Last year, for St. Patrick’s Day, Prince William formally turned over his honorary position as colonel-in-chief of the Irish Guards. The position was handed over to his wife, the Princess of Wales. In turn, William took an honorary position with the Welsh Guards, because I guess the Prince of Wales can’t do f–k all for both the Welsh Guards AND the Irish Guards at the same time. In any case, Kate was always supposed to attend the St. Patrick’s Day shamrock ceremony with the Irish Guards, except for the time she skipped because she didn’t feel like it. Well, she’s obviously still recovering from her abdominal surgery this year, so the Irish Guards’ royal patron will be MIA. Weirdly, it doesn’t sound like they’re sending anyone in Kate’s place?
Recuperating at Windsor, the Princess of Wales, who is off duty until Easter, will not be able to down a Guinness while presenting shamrock to the Irish Guards on St Patrick’s Day. Just over a year ago Kate replaced William as their Royal Colonel. She hopes to be fit in June when No 9 Company troop the colour for the King.
A week earlier she is due to take the salute at the Colonel’s Review, the first female regimental colonel to do so since Princess Elizabeth in 1951.
Notice how effortlessly they’ve pushed back Kate’s comeback – we’ve gone from “after Easter” to “maybe we’ll see her in June.” Last year, King Charles handed Kate several other military patronages, and none of those units will probably see her for a full year. While last year’s Irish Guards parade was widely criticized online, the whole shamrock ceremony is something cute which has been done by a senior royal woman for decades. It seems weird that they can’t or won’t just send Anne or Sophie or even Camilla for just one St. Patrick’s Day.
Meanwhile, Page Six had some lukewarm tea about how Kate’s surgery was a big surprise to her closest aides:
Kate Middleton is “thrilled” to be home with her children — after even her closest staff were kept in the dark about her major abdominal surgery. The Princess of Wales, 42, returned home to Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate Monday after two weeks in the hospital.
Even her closest aides did not know what exactly was wrong, sources told Page Six, as she and Prince William wanted to protect her privacy.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson said Monday that the royal “is making good progress.” The Princess of Wales is said to be extremely glad to get home.
“But for a twist of fate and meeting William, friends often comment she’d likely have preferred a quieter countryside life,” said a source. “Family and bringing up her children is the most important thing to her.”
A quieter country life is what Pippa ended up getting – after spending the first years of her marriage in London, Pippa and Terribly Moderately Wealthy James moved into a palatial estate in Berkshire with plenty of room for live-in nannies. Kate really made a Faustian bargain for the ring. As for Kate’s closest aides being kept in the dark… I don’t even know anymore. Again, wherever Kate is, I hope she’s okay.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.
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- ALDERSHOT, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Catherine, Princess of Wales meets with members of the Irish Guards and enjoys a glass of Guinness during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Mons Barracks on March 17, 2023 in Aldershot, England. Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the parade for the first time as Colonel of the Regiment succeeding The Prince of Wales, the outgoing Colonel.,Image: 763503510, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- Aldershot, UNITED KINGDOM – The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Irish Guards in Aldershot for St Patrick’s Day. Pictured: Catherine – Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 17 MARCH 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Aldershot, UNITED KINGDOM – The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Irish Guards in Aldershot for St Patrick’s Day. Pictured: Catherine – Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 17 MARCH 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards for the St Patrick’s Day Parade, at Mons Barracks in Aldershot. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William Where: Aldershot, United Kingdom When: 17 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Princess of Wales speaks on stage with the Prince of Wales during a visit to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards for the St Patrick’s Day Parade, at Mons Barracks in Aldershot. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William Where: Aldershot, United Kingdom When: 17 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales sit for a group photo during a visit to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards for the St Patrick’s Day Parade, at Mons Barracks in Aldershot. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William Where: Aldershot, United Kingdom When: 17 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Princess of Wales meets members of the Irish Guards and enjoys a glass of Guinness during a visit to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards for the St Patrick’s Day Parade, at Mons Barracks in Aldershot. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Aldershot, United Kingdom When: 17 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales enjoy a glass of Guinness during a visit to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards for the St Patrick’s Day Parade, at Mons Barracks in Aldershot. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William Where: Aldershot, United Kingdom When: 17 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit the Irish Guards at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Aldershot. Featuring: Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Aldershot, United Kingdom When: 17 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Well well well, she’d likely prefer a quiet countryside life, and her family and children are the most important thing to her, you say? Maybe the divorce rollout hasn’t been totally upended by this health scare after all.
ETA- even this obsession with her privacy could be setting the stage for press expectations after a separation. Pity they actively campaigned (and continue to!) against the Sussexes receiving this privilege.
I think she’s too thin for it to be a drinking problem. That said- sometimes someone can suddenly have a liver problem… or diverticulitis- and that can mean 2 weeks in hospital and a long recovery…
Eh, weight isn’t the be all and end all for ruling out alcoholism. Forest Whitaker’s ex-wife, Keisha Nash, recently passed from alcoholic liver disease. She was already naturally slim and became extremely thin during their marriage. The press has hinted at Kate having issues with alcohol over the years, from little stories about how much she loves to have a drink after this routine or that routine, to newspaper comics depicting her surrounded with wine glasses and bottles.
A friend from high school died from the combo of anorexia and alcoholism. The daughter of the pastor of my old church was thin like Kate, died after binge drinking a bottle of liquor. I know another pastor who lost his sister to alcoholism and anorexia complications. She was in the icu for a few weeks before passing. You can’t tell from just looking, and alcohol could be the only thing keeping her calories high enough to function.
