We’re still talking about the Princess of Wales’s sudden withdrawal from appearing at Royal Ascot last Wednesday. She was due to ride in a carriage for the royal procession, alongside Prince William. The carriage seating charts – which included Kate – were revealed by Buckingham Palace on the day, and less than 30 minutes later, Kate had pulled out, citing nothing specific. Kensington Palace staff briefed the Telegraph and other outlets that her withdrawal was “no cause for alarm,” and yet Buckingham Palace staffers chatted anonymously that the whole thing was bewildering and no one knew what was going on. In the past few days, it honestly feels like KP is trying to blame BP for the mix-up or snafu, claiming that BP for publishing the carriage seating chart before they knew that Kate had withdrawn. It’s quite odd. Well, lending some credence to the idea that this whole incident is more about palace intrigue than anything else, the Daily Beast’s Royalist published this interesting piece:
Kate Middleton’s decision to cancel an appearance in the Royal Ascot carriage procession, citing “slightly vague” reasons of “balance,” has highlighted simmering tensions with King Charles over their differing priorities, The Daily Beast can reveal.
One friend of Prince William and Kate insisted the couple were right to prioritize Kate’s health, and said that if she was feeling unwell it was absurd to expect her to be paraded in front of the public on a boiling hot summer day, with little shade or air conditioning. They added: “Catherine and her children all enthusiastically attended Trooping the Colour on Saturday, and Catherine was also on duty in Windsor on Monday for the Order of the Garter ceremony.”
Kate’s office has not given a specific reason for her decision not to go to Ascot. It has not, for example, fallen back on the trusty excuse of a severe cold, instead briefing media that Kate was “disappointed” not to go but wanted to find the right “balance” in her return to full-time royal duties.
Asked how Charles would have seen Kate’s last-minute cancellation, a friend of the king said: “Charles is a very thoughtful and considerate man. He is going through cancer himself so he will be entirely understanding. He knows all about good days and bad days, physically and mentally.” Asked whether the incident highlighted a difference between how William and Kate and Charles and Camilla approach their jobs, the source said, “Charles has been very insistent that the show must go on, come hell or high water. Kate and William tackle their public duties differently, which is their privilege, for now. Charles has been very clear that he supports their decisions.”
However, another source, a former royal staffer, was more skeptical about the circumstances of Kate’s no-show Wednesday, telling the Daily Beast: “There is a perception in some quarters that Kate just doesn’t like racing and so didn’t make the effort. That is probably not fair, but you have to wonder if she would have missed Wimbledon, which she adores. I am sure she was genuinely unable to come, yet the last-minute nature of the way it was announced makes the king look disrespected. Would she have dared miss Ascot at a moment’s notice when the queen was alive? Her late Majesty would have been not best pleased to have the great honor of a coveted place in the carriage procession rejected an hour before kickoff on slightly vague grounds.”
“Clearly, Kate wasn’t feeling up to it, but there is no denying that the whole affair was badly handled. You can’t blame their office as they are the last to know, William and Kate make their own decisions on their own time, which is another source of frustration to everyone else trying to steer the tanker. They pulled the plug at the last minute. It’s interesting that briefing is now coming out of the palace saying that the racecourse made a bureaucratic error by publishing the carriage list with her in it, but that doesn’t change the fact that her team didn’t announce she wasn’t coming until late in the day.”
“I am sure she was genuinely unable to come, yet the last-minute nature of the way it was announced makes the king look disrespected.” It also appears that Kate’s office kept Buckingham Palace in the dark about her withdrawal – so it’s not just that it LOOKS like Kate disrespected Charles, it’s that she actually didn’t respect Charles enough to send word directly to his people about any of it. “You can’t blame their office as they are the last to know, William and Kate make their own decisions on their own time, which is another source of frustration…” LMAO. William and Kate take their own sweet time not doing much of anything, and they barely communicate with their own staffers about their schedule, and the whole thing is “frustrating” for everyone else. The point about how none of the royals would have dared treat QEII this way is accurate, and this has actually convinced me that Kate intentionally disrespected Charles, and that there’s a simmering beef, as always.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey, in London. Picture date: Monday March 10, 2025,Image: 974325849, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
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- (left to right) King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales attend a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Picture date: Thursday May 8, 2025. NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS,Image: 996578922, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla attend a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Picture date: Thursday May 8, 2025. NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS,Image: 996579216, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon
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- (left to right) King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales attend a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Picture date: Thursday May 8, 2025. NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS,Image: 996579441, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales leave after attending a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.,Image: 996608021, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
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- Ascot, UNITED KINGDOM – Members Of The Royal Family attend day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England. Pictured: King Charles III, Queen Camilla BACKGRID USA 17 JUNE 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Zak Hussein / BACKGRID 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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- Ascot, UNITED KINGDOM – Members Of The Royal Family attend day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England. Pictured: King Charles III, Queen Camilla BACKGRID USA 18 JUNE 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Zak Hussein / BACKGRID 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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- Royals during day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse Featuring: Queen Camilla.King Charles III Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 17 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- Members of the royal family on Day Three of Royal Ascot Meeting 2025 Featuring: King Charles and Queen Camilla Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 19 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
Looks like Katie upset some people…
“Charles has been very insistent that the show must go on, come hell or high water. Kate and William tackle their public duties differently, which is their privilege, for now.”
