Two Sundays ago, Football Association President Prince William attended the Women’s Euro final at Wembley. The Lionesses – the English team – won! They beat the German team. Prince William truly beamed with pride and he was happy to walk out onto the pitch to personally congratulate the Lionesses and present the trophy. Notably, he was not willing to do the same last year when the Three Lions lost in the Euro final – William skipped the trophy presentation and failed to congratulate the Italian team. During the trophy presentation, William shook hands or hugged every Lioness. He seemed… especially keen. Now it sounds like he’s been making a special effort with the Lionesses for a while. Interesting.
The Duke of Cambridge, who is the president of the Football Association (FA), showed to the world his happiness following the triumph of England female football team – known as the Lionesses – at the Women’s Euro. Following the final held at Wembley Stadium on July 31, Prince William wholeheartedly hugged the players as he handed out the medals.
Now, one of the victorious Lionesses has described just how sincere the second-in-line to the throne’s interest in the team has been over the past years.
Defender Lucy Bronze said the Duke had, on more than one occasion, visited the team while they were training for the Euro tournament.
She told OK! magazine: “He gets on really well with Jill Scott because he’s come to a couple of our camps and Jill is our longest serving player so they’ve built up a friendship. Jill said he basically jumped on top of her and hugged her so tight! It’s nice to know he’s a big fan and supporter. He’s not just handing out the medals, he’s been to see us play plenty of times.”
Speaking of William’s reaction to the victory of the Lionesses last month, Bronze added: “I think he was more excited than some of the players!”
On one side, I think the Lionesses see William as harmless and a true cheerleader for their team and for women’s sports. Like, whatever you think of this copykeening, incandescent mess of a man, he is “important” and it’s genuinely nice to see the future Prince of Wales beaming with joy over women’s football. That being said, there’s an edge to this story. The women didn’t do anything wrong, obviously. They’re existing, they’re thriving, they’re winning, they’re total badasses. But “Jill said he basically jumped on top of her and hugged her so tight” caused a major eye twitch. (Jill Scott is engaged to a woman, btw.)
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (C) speaks with England’s defender and captain Leah Williamson as he attends the England’s women football team training session during a visit of their training centre at St George’s Park, in Burton-upon-Trent on June 15, 2022.,Image: 699997348, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: PAUL ELLIS / Avalon
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- Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (C) poses with the England’s football jersey bearing the names of his three children and with the England’s women football team players during a visit at their training centre at St George’s Park, in Burton-upon-Trent on June 15, 2022.,Image: 699997441, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: PAUL ELLIS / Avalon
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- Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) speaks with England’s defender and captain Leah Williamson as he attends the England’s women football team training session during a visit of their training centre at St George’s Park, in Burton-upon-Trent on June 15, 2022.,Image: 699997519, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: PAUL ELLIS / Avalon
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- Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge with trophy after England women 2-1 the UEFA Euro 2022 Final women’s football match between England v Germany at Wembley Stadium in London, England.,Image: 711049183, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Callis/SPP/Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge congratulates Beth Mead (7 England) tournament top goalscorer after England women 2-1 the UEFA Euro 2022 Final women’s football match between England v Germany at Wembley Stadium in London, England.,Image: 711049187, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Callis/SPP/Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Beth Mead (7 England) top goalscorer at EURO 2022 after England women 2-1 the UEFA Euro 2022 Final women’s football match between England v Germany at Wembley Stadium in London, England.,Image: 711049189, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Callis/SPP/Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge congratulates Alex Greenwood (5 England) after England women 2-1 the UEFA Euro 2022 Final women’s football match between England v Germany at Wembley Stadium in London, England.,Image: 711049198, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Callis/SPP/Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
He is a terrible sore loser, I am shocked his huffing and puffing at last years Euros didnt get more attention, especially when we have case and point that he only made his way to the pitch because England were victorious.
No moral compass, no spine, no controll of temper. This manchild has grown nothing in the last twenty something years.
This weird man does not know how to moderate his emotions or displays thereof. He’s probably trying to emulate Harry’s genuine affection for the athletes and veterans he’s always supported and encouraged, so, once again, performative bullshit. But this is creepy and inappropriate.
