&K as if inferring some meddling had not gone unnoticed by William.
I am going to guess that Carole had a hand in the Meg made Kate cry story which Bill was not happy about, not bc he gave a fluff about Meg but rather bc it leaned into a trope, which when examined and found to be untrue would be messy for the BRF, especially as around that time M&H were fighting their own battles behind the scenes re Archie’s skin colour.
I think Carole over-reached and in doing so flew too close to the sun, so William distanced himself. In response Carole put out statements that she was stepping back to protect her position with the Rota.
At some point the whole thing unraveled and Bill put his foot down.
I also think there is a likelihood that the BRF are going to throw Carole & the Midds under the bus as a source for Harry’s cases.
Flower, Here’s a link—it’s later, but 2019: https://www.celebitchy.com/617657/prince_william_works_out_with_some_of_the_mums_after_he_drops_off_george_at_school/
First lover that William fell in love with? Do you mean after marriage?
No one has been quoted saying william was in love with rose hanbury although it does seem to have been serious considering the way the media reported it after years of them not reporting the girls William cheated on Kate with.
Rose Hanbury wasn’t the first woman William fell in love with, that was Jecca. His first adult girlfriend was reported to be Rose Farquhar. She considered him his first love, but Jecca was after Rose, and William always said Jecca was his first love. So Rose Farquhars feelings weren’t reciprocated.
What creeped me out was how Kate started dressing like Jecca. Both of them went to the same wedding and wore identical outfits (Jecca wore those “outback” type hats and Kate took them up as well).
Someone (Twitter?) posted something about Kate reacting strongly to Rose, that she felt betrayed and their friendship was over. K tried to oust Rose from the toffs and limit her “royal-adjacentness”.
Later, the whole “Prince of Pegging” gossip came out and the person who reported on this said that the wife was old fashioned and as long as the pegger and prince didn’t fall in love it was fine.
Kates always copying someone, in clothes and also mannerisms.
Her vogue cover shoot was probably Jecca cosplay.
@Cairidh the Vogue cover was 100% Jecca and her 40th Bday pictures were 100% Rose Cosplay as was the tinfoil Tiara.
We can pretty much guess who William is sleeping with based on how Kate starts dressing, which might explain why Rose was trolling her recently with Meg’s Aquazzura’s.
One of the birthday pictures was also copying a photograph of Queen Alexandra. If you Google Alexandra, princess of wales it’s one of the photos that’s displayed (on the main page, not the image page). Black and white photo, sitting sideways, white dress with ribbons hanging from it.
Why is it only Carole M who gets blamed for PP’s failure? What about her husband?
Carole Middleton was the face of Party Pieces. It was her idea, starting at the kitchen table. I don’t think the media have ever reported how much involvement Michael Middleton actually had with the company.
Michael only quit his job when pp allegedly became successful. Carole always ran the company.
because we don’t like her and it’s easier to blame the woman — we are already looking to absolve baldy in the event he kicks Kate — poor wank was just taken in by the grifting family of sirens.
Let me make this ABUNDANTLY clear. While I firmly believe the Middleton’s scammed their way into
William’s orbit and preyed on his vulnerability, that doesn’t change the fact that William is an abusive, lazy asshole that treated Harry like shit long before Kate. And it completely unfit for the job.
I’m just saying this is how William and the press are going to spin it should they get divorced.
Snuffles, I think you and Peony are on the same page. “Poor wank” drips with sarcasm.
She was pushed out there as the face of the company, not her husband.
Wasn’t there a cardboard cut-out of Carole in New Jersey grocery stores? That’s essentially a target board 🎯
JTH, This irritates me as well. I dislike CarolE and hate what she did to Meghan and Harry. However, she’s the face of PP, but poorly educated whereas Michael has a better education and (on paper) skill set for business. As the face of PP she’s bearing the brunt of the backlash, and I suspect that Michael had a lot of influence as to how that business was run and clients were swindled. Someone (I’m sorry I’ve forgotten who) alerted me to the fact that CarolE is the main RR source and the RF might be attacking her because of some past articles. However, Michael also needs to be blamed for screwing over small businesses!
Its Carole’s cardboard cutout in the store not his. Every article I’ve seen says she’s the boss, she makes the demands on the employees. So if Carole is getting the brunt of the fallout, then oh well. She and Uncle Gary looked to be piloting the boat.