“For now” is a critical phase here. Someone is warning these two that things will change once Will is king and this nonsense won’t fly then. Or warning them Charles is getting ready to drop the hammer on them.
The Ascot crowd are HNWI. Billionaires galore. Even her own mother and Zara knows how important Ascot is financially and socially.
Sucks to be Lazy. Has no clue how to socialise and talk to people who, at least on paper, would be on the same class level as her.
Lipstick on a pig. Looks like she’s pissed off some very wealth and influential people and long may she receive this wider opprobrium. Hope this is the turning point and she receives the full blast of criticism now.
The cancer excuse ain’t holding. And after cosplaying a young Queen Vic with her black and white 40th birthday photos -news for you Lazy, you ain’t her. You’re not a widow in hiding for decades. You’re a cowardly lazy public servant who can’t hack it on the public stage.
“There is a perception in some quarters that Kate just doesn’t like racing and so didn’t make the effort.”
“Sucks to be Lazy.”
If Anne (lover her or hater her she is a worker) can go back to full royal work three weeks after a head injury that caused a serious concussion, Kate cam put on an ugly frumpy dress, an ugly hat, dirty beige suede pumps, get her ass in that carriage and go to Ascot to do her job.
Looks like Kate has beef with the king and/or camilla, disrespected the king and respected the queen, doesnt want to work, doesnt like races, doesnt want to be under the sun with no shade, no air conditioning. Quite precioius Kate. Why would she care that much, her reign is coming!!
This is so like the petulant child who stomps “I’ll do what I want when I want and you can’t make me”. Did these two ever grow up? Where is the maturity that should come with being in your 40’s?
Kate has no ‘reign’. She is consort only, not regnant.
Make no mistake… she is not afraid of Sun and no air conditioning. She had no probably going to Wimbledon last year sitting in the sun with no ac and won’t have a problem in the figure where Wimbledon is concerned. She is a lazy disrespectful git.
She sure did upset some people and you have to ask yourself why. Has she some intel on someone that allows her to be this picky about what she does? We know she is lazy but it seems to me that something has changed and whatever it is she is using it to its full extent and I don’t think it has anything to do with her supposed illness.
I think the only intel she has is on William and that gives her a lot of leeway, not just with William but with Charles. They both know they can’t have another Princess of Wales aggrieved.
Yeah, Kate wouldn’t do that if QE2 was alive. She also wouldn’t crash that flower show by busing kids to the event in order to steal headlines from the actual King and Queen. It is more baffling when she was acting like this, her mother was kissing both Charles and Will’s asses at the event. They are a weird bunch and Middletons and Windsors deserve each other.
Not only would Kate not do this to QE2, but she also wouldn’t do it for Wimbledon, which this article notes. Kate’s game is transparent to those watching, and they’re making it clear they see her and have her number. But worse, they’re making it clear to everyone just how lazy she is.
The article is pretty savage in making those two points – she would not have done this when QEII was alive, and she would not have pulled out of Wimbledon at the last minute either, regardless of health. We said that last year – that Kate’s “bad days” would never fall on wimbledon or a vacation.
She didn’t want to go to ascot for whatever reason, so she didn’t. Maybe she did feel a little poorly, maybe she wanted to sleep in, maybe there was something at the kids school she decided to attend – whatever. but the point remains – if she had wanted to go, she would have.
You know, every now & again I wake up in the morning & think, no, I just don’t want to go to work today. And I call in (text my boss, actually). And that’s it. You don’t want to go, don’t, but for crying out loud call in! It’s not that hard! Did she learn nothing in her brief couple of months as an ‘accessories buyer’?
Kate thinks she,has power she really doesn’t I see more negative articles coming out about her.
More please! After the hell she put Meghan through with her lie which continues to be uncorrected by her, let all these poisonous scribes turn their attention on her.
They’ll get more clicks that way. There is no love for her like the public did for Diana. She has 20 years+ to make a visible contribution to public life, and all she’s done is be an unfashionable clotheshorse who birthed three kids. So little accomplishment in 20 years.
I don’t know if they will separate or not. I just don’t think she will make it to QC, just a feeling. There could be numerous reasons for this.
But, a divorce will not end the monarchy. It has survived for centuries and Kate just isn’t that important. Her year off and reduced duties has shown that. If the death of beloved Diana didn’t end it, Kate sure as well won’t. Now, should anything happen to William, that would affect the monarchy, but again, it wouldn’t end it.
I just commented similar on the article about George going to Eton. She really ticked them off by blanking on Ascot and they are letting it be known.
I have no idea if this is the beginning of the end for her and a separation announcement is coming, like was suggestedvhere yesterday, or if these recent articles are warning shots. Either way, you in danger, girl!
Still dreaming about the separation? I thinks that issue has been dealt with, the Waleses are here to stay in whatever fashion suits them. Any kind of separation will be a final nail in the coffin of that institution.
@Candy I’m not “dreaming” about anything. I was simply referencing the separation rumours that commenters were discussing here yesterday.
