Soon after Kensington Palace’s Mother’s Day frankenphoto fiasco, CBS brought Tina Brown in to offer her royal-expertise on the situation. Brown was pretty harsh, saying that the “wheels had come off” Kensington Palace and that the whole “missing princess” thing was massively mismanaged. A few days after Brown appeared on CBS, she ended up flying to London. It felt like she was actually doing some leg work to figure out what the hell was going on. She talked to her sources in the palaces and royalist media and she was seemingly still on the trail when Kensington Palace published the Princess of Wales’s big cancer-announcement video (on March 22).
Days after the video was published, March 25, the New York Times published a guest op-ed written by Brown. I covered it here – Brown said that the royal courts are constantly lying and have done for decades. Her sources told her that “the turmoil behind the scenes has been intense, resulting in what has felt like a series of baffling press screw-ups” at Kensington Palace. Then she wrote about what’s really been going on, which is that William and Kate have been frozen with anxiety because of their proximity to the throne and that “Catherine is battling more — much more — than cancer. A tidal wave of premature responsibility is crashing in her and William’s direction.” What was interesting about Brown’s NYT column was that it felt mostly accurate and it sounded like this was the general assessment from real royal sources too, that William and Kate were being crushed by their own sense of inadequacy. What was also interesting is that very few outlets covered Brown’s NYT column two weeks ago, but suddenly, in the past two days, American and British outlets are running quotes from it.
Prince William is reportedly in “frightening proximity” to ascending the British throne amid His father King Charles III’s ongoing battle with cancer.
“The almost simultaneous news of Charles’s cancer has put William and Catherine in frightening proximity to ascending the throne just when they had hoped for a span of years to parent their children out of the public eye,” journalist Tina Brown claimed in a New York Times essay published on March 25. William and his wife, Kate Middleton — who is also battling cancer — share three kids: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
The former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief asserted that the idea of William becoming the reigning sovereign has spurred much stress for the couple.
“The prospect of it, I am told, is causing them intense anxiety,” she wrote. Brown also claimed that several scandals surrounding the royal family — including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s estrangement from the royal family as well as Prince Andrew’s ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein — have put William and Middleton “under unmanageable pressure.”
“Catherine is the most popular member of the royal family after William,” she wrote, adding, “The future of the monarchy hangs by a thread, and that thread is her.”
Brown furthered that William, 41, and Middleton, 42, are burdened with more responsibilities than just her health condition.
“A tidal wave of premature responsibility is crashing in her and William’s direction,” she said. “Frozen, unready and with Catherine now seriously unwell, the Prince and Princess of Wales await the awesome burden of the crown.”
Similar coverage has appeared in The Independent, Us Weekly, InStyle and on and on. Why the two-week delay? Why are Brown’s comments suddenly making all kinds of headlines? Part of it is that Buckingham Palace has seemingly ordered radio silence across the board for the past week or so, and people are going back to some weeks-old gossip. But I also think that there’s a reason why Brown’s column is getting more traction right at this moment. It will be very interesting to come back to Brown’s piece six months from now to see if she was right on the money.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.
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- Westminster, London, UK, 22nd Nov 2022. Catherine, the Princess of Wales, rides in a carriage with William, Prince of Wales. Members of the Royal Family, including the King and Queen Consort, and Prince and Princess of Wales, together with the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, ride in carriages along the Mall to Buckingham Palace, for the State Visit of President Ramaphosa. They are accompanied by the Kings’ Troop and military bands for the occasion.,Image: 739351662, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter / Avalon
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- His Royal Highness – William – The Prince Of Wales and Her Royal Highness Catherine – The Princess of Wales depart Buckingham Palace to meet with The President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa – Buckingham Palace, London, England, UK on Tuesday 22 November, 2022.,Image: 739357391, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, are joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales as they formally welcome the President Of The Republic Of South Africa at The Royal Pavilion on Horse Guards Parade in London. Pictured: William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales BACKGRID USA 22 NOVEMBER 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, are joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales as they formally welcome the President Of The Republic Of South Africa at The Royal Pavilion on Horse Guards Parade in London. Pictured: Camilla, Queen Consort, William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales BACKGRID USA 22 NOVEMBER 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Ceremonial welcome for the State Visit to the UK by the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, at Horse Guards Parade in London. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 22 Nov 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
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- Ceremonial welcome for the State Visit to the UK by the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, at Horse Guards Parade in London. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 22 Nov 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
Why is it a burden? They show up and shake hands with other heads of state. They are not doing the work of governing.
All they have to do is dress themselves, brush their teeth, blow their nose, wipe their ass. Everything else is done for them.
I don’t question her sources. Tina Brown is one of the most plugged in people on the planet. But I do question why W&K are freaking out about becoming monarchs sooner rather than later. Other than extreme laziness, there is no reason to melt down over the prospect of becoming King of England. He has known this was coming his whole life. And Kate and her stage mother actively sought it. But I do think it’s great that they apparently want to cancel themselves.
For Will, I think they pressure is that he’ll be under a great deal more public scrutiny as king. No haring off wherever for weeks at time without ‘working.’ Whatever extracurricular activities he has going on, well those also get harder to pull off.
Kate loves being in the public eye, much more so than Will. But perhaps the thought of being expected to ‘work’ more than a few hours a month is an upsetting prospect. Perhaps the wider public scrutiny as well, because she has leaned into the ‘happily married future queen’ thing and would be embarrassed for the world to know exactly how little time Will spends with her. Maybe she loathes the idea of being trapped in a marriage with Will (and if they’re married when Will becomes king, I don’t think he’ll divorce her). Maybe her physical/mental health issues are deep and long-lasting and she’s done with trying to pretend.
Whatever it is, the girl has not looked well for a long time. And Will certainly seems to have tottered on the edge since everyone’s health issues became public.
This part – “would be embarrassed for the world to know exactly how little time Will spends with her” – i think is definitely a factor. With Camilla and Charles, its almost portrayed as quirky or charming – Camilla needs to escape him sometimes and spend a weekend in Ray Mill with her family and/or friends.
but they obviously got married much later and I think the expectations of the current Wales’ marriage are very different, because they’re portrayed as this great modern love story. It’s not very modern for a married couple to spend half their lives in separate houses, you know?
I wonder if this is a hint that they were planning to divorce while still the Waleses, and with Charles being terminal and Kate possibly being sick as well, they won’t be able to.
IMO, that’s it, Tiger McQueen. It’s not that the job is hard. I’m quite sure my job is harder and more consequential to people’s daily lives than any of theirs. They are unprepared to meet the standards required for the job, which consist of only: being visible and polished up like Stepford wives.
Charles and Camilla also have their own families so it is easier to split off time because of that. W and K are supposed to be the perfect nuclear family but the only thing nuclear there is W’s temper.
It will be harder to hide that they live separate lives and that is probably a big factor because the expectation of the monarch and consort is that their lives are more public. Plus the media can’t be controlled as it was decades ago and social media is the Wild West.
They would be better off being honest about what’s going on rather than try to pretend things are perfect.
The dream sounds good, the reality not so. especially as William will have to read the red boxes every working day.