Yes it is. It’s like watching an alien who read a book about how humans behave but didn’t do any practical classes.
Good one. Right on.
So true and so funny!
In that way he and Khate are a match – she’s just as performative as he. They are both really bad at acting like they have human emotions.
@Digital Unicorn – “performative” could be a symptom of narcissism. People who don’t know emotions often have to “pretend” emotions and when they do, it looks like they are putting on a show.
Also, it doesn’t seem like William knows how to interact with people in a normal way, and just be their friend. The whole “gripping her so tight”?
Girl, you in danger!
Your comment makes me think that it might be Harry who’s “weird” – he’s so different from all the others.
Reminds me a bit of that old TV show “The Munsters,” in which Marilyn was the only “normal” member of the family.
@booboocita – OMG, exactly!
Yup. This smacks of Tom Cruise Couch Jumping.
This!
And he may be trolling for a new squeeze.
Ewwww!
Looks like awkward wording to me. At least he’s genuinely interested in something that can be discussed in public.
Yeah it somewhat put the hugging into context for me, I was kind of horrified if he’s never met them before but if he’s seemingly gone to their training or other events with them I can see how he singled out the few he’s worked with before.
Still, @C-Shell put it perfectly with “weird man”.
Is this their attempt to explain away why the players he hugged were the white ones? How long have any of the other players been on the team? He’s there so often but hasn’t become close with any of the other players?
Exactly. I noted on the other thread that he clearly only hugged White players and definitely not any players of color. Racists gonna keep being racist.
He seems so stilted and uncomfortable with “the little people” at events, I have a hard time believing he jumped on anyone- to me, this sounds like a sugary palace-sanctioned piece to show how he’s Just So Personable And Loved *coughcough* maybe even more than his brother *coughcough*
There’s photographic and video evidence that he exhorted at least one (white, blonde) player to “bring it in” and hugged several very enthusiastically….
He appears to have no problem with ‘little people” if they are female, white and not his wife.
Here is an actual hugging photo from the Sun’s article.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/19392619/prince-william-lionesses-england-euro-final-win/
@ The Hench, thanks for linking/finding this article and the photos. It is definitely off putting that he’s never been pictured doing this with anyone else (non-white) and certainly not in the last decade with his wife, which I guess is who I was thinking of in my original post. The last time I remember them touching in an authentic way was the London Olympics, I think.
Whoa! That first picture looks like he’s about to eat her. IDK. People get excited and silly at sports championships. But yeah the optics aren’t great.
That is a way weird awkward hug….
@ The Hench, thank you for the link. Though I will admit that PoP looks quite uncomfortable, this is an act which he is not accustomed to, ever. As well as the team mate he is hugging as well. From an observation, it leans as uncomfortable as well as intimate depending on how you view the physical aspect.
Bottom line, he is no Harry! Never has been and never will!! He hasn’t the foundation to be genuine in his actions of support as well as down to earth. He is so far up his own arse he hasn’t a clue, or interest, of hearing/ learning from his peasants.
He was asking her if she knows what pegging means.
I’m shocked. Shocked!
Well, not that shocked.
It is good that he supports women’s football, and let’s face it, Kate would climb the sailing team if she could. Unhappy marriages lead to this type of thing. And it doesn’t sound like he’s being creepy about it.
I have no idea how they stay married though. Both seem so unhappy together, and so very happy around other people.
When I was watching him at the medal ceremony I thought to myself “he hasn’t done a Harry yet and hugged any of the players.” Then on cue he made a lunge! I didn’t think it was creepy or purvy but, I did think; “photo op.” I honestly believe he lunged at them because a) it’s not a natural thing for him to do and b) he held them tightly so at least one photographer would get the shot!
As has been posted on here many times William is obsessed at outdoing his brother. Therefore, if Harry can make headlines around the world hugging players so, can William!
Only the white players were hugged- what can we read into that…..
Yep.
Bingo @ Roseberry!!!
… That they are very much not a racist family, except on days ending with -y.
So a man with a widely know reputation for infidelity is also keen to have physical contact with female athletes. Nope, I can’t see any connections/issues here.