Just saying that a separation, whether there is one or not, will not be the final nail in that institution imo. Wish it were that easy really. Will it make the institution look bad? Sure.
What is Royal Ascot ? You can try to whitewash it and grace it with royal presence. But basically it is gambling by placing your bets on which horse will win the race. Perhaps Kate is not in favour of horse racing.
Kate is lazy. Nothing to do with horse racing.
Whether she supports it or not, she would have already attended, but she withdrew, so this is the essence of the matter, she withdrew and no one knew until late.
Knowing what we do about Kate’s attitude towards her sister-in-law and nephew, maybe the word “race” alone was enough to scare her off.
Oooooh, S.N.A.P. !!!!!!!!
It’s not as if she was unaware of what Ascot was until 30 minutes prior to this years event. She’s been to it before so if it’s something she isn’t in favor of she wouldn’t have gone previously and she definitely wouldn’t have only come to the realization so late in the game that she would have to rudely cancel without letting the proper people know in advance. Besides this woman signed up for this job. Soon enough she will be the queen consort and will be expected to attend such events like these as well as meet people that she might not like, no matter what.
Kate started hunting to fit in with William’s family and friends, IIRC, so I don’t think she’d draw any sort of moral line re: horse racing.
Kate went to polo matches when she dated William and after, and there are safety risks in polo.
Please, she’s not the Carrie Nation of horse racing. Plus she went to the Cheltenham races when she was dating William.
But she’s attended many times before with the entire Middleton family! Despite the supposed horse allergy!
“Kate just doesn’t like racing and so didn’t make the effort”
She doesn’t make any effort. Full stop. What does she actually like? Sailing with Ben? Other than that, she can’t be arsed to support any fashion-related causes, patronise a cancer charity etc.
They’re also admitting that two events per week is her maximum. And the heat is too much. So why go to Mustique all the time? If she doesn’t want to be seen, pull her funding. What an absolute lazy public servant.
I recall that last year’s Wimbledon men’s final was also quite sunny & hot, the year that she had her surgery & supposed chemo. She’s going to be in a bit of a pickle if the current heat wave lasts another couple of weeks, or returns.
I wonder if anyone has the authority to ban her from attending Wimbledon. She’s really poking the bear with these thoughtless whims and everyone now sees her game…
Yes and no. She can go into the royal box if she is invited. Charles can yank the patronage from her though and instruct the bosses at Wimbledon that she is not to attend. But he isn’t going to do that.
🍿
You know what, it is about time she gets called out on this. That’s part of being a Top CEO! 😄
A top CEO who does not work! 😂
What an embarrassment to the left behinds and Willy. The lazy consort feeding on the public teat to fund her very expensive lifestyle.
There is a LOT of shade in that article. It’s clear that Charles did feel disrespected, and the palace is frustrated at W+K’s “priorities” / lack of work ethic. I also suspect that Charles is very pissed off about Kate’s people always pulling out the health excuse – after all, he does actually have cancer, which is not “in remission”, and he still shows up.
I’m not sure pissing off the King is a wise move, but it’s not like William or Kate care about that.
There is def shade and also just strait-up calling her out. Cancelling for vague reasons at the last minute when Charles has cancer but still attends. Bringing up Wimbledon. Being sure not to blame the staff bc it was all on Kate and William for not letting anyone know.
I read this in the “recalibrating” article: “after a bruising week in which she cancelled a high-profile public appearance” and wondered about the choice of the word “bruising” in this context. What was “bruising” about the earlier appearances? Or is this another bread crumb about something they’d like to talk about but can’t?
How come this is still going on how many days after Ascot? its starting look like the beginnings of a smear campaign. having said that i wonder if she will turn out for wimledon. and Why didn’t Willie ride in the carriage with his mother in law instead of bumping someone from his fathers carriage?
If this is the beginning of a smear campaign, then we can’t say she wasn’t warned. Thinking she could pull rank at Ascot of all places tickles me.
Someone needs to inform her she’s not that girl and never will be.
Can KC sanction Kate eg no Wimbledon, you are benched?? Or does Kate get to write her own ticket so she does what she wants when she wants?
Isn’t she the patron? So I don’t think so. For them to get involved and say don’t allow Kate to attend or present the final cup or whatever would be major. And I cannot see them bothering with that. Shady articles asking why she can show up for Wimbledon on a hot day though? Yeah, they’ll do that. I’d also predict she will not be at the upcoming state dinner with a new tiara. I’d be shocked if she’s there at all. But if she is, there will be no new jewelry.
She wont be banned from Wimbledon but there will be shady articles galore about it. This is just the beginning IMO.
Whew, if this is just the beginning.
Kate is taking her cues from William. If William respected Charles, there’s no way Kate would disrespect him. In their minds, both William and Kate have already buried Charles.
Ding ding ding! Exactly.
This difference is William is future king and is the one with royal blood. Kate gets her status only through marriage and Charles can have the media target her for being blatant in the disrespect.
Charles has no problem setting his media dogs on royal blood – not only Harry and Andrew, but also swipes at William. But my point is exactly what you said – Kate doesn’t have the status to disrespect Charles all on her own. And she doesn’t have the status in her own marriage to disrespect Charles without William’s permission, whether overt or tacit.