Some people don’t seem to get that though. It’s funny but they never asked why Carole was always credited with forming the company, that she started the business from her kitchen, and that she was instrumental in the kids going to expensive private schools due to the business’s success. Now, all of a sudden, Carole is “naive” and should share bad press when she was solely praised during the good press years.
Carole gave her own interview taking credit for the company. This isn’t a case of sexism it’s a case of Carole marketing herself as the one who created and runs the business since they have been in the public eye. Why must we infantilize another woman who literally places herself in all the Party Pieces promotional material?
The fact that the press is delving into the Middletons’ financial affairs says that William told them that his in-laws are no longer off limits. I agree with Kaiser that the Kate as the peacemaker narrative was probably the last straw for William and the Middletons but I tend to think he also blames them for Harry leaving. There’s no doubt that the Meghan made Kate cry came from the Middletons.
There was a discussion after Philips funeral that a moment was caught after the service was done and everyone was ,waving the church. William and Harry were walking out side by side and kate caught up to them to only then back away after what looked like a sharp remark from William.
Things were off then, although it could have been because of her passion photo shoot antics at the funeral which would surely have been noticed by everyone.
It was the commenter @redsnapper, I believe, who swore they saw this happen live. It became a whole funny thread about redsnapper being the lone truther who saw it. Considering how the bbc edits for the RF, it’s not beyond the realm.
Nic919 and Jais, actually I saw it, too. Although it disappeared rather quickly. Fails definitely said something sharp/cutting to Wails and she backed off and walked with (I think) Sophiesta, et al, who were behind her. I didn’t imagine that. It happened.
Here’s my two cents. What if Ma and Pa Mids separated and that’s why they suddenly went with an LLC? It’s possible that Pa got some money out of PP while it was still a partnership. That may not have been known for a while, because of the pandemic. I think Ma spent way too much time at Anmer for Fails taste. That, coupled with finding out about the state of the Mids marriage, might be why Fails attitude shifted. I wonder if Fails was trying to prop up PP until then? All conjecture.
I recall seeing the clip too because I had watched it live. But it was removed in posted clips not long after.
William said goodbye to the pastor as he was leaving the church while Harry had already done so. William caught up to Harry and he didn’t wait for Kate. She then noticed he left and went up to both of them and you see William look at her (Harry doesn’t) and then she pulls back. Sophie and Beatrice I think we’re behind. And they seem to have noticed or heard wiliams remark because they looked at Harry and William.
Anyway, based on what we know now William was likely looking to speak to Harry and he didn’t want her involved.
Blaming KKKate and leaking Carole for Sussexit will be the coup-de-grace. First, destroy their financial reputation. Then, destroy their familial reputation. Finally, blame them for Harry leaving. Upshot: Kate gone without consequences.
It’ll be interesting to see the Sussex response to any attempt to blame Kate for Sussexit. Meg did say Kate was a good person.
If Kate was canny (for once), in the wake of a separation or divorce, she’d apologize extravagantly to “dear sister Meg” and visit Montecito or get chummy with Eugenie. I believe the tea spilled here long ago that Meghan told Kate she shouldn’t deal with William’s wandering scepter. The humiliation of being told that by an American Black divorcee actress would be enough to make her go with crygate. But Meghan probably feels sorry enough for Kate to excuse her for a lot.
Chelsy was told by Kate to “expect cheating” from Harry. Apparently, Kate was turning a blind eye re: William.
I don’t think Meghan is going to get involved to help kate. Not after the nonsense kate pulled during the funeral events. Meghan said kate was good in 2021, well before those bitch moves and intimidation were done to her. And the bullying story was something Meghan had not experienced during the Oprah interview. Kate was a part of that as much as William.
So, I do find this article and its timing extremely interesting. The British media have a habit of deliberately putting the truth out there in plain sight by means of what they publish when and in juxtaposition with what. We’ve had a number of things happen with the financial fall of the Middletons, the pointing out that Kate hasn’t been more than 12 miles from her house, William stepping out with Sophie at an event last night, and now an article that says very plainly that the Prince and Princess of Wales “appear to have a dream union “ and that what William married when he married Kate was as much her family as her.
For once, no lies are being told. Whether this is just William’s way of keeping Kate in her box or Camilla’s revenge for the Middleton PR or genuinely Willy preparing grounds for a separation, I don’t know. But it’s not nothing.
This last few months have made me believe for the first time that Willy and Waity may not make it. There has been too much shit going down with them and this mess with her family and their shady business is just gross.