On a more serious note the more publicity and support they get the better. There may come a time when he is too tarnished for that to be helpful but boo’s aside we’re not there yet.
There’s some shade being thrown in this article. And is Willy, President of the Football Association as he is, showing the same “sincere” interest and enthusiasm to the men’s England team? Is he hanging out at their training sessions, attending their camps and jumping on top of them?
Right there with you. There’s a hidden reason for this story and many commenters here are missing the point.
It reminds me to the story about him hanging out with the yummy mummies from George and Charlotte’s school. Likely implying the same thing too.
Sir Pegs-o-Lot is into the soccer moms and the soccer players.
I wonder how much he hugs those yummy mummies we were told he hangs out with.
I believe this is the gist of this story/article.
I’m enjoying contrasting William’s enthusiastic, full body hugging of female footballers with his awkward Polo kiss with his wife where he managed to hold her off with his arms and only make contact with her cheek. And that was supposed to be a demonstration of their affection for each other…
A second example was his grinning Big Issue photo op with another unnamed, attractive blonde. He looks so much more at ease with women who are not Kate.
So I saw this headline & thought it referenced a literal lioness! & that some sycophant had come out of the woodwork wth a hyperbolic story to embiggen the copykeen, wannabe-king about him being a veritable tarzan when he goes to his girlfriend’s colonial cosplay in Kenya. Seriously! Thats literally wht came to mind.
Not being british, being uninterested in football, it completely escaped me tht the “lioness” in the headline was abt english female footballers.
And thats how I see every story abt Bulliam that attempts to give him Harry-like qualities: not credible.
Me too!!
Hahahaha! This was my first thought, too. My second was “pity she didn’t eat him”.
As was mine!! I thought, oh gawd, he’s in Africa hugging baby lionesses and making reproductive comments again!
Me too! My first thought was, “That’s cruel, he shouldn’t do that to a poor lion.” And then I read the article, and my thought was, “That’s cruel, he shouldn’t do that to a female athlete.”
Lol! My first thought also until I realized it was a capital L. Guess he’s adding tight hugs to his odd smile repertoire. I wonder what the Lionesses really say after leaves.
Kaiser, I read into your statement concerning the bear hug he gave Jill, but I’ll keep it to myself. 😎
But when Meghan hugged someone it was BrEaKiNg pRoToCoL
Huh, I would’ve thought that the PoP would’ve preferred one of them to jump on top of him.
Last year when they took George to the Euro finals there was footage of Burger King reacting to a Three Lions goal. The intensity of his emotions–albeit positive emotions–was over the top. His red face, the screaming yes!, the fist pumping, and the jumping up was all so extra, it was easy to see how formidable he is when he blows his top reacting to something negative. Camilla’s comments that his temper is surprising has always stuck with me, too. No wonder Betty gives up when dealing with him.
“(I)t was easy to see how formidable he is when he blows his top reacting to something negative. . . . No wonder Betty gives up when dealing with him.”
@Harper, I used to think the same thing, about Betty giving up and kow-towing to William because of his temper tantrums; however, the relatively recent info about the Queens father, George VI, and his explosions of fury makes me think: does the Queen think that William’s tempter tantrums and explosive behavior signal that he is King material?
Ol’ George would blow up quite suddenly and so furiously that he earned the nickname ‘Nashville” from staff (like “gnashing” his teeth). If that is the kind of behavior that came from the Queen’s beloved father, maybe she thinks temper tantrums and screaming fits are normal and just signs that someone is being strong, decisive and king-like. I, otherwise, am at a loss to explain why the Queen and Charles always seem to let William get away with his atrocious behavior.
Aren’t there reports of Chuckie and his known hot temper and screaming behavior?
I could not help but think Princess Diana would not have put up with his temper tantrums. I think she would have put him in is place. Of course, I have no inside information but I don’t think she would have tolerated his mood swings.
