The palace released photos of Princess Kate with her family post-Three Peaks Challenge

Two Saturdays ago, the Princess of Wales completed the Three Peaks Challenge, hiking the three highest peaks in the UK all within a 24-hour period. Kensington Palace initially posted one photo of Kate, wearing Big Blue and a rainproof jacket. Over the course of one week, we got to see all of her outfit changes via other people’s social media. I guess KP wanted to control the photos and story as best they could, because on Sunday, they released photos of Kate being greeted by her family upon the completion of the challenge. It’s just as the palace briefed – Kate’s parents were there, Kate’s brother James, Prince William and the three kids.

In the first wave of briefings, the palace over-emphasized that Kate had completed the challenge solo, and that she was driven by her security from mountain to mountain. In the past week, that story has been torn to shreds. It genuinely appears as if Kate and James Middleton did the challenge together, and it also appears as if Kate had a full phalanx of guides, helpers, videographers and photographers joining her on the challenge. Plus, someone had to carry all of Kate’s costume changes, right? Additionally, there’s a growing theory that Kate was not driven from mountain to mountain, that she actually took a helicopter. That would make sense.

Anyway, nice photos of the kids, at least. Of course they released all of these photos right before you-know-who came to town. It does give off a certain vibe, doesn’t it? That vibe: pay attention to meeeeeeeeeeee.

Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace’s Instagram & social media.

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59 Responses to “The palace released photos of Princess Kate with her family post-Three Peaks Challenge”

  1. ChewieNYC says:

    These pictures basically show us she’s physically fit enough to work more and they were all on some island vacation with those full body tans.

    • Caitlin says:

      Physically fit? While the rest of the family looks robust and healthy she looks frail and emaciated.

      • Cassie says:

        Well this all worked out for the monarchy just the way it was planned , ruin Harry’s plans and turn the others into saints .
        Disgusting .

      • Lady Esther says:

        Those photos are shocking. She is absolutely emaciated, and it’s hard to believe she had enough muscle tone or fuel in her body to complete any of the peaks.

        The shorts were a choice – we called them Dolphin Shorts in my era and they are designed to show as much as possible. I actually got sent home once from school for wearing a pair! Good times.

        This isn’t proving Kate is “fit” by any means, it’s a giant flashing red light warning!

      • First comment says:

        If she seems fit that is due to the amount of photoshop…her legs are literally like sticks and it was obvious in the photos that were taken down early the previous week..her brother has posted a photo (of course! ) where she looks emaciated

      • Nerd says:

        She looks as frail and emaciated as she looked prior to her year of “where is Kate?” so in that case, she looks healthy enough to work full time and not be outworked by elderly royals. Her physical appearance in part is a matter of opinion. To me, she has always looked frail and emaciated except for when she was pregnant. Besides regardless of how frail and emaciated she looks, this three peaks challenge is only a long list of things she’s been physically capable of doing where it’s evident that her not working isn’t because she’s physically incapable of it but because she’s lazy and simply doesn’t want to work for the taxpayer funding she receives. The moment photos of her skiing down slopes were released her remission excuse was a lie so that she could continue to be the lazy person she has always been. That’s why they reacted with threats about those photos more than any other photos we’ve seen of them released while on vacation. They don’t want the truth revealed and when it comes close to being revealed, they make their usual threats. They are all about projecting the image they want you to believe. That’s why they forced the man who took a video of her coming down the peak with a microphone on and James, to take release that footage to them. There wasn’t anything wrong with what he recorded and released, except it didn’t entirely align with what they want us to believe.

  2. ThatGirlThere says:

    They’re really making the most of this challenge business, just in time for Charles to kick Harry in the teeth publicly. She should put some of this energy into working more. What a joke of a family they are.

    • Amy G. says:

      They wore matching, color coordinated outfits and had a photographer and photoshopper standing by? WOW.

      • Amy G says:

        Not sure why this was posted as a reply!

      • Josephine says:

        They have zero problem using those kids for as much positive press as possible. These photos are all about the kids. But of course no one in the “press” is going to call out the obvious. Rage and lazy are going to increasingly call on those kids to make up for their own failings.

  3. Luane says:

    Nice pics. Everyone looks genuinely happy.

  4. aquarius64 says:

    Great PR pics, but it’s not going to stop the booing of you and the kids Kate

  5. lamejudi says:

    It looks like Kate and William are acquaintances in these photos. It’s an improvement from him actively glaring at her.

    • First comment says:

      Congratulations to the photographer for finally realising how bad actor William is and chose to take a photo in which his face is hidden!! Good job!!

  6. Jais says:

    Wow, a big ol’ hug. Everything about this feels so weird but whatever. Yay for the hikes, I guess.

  7. Hypocrisys says:

    They have sure put on quite the show for the Sussex’s while throwing every roadblock up to endanger the entire Sussex’s family so much that they cancel the entire trip.. I can’t celebrate a family that evil it makes me sick thinking about the house hold those children have been raised in especially the past seven years which they are all old enough to retain.. I look at this and just see pure toxicity on display.