This reeks of Ma’s PR trying to remind William where his loyalties should lie as well as trying to shake him down for a few mill. Not gonna work any more – that ship has sailed. If they get something it will be part of the divorce payout to Mumbles.
At one point it was true but I think as always the Middleton’s over stepped and he pulled back. They have never ever known when to stop pushing – Mumbles is the same which is why she is so isolated with the RF. Something or someone pulled the wool from his eyes!
The wool has definitely been pulled from Will’s eyes. And I too suspect this could be Ma’s PR message to not abandon them. If it is Middleton PR, however, it’s the wrong play because it just sets up a perfect “Willy got duped by the scheming Midds” narrative which only helps Willy get rid of Katie Keen.
That’s the vibe I get from this article. Its “See how much he trusted and believed in them, but now….” . The Meddletons are being set up to be the bad guys in this scenario. Otherwise I think the reporting on the business would be much more sympathetic. Its not unusual for even well established businesses to have gone under due to the pandemic but this is being spun as if something nefarious is going on.
In an article on Clipboard this week, (can’t find it again, to get the source) was an item about how the Wales sleep in separate bedrooms, and how this is so very practical. I thought to myself that this is the soft introduction to the separation….
There was something about each of them having their own bedroom at KP around the time of the renovations. It was quickly glossed over though.
A google search reveals a LOT of these stories. Most recently, the Daily Express on June 2, as well as 2 days ago at Hello! (BTW, the Daily Express says couples can have “rows” if they aren’t well rested.)
To be fair, having separate bedrooms can be very practical if you can afford it. Being unable to get enough sleep while going through hot flashes contributed to the demise of my marriage. We were both not getting enough sleep and it made everything more difficult. If we’d had our own rooms (so that I could keep mine freezing cold and sleep when I needed to) would have helped a lot. But rent is expensive for us commoners!
Having separate rooms definitely drips of privilege. And my husband and I sleep apart when we’re sick.
But…even granting that it’s a good idea, why are there stories circulating about it if it’s no big deal? And why now?
“William didn’t want his wife to keep staring longingly at his brother. ” *This*, exactly this. Was there ever a time when the three were together that ALL of Kate’s attention wasn’t on Harry? He clearly excited her far more than William did.
He was also a lot nicer and more considerate to her always. So of course she fancied him. Who wouldn’t?
Remember that video where the three of them were disembarking from a boat in the rain and Willy just strode off with the umbrella, leaving Kate behind him? Harry called out to Willy, who came back for Kate. The video is hard to find now but I recall it clearly, because it was such a terrible look for a husband. He seemed to have forgotten she was even there.
I can’t believe MI5 (or whoever would be responsible) didn’t do a through vetting of Kate and the Middletons before the Waleses married, given Kate was marrying the future king, aka head of state and head of nation. So I don’t believe William was broadsided. However, if something came up up during the course of the marriage that the Middletons were knee deep into something shady/illegal (paging Uncle Gary) and Kate had knowledge (she’s not that dumb) I can see that being grounds to drop Kate. Middleton shenanigans have compromised the Crown and exposed it to blackmail by domestic or foreign enemies.
That’s an excellent point!
The Middleton business was far more low key in the early years and so they likely didn’t raise red flags. But also let’s not forget how William dropped news of the engagement on the family fairly last minute so outside of something super obvious, it was likely waved aside. Uncle Gary in particular probably was dismissed because he may be sketchy but nothing proven.
Other Celebitches will probably recall this better than me but I seem to remember that there were rumours/stories that Will proposed to Kate without getting permission from the Queen and that, also, there was some concern about her social climbing family and Will almost chose the Midds to spite Charles. It could be that a vetting *was* done and Will proposed anyway in rebellion.
Considering the oligarchs, paedophiles and other vermin the royals keep company with, the Middletons probably look like choir members. In fact the outrage at their finances is really laughable compared to who some of the other royal “friends” are. So Kate’s family is being targeted for a reason. It could be because they are on the way out or it could be just to shut them up and let them know they have no status. Crocmilla’s ‘nephew received a knighthood but still no title for any Middleton after 20 years? Hmm…
Let’s also not forget the rumors about William and a honeypot Russian lover.
What’s with the it “happened to them”?! Charles cheated, that’s what happened to that family! And both he and Cowmilla wanted that marriage destroyed. So no, things didn’t “happen”, they were actively sought. Maybe Wills had the same sort of “happening” “happen” :)))
There is no way William, etc. wouldn’t have bailed the Middletons out if he was still looking at them as a surrogate family and if he was determined to stay with Kate. I do believe there will be more stories like this to get public opinion on William’s side. The rash of Middleton propelled pro-Kate articles just make her look more ridiculous, and based on the comments, people are not buying the garbage. This should have been their golden time. The queen dies, they are the new, glamorous Prince and Princess of Wales! Well, that fell flat. Eventually, I believe William will try and reinvent himself as Cool Single Dad.