My questions:
-Did she have cancer cells?
-Was it pre-cancer cells that were discovered
-Didn’t she celebrate being cancer OR precancerous free
-Is she going to be a perpetual cancer patient because that appears to the media and rf present and forever narrative.
Just so much endless BS re: the C word. Such a great, truly scandalous story there, and the rota is too far up the Charles’s and Will’s arses to write about it.
So, this is a non story that has now blown up into a story. That makes me think something big is going on behind the scenes.
@Tuesday was this no show the final straw for KC and the not Sunshine Band? Is he and his courtiers fed up with the juvenile antics of this couple. Disrespectful, undisciplined, unavailable for regular work let alone foreign travel and forever briefing about how great and so much better than you in their future roles!! Has CC snapped at them being so insufferable?!
I think over the past year KP’s PR has gotten a little big for its britches. they bungled things in the beginning of the year, but then after the cancer announcement they seemed to have righted the ship somewhat – especially bc no one in the press really felt like they could criticize the cancer stricken princess. The summer’s eve video got some side eyes but nothing major and I think KP felt emboldened to just keep on doing what it wanted bc no one could criticize Kate.
then she announced she was in remission, 6 months after ending treatment, and now its 6 months since then – so the whole “I cant attend events because EXHAUSTION and BALANCE” just seems like a cover for her laziness, which of course it is. KP just didn’t expect to be called out like this.
Even GB News is getting on the criticism. Which strongly suggests that these articles are being encouraged, likely by BP and since it is clear that Kate skipped out but William attended, it is easier for them to target the married in and not the blood royal.
This is a direct result of her being booed during the Trooping carriage ride. A lot of video documenting her being booed. She can’t handle that and her cruel games to push out Meghan are coming back to haunt her. She can dish it out but she can’t take it. FAFO, yer highness.
I agree. She probably didn’t want to deal with the humiliation again. And to be fair to her, the booing was most likely directed at the monarchy in general rather than at her as an individual, but the media will never mention the booing at all because they don’t want to admit that the monarchy has critics. Still, it’s embarrassing. But more to the point, I think Kate and William both understand that it fundamentally doesn’t matter if they work or not, because the UK is very unlikely to scrap the monarchy no matter what the Windsors do. And now that Harry is out of the picture, Charles is completely dependent on William as the only option for a successor. So William can do whatever he wants, it doesn’t matter; he can do nothing and still collect the paycheck, unless the government decides otherwise, which it won’t. And unless William divorces Kate, she can do whatever she wants, too. The courtiers are pissed because their livelihoods are on the line, but William and Kate’s probably never will be.
Loved that video of her carriage being booed with all those “not my king” signs prominently displayed in the background it was a world away from the cheering crowd that greeted Prince Harry at the IG anniversary service.
Agree. She looked venemous towards the crowds booing her.
“Kate and William tackle their public duties differently, which is their privilege, for now. ” For now, oh,oh, there is a storm brewing.
” Would she have dared miss Ascot at a moment’s notice when the queen was alive? ” This also shows how weak Charlie is. He does not have his house in order. Everybody is walking all over him.
In fairness, he is a senior citizen with cancer, which seems to be chronically life-threatening, if not terminal.
@convict I agree with you to a certain extent. He is now imo a very ill man whose life expectancy is probably affected by the cancer. He tries to make the best of his monarchy in the time he has left.
However Charlie was weak before the cancer diagnosis. Was it harry who said that in 2021 at Philip’s funeral Charlie said to Willi and him (I paraphrase here now) “Do not make the rest of my life a misery”? This was all about Charlie having a comfortable life. He did not take the lead telling Willi and Harry “Boys, let sit down, lets talk it out and get to an arrangement”. Nothing of that sort. All about him, Charlie, having a comfortable life.
How often in the last few years is there reporting of Willi and Camilla or whoever blocking reconciliation between Harry and Charles.
Monika, I agree wholeheartedly. Charles is a weak man, even his own mother apparently said that to Diana. He was coddled by the QM since birth and wanted to be mothered like an infant his whole life. Hence, Camilla.
Just now I’m giving him a pass. He likely tries to ignore W&K’s shenanigans and I don’t blame him.
Making Chucky Trips look bad after all the crap that he’s pulled is a bonus.
She’s lazy, inconsiderate and she may be feeling unwell: all these things can be true.
They are running a circus, so you’ve got to expect a few clowns.
Kate and William’s friend almost makes it sound worse, even though I’m sure they didn’t mean to. Claiming it’s “absurd” that she be expected to be paraded in front of the public on a boiling hot day. Well, yeah…bc that’s the event and as the future queen she is meant to be seen by the public? There’s some real simmering anger towards the idea of being forced to parade for the public. Which again, it’s pretty bad to let that resentment show when you’re the future queen.
As for it being hot, there’s less shade at Wimbledon and she was able to sit there for hours last year while actually undergoing treatment.
And then claiming that she enthusiastically attended 2 events already. Yeah and? So? Her duty does not go beyond 2 events? Please, it’s not like she hasn’t gone skiing for more than 2 days in a row already this year. The glare of the sun on the snow is no joke actually.
