The Prince and Princess of Wales had solo events on Thursday, which I’ve covered separately. William cosplayed a “lumberjack” (his words) by doing a little skit at a farm and orchard. Kate gawped and jazz-handed her way through a Windsor Castle reception for England’s women’s rugby team. You might say, hey, good for them, already doing some events early in the year. But William and Kate can’t stop shooting themselves in the foot, messaging-wise. It’s never “we’re doing events because it’s our job.” It’s always connected to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. That’s why William and Kate will travel to Scotland next week too – they purposefully scheduled it to coincide with Prince Harry’s trial and testimony against the Mail/ANL. Well, now Tom Sykes claims that Bill and Cathy’s Thursday events were about Harry too. An excerpt from Sykes’ “William and Catherine Flood the Harry Zone With Keep Calm and Carry On Vibes.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales were both out on public engagements yesterday as friends told The Royalist the couple did not want to be “distracted” from their duties by Harry’s controversial court case against the Daily Mail, which formally got underway with a pre-trial hearing in London.

Another irritation, in the form of Prince Andrew, who is back in the news as the British media gloated at the sight of removal vans finally pulling up at Royal Lodge, was similarly swatted away by the couple’s allies

The contrast between William, Catherine, and Harry could hardly have been sharper. While Harry returned to the High Court to continue his long-running war with the British press, William was photographed pruning trees on a farm visit in a flat cap, while Catherine brought the glamor with a full-fat Windsor Castle reception for the British women’s rugby team, the Red Roses, who won the World Cup last September.

Earlier in the day, Prince William had also been carrying out public duties, reinforcing the sense that the Waleses (who don’t do [a] whole ton of these bread-and-butter old-fashioned engagements) are consciously occupying media space at a moment when Harry’s relationship with his home country (and its most prominent media brand) remains defined by litigation and grievance.

The timing may have been coincidental, but it sure worked out well for the Waleses; a perfect showcase of their brand of visibility without drama, of relevance built through public service rather than confrontation.

[From The Royalist Substack]

Do the Waleses’ defenders ever acknowledge how pitiful they make William and Kate sound? Sykes makes them sound like they’re watching every single thing Harry does and says, and they’re paying close attention to his schedule and all of the publicity around this trial. William and Kate are actually showing – and this has been consistent for years – that they only jump into action when Harry and Meghan are busy/visible, or when Harry is scheduled for a UK visit. Instead of the Waleses’ events being “a perfect showcase of their brand of visibility without drama,” Sykes is plainly saying that William and Kate are consciously choosing to only work whenever Harry is coming to town. It really feels like the keen defenders are Will and Kate’s biggest opps sometimes.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.