The burden is to have to show up, be seen and open that red box at the end of the day, but they dont like to work past 3:30pm
Ding! We have a winner! These two show up once in a blue moon to KP, but as king, William won’t be able to skirt and dodge the men in grey and politicians who literally need to see him to do their jobs.
So weird to stress out about…working a consistent job.
Sorry, didn’t see your comment when I did mine.
I remember Diana saying the job was like going to a wedding every day – as the bride. Easy a few times, but not as a long term job. Especially if you don’t have the room to shift the requirements to better suit your personality. These people are terrible, but I don’t pretend that travelling the country visiting small towns and shaking hands over barricades wouldn’t drive me batty after a few years.
It’d be easier and more interesting than a lot of jobs. Plenty of rewards and perks too
She had a way with words and didn’t mince them. No wonder they resented her.
It’s almost like… The monarchy is a stupid tradition that no one needs, including the royals, and it should be done away with. But they seem to genuinely believe that it’s their birth mission to “instill hope and inspiration” or some ish.
The reality is, any of them CAN leave at any time. They choose not to because they don’t want to deal with the consequences and prefer things as they are. It would drive me batty to do such silly work, but they do have a choice and choose to remain. They could easily turn the monarchy into a useful institution rather than a bunch of figureheads who shake hands and do walk abouts and go to church, and they choose not to. My sympathy for their situation is very limited. They want to exist as celebrities… they got it.
If they had something that actually interested them and that they actually cared about, that could make it into a fulfulling job. The problem is that they were both bred to be lazy and entitled. They are living off of handouts that they never earned. They don’t appear to have any curiosity, any real interests.
So go ahead and abolish the monarchy when Charles dies! Divorce, don’t divorce, whatever floats your boat.
Problem solved. No more stress.
What Tina Brown fails to admit is that they despise each other and are living mostly separate lives now. Having to do more and more engagements as a duo is what’s throwing a spanner in the works. “In sickness and in health” doesn’t apply to them anymore…William didn’t support Kate before the sh*t hit the fan, he certainly isn’t going to now.
This makes sense although I still believe that Kate is ride or die for William. She cannot pull Diana tactics.
Diana besides being a super star in her own right also had the advantage that divorce was going to be a massive scandal and Charles didn’t actually have the option to marry Camilla. Sadly for Kate, all those precedents are set in stone now. Divorce? LOL that’s just a Tuesday in this family.
The “ride or die for William” comment made me think about what could change that for Kate. Specifically, the only thing that comes to mind for me is if his violence turned more severe OR if he turned it on the children. George is old enough to want to defend his mother if he came upon something. While everyone is focused on “where’s Kate” recall that we have not seen the children at all since Christmas. What if “where’s Kate” is all a big rope-a-dope?
QE2 didn’t drag Prince Philip to every hand shaking and ribbon cutting event she attended. Why would Kate have to play tag-a-long with Wills? Many, many political couples live separate lives most of the time. Clintons were one recent example. The Mulroneys in Canada were the same. Maybe a little harder today, but they’ll manage.
@Pinkorchid: living separate lives is a normal thing, but they have presented themselves as the Most Perfectest Couple Ever–which is stupid because it means people will be looking for clues to see if that’s true. Admit they live separate lives and now it’s a story, whereas it wouldn’t have been otherwise. They are stuck believing they have to stick to a particular image that’s really, really difficult to pull off (the appearance of perfection makes people want to look for tarnish).
I don’t know, I think cancer can change people’s perspectives.
Just because Kate was a stalker and determined to win the crown when she was a teen/twentysomething, doesn’t mean she’s the same person with the same priorities now.
I know a ton of women who were very focused on achieving a particular goal all through their twenties (whether that was marriage, finding a rich husband, being the perfect housewife, or becoming a successful lawyer/doctor/whatever) who all had breakdowns when they reached 40 because they realised they’d wasted their lives and their youth chasing something that didn’t make them happy, and that they were lonely and unfulfilled.
The one time Kate opened up to a friend, that friend leaked that Kate disclosed how unhappy and lonely she was, which is part of why she doesn’t really have friends now.
I don’t feel sympathy because she’s in a situation of her own making, but I do feel empathy, because I think her life must be pretty hellish. She’s lonely, no friends, trapped in an awful marriage, no capacity to ever get a job or do anything fulfilling, can’t really do any hobbies outside the house, doesn’t even legally own her own kids, and no freedom. She’s trapped in a gilded cage, forever.
So yes, I can see her having a mid-life crisis or a crisis brought on by having cancer, and decide she can’t deal with or doesn’t want this life anymore.
Right on the money, @SamuelWhiskers. She would not be the first woman to get cancer (assuming she has it) and then realize “I don’t want to die in this marriage”.
They supposedly have these same responsibilities now. It’s the same ‘work’, just more of it & with different titles. It’s all smoke & mirrors. Such nonsense. Maybe they won’t be able to hide away as much as K&Q? Is that what they’re worried about? Tsk tsk.
And the brushing teeth thing… don’t forget someone can squeeze the toothpaste for them 😂
For W&K who show up for half to an hour on the 90 days a year of public engagements, the ‘burden’ of having to do more must be terrifying. God knows what they do the rest of the time.
More intriguing is: “Catherine is battling more — much more — than cancer”. What else is wrong with her? What could be more challenging than beating cancer, if indeed she is battling that?
“More intriguing is: “Catherine is battling more — much more — than cancer”. What else is wrong with her? What could be more challenging than beating cancer, if indeed she is battling that?”
Exactly. There have been way way way too many hints and journalists coming out and saying that they have secrets which could destroy the monarchy if people found out. There’s clearly some other Big Secret beyond her cancer.
they both take themselves too seriously (the anxiety about the ‘responsibility’ and thinking they’re above the basic bread and butter royal stuff) and not seriously enough (the work-shy behaviour).
They’ve had, what 14 years (?) as a married couple to prepare. Huevo longer still to prepare himself. They are pathetic.
Exactly and they squandered that time doing not much other than ??? Sitting on couch watching Netflix while Kate is researching online why her husband is the way he is…oh it’s because of his early years that he has a personality disorder!
“Kate researching online why her husband is the way he is…oh it’s because of his early years that he has a personality disorder!” 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Precisely right! And burdened because of premature responsibility? They’re both in their 40s. Charles is pushing 80. His was always going to be a short reign (relatively speaking, though he does come from long-living stock). I would guess that William at the oldest would be 50ish, and that was before Charles’ cancer diagnosis.
I wonder what the late Queen would think about premature responsibility?
It really just seems like W&K both assumed that everyone would keep living super-long lifespans, and that they wouldn’t be in the top job until after the age that many people have been retired for ten years.
A stupid assumption to make, but so many people in that family did live until their late 90’s (wasn’t the QM over 100?), so I guess I can see how William took it for granted. (He might have needed to tell himself that was the way it would be in order to force himself to keep up the charade, since he clearly does not want to be the monarch anytime soon).
It’s still on W&K that they used ZERO of that “waiting time” to educate or prepare themselves in any way. (And partially on the Queen and Charles for not forcing them to get their sh!t together years ago, imo. They helped create these two lazy monsters.)
Right? This man is almost 42 years old. How is this premature, even if they were misguided enough to think Charles’s life would be as long as QEIIs by default? The way he is being infantilized is sickening, especially in the context of increasing right-wing “personal responsibility” sentiments in England.