Anyway, she’s never respected the ST Patrick’s day thing anyway, much less the rest of the royals. In all this info about how missed she’ll be after surgery, they previously released she only has 30 patronages. And remember that one patronage called her out for having I think 8 years between visits? How is she not visiting three a months, or setting up a predictable visit calendar? It would be so easy. But she wants to keep it squirrelly. The intentional squirreliness is starting to feel like she’s been hiding something this whole time, more than laziness.
I also knew someone who was extremely thin, lovely, blonde…though addicted to pills and alcohol, so the stereotype of someone bloated, red-faced and generally unkempt doesn’t fit everyone…
And Kate has been telling us about her unpredictability since before she even married William. Remember how she told the Jigsaw boutique owners that she needed a flexible schedule because she needed to be available for William whenever he wanted? She’s never been reliable. Whether it’s for health or marriage issues, it’s a feature, not a bug…
My husband is a reconstructive surgeon who specializes in abdominal wall reconstruction so naturally he has been verrrry interested in this story. If she truly will not be seen for 3+ months, he is convinced she had an ileostomy for whatever reason (intestinal torsion, diverticulitis, infection, etc.). Most people have them for about three months before they can be closed up and patients can start pooping in the normal fashion. There is NO WAY on God’s green earth Kate will ever discuss her bowels, much less wear an external waste collection bag in public. Although my husband feels she is missing a golden opportunity to destigmatize bowel surgeries and ileostomies, we both know she is just not capable of such a task.
I agree with Suzie Q. This sounds like a scheduled bowel surgery (for Crohns, diverticulitis, cancer/pre-cancer, etc.) that went bad. This happened to my ex (who nearly died) and he wound up with an ileostomy and a poo bag. To add insult to injury his stoma was botched so the waste bag wouldn’t adhere properly, leaving him house-bound, and he was so sick for so long that he had to wait six months until he was well enough for reversal. Plus, his abdomen was misshapen and distended for several months, so wearing normal clothing wasn’t possible. Many people with good ileostomies can function well and with discreet clothing you would never know, but in my ex’s case he would not have been able to live any kind of public life. Under some circumstances I can see where this would be a missed opportunity to destigmatize bowel surgery , but if Kate is experiencing anything at all like what my ex went through I can understand her desire for privacy. I’m not defending her otherwise but after what my ex went through I would never wish that on anyone.
Yeah they spent four years making “privacy” toxic but now they’re trying to use it as a shield. Lol.
I agree with the ileostomy theory. It would certainly explain the secrecy around all of this. I also agree with her not being a spokesperson for this. It’s a lot to ask of anyone especially if it came by surprise. But even once she’s accepted it, she’s not a strong enough speaker and she is lacking in strength of character as well. It would also boost her popularity and make her the most sympathetic of all the rest. Definitely can’t have that. I do picture Cams having a good laugh over it though with her press cronies. I’m sure they have some wonderful names for Kate now.
What I keep circling back to though – if it was just that the surgery was deemed “embarrassing” and Kate doesn’t want the world thinking about her bowels, or she doesn’t want to do public engagements with an ileostomy – that would explain the secrecy, it would explain not seeing her leave the hospital.
It doesn’t explain the lack of positive PR around the Middletons rallying to support their daughter, the lack of hospital visits, the lack of goodwill stories about the kids making Kate cards or whatever.
Digestive surgery made sense when this was first announced. But after the past two weeks, I’m not so sure.
@Becks1 The royals tend to use “abdominal surgery” a lot. They used it for Phillip and I saw an old article where the Queen Mother was also admitted for “abdominal surgery.” Now Kate too. Wow, what are the odds? It may be the truth, but what is it about Kate’s abdominal surgery that made William and the Middletons do a disappearing act?
I am becoming more convinced that Willy did something to Kate that set this all off. But I also wonder about long term disability. Willy might have triggered the situation, but Kate could have had a post op stroke. She might not be fully conscious, she might not be able to speak.
Kate was a good candidate for a stroke under any circumstances – she allegedly smokes and drinks, has a high stress life, and she is at the age when many women have strokes.
Whatever, something ain’t right with all this. Where are Kate’s parents?
Definitely not a trampoline accident.
I am becoming more convinced that Willy did something to Kate that set this all off.
I have been thinking the same thing.
I call BS on Kate’s preference for a quiet country life. She’s a city girl, she loves shopping, loves getting dressed up, loves being the center of attention. Is she going to wear the Nizam of Hyderabad at Anmer while vacuuming? (You know she’s got it.) I think not.
Cheating, rumors of breakups, terrible arguments throwing things at each other, not going to see his wife at the hospital, the new narrative that he might need Harry, that “friends”
(Do they exist?) comment how Kkkhate would prefer a quiet lazy life in the country, all that stew means separation. And I hope whatever Kates going through that she will get better and mostly that she will do what she really wants because it is obvious that she has no real ambition to be saving the world and make it better. Gurl just wanted a grand life, shop and be admired and get a crown. She didnt know that in a twist of life, a beautiful biracial american actress was gonna fck that up for her and that she’d really have to WORK. She wants peace and quiet and to get away from everything. A shiny crown is so not worth this. Now that george is going away for school, the spares are ok, this is her plan to Gtfo too. Free Kate!!
Wasn’t this what the media used to claim for QE also? And Cam wrote some article about “being at home in the countryside”. Is this supposed to prove they are such simple, humble people, but they give up their lives to “serve”?
It sounds as if they are planning on ushering her of somewhere into the countryside.
That’s exactly what it sounds like to me.