Yeah I can see William re branding himself as the modern single dad while Kate is shoved into the background never to be seen or heard of again. They will have to burn her and her family to stop her from going to the press with her story and from constantly briefing to the press to get attention whenever William steps out.
That family (inc Kate) will not be quiet unless they are made to hence some hush money with strings attached to keep their mouths shut in every way.
Let’s not forget how Spare blew open Kate’s behaviour toward Meghan from Harry’s view and that confirmed a lot of the ice queen behaviour brushed over the years. Kate was being snotty to the new sister in law and expected deference, which ran contrary to the low key relatable common princess image she pretended to be.
The cooling off happened way before the statue unveiling. I remember seeing pictures and an article of Kate showing up solo for Carole’s birthday party in London a few years back (H&M were still in the U.K). The story was that Will was babysitting which made absolutely no sense.
I agree. You used to see William out and about with the Middletons all the time. They were photographed in the procession at Ascot, and in Balmoral being driven by the Queen. Then there was that Xmas when W+K didn’t go to Sandringham but had an imitation royal Xmas with the Middletons (it was all very petty, but rumour had it that this was because the Queen hadn’t invited the Middletons to Sandringham). And then suddenly, you didn’t really see him with them any more. I think Pippa was told to cool it too.
There was also a story about how Carole treated Anmer like her own home, and used to turn up unannounced and let herself in – which pissed William off, so he told her to back off.
So yes, there’s definitely been a cooling of relations, and I think it started quite a few years ago.
I do want this to be the main royal story for the British media for awhile. It would genuinely be shocking and worrisome if the implications were true, and some original journalism reveals that the Middletons were emotionally and financially manipulating a traumatized teenager and young adult. William’s side (whoever that consists of) has good reason to support an investigation: establishing that the family are financial frauds, then subsequently proving them to have controlled William, would be ample grounds for the public to approve of a divorce.
It would also justify limiting the Meddletons exposure to William’s kids, especially George which I think is the other goal of this. The Royals have no problem providing cover for terrible people so there has to be a reason for hanging the Meddletons out to dry. I’m looking for more bombshells about Uncle Gary next.
Yep. Chuck is going to want to limit the Middleton influence on all the Wales kids.
Exactly – they could protect the Midds if they wanted.
It’s scary to think of George shut off from alternative viewpoints about how to live, grow up, make decisions, etc, but *if* the Midds are this devious, they can make the argument that George is well away from them.
But does William want to be this kind of victim? It sure doesn’t make William look good either.
If William’s people think that Harry has come off well admitting his own traumas and mis-steps while coming to terms with it, then they might want William to enter a similar redemptive journey.
Still, I get what you mean about William being too egotistical to undergo that kind of messaging. The answer that includes both of these sides is that William wants everything Harry has…perhaps including a redemptive therapy journey.
It sort of leans into the “Diana’s poor boy” thing he’s been happy to lean into when it suits him.
Henry 8 had a huge ego but he spread the story that Anne Boleyn must have bewitched him with witchcraft to make him so besotted with her in the beginning because by the end he couldn’t understand why he ever was so in love with her, or wanted her so badly. (As a wife she’d scream and shout at him, and nag.). Men tend to be attracted to strong domineering women (it’s sexy) but they don’t necessarily want that sort of behaviour in a wife.
The bit about William being an traumatised teenager who was manipulated by the Middletons is an interesting one. William met Kate only 4 years after Diana died, so he definitely would have been vulnerable at that point.
It’ll be so interesting to see how the Midds combat any separation or divorce. I don’t think they’ll go quietly. If the theories of Will being physically abusive are true, and the Midds have proof, I’m not sure there’s enough “poor duped Willy” leverage to save his rep.
I think it depends on how much money Peggy and Chuck are willing to cough up to make them go away quietly – we know he will pay people off, look at Angela Kelly.
All he needs to do is give them enough money to pay off the business debts and make them sign an NDA and they would grab it. Same with Kate, she will get a small pay off (the money to her parent would be part of her divorce settlement) and the use Adelaide Cottage until the kids are 18. She might want to keep one of her titles regardless of whether he remarries or not – they might let her keep the Cambridge title until her death. Status is EVERYTHING to Kate and no way is she not going to have a title as mother of the future King.