(I chose my words carefully here. I’m not sure if that mentality is growing as much in other parts of the UK, but since it’s happening worldwide, I wouldn’t be surprised. Either way… I refuse to acknowledge the royal family as royal anywhere but England.)
Elizabeth was 26!! Victoria was 18!! If William is unready in his 40s, that’s on him. Boo hoo.
I remember reading that when Diana first joined at 19/20 yrs of age and came back from engagements saying she enjoyed doing them the others in the rf were annoyed. They liked them to be seen as duties and a burden.
Ethelred the unready. New name for william
😂 Excellent!! Equally unsuited for the role!! And also dumb as a box of rocks.
It is interesting. My theory is that yes those two are surly inadequate to fill the roles but also Peg wants out of this marriage and her diagnosis has thrown a monkey wrench into his plans. Where is Peg? Where is Can’t. Those questions need answers.
Agree, William wants a divorce,and Kate has trapped him with her “cancer”.
Nailed it. William wants out of the marriage. He wants a loving wife like Harry. Always competing with Harry
I hate to seem petty but … Kate video message read to me that she still wants the job and William can’t divorce her.
Kp has played around with Kate’s “issue”. Seems this goes beyond illness. They could’ve released a statement last year that she isnt feeling well. They let this linger.
I think she/they want William to participate and he isn’t falling for it.
Mistake #1: thinking that the cancer bench announcement vid was of kHATE.
I echo, THE elephant in the room: He wants out of the marriage, and needed a few years to unveil. This is what they won’t say the stress is about. Otherwise, I don’t see why two people who get nothing but puff pieces covering them for doing the bare minimum, would be so stressed over their position.
This. The BM buoys them with puff pieces so why should they be stressed?
Agreeing with you guys that the stress is that William wants out of the marriage and that it’s probably sadly true that KC is more ill than we are being told,therefore no time to slowly unveil the separation and divorce over a couple years or more.William divorcing an ill wife would be a bad look but divorcing her while his father may be dying and William ascending the throne as a divorced man isn’t going to be acceptable even by the biggest sycophants.
Remember how “awful “it was that Meghan was a divorced woman 🙄A divorced king William would be earth shattering to the monarchy.
Spice cake 38, KFC was a divorced King, so I don’t think it would be as earth shattering to the monarchy as you think. Billy Idle wouldn’t necessarily need to marry again. He could have women (or one woman) who is with him when he needs to have one by his side. This is 2024.
Yes I definitely think William & Kate live separately & my guess is they knew about Kate being ill for a while but KP didn’t want it to come out because it would be harder to formally separate from an ill wife. I think that’s why William was using fake Mother’s Day picture & a fake Kate for that pap stroll trying to keep news of her true condition under wraps.
I think Kate’s video only came about because BP took control of disastrous comms around KP. Especially knowing William wasn’t even present when the video was filmed it seemed even more pointed that Kate said William being beside her was a great reassurance. It very much felt to me like she was communicating to him she isn’t going anywhere. all the talk about Kate & Charles getting closer & seems to be because Charles has thrown support around Kate.
Tina heaven help the royals if the keens are considered the most popular
Tina is just another lying arse kisser to the Windsors, that Cain is more popular than Unable.
They both lack charisma and are lazy.
There isn’t a lot of competition.
Is the role of king much different than the role of prince? The king is a figurehead in government, with his obligations being delegated to others. It seems like they’re all just dress up dolls who show up and wave at various events and call it “work.” What’s there to panic about?
We talk – with public and insider evidence – about William the Rage Monster and One-Pint Willy, but we tend to think of his temper or drinking as moral failings, like Charles’ petulence. What if it’s part of a larger pattern of a straight-up neurocognitive disability, unshiftable by the pressures of adulthood? If so, once William has no choice but to be seen in public every day, or on a given day at 2 pm, the avoidant shell hiding the disability from public view would crumble, and all the problems William poses that have hitherto been cushioned would suddenly be apparent to all.
I think you’re right Garrity. The RF, courtiers and even the rota know this is the reality. William is ragey and always has been, it’s a hardware defect, not a software defect. They’ve been ok managing him publicly as a prince but as king he will have to be MUCH more public-facing and crucially, diplomatic. Pegs is terrible at diplomacy, and he knows it too, it’s part of the reason he never does it, along with not wanting to.
Being king will expose all of this and they’re terrified. Plus, the additional scrutiny of the state of their marriage since these two can’t even stand next to each other anymore.
But essentially, they ALL know Pegs is a problem without a solution, he can’t be fixed with rehab or counseling. It would probably help but he has always been fundamentally unsuitable for the job. Now they have to deal with that and they’re terrified.
garrity & MipMip, add in the fact that Bone Idle has been completely unable to meet the Princess of Wales ‘obligations’, and the two of them will be very interesting as K&Q-C. Talk about a train wreck waiting to happen.
The one thing that William has done right, imo, is slowly but surely began setting the expectations for his reign EXTREMELY LOW. From the moment he got married. Disappearing for weeks at a time. Starting in like 2012 or 2013 claiming Kate couldn’t do the St. Patrick’s thing because they didn’t want the public to ‘expect her to show up every year’ was very telling, imo, in terms of showing their mindsets. Not bothering to learn Welsh, and shunning any sort of POW ceremony in Wales.
Years ago, W&K saying they only wanted to focus on “big” (read: “splashy”) projects like Earthshot, and do things “The Cambridge Way” (which as far as I can see means doing as little as possible, essentially popping up for photo ops here and there), and basically dismissing the type of work that Anne does and has been doing for decades. I don’t think he sees the value in it at all.
Before KFC’s coronation, William was already blabbing to anyone who would listen about how differently he was going to do things, how he didn’t want a big, showy coronation like his father did, etc. etc. He’s been setting the stage for a long time to only attend what are seen as the most important events in the BRF, and he’s even starting to slack off in that regard. He skipped the memorial service for his godfather, then Easter (not as if Easter is “mandatory,” but the man is going to be the Head of Church, ffs! Even immunocompromised Charles showed up.).
He’ll end up only rolling out for the opening of Parliament, Trooping, and maybe some state dinners. Oh and of course a few movie premieres. And by then it will have been a years-long pattern of him only being seen infrequently, so imo he’s hoping it will just sort of become acceptable over time, even if people don’t like it. (Like Camilla, lol.) He wants it to be his new normal and I guess there isn’t really anyone who can force him to do anything but whatever he wants, once he’s the King.
🎯 he is slowly lowering the expectations of his reign. Deliberately.
I think you’re right. The word “frozen” is commonly used to describe a trauma victim’s response to overwhelming emotions. William doesn’t cut much of a sympathetic character, for sure, but he was 16 yo when his mother was killed and he was forced to perform at his mother’s funeral to protect his father and grandmother from the public’s wrath.
I agree that handshaking doesn’t seem like it could trigger a traumatic response, but I think in this case the problem is that William has fallen apart and isn’t fit to serve anyone.