@duchcheese, yes there have been more reports lately of that kind of behavior from Charles as well. Who knows, he may have always been like that, like William, but the queen tolerated that type of behavior. Maybe to them that’s normal behaviour. As far as Diana and Charles go, it would certainly fit in with the current practice of projecting all kinds of bad behaviors onto Meghan of which the royals themselves are actually guilty (like bullying). So maybe all the while he had his friends and staff spreading rumors about Diana’s mental instability when Charles himself was actually the mentally unstable one?
I think Bronze may be exaggerating about William’s reaction and she’s not going to blast him for not attending any of their games before the final.
Willy is a loser and no amount of mimicking Harry will ever change that hard cold fact. Same with Kate.
It used to be that whether they were lovey-dovey or not, the Cambridges at least looked like a married couple in public, regardless of everything else. That hasn’t been the case since at least Phil’s funeral.
I stand by the theory Kate told Meg that Harry would cheat like Will as a way of blowing off steam over Rose and Will. Meg cried, Kate apologized, and sent flowers and a note. Probablybecause Harry berated her, as I thought previously, or, my new thought, to keep Meg from spilling what she leaked.
But Kate told Carole and Will that Meg made her cry as explanation for why the Sussexes are upset. She wasn’t about to tell mummy and hubby that she indiscreetly admitted Will’s affair to Meg. So Will thinks Meg is a meddlesome, bullying witch, gets pissed at Harry for defending her, etc. Carole spreads the story. Kate is trapped. She can’t say boo without admitting her lie. Things get worse with Archie coming into play, and the Cambridges are briefly more united than ever to get rid of Meg.
Prideful Will sees the need to defend his English Rose. He refuses to hear anything defending Meg or hear any explanation of the situation which makes Kate look bad.
The Cambs drive the Sussexes our, flash forward to Oprah interview, and incandescent Will finally listens to the Sussex version of events. Meg cried? Kate sent an apology note and flowers?
What is this about? Kate either admits the truth or Will talks to others who tell him the real version of events.
Now, William is furious at Kate because she not only lied to him but she was, even worse, indiscreet. He cannot handle that she told Meg about his affair. That’s a worse betrayal than lying. He wonders what else she’s been indiscreet about. This lines up, iirc, with the sudden obvious ice between them in public. And maybe even him Zooming from a different location.
Will is angry over Kate’s lies and indiscreet mouth. But he’s also too arrogant, prideful, and stubborn to try and mend things with Harry and Meg.
Eta- this was in reply to The Hench, about how Will looks more comfortable with women who aren’t Kate.
I buy the story that she told William that Meghan made her cry – Khate is the ultimate victim actor. I had a former friend like that, she was always the victim regardless of whether she was in the wrong or not. She expected to behave badly and get away with it and would twist things when confronted which makes me think she (Khate) lied after being confronted by Harry.
This sounds pretty spot on to me! Agree that whatever happened, William seems to be unable to admit his error in jumping to conclusions without getting the true story. Completely tracks as he’s shown himself to be an arrogant, egotistical man who will not surround himself with anything other than yes men.
I really hope that “Harry berated KKKate” part is true. Please please please.
Personally I doubt Kate would’ve gone to the trouble of apologizing without Harry’s intervention. This is someone who we now know NEVER liked Meghan or gave her a chance (you could honestly already tell from the wedding to those first few months post-wedding, but the Times confirmed it in an article last year). We also know that Kate was never a ‘girls’ girl’ like Meghan and has always had issues with other women. I think Kate would’ve been quite content to bitch out Meghan and leave it at that, but Harry probably got on her case after Meghan told him about the incident.
Kate was icing out Meghan from day one. The shopping blind was just one example of kate not being welcoming to Meghan. And it’s clear she is jealous of Meghan being prettier, smarter and sexier than kate ever could be. So there is no way she apologizes unless Harry steps in because Harry is the only one whose opinion she would care about, at least back in 2018.
This my theory of what happened as well. The zoom room change in particular seemed so unnecessary except if you look at it taking place after the Oprah interview when Kate’s lies were revealed. And it looks like William didn’t know what happened. From there he has been noticeably cold toward her and the polo thing was after months of people openly commenting on the coldness between them and at that point if the separation was already happening and the new place for Kate was set up, he was prepared to play a long a bit knowing he won’t have to deal with her very often anymore.