Yes it does sound that way. Did you catch the part where they say she won’t be downing Guinness for the St Patrick’s day event with the Irish Guards. Are they implying she has a drinking problem with that odd sentence. Is it part of the problem and why she will be living a quiet life.
MTE. It’s something about the way it was worded…it sounds like it could be something they’d say at the *very* beginning of the rollout of an upcoming divorce announcement…leaving breadcrumbs; slowly laying the groundwork.
I’ve always been back & forth as to whether or not they’ll actually divorce, and I usually end up thinking that they won’t because they can live their separate lives while William still gets to basically do whatever he wants since he holds all of the power, and Kate will want to hang on until she’s crowned, no matter how terrible her life becomes.
But this whole bizarre sequence of events has changed things. Something big is up, IMO. And I SO HOPE that we find out what it is.
Camilla wanted royal life imo very badly. She undermined Diana every step of the way.
YES. Also, for QEII I think it was a way to say “Hey, listen. She’d love to be a super involved mother. She really would. But she sacrificed that for our country.” I think that was probably part of the PR of being a queen regnant back in the days when most women didn’t work outside of the home. But for Cam and Kate, I think, it’s also an excuse. “Yeah. We absolutely know that we’re not good at this like Diana was. She loved being involved and helping people. We don’t and you can see it all over our faces.” They present their work as a sacrifice instead of as a calling as a kind of PR spin. Megan, of course, IS good at it in the way Diana was. So that was spun as being a fame-hungry spotlight-stealer. The spin on that was, “Look at her. She’s eating this UP. SHE’D never be happy with a quiet, lazy life at a country estate. Gross.”
She is somewhere twirling her hair and looking at the ceiling.
She pulled a charlene and is gone somewhere for treatment. They keep saying she’s making good PROGRESS? Wtf are they talking about? If its a surgery, and it was successful, it’s just done and she’s recuperating. Is charles making good progress from his giant prostate operation?
YES. I’ve been thinking of Charlene, too. Every time they release a statement without the phrases “expected to make a full recovery” and “good spirits” I am increasingly more suspicious.
How long was it before the public got proof of life photos for Charlene?
I remember seeing photos of her even though she was looking rough. Even Albert flew into South Africa with the children and did a photo shoot.
I think she either tried to commit suicide and needs a different kind of treatment (aka making her even more of a stepford wife). The other possibility I see is that he hit or pushed her and the results are showing on her face. Reconstructive surgery is required.
option #2 does not preclude option #1 or at least part of it.
That’s exactly what it sounds like to me.
ANITA those were my thoughts as well. Judging by the media blackout and the way Willy and Middletons were behaving something big has gone down.
I think they might be laying the groundwork for her disappearing from public eye for good.
@anita
All I can keep thinning of is my old boss. She was beaten by her bf all the time. She wore long sleeves and high necks at the wrong time of year. She hid bruises very well. She always talked about how active she was – karate etc – and that’s why she has bruises.
Until he broke her jaw in a truly deadly beating and it had to be wired shut. Among the other injuries that go along with something like that. She was out of work for months.
Half the time I wonder if he beat her to death and this is how they are covering for the PoW. Sudden surgery, unknown prognosis- people eventually stop asking and she is finally declared deceased after a long private illness. The Middletown are paid off.
Or she is recovering and they don’t know to what extent she will be able to recover. Brain swelling etc.
@MoxyLady, I would argue that most of what the ROTA does — especially with regard to the Sussexes — is journalistic malpractice.
But this is next level. If they truly know that…whatever is wrong with Kate was brought on by William but are covering it up for him…I just don’t even know what to say. Clearly none of them understand the ostensible need for a free and diligent press. It’s disgusting on every level.
LOL “a twist of fate” you mean years of her mother’s machinations to put her in his path and outlast the competition? She already ended the 100+ year tradition of a senior royal lady passing out shamrocks a few years ago, so now skipping is just business as usual.
She actually didn’t. Only Anne from 2003-11 was there every year. But it was a stupid statement to put out because they were already, even then, drawing criticism for their low workload. And when the other royal ladies weren’t there they always sent someone. Either another royal or a high ranking military member.
115 years, it was covered here at Celebitchy by Kaiser, too. But what is tradition when you say the only point of your family’s whole existence is tradition?
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/kate-middleton-faces-public-backlash-breaking-115-year-old-st-patricks-day-shamrock-tradition-1549959
It was covered here but the information in the article there is incorrect.
The elderly Queen Alexandra, who started the tradition in 1902 missed at least 12 years between 1902-25.
Princess Mary, the princess royal missed at least 21 times between 1925-65.
The queen mother , probably the most identified with the tradition was much more consistent. She seemingly only missed about 6 times between 1966-2001.
Then Anne stepped in and didn’t seem to miss any.
Kate missed 2016 and 2021 (Covid). I think she joined William in 2020 though he handed them out.
Kate skipped it one year to basically get her hair done and not set up expectations that she would be there every year. This was done as she was being criticized for not working very much (and she was not on maternity leave at that time either).
It was the beginning of the laziness that has been seen since then.
Yeah, that wasn’t fate, that was a full-on campaign to snag a prince.
Kkkhate MIA on St Paddy’s Day. Who’ll notice…..?
Nobody since it’s not the first time.
I’m much more interested in Seamus, the Irish wolfhound anyway.
Who isn’t? He’s the real star. Such a good boy. My childhood dog was part Irish wolfhound so they have a special place in my heart.
What I’m getting here is that not even her closest aides know the details of her medical treatment, but I bet that’s not the case for William’s closest aides…
They share an office so what i am getting here is that they didn’t tell any of their staff exactly what was wrong because they’ll blabber it to the media.
