bitchy | Nicholl: Princess Kate is ‘taking much-needed respite from the public stage’

We’ve passed the two-month mark for the last time anyone saw the Princess of Wales in public. While the timeline was always centered around Easter – still a month away – the weirdness around Kate’s disappearance will be studied for how badly Kensington Palace has bungled everything. Even if Kate wanted to be completely away from public view for months, it’s ridiculous that KP can’t provide simple updates or release statements like “of course Kate appreciates the notes of support as she continues to convalesce in Adelaide Cottage.” Instead, it’s unnamed sources telling us that Kate was moved to Norfolk for the kids’ school break, and then those same sources are radio silent about whether Kate even returned to Windsor following the break.

A few weeks ago, Prince William finally got a new private secretary, and buried in that news was the gossip that Kate finally has a new private secretary too, because she’s been without one since the fall of 2022. It sounded, to me, like both private secretaries had been appointed rather than hired personally by William and Kate. William was “given” a serious diplomatic figure (who promptly f–ked up) and Kate was given one of QEII’s aides. That Spanish royal expert (the one who claimed Kate had been in an induced coma) pointed out that the private secretary news is hinky and that the speculation won’t stop until a photo of Kate is released.

Lastly, people are still talking about how William released a solo statement about Gaza and didn’t put Kate’s name on it at all. Katie Nicholl tried to do some damage control on the rumor mill churning away on that:

‘I think people are reading too much into [William’s Gaza statement], Catherine is off work at the moment recovering from a major operation,’ says Katie Nicholl, author of The New Royals. ‘The most important thing about the statement is that it was unusual because yes, it’s a humanitarian appeal but it can also be deemed political. William would’ve known this statement was going to cause attention, and by bringing his wife into that statement he wouldn’t brought attention onto her at a time when she’s privately recuperating and has made it very clear that she’s taking much-needed respite from the public stage.

‘My understanding is that William, behind the scenes, is being incredibly supportive,’ Nicholl continues. ‘He’s doing everything he can to be there for his wife and their three young children, while keeping the royal roadshow on the road with his father also going through cancer treatment. William is in one of the most difficult circumstances of his life at the moment. So much, both at home and in terms of duty, is falling on his shoulders and he’s stepping up as we would expect him to. We may even see him representing the King at next month’s Commonwealth Day service. That’s where the attention needs to be, how William is stepping up is supporting his wife, father and young family, not on malicious gossip about the state of his marriage.’

[From Grazia]

I actually agree with Nicholl in this narrow case about William’s statement – he signed it solo because it was all about him and how HE feels and how HE is a big fancy statesman. His statement wasn’t indicative of his marriage issues, it was indicative of William’s ego and his jealousy towards Harry. That being said, I think we’re underestimating how “overwhelmed” William is at the moment and how that might explain the bizarre messaging from Kensington Palace. William has surrounded himself with lazy sycophants and morons – they are useless in a crisis, as is William. Whatever is happening behind the scenes, you’ve got to imagine that run-of-the-mill incompetence is playing a role here.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.