  8. First comment says:

    Much more mileage if the microphones and the cameras that followed her are any kind of indication..
    *that was a response to Tessa..I don’t know how it came down here

  9. Cj says:

    He is giving off the energy of someone meeting one of their constituents on a walk about and learning about their day lol

    The kids are so tall though! And they have such warm energy with her at least. James clearly dressed as a country gentleman walking the hills.

  10. Cerys says:

    They’re milking this for every bit of publicity that they can get from it. James Middleton’s comments about discussing mountain climbing while in hospital were no doubt sincere but too sickly sweet for me 🤮

    • First comment says:

      Two bizarre things about James’s comments: 1) he doesn’t mention the word cancer, just staying in hospital and 2) they talked about it during her hospital stay? After the operation? While he was skiing in January? Or she was hospitalised later again? The whole thing is giving more mental health issues than physical…

      • convict says:

        He doesn’t mention her work, either! The Midds are so self-absorbed it’s insufferable.

  11. Tessa says:

    It’s not about charity it’s all about keen.

  12. Becks1 says:

    I had a feeling this was the plan – to release the pictures a week or two later, and i’m sure a video or two will be coming out in another few weeks, especially as she goes into summer vacation mode and isn’t seen for months. For something that was supposedly “personal” she’s sure trying to get a lot of professional mileage out of it (I know it was added to the CC etc, but the initial story around it was that it was personal.)

    i dont get why they made that person take down the video – was it just about control? We’re seeing her in shorts (like the video), we’re seeing her with James – nothing in the video is different from here.

    • First comment says:

      Her legs here are photoshopped and they look nothing like her legs in the video. They seem toned and even normal

      • Sun says:

        Yes, these pics are noticeably different to me than stills released from the video (or by her brother?) which showed absolutely zero muscle on her legs.

        These pics look heavily smoothed and edited compared to what i saw elsewhere where her arms and legs were terrifying.

      • Interested Gawker says:

        Yes, I mean we just saw her slip less in her yellow dress at Ascot, we saw her in army drab coloured clothes with really thin legs and the brief video in the red short showed, close up, that her legs aren’t muscular. Some of these images make her look like an action figure. So ridiculous.

  13. Cali says:

    I guess Pippa doesn’t feel the need to participate in this faux family fest.
    Can’t really blame her.
    James does have quite the self satisfied look about him though. That’s a very carefully curated country squire get up that he’s modeling.

  14. M says:

    Ok but why is she the only one not looking at the camera? So weird. And the zero acknowledgement of James clearly having hiked with her is even more bizarre since his outfit gives it away.

  15. Smices says:

    The dog is eating them all up in that photo.

  16. Dandun says:

    Why is her face partially obscured in all of the photos? even in the group shot where everyone is looking straight at the camera Kate is looking off to the side and her face is partially obscured. i find that so strange

  17. First comment says:

    I have many doubts about whether or not she completed the challenge. She obviously made a part of it, maybe even the largest part but there was definitely a double and James was there to guarantee that this was Kate. Regardless, congratulations to Kate and her team for managing to pull it off. The photos are nice and the children seem happy. Mama Middleton us definitely glowing next to her son in law.

  18. Kathalea says:

    The red shorts are really not a good look. Not at all. Her legs look like that of someone who lost weight rapidly, has a bit of loose skin, and is gonna get some cosmetic surgery to correct it.

    Even prince Louis think the legs look like claws 🫎

  19. Tarte Au Citron says:

    I don’t think I’ve seen him hug her like that since the London Olympics?

  20. Lady Digby says:

    Is Will not fit enough for this challenge I wondered but then I was diverted by this lengthy paen of praise to just how strong and magnificent Will is. Please read link with tongue firmly in cheek!
    https://unpacked4.wordpress.com/2026/07/01/the-chair-that-proves-williams-ready-to-rule/

  21. Amy Bee says:

    I’m going to guess the video comes out mid week.

  22. Allison says:

    You are so mean. This woman had cancer. Regardless of if she was driven a few miles, NONE of you did this or could do this.

    • Becks1 says:

      She had pre cancerous cells two years ago.

      • Cee says:

        Yeah, she never had cancer. She got surgery for something and they found something else. Got a biopsy and she must have had a short term treatment for them. Her appearance barely changed, unlike Charles’, who really did have cancer.

        She could have framed this as “GET SCREENED. EARLY SCREENINGS SAVES LIVES” but she has main character syndrome.

    • convict says:

      Fortunately, for the functioning world, we are not all paid millions from the public purse to live a life of unimaginable luxury and contribute nothing of substance to the world. We have to get up and provide for ourselves and our families. So, no, we don’t have time to exercise all day and focus on ourselves.

    • Tiny says:

      @Allison
      Has meany Cancer Scammer Waity corrected THE LIE?