That or it is once again a lie and their staff does know what is going on but it’s so bad that the press is providing cover
This is what I think too. They didn’t tell the staff because they have established the precedence of the staff being allowed to leak, so they were afraid to trust them this time. Its like the line from West Wing – we didn’t tell you because we didn’t think you “could” lie to the press.
Or again, maybe what happened reflected so poorly on William that they need to keep this as quiet as possible.
I don’t know. I can’t believe the mother of the future king goes to the hospital and no one except apparently her husband knows why (maybe her mother? but we dont even know that at this point.)
If it was an emergency because something happened on the Dec 28th then there would have been nothing to inform the staff of beforehand. This is another reason I don’t believe this was a planned surgical procedure. Something happened that day / night and she was rushed to hospital.
This. They’re soooo good usually to spin everything in a good light yet now move like they don’t know the job.
It must be pretty bad.
28th december is in the holydays part of the year, it’s also a time when people tend to be more depressed…just saying.
Who on the staff would even be privy to her private information? She hasn’t had a private secretary for more than a year. Other than Natasha Archer (who was photographed driving to the clinic over the weekend) who seems to have multiple jobs, I am not surprised that Kate didn’t confide all of her medical information to her staff. KP is leaky af, and I get the sense that most of the staff are loyal to William, not the commoner married in. Realistically, how often do you think they ever hear from Kate?
That, I think, is the reason for some of the weirder stories that focused on “superdad” William and some of the conflicting information about how long they’ll both be away from the public eye: there’s an internal, albeit unequal, divide within KP. One hand doesn’t know what the other is doing, so in one story Kate will be back working from her sickbed in no time, no wait, she won’t be seen til Easter, no they’ll both be MIA until June. Public relations was hardly KP’s strong suit, and now they are just spinning in circles.
I can believe that her closet aides didn’t know anything given how leaky that household is. WandK set precedence with their staff when they ok’d the leaking of Sussex stories and lies, now they can’t stuff the genie back in the bottle but are reaping what they’ve sowed.
They know what and how they did for the suxesses, you can bet that they aides are subjected to concrete solid nda’s or they will be thrown in the river thames or emprisonned in the london tower
NDAs have been in place within the palace system for years but it’s never stopped the leaking, the only thing it’s prevented is former staffers from shilling books. I believe NDAs came about after QEIIs nanny, Marion Crawford wrote a book about the young princess and her time caring for them.
There’ve been books over the decades. I think they can get away with it if the book isn’t published in the US (that happened with one butler or something, not Burrell) or the employee doesn’t live in the uk (another, female, employee).
They will keep on pushing her return back until they are forced to announce her exit from royal life. Something big has clearly gone down because no ordinary scenario would have her out for months on end. As for the ‘quieter life in the countryside’ bit… I mean, isn’t it obvious that’s what Keen wants the most? I wouldn’t be surprised if this entire mess was to set the narrative up for just that. It’s obvious Keen envies Pippa’s life. That was made clear the moment they stopped leeching off of each other after she married that rich dude James.
If Keen can’t handle the stress of royal duties, then she should have never stalked a future King. It’s her own fault for not thinking past getting Willy to the alter.
I feel the same. My first thought was, welp, she’s about to get that quiet life in the countryside.
I think they will start leaking stories about her recovery time being longer and longer and then whispers about the job being too much for her and she’ll just quietly disappear. And then they’ll divorce because “Pegs needs a wife who can help shoulder his future burden” and crap like that.
And yes, she and her mother were absolutely stupid to not plan for after the ring. They had to have known that the honeymoon period of easing into the job wouldn’t last forever. And she still barely works! It’s shocking to me that the amount she (doesn’t) work would be too much for anyone.
Something is seriously wrong in the House of Keen and Mean.
It feels like Kate retiring to the quiet country life was always the plan. That’s why Kate was pushing for George to go to Marlborough where he’d be closer to Bucklebury. But it seems like something happened over Christmas to make Kate and Will go into hiding. The Fail was broadly hinting yesterday that it was a mental breakdown; sometimes I believe the surgery story but sometimes I think the mental breakdown because the kids have been kept away.
I’m like you in that I got between believing the surgery story and its was a breakdown – either way, William is in control and he is managing who gets to visit her and what is being released. Its possible that her family are being kept in the dark about what’s happening hence no leaks to the press.
If it was a breakdown its highly likely related to divorce and that he is pushing forward with it as there is someone else, someone who can compete with the Sussex’s. Whatever hope she might have had about staying married has been shattered and pushed her over the edge.
As for living the quiet country life – I don’t believe that. She’s always in London for shopping etc.. plus she does love for big family events such as Trooping. I don’t think she has any interest in doing to day to day engagements but when it comes to state banquets and any other big events, she’s all over them.
@Harper – The move to Adelaide back in 2022 was the first step of many to retire Keen to the countryside. Since then, most of her engagements have been within the vicinity of Windsor, so it’s not like the palace haven’t accommodated her desire to do the absolute bare minimum and still live her country Keen life. Something definitely happened over the Christmas period and I think it occurred during an argument with Baldy. The fact he’s practically gone off the radar proves as much. Now this story from the fail linking Keen to some poor woman taking her own life? It’s only a matter of time before the dam bursts.
@TheDuchess I agree…although I think it was Kate who wanted out of London when they set her up in her own home. The rumor was they were looking for an estate in Berkshire but none were available that were suitable (or the Crown wouldn’t cough up the cash for the type of place Kate had in mind) hence Adelaide was the compromise. I think she will end up in Bucklebury.