I also think the story flip was a Middleton plan when the smears were piling up on Meghan in fall 2018 (while pregnant). And if we recall there have been several stories of William distancing himself from Carole and the Middletons, and he was not seen at James’s wedding at all and they were nowhere near him during the jubilee, which was the opposite of what happened in 2012.
I’m cracking up bc by the headline I thought it was going to be some fluff piece about how he’s so manly he was able to jump on and tackle a lioness. Like a real lioness. Like in Africa.
First off, I really thought this was going to be a story about William visiting a conservation org and hugging an actual lion.
Secondly, I’m happy to see someone spotlighting women’s sports. I don’t, in this case, think William is trimming any rose bushes, or lionnesses.
Seeing this headline and thoughts that went thru my head:
“He did whaat?!?”
“Why would he jump on a lion?” (as in the animal)
“Oh lord is this some new mistress?”
I’m glad women’s sports is getting some airtime and all, I just wish it didn’t involve WillNot
You can always count on POP and his ofPOP copyKate to bring on the crazy, insincere, exaggerated gestures and smiles.
He is so sleazy. When did he become so creepy? I swear in some video footage I have seen him giving Duchess Meghan the once over. She is his type though, lender athletic build. She resembles both Jecca and his current wife.
That’s my husband’s take on the fallout between Prince Peggy and Prince Harry. He figures Will found Meghan attractive and maybe even made a play for her. Meghan rebuffed him and told Harry. Harry had it out with Will who then asked him why he’d get serious with a biracial American and *gasp* how dark-skinned would the kids be.
It’s unforgivable and was the beginning of the s p a c e between the brothers.
No wonder Wm is afraid of what’s in Harry’s book. A man not used to getting “no” for an answer could turn nasty. I also think he was attracted to her and why not? She’s very pretty but there are boundaries not to be crossed.
He’s sly/sneaky so it would be more likely he made a pass at her to break them up. So he could tell Harry she welcomed his advances, so Harry would end it….
He could say he was just testing her. He has a history of testing his friends, giving them false information to see if it ends up in the papers. He’s the sort who would test his girlfriends by having his friends hit on them, to see what they’d do.
I think he’s always been creepy bcos he’s never had to learn about boundaries and being told no (except maybe his grandma). He’s damn awkward in public interactions because he is forced to suppress the real sleazy rude idiot that he is. So his interactions look awkward and forced. He really just wants to be the rich guy doing nothing but Harry is around so he must somehow look like he’s a working statesman.
William looks so awkward in photographs, but he and Kate both look so very, very strange on video. While I was watching him hand out the trophy to the Lionesses, it felt like he was an actor playing a part that required him to “act normal” and he couldn’t quite cut it. As if he couldn’t quite process the idea of “being natural and happy for other people,” and he was a little bit confused. He’s so strange.
Maybe he was struggling to look happy after the previous three days of being torn apart on twitter. I was surprised at the photos, I thought he looked genuinely happy. I haven’t seen the video.
He is trying (unsuccessfully) to show he has Diana’s “warmth.” Sorry Will, that ship sailed ages ago.
The thing is, why do we always find out about the Cambridges’ alleged interests and support after the fact. If the public had seen him engaging regularly with the team over the last decade, supporting women’s sports generally, then this behavior wouldn’t stand out. But we don’t, so it does.
100% read the headline and picture WillLes on top of an animal 😂
I did as well. And the truly awful thing is that I wasn’t all that surprised. More like: “Last week was kind of wild. What’s up for this week….? “. Lol. I read further in, and was very relieved to see the tamer-than-I-had-imagined pictures.
So I actually didn’t know about The Lionesses as a team, so when I saw the headline I thought William jumped on and hugged an actual lioness when he was on a trip to Africa or something. He’s clueless enough to do that…..
It’s always a blonde. Always. Anytime you see him genuinely happy when surrounded by women not his wife, there are always blondes. Is that his type? When there was a footage of him leaving a party in London recently,he had a blonde woman at his side. Dad dancing? Blonde. That ski holiday before the dad dancing? Blondes. Wasn’t it some Sophie Taylor,an Aussie model? But 🌹 is a brunette, and so is his wife.