  23. sparrow says:

    Does anyone else find these photos hyper-real, almost strange to look at? It’s like they’ve decided on a dark tan – dark green – dark blue – dark red saturation colourway to curate an eye popping set of images. Look at everyone wearing tan/brown or darkest blue. It is so set up. I actually don’t like looking at these photos because the colouring is all wrong and too intense; there’s no way the light or the weather of the day would have produced this saturation of colour or hyper texture. Everything – from the ground to the fields behind – has been contrived to produce an overall effect that doesn’t match what would have been available under the conditions of British weather on that day. Once again, they’ve gone and made a painting out of a photo. It’s like when Kate’s sitting amongst a crowd and her photographer blurs her face to hide and flatten her skin quality, which makes her look like she’s made of gauze and the people around her are normal. That was done recently at Wimbledon. In the natural scheme of things, this photo would have been the first in the series to be released, but, of course, they kept the hotly awaited for family shot until last. A childish Middleton approach to keeping Harry and Meghan off the top spot. Sadly for them, England’s amazing win last night has knocked this off the front pages. Sorry to ramble; I was up till 4am watching the football!

  24. suoutdoors says:

    Short pants seem to be dignified clothing for the Princess of Wales? Imagine Meghan doing this…

  25. Katiekatekate says:

    It’s truly so nice to see the kids in regular kid clothes.

  26. YankeeDoodles says:

    If she did this, (and it’s saying something that we have to suspend our disbelief), then, yes, she did it with a helicopter for assistance, which is — okay, fine, she’s got access to a helicopter, so cool, I guess — but if she did it, I would normally say, okay, good for her. But. With Kate there is always a but. Because there is always an ulterior motive. It’s badly contrived and acutely self-serving. It’s a bid for attention and it’s a bid to pull focus from Harry arriving for the one-year-to-go events for Invictus. And to pull focus from what I hope will be a victory in his suit against the tabloids. Kate is always barging into other people’s moments, other people’s life events, personal celebrations or challenges, with her own insipid brand of entitlement and main character syndrome. It’s tacky and mean.

  27. Dee says:

    I’m here for the dog. That is all.

  28. Sue says:

    If Granny Liz were still alive, I think she would have had a conniption at how much leg Kate showed.

  29. Digital Unicorn says:

    1) Look at Carole in her white trousers hanging onto Scooter for dear life. Then there is James in his ‘farmer/hiker’ cosplaying outfit.
    2) Nothing but a photo op for everyone.
    3) Its worth noting that the Invictus Games did something in June around mountain climbing as part of the flags journey to Birmingham – see below. They are also planning to do the 3 peaks challenge next May.

    “Beyond the Summit Mountaineering Climb, 16 June 2026 – 29 June 2026 – a 12-day mountaineering and climbing expedition, conquering the 52 iconic peaks and summits of the Scotland, Wales and England with around 120 Armed Forces WIS, achieving 4 world records and finishing at the inspiring Commando Ridge, Cornwall.”

    She’s blatantly copy keening the Invictus Games!! And no the press won’t call this out.

  30. Interested Gawker says:

    OMG! Again with the fake pictures! I don’t know what KP thinks they get from doing this.

    I feel sorry for their children. Having to live your own life within a minefield of your parents lies and media deception must be awful.

    • convict says:

      They are learning to be carbon copies of their parents. Grift, grift, and more grift, with no work. Mark my words, these kids will never have proper jobs.

      • Tessa says:

        The parents let them take gifts from bystanders on church walks. Not sure good look

  31. convict says:

    Can someone explain why the Midds have go get their mugs in everything? They are truly dishonourable people, whose reputations are legitimately questionable, so should not be seen with the royals in any kind of official capacity.

  32. Cee says:

    As someone who hikes and has done summits before:
    1) of course she was not alone. You can get hurt very easily. She is also a public figure. It was always a given her security was with her. Us plebs usually do these hikes in groups, in case of an emergency.
    2) The actual challenge here is getting to base on time. There’s 11 hours in total of driving, and that’s not taking into account traffic. My bet was always on airtransport between national parks, and cars to and from the helicopter-base. Most people fail the challenge due to logistics, not hiking (the mountains are not very tall)
    3) It’s funny how all microphones were removed for the photos. In a couple of weeks, maybe months, we will surely get a short doc showcasing this challenge and what it meant to her.
    4) The press and KP should now cease with the “she has good days and bad days”, “she needs to take it slow”, “being close to Meghan is the hardest things she’s ever done”, “she can’t trust the Sussexes because of the cameras and Netflix”. She hardly works, she is outperformed by everyone. She should now stop excusing herself and try to muster the energy for 2-3 20 min appearances a week.
    5) Where the fuck is Pippa? Yes, she has her own family, but there has been a cooling shift between the Middletons and Pippa. She got papped on holidays while Kate “was ill with cancer”. She said, on the record, that her sister did not have cancer in the “normal” way (?) Instead of focusing on the Sussexes, the press should snif this story out.

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