It all depends on the carrot Chuck dangles in front of them.
It appears to me that there is probably some financial shell-gaming going on that will pave the way for Kate and the Midds to ‘go gentle into that good night’. The bankruptcy of PP and the Midds stiffing all sorts of suppliers and unable to pay taxes and loans is the death knell for the Wails’ marriage but also a way of paying them to basically eff off. I’m sure KC3, Camzilla and Peg are fed up to the back teeth from being tainted by association with the Midds and are deep in the final planning stages of announcing a separation.
Is anyone thinking of the children and how they will be affected? Is William going to try to destroy the mother of his children the way Charles tried to destroy Diana? At least for sure we know that Diana a devoted parent. We don’t know anything about the relationship between Kate and her children. I did get the impression that she was quite devoted to Louis when he was born. Perhaps she realized that he would be her last child.
As bad as William is, I can see him turning against the Midds.
If he put up the $5M for that Manor house they’ve been living in and then finds out Carole has been lying about PP and about to go bankrupt….well, hell.
Kate must have had an idea of the grifting Carole was doing.
I’d throw them under the bus too.
William has not one true friend in the world.
His wife tracked and married him for money and position, not love.
Carole, Pippa, James have all profited by being Wills in-laws.
Charles and Camilla have controlled him and used him to keep him in line.
He has treated Harry and M cruelly. He knows he can’t repair that relationship w/Harry.
The Men in grey will do everything they can to keep Will and George = The Monarchy in line. It is their job to force the continuing biz of The Crown.
Williams still got his male friends and all the ex girlfriends/flings he’s remained friends with.
I have always suspected that William wouldn’t have married Kate if he didn’t get the Middletons as part of the package (at the time). And she was the last one standing when he’d spent most of his 20’s playing around on her but had not found anyone who wanted to become a part of the BRF.
The odd thing is that the women he’s been linked with are generally pretty busy / accomplished types, as opposed to the empty-headed automaton he married. Jecca for example and her conservation work / charity initiatives. Rose plays an active role in managing her husband’s enormous estate, including the tourism side of things, and in local charities. Kate is nothing like either of them. So William must have known that Kate just wasn’t up to the job, but he was prepared to go along with it because (1) he needed to get married and produce the heir, and (2) he got the Middletons as part of the deal, cozy head-in-lap chats and cheese-on-toast included.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Middleton’s divorce over this scandal.
DOC, I think they’re already separated, so it’s quite possible if Fails & Wails divorce the Mids divorce would happen, too. Ma Mids is seen everywhere at royal things, but not Pa. He attends the “must” events only.
And Pa Mids always looks like a down-trodden, embarrassed man whenever he’s at these “must” events
@Doc The general consensus seems to be that Mike and CarolE have been low key separated for a number of years. He dutifully shows up for official events to tick the box.
They separated years ago – it was all over the European media but was never reported by the UK press. They pretend they are still together for the big photo opportunities – it also could explain why they kept the other house, Mike lives in it.
William’s investment in the Middleton family home is an interesting bit of gossip. Would they not have to install a lot of security features if George and William were to spend any time at the home? I always had the impression that William paid for the security installations necessary for royals. Stories vary from William bought them a house to William gave them a down-payment for the house. The Middletons already owned a house, so unless it was still mortgaged, would that not be sufficient collatoral? If William actually paid for the house, then it would make sense that the house would eventually become Kate’s separation house.
tamsin, I never considered that the new house would become Wails’ separation house. I can’t find whether the Mids sold their old house. I remember that there was a great deal of security features to the new house, which made sense and now makes even more sense. They bought the house in 2012–marriage settlements? You gotta wonder.
Taxpayers paid for the security features at both Middleton houses because senior royals would be staying there regularly.
I think the security protection would and should also apply to Charlotte and louis.
I can believe William loved the whole Middleton family dynamic when he was younger, but I’m not convinced he feels betrayed because Carole/Kate were manipulative. Harry & William were both jaded by their positions. They knew to be wary of people glomming on to them for status and perks. William was fine with Kate and her family’s manipulating him because it served a purpose. He got access to Mansion Bang Bang. He had a girlfriend at his beck and call who would overlook his affairs as long as she remained in rotation. He had mother & father figures who chose him over their daughter, elevating him to nearly god-like status. I mean…they didn’t have to manipulate a fool, who was looking to use them too.