Is this article implying something that of all the Lionesses he’s paying special attention to one particular who also coincidentally happens to be….. blonde?
The thing is that traditionally, brunettes (especially super-slim brunettes) have been his type. His first girlfriend that he cheated on with Kate, Jecca, Meghann Gundermann (who didn’t reciprocate his interest), Rose, etc.
He’s definitely been attracted to blondes in the past (Isabella Calthorpe, Olivia Hunt), but brunettes have tended to be the focus (at least publicly). Maybe his tastes are shifting to blondes only. Isn’t the alleged Russian lawyer a blonde?
I didn’t know about Meghann Gunderman. The same Meghann Gundermann that’s married to Jason Sehorn? An intelligent American woman named Meghann told him no during his college years. Love that. Madame Duchess really must have been a trigger for Kate, CarolE & William. Meghan, DoS, is a couple of years older than Meghann. Meghan & Meghann both have accomplished backgrounds involving humanitarianism, work history, both graduated with double majors (a shared International one too) and other things. Meghan, DoS would definitely be a reminder of a lot of things and the lack of a lot things on Kate’s end.
https://worldaffairscharlotte.org/april-1-tms-global-spotlight-series-meghann-gunderman-sehorn/
Not being sarcastic, I believe Charlotte was named due to royal names, it’s just a bit lol that Meghann Gundermann is from Charlotte, NC.
Most of his serious girlfriends have been brunettes with long hair.
Arabella Musgrave, Jecca, Carly Massey birch, Rose.
At St. Andrews he had a crush on Rachel stevens from s club 7. He’d watch their tv show (a childrens tv show, very simple) in the common room, he’d tell people he was watching it because he had a crush on Rachel. (Brunette but shorter hair than his usual type).
His nanny that he lost, and was devastated over losing, was a brunette.
Camilla looks like Charles old nanny.
On the other hand Williams friends said Isabella calthorpe was his dream woman.
A journalist once said William constantly had one night stands and they were usually blonde and tall.
The lioness he’s said to have a special bond with is a lesbian so I don’t think the newspapers were implying anything with her.
Did anyone see the Prince of Pegging trending on twitter just weeks ago?
The focus on Will with Lionesses is actually good press after that!
I read Jill Scott and thought of Jilly from Philly so I’m super amused rn.
So, “lioness” is the code name for the new London side-piece?
Lol at the first picture. The way William is looking at the trophy, he’s probably wondering how to attach the strap. 😂
I have been reading CB for many years. I don’t normally post though, but I have a theory about this particular story and would welcome y’all’s feedback.
I remember when PW got to be so *close* with the Mids, to the point that he spent important holidays with them. The spin was that PW hadn’t had warm, loving “family ” events and that they welcomed TOB into their midst.
Then during the first breakouts of Covid when the world had to quarantine themselves, I believe that PW was exposed to the truth that he had been stalked by Kate. He was not accustomed to the feeling of being used to promote a desperate, determined grifter family who saw him as only the means to an end.
Now the separation of Khate and Will is supposedly showing the Mids who is boss. Then they took it up a notch; hiring the new publicity person who is certainly earning their pay already. Divorce their daughter? Shove them to the sidelines at the Jubbly? Giving Khate a house that’s smaller than Pippa’s? Well, how about this–Will is being inappropriate with the Lionesses. Poor Khate is bravely keeping her chin up, and caring for the children while Will mimics behavior *possibly* learned from Uncle Andrew. Maybe it runs in the family…
Set him up for a huge public mess, and suddenly Will is the bad guy and Keen is looking good. Maybe we’ll see that the house for her and the kids changes from Adelaide Cottage to a bigger one. Now *she* has real leverage and might possibly be able to file for the divorce first and getting much more than what we think was previously on the table. Who could blame her? She must do this to ensure that the children are safe and perhaps may even have to be placed in therapy. Then she will enjoy the fruits of the Mids’ labor.
*Disclaimer* I do not know if this is the correct interpretation of events, and I will add *alleged* to this. We know Kate will use the poor children in any way she can to make herself look better.
🙃