Seriously. There was soooo much BS from the sycophantic press about W&K becoming P&P of Wales & their new responsibilities that came with the title, etc., etc., etc. But they don’t do a damned thing different as P&P of Wales from when they were D&D of Cambridge, and they won’t do a damn thing different as K&Q. It’s all so dumb! Same meet & greet job, maybe fancier robes & hats, but that’s about it.
Oh, forgot, there’s the bit about William & the sanctified red boxes. 🙄
AKA prime opportunity for insider trading.
1. When William was young he wanted real power. Now that he sees what the job is he is bitter.
2. I think Kp wanted people to care that Kate was missing. Their making excuses and the royal rota having nothing to do is what made this a story. Most people was just laughing at a PRINCESS being missing. They didn’t know enough about her to think she was ill. A lot of people still believe she didn’t have cancer and this is a cover for something else.
yeah, its difficult to come back after being proven such a huge liar to the entire world. No one believes KP about anything because KP lost all the goodwill and trust everyone had with that horrible photo stunt.
This trying to make them relatable article from Brown isn’t working either. A 25 year not ready for the crown is different from a 41 year old not ready for the crown. The 25 year old had very few years to prepare, the 41 year old wasted decades and public money trying to get out of working and preparing.
It does feel like the royal writers are trawling for stories. That said, TB’s assessment of the Wales rings true. The way she talks about Meghan is another story. Most of her sourcing is likely coming from those close to Charles and Camilla? Either way, it rings true and yet there’s no reason the Wales should be so woefully unprepared and frozen with anxiety.
Yeah, the training of royals begins in childhood. They accompany their grand/parents and are groomed for the position. Plus, they get educated in relevant areas. And if the previous monarch doesn’t have a planned abdication, then they’re expected to take over if said monarch passes away. Their whole life is getting them as ready as possible. Plus in William’s case, people were pushing for the crown to skip Charles and go directly from Elizabeth to William. Remember that?
I actually think that William may very well not have been trained for his position – because Charles couldn’t be bothered. After all, he couldn’t be bothered to parent either of his sons after the death of their mother.
Other European heirs and current monarchs generally have degrees in political science, often with a study year abroad – as well as diplomatic internships at an embassy. As well as military training. Plus, shadowing the monarch, etc.
How does Will compare? He did the military training and he went to university but he studied Geography. He hasn’t done any diplomatic interning and he hasn’t really shadowed his grandmother and father. He has just been left alone to loaf about to the extent that his own staff would only see him about once a month! Of course he is totally unprepared – and he is going to learn on the job. It is going to be a steep learning curve for him – and I think he also has severe mental health issues due to untreated trauma and TBI.
He is unprepared, unready – but also set in his lazy ways and with a stubborn and volatile temper. His kingship is going to be a wild ride for his staff and the general political Establishment.
They couldn’t even manage to get a second language out of Willnot. He is spectacularly lazy. I can’t believe a man who is expected to be the head of a Commonwealth of nations couldn’t be bothered to learn another language, I am never getting over it. I really feel like that is the absolute bare minimum.
Diana’s death was catastrophic in more ways than one. It meant that William was coddled in his youth and continues to be so. Recall that when he went to uni the press agreed to leave him alone? That was a misstep in judgment by the late Queen and/or Charles.
Will was allowed to run amok. He fell in deep with the Middletons, who were only too happy to cajole him, perpetuate and ingrain his laziness and lack of sense of duty to reel him in. They pandered to his colossal ego.
I remember when William was often holidaying with the Middletons, laying around on yachts in sunny climes, with not a care in the world. He came across as more a Monegasque royal or international playboy that heir apparent to the British throne.
Possibly unpopular opinion, but I don’t believe William would have married Kate had Diana lived to his adulthood. Diana was known to be jealous and would never have abided Carole Middleton’s meddling and manipulation.
I think the anxiety and being unprepared etc is because they have been left alone for so long. For the entirety of their marriage they’ve pretty much been able to do whatever they want – vacations in Mustique without telling anyone, disappearing for months on end (I know the Queen went on extended vacations to Balmoral and Sandringham every year, but even during those times she would make sure she was seen a few times going to church etc, she would entertain government figures at Balmoral, etc), minimal work schedules, etc.
Will that all come to an end if William becomes king in the next year? The courtiers and government officials might have an issue if they keep on as they’ve been doing.
William and Kate have carved out this pretty sweet gig for themselves (rage and marriage issues aside), where they have multiple mansions, legions of staff, and now millions of pounds a year to spend on vacations, and minimal work expectations, and no one has ever tried to course correct them.
I can see them being anxious and frozen etc if they see that all that is about to end.
but if it doesn’t – if as monarch, William keeps on doing what he’s been doing for the past 13 years – what can anyone do about it? Likely nothing, but I can see there being concerns there on their part, that they might have to -gasp – work!
I also think its easier to get away with the “privacy” argument for the kids when they are second, third, fourth in line for the throne. When George is Duke of cornwall and potentially prince of wales, that will be a lot harder to sell.
@Becks, I said something very similar above! Totally agree.
I totally agree with you.
What is the other thing kate is facing besides cancer? I think Tina wants to say more but can’t. And it’s likely because it’s relating to William wanting to dump her.
As for William, it is hard to feel bad for someone who is in his 40s and had decades to just half ass it. His grandmother had to be monarch by 25 with two very young kids, far younger than his own.
Tina has been critical of Meghan, but her sources are pretty accurate and we know many in the family were critical of Meghan. Which means she was repeating what she was being told. So I do think Tina is likely on the right track with this, far more than loons like Levin or the sad little man.
I don’t think Tina was just repeating what she was told by palace insiders. She hates Meghan & comes across as just a slicker version of Angela Levin when discussing her.
It’s funny as we’ve been told for years how much William was preparing to be king but suddenly he is anxious about it? It’s almost like what someone said about being trapped…
I’ve never thought William wanted to be king except for having the title to one up Harry, being the boss of those in his family & the riches. He looked miserable at the opening of parliament he attended a few years back & at the event where Charles had a tantrum over pens leaking. He used Charles & Kate’s surgery news to hide instead of stepping up & showing leadership. And his management of stuff around Kate’s health was pretty disastrous & had his office compared to propaganda from Iran & North Korea. I imagine the establishment & press are not sure William will be a great king. He’s definitely not as “dutiful” as Elizabeth or Charles & I think that’s why the press cry about Harry not being around as his advisor/wing man (but really his work horse ).
William is a massive slacker & largely gets away with it because the press cover for him. But think it could be harder to do that as king &where I think he would have to have a weekly audiences with the prime minister etc. so those large periods of no engagements that he & Kate are used to will possibly have to end.
Also he likely couldn’t be as outspoken, focused on his “passion projects” & just flit over to New York to promote himself & the “social activist” he’s been pitching himself as, as King. He doesn’t prepare & is also not that good at the diplomatic small talk – see this years inappropriate comments at the BAFTAs or dumb jokes about elephant genitals with Obama at the White House. It’s been reported for years that he doesn’t like the ribbon cutting events but there’s also less people to do them. So interesting times
Question for Brits: I’m an American so I have no idea, but is the weekly meeting with the PM codified anywhere, or is that just how Elizabeth (and her father before her, etc.) chose to do things?