And again, the resentment. How dare the people expect her to do more than 2 days of duty in a week? It really isn’t a good attitude for the Wales to have but I expect we’ll see much more of it in the future.
They’ve had this attitude for so long, this clear contempt for the public and for any duties they’re “expected” to do, and they seem to separate the “duty” part in their minds from the unbelievably wealthy, luxurious lifestyle the peasants they resent so much are funding.
I see this as Kate being thrown under the bus. Sykes is, ultimately, William’s poodle so there’s obviously been a wink from his side to openly have two consecutive articles where Kate’s not being 100% protected.
The “recalibrating” article was full of shade about how she basically can’t cope with the role now and “finding the scrutiny intolerable” had echoes of Edward VIII abdication speech and Harry and Meghan’s statements when stepping back.
Whatever was planned for early 2024 got derailed because of Kate’s health and gave her leverage; I think William is feeling more emboldened now and things are shifting.
That these stories are coming from Sykes is super-telling. His sources are William and his friends. Usually they’re leaking about how much William hates Harry, but this is new. Something big is brewing.
I’m getting the popcorn ready.
Normally we try to decipher what is written in the Royalist column. No need this time. The talking points are very clear and not at all kind to Kate. Interesting times.
@Gemini there does appear to be a shift in the tone with the raising of questions about Kate’s conduct and attitude towards KC and royal duties. Will she attend both days at Wimbledon for the finals? Standing ovation or Mexican wave or more boos from Not my King brigade? Then two months holiday to relax and recover?
I’m going for silence. A polite clap from sections of the crowd but for the majority it ought to be silence. Like the BAFTA crowd. She doesn’t deserve any applause for being devoid of duty and utterly lazy.
I think they are leaving the door open for more criticism in case she attends Wimbledon as that would prove her being undutifully selective. To prove her critics wrong Kate has to stay home and miss Wimbledon. She painted herself into a corner. Sucks to be Kate.
@Gemini, ITA, she needs to stay home from Wimbledon this year altogether if she wants to salvage this at all. Prove to the critics that her “bad days” are unpredictable and cause her to miss events that we know she genuinely wants to attend.
But will she (or a staff member she listens to, if such a person exists) be smart enough to realize this?
@Gemini, ITA, she needs to stay home from Wimbledon this year altogether if she doesn’t want to this to get way worse quickly. Prove to the critics that her “bad days” are unpredictable and cause her to miss events that we know she genuinely wants to attend.
But will she (or a staff member she listens to, if such a person exists) be smart enough to realize this?
This is the equivalent of calling out of work last minute on a very important day at the office for us plebes.
I live somewhere in the Chihuahua Desert so excuse my ignorance when I ask just how “boiling hot” is it in Berkshire where Ascot is held?
Based on social media I’m seeing that its around 70-80 degrees in the UK this past week? Maybe more in Berkshire? I keep seeing insistence that its humid unlike the dry heat in the US which makes me laugh bc as someone in the mid-atlantic, where it is currently 86 degrees at 930, I can assure you this is not a dry heat.
Anyway i’m sure it isnt pleasant in a long dress and everything else. But the other royals managed.
I’m told Botox also helps with preventing sweat.
LOL. all that dry heat in the US. Please. It was humid af and in the 90s where I’m at. Obv there’s lots of places with dry heat but the east coast and most places along the gulf would like a word. As well as other areas I’m sure.
“Dry heat in the US?”
I wish 😂😭
Someone up thread said that one of her charities thinks her unreliable, and there hasn’t been a truer statement. The monarchy should be reliable and steady if nothing else. If Kate can’t embody those values, what is her purpose?
Re the heat, the heat index at Ascot was basically non-existent. On the hottest day, the temp was 85* with an 86* heat index. That’s about as dry as heat as you can get.
I am in the South, and today it’s 89* but feels like 103*. THAT is some muggy heat.
🤨 I lived & worked in Georgia for six years where summers generally hit 98 degree temperatures with 100% humidity. And in the four months I worked in the Everglades, we got daily emails from our health & safety folks telling us what the temp & humidity was going to be, which always resulted in a heat index in the triple digits. It’s only west of the Rockies where you’ll get hot & dry, and even then, not always.
I promise, heat in Britain is way worse than anything any American has experienced. No American who has actually been to the UK says these things, all Americans who visit the UK, absolutely without exception, say how shocking the heat is. People from Equatorial countries visit and are shocked. It’s not just the humidity it’s the fact our entire infrastructure is designed to retain heat, so houses get super hot. Hot countries and US states with hot temps don’t have those building designs.
I’ve been all over the US, 110F in Florida feels like nice warmth compared to 90F in London. The people mocking have never actually visited.
I do think Kate is being exceptionally lazy here, and it’s inexcusable for her to pull a last second no show. I worked a LONG shift in a non-air conditioned building running around all day; Kate can sit in a carriage for 20 minutes then go have a Pimms in the tent. But the comments about heat are accurate.
