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Roya Nikkhah at the Times of London got a full briefing from Kensington Palace, if not Prince William himself. It seems that there is some awareness in KP that their squirrelly non-disclosures about the Princess of Wales’s vague abdominal surgery and extended convalescence have not gone down the way they were expecting. That’s why so many friends-of-Bill have been called on to write overwrought columns about how William is Kate’s rock and he would move heaven and earth to protect her (and yet he refuses to visit her daily). It definitely feels like there’s been pushback on William in particular for his suggestion that he should also free his schedule entirely for the next three months. So William did what he always does: he pushed it all back on Kate. Per Nikkhah’s new piece, “Kate will work from bed while William does the school run.”
It is understood the King, who will have a “corrective procedure” in hospital this week for an enlarged prostate and will also be out of action with public duties for a few weeks, is fully supportive of William’s decision to prioritise family over monarchy while his wife recovers.
Unless they are on engagements or working overseas, William or Catherine always do the school drop-off and pick-up every day at Lambrook, in Berkshire. William, who visited Catherine in hospital on Thursday morning and over the weekend, is now doing both drop-off and pick-up for their three children, helped at home by their nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, who has been with them since 2014 but does not live-in.
Weekends are usually spent at Adelaide Cottage because of the children’s sporting commitments, and they tend to visit Anmer Hall, their Norfolk home, only during the school holidays. Catherine’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, who are attentive grandparents living in nearby Bucklebury and “regulars” at Lambrook for sports matches and school events, will also be on hand to help.
Once home in Windsor, Catherine’s diary will be cleared and replaced with rest — something the active princess may find a bit of an adjustment. Until her hospital admission last week, Kate’s days were usually filled with school runs, meetings and calls in Windsor or Kensington Palace with her private office, Royal Foundation team and charities and patronages, official engagements (she undertook 134 last year, William 175, the Duchess of Edinburgh 179, and Princess Anne, with 410, came second only to the King) and usually, some form of exercise. The exception is the children’s school holidays, typically about 19 weeks a year, when the Waleses fiercely guard their family time and aides are loath to disturb them.
Last week, Kensington Palace contacted Catherine’s 30 charities and patronages to confirm postponing and rescheduling engagements. She has been without a private secretary for more than a year, but her assistant private secretary, Natalie Burrows, who has stepped up in the interim, will continue to hold the fort alongside William’s private secretary, Jean-Christophe Gray, a Whitehall mandarin who will return to government in the spring. Kensington Palace is expected to announce a new “chief executive” to lead their team.
While Catherine is unlikely to be in action until after Easter, aides insist her work will not stall. Last January, she launched a campaign, Shaping Us, to raise public awareness around the importance of the first five years of a child’s life. Building on the work from the Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood which Catherine founded in 2021, the campaign will continue to be her primary focus this year, and work driven by her will be continuing behind the scenes.
Those close to her say that while she will be out of sight for much of the next few months, her interest in her work will be undimmed and she is unlikely to be able to clear the decks completely. An aide said: “Knowing her, I don’t envisage that will be the case. Her passion for the early years is clear, there will be a huge continuation of that campaign and she will be keen to be out continuing that conversation with the nation as soon as possible.”
The Italians, who were set to welcome William and Catherine on an official visit in March, will need to be patient while that tour is rescheduled depending on the princess’s recovery and there will be a short wait for Catherine’s charities until she is back out championing their causes.
In addition to name-checking Shaping Us, Katie Keen’s Business Taskforce also got a mention, especially since they had a meeting at Windsor Castle last Monday, a meeting which Kate did not attend. They’re also fluffing up Kate’s Keen Early Years Center, which is funding some more pie charts and busywork studies. I appreciate how dramatic Nikkhah tries to make it sound, like Kate’s charities are used to being in constant contact with her and Kate’s absence will reverberate throughout Britain’s charitable scene. It’s also interesting that this medical situation happened when Kate has been without a private secretary for (by my count) fifteen months. Incidentally, KP still hasn’t hired a CEO either. Jeez. Quite disorganized over there, which might explain the briefings around Kate’s hospitalization. Hopefully she will be OK.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Kensington Palace.
Catherine, Princess of Wales visits the Design Museum where she made a key note speech at the “Shaping Us” National Symposium in London, UK, 15 November 2023,Image: 822201109, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Pohle / Avalon
Catherine, Princess of Wales visits the Design Museum where she made a key note speech at the “Shaping Us” National Symposium in London, UK, 15 November 2023,Image: 822201197, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Pohle / Avalon
Catherine, Princess of Wales visits the Design Museum where she made a key note speech at the “Shaping Us” National Symposium in London, UK, 15 November 2023,Image: 822201229, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Pohle / Avalon
Catherine, Princess of Wales laughs as she listens to Tony Blair and William Hague swap anecdotes as they speak at the “Shaping Us” National Symposium at the Design Museum in London, UK, 15 November 2023,Image: 822228646, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Pohle / Avalon
Catherine, Princess of Wales hosts the inaugural meeting of her new Business Taskforce for Early Childhood at NatWest’s headquarters in the City of London where they will discuss why Early Childhood is so critical for business.
Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 21 Mar 2023
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages
**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Catherine, Princess of Wales hosts the inaugural meeting of her new Business Taskforce for Early Childhood at NatWest’s headquarters in the City of London where they will discuss why Early Childhood is so critical for business.
Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 21 Mar 2023
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages
**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
