I wonder how many of these “State of Wales Marriage” pieces we’re going to get this week. The Prince and Princess of Wales’s 15th wedding anniversary falls on th 29th. Over the weekend, the Telegraph and the Sun both had big stories about William and Kate’s marriage and their alleged “new chapter.” These pieces have been commissioned by Kensington Palace, and even worse, both pieces used really similar quotes from “insiders.” We get it, this is the official palace line. While the Telegraph piece took pains to avoid putting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex front and center in a keen anniversary story, the Sun has no such qualms. Funny. Some highlights from the Sun’s piece:

Crystal anniversary: Whatever he has planned for their 15th celebrations (traditionally crystal) on Wednesday remains private. But after a tumultuous couple of years, it’s more than likely that William, 43, and Kate, 44, will spend their anniversary focusing on their most important duty – the daily school run. If the events of the past couple of years have taught them anything, it is that family always comes first.

Rough few years: “They’ve had a really tough couple of years,” says a family friend. “Obviously, there have been some big public moments, like the death of Queen Elizabeth, a new monarch, and health issues [the King’s and Kate’s cancer diagnoses] plus, they’ve also navigated two house moves, the children starting a new school and Kate’s recovery.”

The Sussexes!! Though the friend was too polite to mention it, let’s not forget the royal family drama of Prince Harry and Meghan’s “truth bombs” hurled from across the pond, and the highly damaging Epstein scandal fallout engulfing the family. “It’s taken its toll, as you’d expect,” says the family friend. “But they’re in a much better place now. Both William and Catherine don’t take anything for granted. Her illness has meant living for every day, and their immediate family unit must always come first.”

The damaging “Sussex barbs”: The accusations of neglect and racism from Meghan and Harry, and the toxicity of stripping Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his titles and Royal Lodge home following tawdry revelations about his private life contained in the Epstein Files, hardly helped matters. It was up to Prince William to deny publicly some of the Sussex barbs. “We are very much not a racist family,” he responded to a reporter’s question in 2021, in a departure from the “never complain, never explain” mantra that had served the royals so well up until then. It was also steely Catherine who pushed courtiers to toughen up the official response of “recollections may vary”, as she realised it was vital to challenge the narrative that was presented by Harry and Meghan, arguing that failing to do so would imply their version of events was completely true.

Betrayal: Currently, the brothers are estranged, with William taking a very dim view of what he believes to be a “complete betrayal” of the family by Harry.

Robert Jobson on what happened in 2024: “William was pole-axed when he found out about [the cancer diagnoses of] his father and then his wife. ‘Crestfallen’ was the word used when he found out about his dad. Suddenly, the enormity of the ‘big job’ was a lot closer than he ever thought. If something happens to the King, their life would change forever. So the total emphasis is on family life while they still have family time.”

Kate says no: “Partly because of her cancer and partly because she’s more comfortable in her role, she now says no. When she started her life as a senior royal, she was much more concerned with how she appeared, not doing or saying anything wrong. Now, whatever she does, has to be right for her, be it a state banquet or a game of tennis.”

George’s secondary school: I don’t think there’s a public school that the Princess hasn’t looked at over the past four years, when thinking where to send her three children. Eton – Prince William’s alma mater and near enough to Forest Lodge, the family’s new home in Windsor Great Park – has long been the front-runner. The Palace is staying tight-lipped until they make an official announcement, but the smart money is on Kate’s own alma mater, Marlborough College. The co-ed boarding school was where she flourished (having reportedly been bullied at her former all-girls’ senior school), and would easily accommodate the different sporting, artistic and academic talents of all three Wales children. Moreover, I’ve been told that the Princess would prefer them all to be at the same school – for logistical reasons in terms of security and parental visits, but also so they can act as a support network for each other.

[From The Sun]

Something which always amuses me is the head-to-head comparison of how much Will and Kate bitch about the Sussexes versus how much the same sources talk about literally anything else, from cancer, chemo, Prince Andrew’s degeneracy, Will and Kate’s photo manipulations, their clownish communications, their light public schedule, and on and on. What they’re always most upset about is the fact that Harry married Meghan and that the Sussexes left and never came back. That consumes William and Kate, even according to their own PR.

As for the stuff about George’s school… it would be so funny if, after all of the stories Kate has pushed for YEARS, George ended up going to Eton.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.