Something I only noticed a few days after Prince William’s New York trip concluded: the British media barely, if ever, mentioned the fact that NYC Mayor Eric Adams canceled his appearance with William at the FDNY station. That’s how you know it was supposed to be the final piece of William’s Copykeening Harry Tour: a photo-op with the mayor, just like Harry and Meghan did a photocall with Bill DeBlasio in 2021. Between that and oh-so-deliberate fudges about “William did meetings at the United Nations” – when really he waylaid the president of Ecuador at British Consul’s residence across from the UN building – shows you what setpieces William actually cared about and what he didn’t get. Which is probably why the British media is going way overboard about how William is “a reborn sex symbol” and KP is briefing Katie Nicholl about how pleased William was with the trip. And when all else fails, bring up Harry, Meghan and the paparazzi chase.

The smooth, good-humoured success of Prince William’s visit to New York this week was in stark contrast to his brother Harry’s recent stay there, writes Richard Eden in the latest edition of his Palace Confidential newsletter. Eden, the Daily Mail Diary Editor, praises William for his effective diplomacy on the two-day solo visit, suggesting that the Prince had proved himself an ambassador both for the nation and the monarchy.

Strikingly, he says, the Prince of Wales endured none of the headline-catching drama overshadowing the New York visit of Harry and Meghan in May, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed to have been involved in ‘near catastrophic car chase’ with photographers.

There was no such drama for William, who – even without Catherine by his side – proved quite a hit, drawing crowds of well-wishers.

‘Greeting Prince William in New York this week, the city’s former mayor Michael Bloomberg referred to a recent opinion poll that showed our future king was viewed more favourably in the USA than President Joe Biden,’ writes Eden. ‘Referring to the Declaration of Independence from George III’s Britain, Bloomberg joked: “America has not seen that kind of bipartisan consensus since 1776. But this time we’re all drinking to the King’s health.”

‘The calm success of the trip was a stark contrast to his brother’s most recent visit to New York City. That was overshadowed by Prince Harry and Meghan’s claims that they had been involved in a “near-catastrophic car chase” with press photographers. The incident happened after the couple tried to shake off “a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi” in half a dozen cars with blacked out windows, driving dangerously and putting the lives of the couple and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, in danger, their spokesman said. The New York Police Department later said no one had been hurt and a taxi driver who drove the couple never felt in danger.’

[From The Daily Mail]

This is a typical William blunder: “See, the paparazzi didn’t chase me, that means I’m better than my brother!” No, dipsh-t, it means no one cares about you and the paparazzi didn’t even think your photos would sell. This isn’t a flex, Peggington. For nearly every one of William’s carefully stage-managed events, there was an in-house royal rota photographer “selling” or giving the photos to agencies. The one event he did out in public, the stop by the FDNY station, barely registered because most photo agencies didn’t even care enough to buy or carry the pics. THAT is the story – William is unimportant, William’s photos don’t sell, William isn’t a thing in America, William is desperate to compare himself favorably to his brother and failing miserably.

As for Eden and all of the British reporters openly mocking the Sussexes’ tangle with the paparazzi several months ago… first of all, those reporters are all going to hell. Second of all, I find it curious that the Sussexes haven’t said anything about it in a while, which makes me believe that there’s sh-t happening behind-the-scenes.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.