I’m from GA and it’s very hot but I lived in nyc for 15 years and I will always say that I STRUGGLED with the summer heat in the city. It’s different. People would say but you’re from GA so what’s the problem. The buildings were older and it was window units compared to the central ac that I was used to. First world problems, I know. So to me it’s more about a certain type of city heat with sidewalks and people trapping in the heat plus older buildings. I don’t think it’s so much an issue of humidity. That said, isn’t royal ascot in the Berkshires as opposed to London central so I’m just guessing it could feel somewhat cooler than the middle of London. But the race track is all sun, sure. The carriage ride can’t be that long though. And the royal boxes are in the shade possibly with ac. I can believe it still wouldn’t feel that cool. It would feel cooler than it would for anyone else going as a regular attendee though. But yes, I can agree that the heat difference is more about old buildings and city sprawl trapping the heat than humidity. That’s likely why they escape to Anmer and Scotland for the summer.
@jais – Royal Ascot racecourse is in the countryside, not the city. Everything is open apart from the Royal Box which has a roof over it, although it is open at the front. It was quite warm last week but nothing like the stifling heat of sitting at Wimbledon for hours in full sun on a hot day. If Kate can stand the humid heat of Mustique, she can certainly stand the heat at Royal Ascot.
It’s been boiling hot for those brought up in the British climate.
Hardly. It got up to 30° Celsius for ONE day last week, which I think was Saturday. The rest of the week it was in the low to mid-twenties, though with a good deal of sunshine. Most Brits relish this sort of weather because it happens so rarely during our typical English summers. Why do you think so many of us head to the Mediterranean coasts for our summer holidays? The Royals are lucky is wasn’t pouring with rain at Royal Ascot this year.
30 degrees C and she can’t handle that? Better not come to Australia in the Summer then. And, we have stifling, almost fatal humidity, sometimes for 6 months of the year, especially on the east coast.
With QEII gone, Charles almost gone, about to croak in fact, Saint Catherine knows she’s on the threshold of becoming queen. Hence, no need to pretend anymore. What’s more, she is starting to show her true colors without the slightest hesitation. Also knows husband may be incandescent when it comes to others, especially Harry & his family, but when it comes to her or her Cruella mother, husband is pliable, a puss, and she’ll be the one dictating once she’s queen.
Agree. Her true colors are showing. Gone is the quiet, obedient and fragile Kate. She is a schemer. She is calling the shots and possibly always has.
100% disagree. William has all the power as next King. The Middletons have none. They are cheap grifters who couldn’t even get an aristo to marry their plain, other, daughter.
We’ll see, but Kate and her odious family are headed for a fall of epic proportions. The gloves are off and William doesn’t care to hide his disdain.
William has all the power? Disagree. Of his many weaknesses, he has a volatile temper. Kate makes full use of this. She lights the fuse, whispers in his ear ( look what your brother said about you, you never want to see him again, this is Meghan s fault, she stole him from you, etc. etc. )and stands back to watch him explode. She does have power by exploiting his weaknesses. She schemes and instigates.
Nothing to do with his character. He is the next King. He will be protected at all costs. Kate and her family are literally nothing in that context.
Please, they sidelined then got rid of Diana, and she was one of their own. Diana was a Spencer, with roots in England going farther back than the Windsors. Kate’s a nobody in their eyes & utterly dispensable.
I believe Kate has more agency than she is given credit for. But in this case, sources are leaking like sieves to talk about her being disrespectful to the king and yet willing to show up for Wimbledon. William made sure to make it known that Kate and her team were responsible for the last minute cancellation. I think when Kate makes William look bad he is absolutely willing to throw her under the bus in the press. There is a Harry-sized hole and William has to fill it with someone. William does not want to be thought of as an unsupportive husband, but if she embarrasses him, he will be happy to tell the press that it wasn’t him.
No way will Carole run things. Will knows too much and there’s her owing all that money
The way I look at it with the wording of “for now” what difference does it make? It was said once they become Prince and princess of Wales they will have to step up, and they didn’t. Now it’s when they become king and queen they will have to step up but who’s going to tell the king anything because he’s well “the king. They’ve been lazy for their whole Royal life and once they are king and queen who’s going to tell them what to do? So I hate to say it but I think in the big picture of things they won as far as they’ve got all the perks and no one seems to be able to make them do the work.
I agree they have gotten away with it and will do the bare minimum as King and Queen. I think they will use access to their children as a way to control the press.
Yeah, I kind of rolled my eyes at the “for now” part bc I think they’ll still do as they do even when they’re king and queen. Bc they’ll still be king and queen of dolittle. And who’s gonna check them? The press? Guess we’ll see.
William will have constitutional and government duties that can’t be conferred. He will still be technically head of state of 14 nations and head of the Commonwealth of Nations. He won’t be able to slack off. Kate will be conspicuous by her absence. I still don’t think she’ll make it though.
Realistically though, what can anyone do if he does slack off as King? He has already refused to do foreign tours the Government were asking him to do. And all the government could do is leak to the press.
Surely it’s the government that tells them what to do?
No. He will be the head of the government/parliament, even if figuratively. He still has to go through the motions of the red box, give royal assent to all laws, etc. They ask the royals to go overseas, but they don’t have to oblige. It’s all honorary, really. It’s very, very difficult to get rid of the monarchy.