“Protect her privacy” is a nice way of saying they didn’t want Kate’s closest staff leaking anything to the press.
I mean William and Kate allowed their staff to like stories to the press so of course, she’s not going to tell her closest aides what’s going on.
On twitter there’s a badly photoshopped picture of Kate and William leaving the hospital – ridicolous!
Is that the one that’s a reverse image of the 2 of them leaving somewhere in 2019?
yeah, that’s it. This whole mess has a serious #gonegirl vibe
The photo that was on an article from the fail publishing in 2019 from some Royal engagement? That was a desperate move and make me wonder which rota member runs that acct… it amazes me how fast people catch these things.
This is like the human equivalent of when parents tell their children that their dog went to live on a farm.
That’s it! Signing off for the day. We have a winner!
This. What a farce.
🤭
This is exactly what I was thinking.
They better hurry with those proof of life photos.
That’s exactly where my brain went with all this talk of living a quiet life in the countryside. She went to that doggie farm!
@Snuffles wins! 🏆 Well done 🙂
They are setting her up to exit royal life, whether she wants to or not. The country life comments had my spidey senses tingling.
Whatever the truth is won’t matter. When they finally get around to addressing it people will already have decided something stinks and will forever side eye any narrative that is being pushed. Nothing is adding up and more people seem to be noticing. 2024 it’s going to be interesting to see how this all plays out. (Good news 🗞️ tomorrow is February ❤️✨)
I hope Kate is ok and find peace wherever she is because she was already a mean girl but the royal title turned her into not sure what to call it specially towards Meghan. May be big blue will finally retire before it becomes that Ring from the Lord Of Rings.
Or the cursed ring that brunnhilde returned to the Rhine maidens in the last opera in the ring cycle. The curse was removed when It went back to the rightful owners the Rhine maidens. It spelled doom to whoever got that stolen ring
OMG a Ring Cycle reference! The original sin in the Ring universe was Alberich’s renouncing of love in favor of ambition. Renunciation of love was what cursed the ring. I wonder if that has any analogous application here . . .
I’ve always thought that Kate wears a copy and the real Big Blue is safe in a vault.
Whatever happened with the missing royal jewelry? About 80 millions worth, including the Nizam of Hyderabad and a Cartier necklace? Better find those before Kate retires to the countryside.
If / when they divorce, does she keep Big Blue? This ring needs to retire.
Given how upset PW supposedly is about Meg’s engagement ring, Kate keeping this one would set him off big time.
I’m sure there will be a clause in divorce settlement (or maybe there was a prenup) that stipulates it stays with the RF. It might have bad juju around it, but they aren’t letting a historically significant piece of jewellery out of their hands.
Wasn’t there a rumour she was only wearing a replica because she would wear it sailing and plying sport?
The thing I’ve long thought about big blue: given its unhappy history, a gift upon the birth of their first child would have been lovely…I thought it was very odd when it was used as her engagement ring–again, given its unhappy history.
PWT put as much effort into choosing the ring as he did his marriage.
The only reason it was given to Kate was because William was too cheap to spring for a new ring for Kate and, as it turned out, he didn’t want Harry to have the ring for his future with wife IMO.
Let Kate keep her ring and then leak what I’ve suspected all along. The real ring worn by Diana is still in the vault.
the “quieter life in the countryside” line….what a weird line to include in a story about Kate recovering from some mysterious surgery. Like, why connect the two? Is it because her lack of a quieter life in the countryside led to her surgery (i.e., the stress/anxiety leading to an ED leading to other issues, some sort of mental health crisis), or is it because she’s on her way to that quieter life and they’re just setting the stage?
Also, I fell down the rabbit hole of reading that old post about St Patricks Day – I didn’t realize that richard Palmer was the one who put it out there that she didn’t want to set the expectation that she would do it every year, lol. he really does not like the Waleses, does he? (of course he dislikes the Black duchess more, but still.)
Have they already disappeared her? Guess we may never see her again. She must not be “settled” yet since William hasn’t made an appearance.
She’s like a goldfish being flushed down the royal latrine. She’s def not at Adelaide Cott, my guess is she’s at some posh clinic in Switzerland recovering from a mental health crisis triggered by William being a giant, aggressive and quite likely violent prick to her. She couldn’t take it anymore. How’s that Faustian pact working for you now Kate?
Kate’s mysterious disappearance doesn’t bode well for her sons. If she doesn’t return, then the royals are now 4-4 for destroying the lives of married-in women–Diana, Fergie, Meghan, and now Kate. The British royal family is where married-in women go to die, be ridiculed and left penniless, to be abused to the point of suicidal ideation, and now, to…what? Be “retired” to the countryside? Already, Kate the “perfect mute wife” whose perfection comes from her silence, her thinness, and her utter lack of agency is problematic. If she’s supposed to be the “exemplary” married in, then why is it that her praise had to come at the expense of another woman’s degradation?
No Gen Alpha woman in the future need go near the Wales Princes. I hope the monarchy ends by the time they come of age for their own sakes. I’d like to see our culture abandon the idea of “marrying a Prince and living happily ever after.” We’ve seen how that plays out and it’s a nightmare, not a fairy tale.
Her daughter Charlotte too. Who is the spare. Louis is spare of the spare. What would it mean also for Charlotte s future husband.
The British media and royal family want to destroy the women, not the men. No one gives two hoots about Timothy Laurence and Princess Anne having an affair and them him becoming her husband.