William might see that as a just a “tradition” which is fair game for him to eliminate, and make it monthly or less (or better yet, over Zoom, so no one even knows for sure where he is at any given time 🙄)
I don’t know if the weekly meeting named ‘The Audience’ is legally mandated or not, but it’s very much mandatory. It’s a very long tradition which underpins our whole political system.
Ditto the monthly meeting the monarch chairs with the Privy Council.
William will not have the option to skip it and he will be expected to be prepared.
I really have no idea what would happen if he didn’t, or refused – this is unprecedented. I don’t think the little grey men would let him.
@samuelwhiskers, what would happen if he just skipped or refused? I am not a betting person but I swear we will find out what happens once he’s king. He ain’t listening to the men in grey. Maybe if the govt has kompromat on him but honestly they might see him as useless enough that it won’t matter if he attends those meetings. They might be good with it😂
@nic919, agree that TB has sources and those sources hate Meghan. And she did repeat what they said. But she also offers her own analysis and that analysis of Meghan has been in very bad faith.
Agreed, Jais. I can see him skipping the first meeting of the PM to send the message that this isn’t going to be a regular thing for him. He’ll make it monthly, at most, and then people will stop paying attention and it will become once a year.
If there is anything that won’t get him to work, it’s telling him he absolutely has to do something.
They should ask Harry if he would do a weekly Zoom with the prime minister. That might work.
The UK doesn’t have a written Constitution, which is ironic since the Imperial British parliament enacted the Australian one. A lot of it is by “convention”.
I do trust Tina Brown to have good sources.
K’s condition is absolutely suboptimal. If the monarchy is going to change hands again soon, K’s health is a legitimate concern.
HOWEVER, both Kings Felipe and Willem-Alexander became monarchs at a similar age when their eldest children were slightly younger than George now is. In Spain’s case somewhat suddenly due to Juan Carlos’s scandals and in the Netherlands’ as a planned abdication. There should be no doubt that William should be ready by now. He’s a middle-aged man in his forties who has been groomed for this his entire fricking life. Just like the royals in Europe.
““A tidal wave of premature responsibility is crashing in her and William’s direction,” she said.”
It’s in no way premature!
Fully agree. All the other royals must laugh at the UK. The Brit royals are lucky the media spends zero time comparing them.
It’s definitely not premature. Maybe William was just hoping Charles would live to be 95/100 like his parents, but its not premature.
And the line about wanting to parent their kids out of the public eye – I mean, George is 11, Louis will be 6 in two weeks, Charlotte will be 9 in May. I’m not saying they’re full grown by any means – but they’ve had more than a decade of private parenting, which is more than Diana had. And the press was always going to clamor for more from the children as they got older and other royals passed away or as the Sussexes continue to thrive in California.
I think the problem is that William hasn’t been groomed for this his entire life. He’s been f*cking around pretending to work for 2 decades and is unprepared. Yeah, the monarch doesn’t have a real job like a president or PM, but they are expected to show up read the boxes make small talk, host state dinners, etc. William cant even go to the BAFTAS without causing a scene. He nearly caused an international incident with Israel and Gaza.The courtiers, Charles, and the Queen never got him in line and it shows. They just relied on Harry. His entire Global Statesman PR is about to be shown for what it is, a sham.
And they’re publicly talking about how George will be boarding in a year or two, and possibly his sister. So in the next five years they’re going to be down to one kid at home full time. It’s hard to push parenting as a reason when there kids are gone that much.
There’s nothing premature about it other than Will will never be prepared. I do think he has some cognitive issues that will come out at some point. It’s the only thread that connects all the weirdness.
Every time I see the “caring for their young family at home” excuse being trotted out, I throw up a little in my mouth. GMAFB. No one on earth has more resources at hand to help care for, cook for, play with, and raise their precious children than the pampered Prince and Princess of Wales. If work were important to them, they’d be out there doing it. If causes were important to them, they’d be out there fighting for them. They don’t care about anyone but themselves. It’s as simple as that.
@Pink: hear, hear. This is not repeated nearly enough. They are royal children, they will have public roles to some degree. W&K are not a privately married couple. If they want to parent without interruption from work for which they are grossly over-remunerated, they know what to do …
Philippe of Belgium was a little older when his dad abdicated, but his kids were pretty young as well.
The difference of course is that all three of these men put in the work of a full crown-prince training program (degree, military academy, relevant internships, rounds of official visits, lots of sitting in meetings) and have intelligent supportive spouses who have a strong work ethic. Philippe in particular seems rather introverted and his wife has IMO drawn him out in good ways. They were working full “crown princely” work schedules so it wasn’t a huge change.
Two of the three are definitely also mentoring their own heirs in extremely positive ways (and I think the third will start picking that up).
If I remember it right, at first Philippe should have been the direct heir to his uncle Baudouin. But as he died suddenly and he was still single and introvert, Baudoins brother took over until Philippe was ready, married the right woman and had a family.
Blubb, I’ve heard that Baudouin may have wanted to go straight to Philippe but Philippe’s dad was very much still alive. And Philippe was 30-something and not married. I don’t recall off hand if that is when the Belgian government decided to change to strict birth order and make it retroactive so Philippe’s capable sister was in line for the throne before his not-very-together brother. (The sister is #2 in birth order and had a stable marriage and kids by the time their uncle died.)
Philippe’s parents had a famously dysfunctional marriage during his teen years so maybe no surprise he was a little leery. I keep hearing that his marriage to Mathilde was some sort of arrangement but even if that is the case, the “arranged marriage” appears to be a successful one. She’s charming, works hard, and likes to make other people shine. They work together as a couple in their royal work and in actively raising their children. And as I said, I think she’s drawn him out in positive ways.
It was a real “make or mar” thing and Philippe made a good choice of partner. In the grand scheme of things IMO William didn’t and that hasn’t helped him out.
Substituting the word ready for able. Elizabeth was able in her 20s, Charles has always been able. William is unable, look at all of the massive screw ups, all because he is dumb and stubborn. Ready or not ready, would only apply to someone too young, .
Not so sure Charles is able, can’t make a decision on his own, no wonder his mother didn’t step down.
Why bring Harry and Meghan into the Mess that the Windsors created, they left 4 years ago, Unable and Cain wanted the whole bowl of wax, now it is melting in their hands.
They’re in their 40s and this is literally their only job!!!
It’s pathetic that a couple in their forties are not yet “ready” for a job that is just shaking hands and ribbon cutting. Oooh noooes we might have to do more of it, however will the children get to school on their own!
Pretty sad that they are frozen with anxiety over stuff that most of us do every day without staff to help. Yes, they are on an international stage, but they have had oodles of time to plan for this. Most of us just get thrown to the wolves with no chance to prepare for any challenges that come along. I agree with those saying that this is more about W&K not wanting to give up the easy breezy life they have now and have had for years. They essentially have what H&M have but with fancier outfits, government provided security and subsidized housing. But horrors! When Charles is gone, they’ll have to sing for their supper!
100%. William is my next King and I’m frustrated that he is so lazy and unworthy.
This reminds me of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who, upon the death of Louis XV, supposedly got down on their knees and prayed, “God help us, we are too young to reign”.
Of course, they were just teenagers at the time, and as an absolute monarch, Louis had actual responsibilities. William and Kate are twice as old, and basically just mascots. They have no excuse.