There’s a long history of Kate refusing to RSVP, RSVPing and no-showing, and no showing and blaming her hosts. When they were daring, she never RSVPed to events and ignored invitations. After they were married, they RSVPed to a wedding and she no-showed with such little notice her name remained on the “imaginatively written” table seating list. Pippa went with William instead and they stayed for 3 days. The Irish Guards announced her St. Patrick’s day appearance in 2016 and she pulled out and briefed it was because she and William don’t want to make any appearances a habit and therefore an expectation. Last June the military section she is a patron or colonel of announced she would attend their parade before and were immediately battled and attacked in the press by the KP team because according to her team she hadn’t committed. And on it goes. Yet she shows up in April, September, even February, tanned with sun lightened hair, suggesting not only she’s been in the sun for extensive periods of time but without any regard to sun protection.
There was someone who posted here a while back having worked for one of Kate’s few patronages, I think the V and A, and noted that Kate was not easy to work with because she was unreliable.
Cancelling last minute isn’t anything new. She just did it at a high profile event with a weak excuse.
Natural History Museum? I’ve heard she is not well-liked there for being rude and doing the bare minimum.
Man, imagine blowing off being a NHM patron or helping out. What an idiot.
How is it that someone undergoing chemo can roast out in the sun? That’s the one thing that was drilled into my head when I started chemo — avoid the sun. Wear a strong sunscreen, hat and long sleeves as you’ll fry like a piece of bacon. I got sunburned after 10 minutes in the sun when I was repotting some plants on my balcony. Face as red as a beet. She’s such a liar.
Oh but please think of Kate and the weather! Of course the entire country had air con except poor, poor Kate. Literally every single person except for her. No one else would struggle in the heat except for her.
(This is sarcasm by the way)
Sad for them. Lol Kate and William had a fight so she did her usual temper tantrum, I’m not going. We’ve seen her do this many times over the last 15 years. There’s a reason she’s not put in the calendar. She has melt downs.
There’s also obviously a fight in comms between bp and kp. William wants to throw k under the bus but his ego won’t let bp win. I don’t think it’s super complicated. I also don’t think Kate’s recovery from something she recovered from 6 months ago and stopped treatment for a year ago has any issue with her absolutely disgusting, nasty, selfish personality. That’s my opinion.
I agree. Wouldn’t it be rich if Kate pulled out at the last minute because she discovered William’s latest sidepiece was going to be there. Just divorce already.
I would literally pay to go to one of these events! Imagine not having to stress about ANYTHING. Your hair, clothes, and makeup are all taken care of for you to the highest level. Your ride is scheduled and you have to do nothing but stand around, sipping champagne, and shmoozing. I would consider that a vacation! But this woman treats these activities like “work”. Work is working two shifts and having to take public transportation to both while worrying about your kids daycare staying open long enough. The very idea that Ascot or Wimbledon or Royal weddings is “work” is OFFENSIVE TO THE CORE.
While her “subjects” are barely scaping by, this person lives in a museum with priceless art, an ingrown pool, a tennis court, and has all the nannies and chefs and housekeepers one could want…but she still needs to go on vacation 12x a year? FROM WHAT? I would pay to spend a weekend at her normal house. It is worse than “let them eat cake”. It is “let them watch me eat cake and spit it in their faces”
Compare them to Harry and Megan and it makes it worse! they have the funds to just retire from public service and enjoy their kids and their lives but instead they have ambition and a sense of wanting to do better for the world! So they do! They use their privilege for good!
Even Charles and Anne who are in their 70’s show more of a work ethic than this lazy statue. Both Anne and Charles have been seriously ill and they still show up. Granted, they aren’t working factory jobs or washing dishes at 12am but they do what is expected of them. Can’t barely shows up, despite living a 24/7 vacation lifestyle. It makes me sick.
KP really screwed up by briefing the rota that Kate was “disappointed” not to go but wanted to find the right “balance” in her return to full-time royal duties.
If she was really trying to find the right balance (and LOL at the privilege), she would have made that decision days before Ascot. That’s not a game-day, last-minute decision.
They are such amateurs, and worse, they’re arrogant and amateur, a lethal combination.
This column is a warning shot to Kate, I think. But she and her team are too dumb to heed it.
Should have said that she was suffering from a mild indisposition, It is what my mother wrote when she kept me off school for her own convenience, which wasn’t very often, and if I had had something wrong she would have said what the indisposition was.
Agreed. The time to find ‘balance’ and to ‘recalibrate’ is around the time of the diagnosis–maybe not immediately, due to the shock, but once the ball gets rolling & decisions get made about treatment, etc., & once you come out the other side then you really start thinking about what to do with the rest of your life. Kate missed the window for all that, that was all last year; this year she should have things figured out & have a better idea of how her body is handling things–whatever those ‘things’ may be.
George V’s spot on prediction about his eldest son; “After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in twelve months.” We might be hearing the same rumblings in this article about Will.
History repeating itself. Interestingly enough, Edward VIII told someone interviewing him in 1970 this tidbit about his abdication…”he had no regrets over his decision to abdicate. He said, perhaps somewhat implausibly given his background and role as King, that he did not consider himself part of the *establishment*.”
Piffle. Dude was an idiot.