Charlotte has problems if she’s not an Anne 2.0. Pretty, but not too pretty. Thin. Horsey, but not too athletic. Sturdy, but not too smart. If she distinguishes herself in any way, if she’s smarter or more talented than George, or god forbid, she doesn’t end up with a figure like her mother’s, there will be hell to pay for that child. God help her if she’s rebellious in any way.
And yet Sophie has survived somehow.
@seaflower, the tabloids made a stint op to Sophie and got her on video promising access and talking sh*t about royal family. So, Ed & Sophie’s dreams of being financially independent went to dust at the time. She was already abused by the tabloids, now since there is no one left, they are easy on her.
I’d forgotten about that @sevenblue
George and Louis are definitely going to have problems finding accomplished and decent women to marry after the way the BRF and the BM abused two women 3 decades a part, which proves that the problems are inherent not unique to the woman in question.
They will, however, most likely be vulnerable to more predatory characters if they can’t find someone normal (and moral) to marry. The BM is going to make every girlfriend and boyfriends life hell from the get-go. No one but the most mercenary would want to put up with this level of intrusion even before getting anywhere near the altar. And now the way the institution and the family abuse women who attract “too” much attention has been made public TWICE over a period of 30 years. The thing is, it is always the women (and the brides) that attract the most attention! It is this way with all of the European monarchies as well.
There are probably already many more CarolE Middletons out there already trying to figure out how to throw their daughters into George’s and Louis’s paths someday, as well as mothers plotting Charlotte for their sons.
It will be so sad if history repeats itself and George has to settle for whoever will have him, because by now it’s common knowledge how the married-in wives are treated by their new “family.”
This.
“even her closest staff were kept in the dark” – everyone is technically in the dark before an unexpected event occurs.
This whole thing is so bizarre, and then mentioning “she always wanted a quieter life in the countryside” really sounds a lot like someone saying “I always wanted more time to focus on my crafting” after getting fired from their job.
Once again I have to ask, where the f is Will? We all know he’s not tending to his wife so IMO the real question is why Charles and the firm at large are seemingly okay with the heir going totally M.I.A. despite his wife surely being okay without his tender loving care for an hour or two here and there? Idk, I can’t decide if Will is on strike or in timeout.
Is it possible that not even Charles and Camilla know? A further wedge between father and his heir!
Charles and Camilla are being very careful not to get involved in whatever’s afoot in the House of Wails. IMO if they knew and it were something petty (like botched Botox or another affair) they would be leaking all over the place.
They still might not share the details, but all those implied questions about Will (and lord are they piling up!) would definitely be included in the articles about what a supportive spouse Camilla has been. The articles comparing Will and Camilla’s clinic visits were the least biased comparison of two royals ever included in a tabloid. I would say that was mercy on Camilla’s part, but we all know she isn’t capable of mercy so it must be self-interest.
So, either they’re fully aware of what’s going on and it’s a sh*tshow so they’re trying desperately to avoid the inevitable fallout, or they at least know enough to know to steer clear, even if they’re still unsure of the details. But again, these two usually have no self control in these scenarios, they have to pile on in the press, they can’t help it – that they’re showing restraint here is a tell that this thing is radioactive.
In hiding? There’s no way he wouldn’t be bombarded with questions about Kate. He’d either have to outright lie or reveal…what?
Charles can’t really give William a “time out” anymore because William has his own money from the Duchy of Cornwall. In the past, Charles controlled the bag, but now William can make work for himself if he wants to be seen. There’s nothing stopping him from, say, planning events with his patronages if he wanted to. Both William and Kate were making it a point to plan their rare events on the same days as Charles’s last year to squash his press coverage, likely to get back at him for controlling some of their (again, rare) events over the years. (Harry wrote about this in “Spare.”)
The Prince of Wales has historically had the ability to work as much or as little as he wants, given that the PoW has control of the Duchy of Cornwall and its coffers. Charles supposedly accomplished much more as Prince of Wales than his predecessors. This is likely because he craved attention and knew he wouldn’t be king for a very long time. Also, he had interests and hobbies to work from.
William knows he won’t be Prince of Wales for long; he has no interests or hobbies; and he realizes he can’t match his father’s accomplishments. And so William has “quiet quit” his job.
Charles may or may not be fine with the fact that his heir is being this lazy. Given his need for attention and adoration, and his dislike of conflict, my guess is he finds William “quiet quitting” in this way preferable to constant arguments and one-upmanship. Charles looks stellar in comparison at the moment. Even though he’s down and out with his own physical issues, he looks like a leader in comparison because he was transparent about his condition.
I’m certain the Firm hates it. William is the future king, and he’s coming off as suspiciously secretive and work-averse. It’s not reading as “selfless family man,” no matter how hard the media tries to spin it in that direction.
Charles might not be able to financially control Will, but he certainly can complain to the media about him as he and Camilla usually do. Instead, he and Camilla have so far kept their fingerprints entirely clear of this – not even a well-placed palace insider saying Will could be doing more as Kate recuperates. Nothing.
You’re absolutely correct in your assessment of Will’s character and work ethic. But that’s who he’s always been – he hasn’t changed – and yet their approach to him in the media has suspiciously shifted around this one story.
I flat out do not believe that Charles or Camilla are capable of acting out of empathy, so clearly there’s another motive behind this obvious shift in media tactics for them. That’s what I’m questioning here, what is so bad that it’s spooked C&C into staying entirely out of it, even as the shadowy figure behind a snarky palace source, a role they usually relish?
I feel like Will is being deliberately kept from the public eye. Why can’t he be seen right now? Could he have harmed Kate and he’s been whisked out of the country until the Firm figures out a plan? This is creepier and more unsettling by the day.