Ok, so let’s suppose that William has been asleep for 40 years and is totally unprepared. Charles isn’t dead yet and there’s a cast of thousands who know royal procedure and protocol. Kate doesn’t need William by her side every minute and the children can spare him for several hours during the day. He can sit down with Charles and various advisors and get prepared.
It would be like trying to prepare a temperamental toddler with ADHD. We know he doesn’t take direction well at all and has the attention span of a gnat. William is too far gone down the path of lazy self-obsession, and having incandescent rages is the only reaction he’s capable of instead of some serious self-reflection and forward planning.
He’s a 40+ year old adult, ffs. At what point, exactly, does he feel “adulting” should start? Every adult I know of that age is expected to manage their responsibilities – and that’s with*out* tens of millions of dollars, staff, multiple homes, and so on and so on. My God, is he aware of what his “subjects” are going through on the daily?? Zero sympathy for any of them. Sorry they have cancer, but they are blessed with the best possible resources. Crushed under the pressure? Get lost.
Molly I expect in the real world the pair of them could barely run a bath never mind homes and jobs
That’s why I always chuckle when Kate is mentioned as a wife and mother. She is infantilised to the point where I can’t take it seriously.
When William becomes King he will have access to the red boxes: government, church, and military documents of the UK and 54 Commonwealth nations. People need to be scared.
When William is king, I’d expect many countries to leave the commonwealth and become republics.
Just a correction. The Commonwealth of Nations is often misunderstood. No member nation has to leave it if they become republics. The Commonwealth is not comprised of just Realms. The monarch, as head, is just a figurehead. It’s all show to give the monarch more substance.
Canada doesn’t send its documents to the king. The Governor General does all of that. And anything relating to military or other secrets are handled by the PM and the cabinet. The only time the Queen was ever consulted was when Canada was having talks about the constitution in 1982 and then the meech lake accords. Even there the PM didn’t have to follow her advice.
I suspect Australia and the other realms are the same.
But the UK should be scared. Those red boxes contain all their government secrets.
I personally find it really hard to believe that the monarch gets any real classified information. None of them would ever pass a security clearance investigation, is the government really trusting them with national secrets? I can’t imagine that would be true, and I hope it’s not.
Yes; We are sovereign, as is Canada. Australia cut all ties in 1986 with the passing and royal assent of the Australia Acts concurrently with the UK Parliament. There was some noise about the constitutionality of it, but ultimately that died down.
The GG has reserve powers and since the infamous “Dismissal” of 1975, the subject of recent High Court of Australia proceedings, a book, inter alia, there is no way the British monarch would interfere with Australia’s sovereignty again.
There’s something in this story that is not being told because this whole “not ready and afraid” thing makes no sense. For the last few years its been “future king and queen” this or that. William was talking about his coronation plans. “Queen Elizabeth felt the monarchy was in a safe pair of hands with Will and Kate” they said. Now its almost time for the game to start and those two aren’t ready? Man. Its not like they won’t have hundreds of staff to help or anything. Not like this monarchy hasn’t been around for a thousand years. Not like William didn’t know this day was coming. Wasn’t there an article in January that said Will and Kate were looking closely at Queen Margarethe’s abdication? What happened?
I think W&K liked the *idea* of it, but always thought of it as something very far off, and as such, more of an abstract idea than their daily reality.
Now that it might happen sooner than they expected, they’re freaking the fck out and might want to start backpedaling some of that talk real quick.
Don’t you also think they are quickly realizing they aren’t going to have any help when it’s their turn in the big chair? Camilla will drop out of public life if KC3 goes before she does. The octogenarian wing of the working royals aren’t helping, it’s going to be a decade or more before the kids start public lives, which leaves Anne, Edward and Sophie — not exactly deep bench who can cover for the Wales’ lack of work ethic.
“There’s something in this story that is not being told because this whole “not ready and afraid” thing makes no sense. ”
KP PR was how they are ready for the job, the future, top CEO now all of a sudden they are frozen with anxiety? I think KP is still trying to stir up sympathy and attention.
🎯
My theory is that William the Unready is in secret rehab.
That’s my theory too…
He is unready because he is unsober much of the time.
Interesting. He certainly has gone underground and MIA. Why isn’t anyone asking: Where’s William?
Rehab or on vacation.
Two weeks is standard turnaround for regular journalists to absorb new material into their reporting. Any sooner makes them look like a stenographer or rota rat. Two weeks allows for this new narrative to be used when reporting on the current state of the ongoing story. Had a job where we got multiple newspapers and tracked various stories. Fascinating to watch how the reporters made use of each others work and ideas spread. Tina wrote this for the NYT because she wanted to set the agenda in this way.
Don’t forget Easter break. Much was made of the royals heading off on holiday, chances are the rota takes that opportunity to also scurry away on vacation. Real journalists are busy covering other things, so I bet they usually leave it to the rats to transcribe anything vaguely newsworthy.
Lord knows the rota deserves a break. It must be exhausting to cover the royals with their packed schedules and ambitious projects. /s
Why are they saying she’s battling cancer? From her own mouth she says she does not currently have cancer. Sorry to be pedantic but it annoys me
I don’t think you are being pedantic. These twits change narratives daily.
If she is having chemo, she absolutely has cancer cells floating around. They may have removed the original tumor. She’s trying to spin it and make herself and maybe her kids feel better.
She is having chemo just in case there are a few cells that escaped, the doctors think they got it all out. So the doctors think she doesn’t have cancer now. Apparently it is quite common when young people get cancer to give chemo just in case.
I think this piece is making the rounds because there’s a lack of leaks and briefings from BP and KP.
Popcorn standing by. This is fascinating to watch unfold. While we’ve talked for years about William’s temperament and their lack of work ethic-it’s amazing to see Tina Brown openly talk about it (albeit in a round about way), and the rest of the world start to wake up to it too. This tidal wave is of their own making. He knows he can’t half ass his way out of being King. If Charles and the Queen had not let William dilly around for years this would be a different story.
They’re rich stay-at-home parents, I’m so sick of hearing about their supposed responsabilities. They have zero responsabilities.
If they do get access to the throne we all know that their new responsabilities will only be cutting ribbons and do even less than they currently do.
“A tidal wave of premature responsibility is crashing in her and William’s direction,”
Kate is 42, William is 41 (and has known HIS ENTIRE LIFE!) he will one day be King. Yet Princess Elizabeth, who up until age ten, when her father unexpectedly became King and she became the heir, was simply Princess Elizabeth, daughter of the second son. Then at age 25 and with two very young children (Charles was only three), she suddenly became Queen. I would call THAT a tidal wave of premature responsibility.
We can see that, but imo the Queen and Charles, and now Charles, have coddled those two so much for almost 14 years (!) so to W&K, it probably *seems* premature.
They did it to themselves. Both W and K could have used their time over the past decade and a half much more wisely and maybe they’d be more confident now, but here we are.
Mind you, she didn’t have modern media looking over her shoulder all the time and they were far more deferenital than they are now.
I think they are out of anything to write about and also setting it up to make that bar soooo low sooooo soooo low that anything these two voids do is looked as brave, intelligent, dedicated to service under such stress blahblah. They haven’t recovered from all the bs KP caused and need to keep them in the news as “active”.