I think William fell out with Ma when she used the press to yank his chain by revealing what he’d been up to. I’m thinking specifically of his dad dancing debacle. Carole may have won that round, but lost the war because while William needed Kate & the happy family vibe prior to QE’s death, he doesn’t need the Middletons quite so much anymore. KC3 & Camilla aren’t winning in popularity contests. Harry & Meghan are too scared to return. William has the Duchy money and can drop kick Kate & her mother whenever he feels like it.
I have my doubts they were ever that close. William strikes me as a world class snob, which is why he dragged his feet about marrying Kate while chasing more aristocratic ladies. What tipped me off was when they violated the “never complain, never explain” policy over the Tattler article and made them take out the parts about William slumming at the Middleton house for parental affection. That must have given his public school chums a good laugh.
What woman in her right mind would marry William if he and Kate divorce?
We all know what a mess that entire family has become.
Can you imagine being Wills wife #2?
The press would tear her apart. It would be a nightmare of Camilla part 2.
I think William and Kate will go the way of Liz and Phil, as the kids grow up, they each go their own way but still project The Family life to the public.
If William becomes King, he can send out whoever he wants to do the public events.
My interest is will there be a Monarchy past Charles?
I can honestly see William moving to Switzerland or some other wealthy spot if the monarchy ends. He’s always going to be stinking rich. And he is lazy.
The press would cast the new wife as a perfect saint to protect the monarchy. It’s Kate who would be ripped to shreds. Especially as the journalists have wanted to do that from the beginning, when she first became famous, but were ordered to restrain themselves.
I’m still trying to figure out how the Middletons got invited to the Jordan wedding.
That’s what I’ve been saying too, it was utterly bizarre.
For me, at the time, I thought they were there as a psychological prop for KM. Now, after their financial exposure, I wonder if the Palace was lent on to get them invited to maintain some sort of status for them going forward? And, by extension, for KM too.
Maybe William got friendly with the prince when he was at sandhurst. Maybe he was invited to stay with the JRF on a private holiday, and as Williams always liked freebie holidays, he said yes. And maybe the Middletons also went on the freebie holiday. “My in-laws would love to come too as they used to live in Jordan and it holds a special place in their hearts”.
I only see Edina Monsoon in these photos.
The fallout between W and the Middletons must have happened during 2018. Maybe W fell in love with his affair partner? Maybe W was confronted by his younger brother’s loving relationship (the “Fab Four” had their one&only group event in February 2018? It was obvious how much better M was than K there.) We know that Kate “is a good person” and that she “was going through some stuff” due to stockingsgate. In November the Sussexes left the Cambridge office in Kensington Palace. The Middletons joined the rest of the royals in providing mendacious fodder for the tabloids—maybe W felt that he and his birth family could attack his brother, but not the inlaws? In 2018 the law changed so a company like Party Pieces would no longer be able to earn money selling customer info. W&K announced that they would no longer alternate between Bucklebury and Sandringham for Christmas anymore. Kate had the least amount of public appearances of any royal (even though Meghan only counted as a royal as of her wedding) in 2018.
So in retrospect, there were vague signs in 2018 that things might not be going well, but in January of 2019 W’s first appearance of the year was a solo event to London’s Air Ambulances ON K’s BDAY. Then K attended her mum’s bday (W “babysat” —hoe can a dad babysit his own kids?!— that night. No news if he stooped by a pizzeria in Woking..) without W. Further in 2019, we now know Party Pieces became an LLC, the Rose Hanbury affair became public, in K vs Rose K lost, W was reported exercising with “yummy mummies” from his kids’ school, etc.
IMHO Bulliam is an ignorant, entitled wimp. I believe Kate was truly responsible for a lot of his over-the-top responses to Meghan (and Harry). Stuff like Easter presents ???? She was so threatened by Meghan she overplayed her hand (with Carole’s backing and “advice”.) She was totally behind the “staff complaints” nonsense and worked with Jason Knauf behind everyone’s back to tank the Sussexes. She knew Willy would be too lazy to do his own fact finding and was probably so tedious at home W couldn’t cope.
But it went too far and now Willy has no tools to pull it back! I’m sure he was uber jealous that PH had pulled such a jewel as M. He was always horrid to Harry since childhood but now it is out in the world and he is too lame to own it. When things blew up and Willy couldn’t control Harry any more (can you imagine the gaslighting and guilt-tripping he’s done to H over the years?) Kate was a target and he would have known Carole was involved..