@BeanieBean — exactly. He was as much of a prevaricator as Wilbur.
Kate looks dreadfully unhappy in these photos and Wills looks mean. That’s all I’ve got.
I wonder if Will was out trimming bushes and Kate threw a fit over it. I mean she’s had ‘the balance’ she needed for strenuous skiing vacations. But if she’d pitched a fit, threw pillows as they apparently do, and was crying or bulimic, I could see it causing an absence that nobody will explain transparently.
I don’t “get” Kate’s lack of work, it’s totally out of place and always has been. The Windsors always papered over their issues and got on with the work of the monarchy.
My mum calls her a pretty girl, even now. When she is out, the others aren’t considered the most interesting to talk about, she is. Jealousy rules that family.
Being “pretty” is not a pre-requisite to making a good royal, especially consort. Almost any person could look lovely if they are given access to the jewels, gowns, lack of stress from everyday life, hairdressers, etc. As we have just seen, Kate is not a natural beauty.
No one is jealous of Kate in that family. Exasperated more like it. She is expendable, she has no power, and she is ageing fast. Being pretty with an empty head and no work ethic is not a good thing with which to hoist yourself up. It’s unsustainable.
They were jealous of Diana because: a) she was an aristo with the common touch; b) she was loved around the world; and c) she had a phenomenal work ethic and mission to give back for her good fortune in life.
It’s crazy how psychotically driven and ambitious Carole is, Pippa seems reasonably work-focused (she completed a Masters’ degree as a mature student when she could easily have spent the rest of her life as a wealthy wife floating around managing her husband’s estates; she’s sporty; even the stupid book and TV deals showed a lot of hustle). Yet Kate is essentially a limp piece of lettuce.
I wonder if she does this on purpose because deliberate passivity is the only weapon she has against a life that’s been 100% controlled by others.
One could make a good argument that Carole has essentially eaten Kate alive. She’s so enmeshed with her daughter the latter has virtually no identity. Not an unheard-of Society phenom–Alva Vanderbilt did a number on her daughter as well.
Didn’t they also try to blame some other event association for listing Kate as an attendee and KPs response was ‘how dare they!’? An event she always, always attended. Was it Trooping? Can’t remember. Anyhoo, what awful, awful people. They screw up & start pointing fingers elsewhere when they get blowback.
She’s royal only by marriage. How quickly would she disappear from the public eye if she weren’t living in one of the palaces .
She doesn’t care, possibly unable to comprehend, understand her role. Big mistake.
wolf, this is something her fans fail to accept, or so it seems. Her entire status depends on her staying married to William.
I especially love how they point out that Charles has cancer too and yet he still works. My other favorite part is she is never too sick to watch tennis. Savage. Lolololol
Except we were told months ago that she is cancer-free! So, is she or isn’t she? She wants it both ways – to milk the sympathy for having had cancer, but still slipping away to go on private skiing and sunning holidays at the public’s expense while noping out of work and therefore, not earning the privilege to vacation on a whim. What world does she think she’s living in?! She needs a reality check now! She needs to be shown that her behavior/actions have consequences.
Harry and Diana were both pushed out of the royal family and both were much more beloved than the keen the delicate (?) workshy mattress. Keener seems to think she has more influence and leverage than she actually has, especially if her “cancer” was cover for mental health issues , SA, a condition that relates back to the mattress years or the long term effects of an ED. Ascot is a big deal money event. Chuck likes those bags ‘o cash and that isn’t the crowd to pull a histrionic stunt around. The aristos will eat her for lunch and have perfect manners while doing it. The kids gloves with keener may be coming off. Think she will be able to tolerate the type of bad press she directed towards Meghan?
I didn’t even think about that! You are so right! This is where the bags of cash are handed out. Whomever was waiting for a glimpse of Kate was disappointed….and it makes Charles’s court look a mess. Very embarrassing and not the day to pull this off. Hmmm…..if I were Charles I would be pissed.
Whoever is briefing Sykes apparently doesn’t think there was a last-minute physical or mental crisis. It’s been a few days since Ascot and presumably this leaker is well-informed. If she did pull out because of a last-minute health or mental issues, Charles would be understanding and we wouldn’t be hearing about how he’s offended.
This is a really good point. We now know 100% that nothing was actually wrong with her and that she just pulled out because she didn’t want to go – if there had been a legitimate health issue, these articles wouldn’t be happening, especially not from Tom Sykes, bc William wouldn’t be sanctioning them. Charles wouldn’t have been upset if Kate had actually been sick and pulled out. She pulled out bc she didnt want to attend and Charles et al are pissed about it.
Tn Democrat, you had me cracking up at “the mattress years.” I can almost see it as a chapter in her future biography. Hilarious!
The place is probably packed with Aristos and people who have been intimate with her husband. Maybe she’s tired of having to show up and see these people, smile and make small talk. Or maybe she has a new bruise that can’t be hidden.
She knew what she was getting into and could stop her greed and one-note ambition. No sympathy.
So much leverage, leeway, public sympathy and Wimbledon applause from the C word.
Yet so little acknowledgement or gratitude to her surgeon(s).
Quite remarkable.
Perhaps there is a reason for that, and it’s about to blow.