Trouble is when they have nothing to write about they are even more horrible to Meghan.
@Rosa, good point. I think that’s part of what makes William so unbelievably resentful—it was easier for his grandmother and father, in lots of ways, because they didn’t have to deal with the media landscape that William has pretty much grown up with. It’s been a game-changer for everyone, but especially for public figures.
We all know that Egg isn’t up for the job. We also know that Kkkate is no help to him and let’s face it, without Harry, he needs someone to prop him up. I think Egg has found someone whom he believes will be of greater assistance to him as King, so I feel this is the start of the official rollout of sidelining Kkkate and eventual divorce. If TB has impeccable sources, I bet this is KP laying the groundwork.
I mean yeah. If he has found someone he wants to actually be with that would be a game changer. I just can’t imagine any woman wanting to come in after Kate. Not that kate will necessarily have left big shoes to fill but that the BM has built her up so high since Meghan entered the picture. It will take a while for the BM to undo that. Not saying they can’t but it would take time. But IF, and it’s a massive if, William met a partner that he felt supported him and helped him fulfill his role better, then he’d want that right? Of course, it could be kept on the DL while still married but he may not want it that way. Idk, it’s a lot of what IFs.
I know peter Phillips is way down in line of succession but there was no real uproar over his split from autumn and he openly dated a woman whose divorce was not finalized. Perhaps William sees this as something promising if or when he divorces
Apparently he just split from the girlfriend. But, as you allude to, he’s irrelevant.
One line really made my morning, “Catherine is the most popular member of the royal family after William” Bwahahahaha! I haven’t stopped laughing since I read it!!! Someone is really feeling rather fragile, I wonder who🧐🧐
IKR? I’m no fan of Kate’s, but every poll I’ve seen, especially since they started abusing H&M, have shown her as the most popular member of that bunch. In so many ways, William is just like Charles. He wants the spotlight all to himself.
I remember from a documentary a clip of Charles and Diana meeting the crowds somewhere, and they were more interested in Diana than him. He did not look that impressed.
He hated when people expressed their disappointment during the times he was on their side of the walkabouts, not Diana.
I can attest that William does enjoy attention on himself when greeting the public.
I must conclude that Harry is not only the more personable, empathetic, charismatic, responsible, hard-working, better strategist, and more intelligent of the two.
We *think* we’ve had soooo much info about C3, but have we really? We know as much about how sick he is as we do K.
Sure, we’ve seen more proof of life than K. But C3 is the Monarch. He has a constitutional responsibility to our country and the Commonwealth Realms to be working and physically and mentally up to the job or Parly could declare him unfit (we don’t want that, I think he doesn’t want that either – loves kinging too much.
TL,dr. All of this to say, I think W&K fully expected to loaf off for, at the very least, another 20 years.
I genuinely think things with C3 are worse than we’re being informed. The unimaginable horror of W&K having to step up as King & Queen is fast becoming a reality (and they’re sh*tting themselves)
I completely agree. I think Charles is sicker and William will need to step up much sooner than he planned. He won’t be able to disappear for months as he does now and he will need to do all of the events that he currently looks miserable at. And I think people are freaking out behind the scenes because it’s going to be a lot harder to hide whatever is going on with him personally and with his marriage.
William will try to skip out of work. If the media does not put up a fuss he will get away with it.
Did TB mean that the Wales collectively were unready and frozen, or the William was unready and Kate was frozen? and was that figuratively or literally frozen?
While there is no doubt Tina Brown has excellent sources, I’m not buying this. I think she is trying to drum up sympathy for a couple of lazy and deceitful individuals. Peg, at least, should be working, and would be working if the press would stop enabling his laziness.
She might be trying to drum up sympathy, but I don’t think this makes them sound all that sympathetic. Maybe royalists will eat this up, but I don’t think the average Brit is going to feel bad for a couple in their 40s being expected to work. This entire article is absurd.
I also think the continued insistence that the Crown is such a burden is something that is losing credibility in 2024. for QEII – okay, becoming monarch at such a young age changed the course of her life and it was not what was planned for her (to become queen at 25.) Phillip had to carve out a different life for himself than what he had envisioned. so I think people understood that her becoming queen at 25 was perhaps a burden, maybe not how others view a “burden,” but a burden nonetheless.
And look, I don’t want to be queen of england – not as the monarch and not as consort, by any means, lol. But other monarchies don’t talk about it like this – or maybe we just dont hear about it? When Felipe became king, I don’t remember reading endless stories about whether he was “prepared” for the role and what a burden it would be on his daughters etc. With Denmark, there was a little discussion about the “shock” of the abdication this winter but there didn’t seem to be any doubt that Frederik and Mary were willing and able, besides the cheating stories. I don’t remember seeing any articles about their poor children and their parenting no longer being private etc.
If its such a burden, remove yourself from the line of succession. But William wants the money, he wants the power, he wants people to bow and scrape to him. so he won’t.
I just think with everything going on in this world, the narrative that W&K aren’t ready for the incredible burden that is the crown (while sending their children to exclusive schools, taking endless holidays, multiple mansions/castles as their homes, never worrying about bills or food on the table etc) is a narrative that is just going to start to rub people the wrong way.
Dane here! The whole narrative of the Crown as a “burden” seems to be unique to the British royals. Margrethe II has spoken of the Crown as a privilege and a responsibility. A while her abdication was a complete surprise there has been no talk about Fred not being ready (quite the opposite with CP Victoria as one of his most vocal supporters). Mostly, the professional commentators have been saying that he is ready, he is popular but that he has to be careful about not having to many fuck-ups (in a political sense, like his former membership of the Olympic Committee becoming problematic in relation to Danish policies).
The narrative of the Crown as a “burden” was really set with Elizabeth’s father unexpectedly becoming King – and the Queen Mother blamed his premature death on the stress of kingship. And then Elizabeth became Queen so young. This have now become an old an entrenched narrative in relation to the British monarchy but it arose out of exceptional circumstances.
Tina Brown may be trying to drum up sympathy, but if I didn’t know better, I might say she was invoking major shade. If it’s true that the now forty-one year old, billionaire heir to the British throne since birth feels “crushed by unpreparedness”? Who in their right mind would sympathize with that?! Judging by the comments here, nobody. Seems like this TB article is part of a plan to turn people against the BRF.
It is a sympathy play!
Maybe Julie Andrews can stop over and put them through monarch training.
FFS, they’re in their 40s. They’re just lazy and they’re panicking because they’re going to be required to get off their asses. And William probably knows, deep down, that he’ll never be adequate.
😂😂
Draft Julie Andrews.
100%. There is a reason William married Kate, quite apart from her meddling mother. In Kate, he saw a kindred spirit, as in, both workshy and she would never poke him to be better.
Nothing new here with these two. They want all the perks but none of the work. When they finally get the top job people will probably be mad if they continue to take every school holiday off and that’s making them sweat
The media and establishment have been pretending that the Wales are the Perfect Family, they are sober, traditional, dutiful, and reslient. None of those things are true. When they become King and Queen, their flaws will be more difficult to hide, especially without Harry to be the proxy king they expected him to be.