The-Powers-That-Be can keep a lid on this only so long. I’m almost dreading the truth coming out.
Dear Irish Guards,
Congratulations!!! Whoops, erm, I mean, so very sorry, I know you’ll be shattered by this news.
If they try to fob Andrew off on you in her place, please first tell him “póg mo thóin”, and then “the FBI would like to speak with you.”
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Sincerely,
Literally Everyone
Haha, love it. This is your best one yet.
Big Blue is clearly CURSED!
That picture of her with the wee pint of Guinness is everything….
Kate’s PR has always included “she would rather have a quiet life in the country with an AGA”, which was then roundly mocked for such middle class aspirations (aristos don’t give a toss about food, nor do they even know where the kitchen is located in their country piles, that’s the servants’ job). One of my all time favourite Tatler articles asked a bunch of aristos “what’s in your fridge” and the hilarious responses ranged from old pheasant from many a shoot, a hunk of mouldy cheese, a jar of mustard open for years, etc…
The difference is now this bit of rhetoric will be weaponised against her should they want to sideline her….
Sounds like my fridge except I’m not an aristo. Just waiting for Pension Day
““But for a twist of fate and meeting William, friends often comment she’d likely have preferred a quieter countryside life,”
Twist of fate? She changed Uni’s and took a gap year to stalk him.
Btw that Irish Guards(which I thought she took over from Anne) that she missed that’s the most criticism I’ve seen I think. Wasn’t she spotted having her hair done?
Fate in the form of Kate and her mother’s plans . Kate actually left the university of her dreams to go meet William at st Andrews
I wonder how she managed to get assigned to his dorm. Aint now way that was a cooincidence. The dorms are so spread out over town (small as St Andrews is), she likely wouldn’t have gotten to known him at all if not sharing the same dorm (dining halls are in dorms there, so a lot of socializing is done in-dorm).
How? Money, surely…
Geez…I remember 2-3 years around her birthday, there was a flurry of articles declaring that Kate had always wanted a nice country life with an Aga stove. It’s looking more and more like that might become a reality for her…one way or another.
Wouldn’t the Royal Family worry Will would look bad if they announce a separation right after Kate’s recovery?
Well if Kate is unable to perform in role as PoW or Queen, then William would have to make the ultimate sacrifice for the country and divorce her in order to marry someone who is able to perform those duties. It would be all about William’s love for his people, his deep sense of duty and the need to sacrifice one’s personal happiness for the good of the crown. Yeah, it will definitely be spun to make William look as good as possible.
They won’t separate now. K will be recovering for a while, be unable to resume public life. A few years later seperation and eventually divorce.
Tin foil tiara theory – I think that being outed as one of the “royal racists” who had “concerns” about the color of the Sussex’s children had a bigger impact on WandK then anyone is willing to admit. This admission will follow K forever and 1) it will destroy WandK’s perfectly crafted narrative as modern, in-touch young people who are able to guide the nation into the future; 2) William was unaware of Kate’s “concern” and is now seeing her in a much different light.
I’m wondering if this “medical emergency” is an attempt to garner sympathy for Kate and head off any criticism now or in the future?
There was also the story of how Kate was the one insisting with the phrase “the collections may vary” since she was afraid how the history will judge the royal family. Of course, it may be the royal reporters cooking the story since they knew at the time Kate was one of the people who made the racist comment. If she was scapegoated by the royal family to ease the accusations against the King, I would see how that kind of stress would harm someone’s body. On the other hand, we have seen how she treated Meghan in public, she didn’t care at the time about the racist people cheering for her. So, why should she care if everyone knew she is a racist white woman when her fans already believe that and love her for it.
So I think it’s possible that William was not initially aware but he definitely found out through the Oprah interview. William and Kate have seemed to be spiraling ever since then. I can believe William says racist things too but he may have been just bright enough not to say anything like that directly to harry. Whereas Kate let it all hang out in a very indiscreet way. Assuming she’s not the scapegoat. I can believe she has said racist things.
There is the photo evidence of her recoiling from black people–from Meghan at the wedding, on tours, on engagements. Put all of those pictures next to each other and you see a story of a woman who has never willingly spoken to or socialized with a nonwhite person without obligation.
I think he found out during the Oprah interview too. The timing roughly fits with the move to Sandringham IIRC.
I don’t think William cares about Kate being racist – he’s probably pretty racist too – but I do think he would care that Kate said something to Harry directly. That’s HIS family, HIS brother, she is just a married in – so he would view it as her “overstepping” to say something to him. I can see THAT being what ticked him off.
I think we discussed that possibility at the time, too. I definitely think William was made aware of Kate’s part in driving M and H away during that interview.
She was complaining to William about Meghan “she made me cry” “baby brain” etc and he sees the interview and learns he was lied to.
he’s a really untrustworthy, abusive person, and those people often become enraged by being lied to/deceived, no matter the cause. This is unforgivable to them. They demand loyalty and fealty, basically. Now she’s made a fool of him because he acted on her word, and it’s been televised to the world.
Harry notably does not provide details about the skin colour situation in Spare. Likely because he would end up identifying who said it if he provided more details. It is possible that William realized Kate was the one based on what was said during the interview.
And he added himself to Kate’s event the next day to make sure he said they aren’t a racist family. He might have done this because he knew Kate would be lying if she said that comment herself.
I always thought Kate being outed as the Royal Racist (one of them) made her a liability to the Crown. I also believe, given what has happened, the Firm is off loading her therefore the squirrely storyline. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is the Tower of London now.
Right, they can blame her and shift all of the King’s part onto her with a media hate campaign.