They will make asses of themselves, and make asses of the UK through their idiocy (the carribean disaster is just the beginning). I think their response will be to retreat and disappear even further, which will lead to lots of “where are they?” memes and jokes, especially outside the UK.
What you see from them now is what the UK will get–all the pretending in the world by the rota, all the hating on Meghan and Harry, won’t change that. Already, the only “message” coming from them consistently is “Will hates his brother.” Not exactly a message for a king.
They still haven’t learned what they should have from the “where’s Kate” fiasco? In an information vacuum, the public will fill it with the wackiest possiblities, for the fun of it. If they think “Kate has Cancer” makes them critique proof, they are mistaken.
William the unready is not fit to be king. Never has been, never will be. He LOOKED the part when Harry was here as his human shield. When Harry was doing the work William should have been doing. William loves power and money, and hates having to work for it. He can’t stand Kate and she can’t stand him. It’s all smoke and mirrors and gaslight for the masses. I’m sorry but this is very personal to me, but bone DOES NOT have cancer, she’s taking a profelactic because they found a couple of cells. Her own words were that she had HAD cancer but no more. They have done us a favour because this silence and absence have proved we do not need them.
Mary Pester, how are the two of them going to go forward, when it’s so obvious that they don’t like each other and don’t like to be around each other?
I agree that the longer the two are gone the less we’ll miss them.
@ Mary Pester: I agree 100%, well said.
Wait…. Did they not shoot a glossy video at the coronation, put out a presser how Wills would not have such an ostentatious coronation, how he’d rule differently, and release a 5-pager outlining his plans? But NOW they are paralyzed by fear and anxiety by the job? Idiots.
This is all just so bizarre. I can understand articles saying WanK are anxious because of the cancer, because of course being diagnosed with cancer is anxiety-inducing.
But I don’t get the impression from this that there’s any concern around her actual health, only that her cancer is only a factor because it’s somehow preventing all of them from ‘working’ which is also deeply, deeply bizarre – according to the video she doesn’t even HAVE cancer; she HAD cancer, past tense, but clearly the cancer hadn’t spread and the surgery removed all the cancer, she even said that the one round of clear-up chemo was purely preventative.
Why can Charles who is actively fighting cancer and is very elderly work, yet Kate who had a small patch of cancer successfully removed four months ago and had to undergo one round of adjunct chemo not able to even do a single Zoom meeting, or sit on a chair for 5 minutes? No one’s asking her to do a 12 hour shift on the tills in Tesco!
And why can’t William work?
Inpatient therapy for an eating disorder? They are notoriously hard to treat, require months of in patient therapy. And William? Treatment for alcoholism?. One possible answer
They’ve had more than a decade to learn and prepare for their upcoming roles, they’re just lazy and don’t want to do any of the work necessary to actually fulfill the role. No excuses, just pure laziness.
What stands out to me is Tina Brown’s comment that Kate is battling much more than cancer. I do believe that. I don’t believe the bench video is real; I believe it is AI, and as I believe it is another lie from KP, I also don’t believe she has cancer. (What, cancer makes you suddenly articulate?) Cancer has so much more leverage and cachet when you are wanting to shut up the legitimate noise of the world that developed because it cannot be fooled by fools. I believe she is inhouse somewhere getting serious help, and I am glad because of that, if true. (If she does have cancer, I am most truly sorry for her). I just don’t like being manipulated. I believe that the current reporting’s are a prelude to a roll out that Kate can’t-won’t-isn’t coming back and prelude to a divorce. I believe William is basting in the stew of Karma, and he doesn’t like the taste. The dislike of the world for him, his inability to manipulate everyone, is in direct contrast to the mollycoddling he has always received. Yeah he looks bad. Adversity though, is an opportunity to develop character.
The weaponization of any illness in an attempt to shut down questions is arrogant and disgusting.
If William does become King, I still think when push comes to shove, the rota will prop him up and polish him. It seems a distant memory of Charles with his gritted teeth like his father, jabbing his finger for a lackey to move something for him on that table.
I thought “frozen and unready” was meant to evoke sympathy for WanK and imply that they aen’t ghouls who are eagerly awaiting KFC’s impending death.
Curious what was meant by:
“But I also think that there’s a reason why Brown’s column is getting more traction right at this moment. It will be very interesting to come back to Brown’s piece six months from now to see if she was right on the money.”
Is this about Charles’ treatment not working or is cancer being more serious or is it about a divorce? Hmmm
I wonder what happens to the Duchy of Cornwall money when William becomes king. If I inherited a passive income of $20,000,000 per year, I would certainly think long and hard about early retirement. If I suddenly had that income yoinked away and put in trust for my oldest while I was forced to keep working, I might not be looking forward to accepting that long awaited public facing promotion.
William gets the duchy of Lancaster income. That’s where the personal wealth of the sovereign comes from. That’s how the Queen paid Andrew’s settlement. William will be completely fine, even better off, financially when he’s Duke of Lancaster bc I don’t think there’s as much oversight over the income that flows to the monarch.
Monlette, the Monarch has PERSONAL wealth. They’ve socked away money, art jewelry–that they own personally. Trust me. Billy Idle will be fine.
Believe me, these people ain’t hurting for money.
William will get the Duchy of Lancaster private money. It’s quite a lot. The Cornwall money would become George’s, although what would happen if George was not legal age when Charles died is up in the air.
Elizabeth never got the Cornwall money because she was always only the heiress presumptive. I presume the crown kept their paws on it.
The assets will be managed in accordance to the regency until his investiture as Prince of Wales once he’s an adult. Although, I’m not sure what would happen to the income.
It’s really public money, it is not a private estate, though the royals and their supporters maintain that it is. But Charles was proclaimed POW when a minor. I suppose the income is held in trust?
The news might be coming out now because Charles is ready to throw in the towel on William and force him to remove himself from the line of succession and this story ties into the reason they decided on. I mean, they very well can’t say he harmed his wife now can they? I suspect the three tiers of government are working round the clock to get ahead of the announcement of Kate’s permanent disappearance so William being tired/scared/incandescent and Kate being tired because of illness seems the most plausible. I suspect they’ll also announce that Baldilocks and KKKate are leaving Britain to go recuperate or whatever. William is toast. I sincerely hope Kate is still alive cos I’ve got no reason to wish her dead even if it’s deserved karma.
@Kaiser, what’s the reason?
And what happened to all the articles they put out about how Charles should step aside?
I have a little bit of tea from here in Scotland (not as good as Mary P’s)
My neighbours worked with Charles on the renovation of Dumfries House, a stately home in Ayr.
They said he was charming. William who they met a few times was the opposite, surly & rude. I can only imagine what he’s like in private
Thanks Liz; I can believe it. I’ve met William and he can be very rude, but also charming when things are going his way. He would be a nightmare to live with. I don’t know how Kate has done it for all these years. That Crown must be everything to her …
I remember Brown constantly criticizing the Sussexes and their media strategy, and how they’re flailing etc. etc. She gave them zero grace or empathy, while holding up the others as a paragon of perfection. Meanwhile we all see the mess that cane out of KP, ling before this communication fiasco regarding Kate’s disappearance and health. Let her spin over the future of the monarchy while the two principles disappear. Who knows what will happen but people like Brown are so biased that watching them have to spin and deny reality until it hurts is funny.