Well, it was clear that at the very least chalres reached out to Meghan through a letter after the Oprah interview, even if they didn’t see eye to eye in the end. That’s more of an effort than was made by Kate.
I love those photos. They look like they lost a fight with a salad bar.
It’s not really a “twist of fate” meeting William, when she delayed her education and switched universities to rig the odds. Maybe while she’s laid up, Kate should watch Sliding Doors and contemplate what could have been.
I’m beginning to wonder if something has been up with her at these events she’s missed over the years.
How can her aides not know when this is a “planned” surgery ? This is getting shadier by the day I swear.
As a person of Irish descent, I’m grateful for this St. Patrick’s Day reprieve from colonial cosplaying.
I’m with the commenters here wondering if the “quieter countryside life” language hints at what they have planned for Kate. She’s not going to like it. I’m not sure that country pubs serve crack babies.
Kate has a spotty past with the Irish Guards so not a shocker.
If Kate misses Trooping, there will be a riot from the British media.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear from insiders as to what’s going on.
They have very boring lives. No wonder they’re all miserable.
There is a history of how badly the married-ins are treated. The females more so.
That is never going to change.
The King or Queen holds all the power.
William is heir, he can and will do whatever he wants. And The Firm will figure out how to spin it in the press.
IDK, the whole family is a hot mess.
If they all declared they were only going to appear in public 1 a year, nothing would really change in the big picture of life for people.
It would affect only the press. The country as a whole would not miss a thing. Only the monarch is needed to sign legislation. Technically, only the monarch is needed. There is no need for a whole royal family.
It’s OK, I don’t think they’ll mind (notice).
Are they trying to tell us, that like a family pet pony, keen has served her purpose and is now being put out to grass in the country???
So she’s going to go live on a farm upstate? I’m starting to wonder if we’ll ever see her again.
All she ever did was stand there in padded shoulders anyway.
lol!
@Gabby
😂
Was just reading about Adelaide cottage, it sits on 655 acres of some royal park/property.
A house on 655 acres seems pretty “In the country” to me.
What’s this about 14 homes/palaces?
Good grief, these idiots own everything that is not nailed down.
How many bedrooms does Middleton Manor have?
Why don’t they all pack up and head for Caroles’ house?
Is William living separately at KP in an apartment? How long has that been going on?
Even the DM has comments about it is all a way to pull Kate out of the light so they can work out the divorce agreement and the announcement will come after Easter. Hmmmm.
It’s in Windsor Great Park, it really is walking distance from Windsor Castle (I guess depending on what you consider walking distance.)
I don’t know about MM – I think its a fair sized country house but not a grand estate. There are some outbuildings for security though. Anmer is also very large so Kate could go there or Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate, but that’s not close to the children’s school.
There has been a persistent thought for a while now (pretty much since they moved to AC) that William did not move with them. Someone on twitter (not a RR or a known royal gossiper IIRC) that they see William’s helicopter arriving at KP every night.
Have they gotten around to blaming Madam Duchess for this yet?
Oh they’re on it. Just trying to make it work with the pie charts.
Ahhhhhhhh yes. Those pesky pie charts
Keen will retire to the country side, like Anne of Cleves.
I doubt she will go as relatively quietly into the countryside as Anne of Cleves did unless she’s too shattered mentally and psychically to really fight back. If she’s fine, or recovers or whatever, she might be more Catherine of Aragorn, claiming until the end that she is real Queen of England (for less righteous reasons of course)
Has Kate shown a particular affinity for the countryside in the past? I mean, I know she doesn’t venture out much beyond her home to “work”, but wouldn’t that be true even if they were back in London?
As far as missing the St. Patrick’s Day parade, would anyone really miss her? She said early in her marriage that she didn’t want to create the expectation that she would show up to the parade every year. Are we just pretending she didn’t say that?
This whole thing is a bit tedious now and part of me thinks they’re really milking it but in the other hand , there’s something a bit shady about it. They’re definitely not disclosing what really is going on, using privacy. Meanwhile they’re digging, once again, into the Sussexes business and staffing moves as if it’s their business. This whole Kate thing is weird and will eventually run it’s course.
They should send Beatrice but they know she’ll out perform Kate so they won’t
Yes, It’s very strange..Like something shady is going on. I’ve actually seen some people on SM (not even journalists, just regular subscribers ) had complained their posts got deleted or suspended. Those “people” are definitely watching as they want to control the narratives, but at the same time they Lost Control of it. In due time though, the Truth Always comes out no matter how hard they try to suppress it. And They won’t be able to control what the rest of the world thinks of their BS.
Re K, she’s a mean girl esp the way she treated M, but I hope she’s ok.
Yes, Kate will get the quiet country life she “prefers.”
Since the beginning of her mystery illness, I’ve felt we won’t see Kate return to public life.
After seeing Charles and Camilla and their public pronouncements and appearances, I am speculating that Charles had/has a ten-year plan, and that is to force William to abdicate.
Whoa!!!!!!
That’s diabolical!
And honestly, after all this business that’s gone on, not as far fetched as one might have thought…
Why would he have such a plan?
Because Charles knows that William is a monster and if he were king it would tarnish Charles’ legacy.
Again, just part of my musing that things are rotten between Charles and William.
He could possibly have himself excluded from the line of succession. He can’t abdicate unless he is actually king first. By that time it won’t matter to old Charles.
But Charles could abdicate and then force William to abdicate so that George becomes king (yes, I know this sounds far-fetched but this IS Charles and William we’re talking about).
In any event I get the sense that Charles has had it with William.
Kate will never be queen.