Tag: prince-william

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Kate Middleton Prince William royals

Prince William ‘joked’ about Duchess Kate ‘getting ideas’ about having another baby

prince-william-‘joked’-about-duchess-kate-‘getting-ideas’-about-having-another-baby

It wasn’t all creepy copykeening during the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s day-trip to Clitheroe Community Hospital on Thursday. They were there to meet members of the community and to talk about health care and mental health and keenery. At one point, Kate saw a mother with a baby girl. Kate ended up holding the baby for a bit and Kate didn’t seem to want to give the baby back to her mom. So William just had to make a “joke” about how they were not going to have anymore babies.

From cuddling with a puppy to holding a baby, Kate Middleton had an adorable day! Kate, 40, and Prince William, 39, traveled to rural Lancashire on Thursday to check in on health staff who have faced unique challenges during the coronavirus pandemic at Clitheroe Community Hospital.

While taking photos with some families, the couple met Trudi and Alastair Barrie and their daughter, Anastasia. Kate held the baby girl as they posed for a photo, causing onlookers to coo and prompting Prince William to joke, “Don’t give my wife any more ideas!”

As Kate handed the baby back to her parents, William quipped, “Don’t take her with you.”

[From People]

William has a history of “joking” about how he doesn’t want any more children and how Kate is kind of baby-crazy. I think Kate would have liked to have another child too, to have four kids (like QEII). The royal gossip at the time was that Kate had to “convince” William to have a third child, and her pregnancy with Louis was not easy. None of her pregnancies have been easy, but I think she enjoys being pregnant and having babies. She’s just that kind of woman – she likes having a baby in the house. William likely told her “no more” after Louis. Still, I find this whole exchange just… I don’t know, kind of awkward.

„Don’t give my wife any more ideas!“

„Don’t take her with you.“

😁

📸 @john_deehan #DukeandDuchessofCambridge #DuchessofCambridge pic.twitter.com/2rbMebpMQO

— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) January 20, 2022

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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Prince Andrew Prince William Queen Elizabeth II royals

Queen Elizabeth ‘will be holding her hands up in despair’ over Andrew & Harry

queen-elizabeth-‘will-be-holding-her-hands-up-in-despair’-over-andrew-&-harry

Do you feel in any way “sorry” for Queen Elizabeth in the Prince Andrew debacle? I do not. Not even a little. Andrew’s situation was not something that caught her by surprise this month. This was not the first time she’s ever understood that Andrew has significant issues, like the fact that he was BFFs with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, or the fact that he’s facing a massive lawsuit after being credibly accused of rape. Liz has known about all of these issues for years now, and she’s done everything in her power to protect and coddle her favorite son. So… you know, completely miss me with the “poor Queenie is distraught” stories. But I guess someone’s buying it.

The Queen will be despairing over the actions of some of her family members, a royal expert has said. Last week Buckingham Palace confirmed the news that Prince Andrew, 61, was stripped of his honorary royal titles and military patronages and will no longer be able to the term ‘His Royal Highness’.

And as the Duke of York continues to battle the Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s sex abuse allegations after the judge dismissed his legal team’s attempt to have the case thrown out, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond has said the monarch, 95, will be ‘holding her hands up in despair’.

Meanwhile Prince Harry’s battle to be allowed police security protection for his family when he returns to the UK is also ongoing. Speaking to OK! magazine, Jennie said: ‘I think The Queen will be holding her hands up in despair with her children and some of her grandchildren. Everybody feels for the Queen now with the Andrew debacle, but I think there has to be some equity between Harry and Andrew now. There was the argument and it probably wasn’t correct, but if Harry has been stripped of his titles then Andrew should have been some time ago.’

And addressing Prince Harry’s battle to be allowed police security protection on his return to the UK, Jennie said he ‘couldn’t have it both ways’, but added: ‘If Harry is not going to be allowed to have security over here unless he’s staying in a royal residence then perhaps Andrew’s security should be looked at too.’

[From The Daily Mail]

“If Harry has been stripped of his titles then Andrew should have been some time ago…” I mean… yeah. Let’s say it that way, I guess. Unless saying it like that inevitably begs the question as to why didn’t Liz strip Andrew of his titles before now? Is it because she knew exactly what he’d done and how awful he is and she just chose to protect him anyway? Because it wasn’t like he married a Black American woman!

Nevermind the fact that ol’ Liz probably didn’t even make the decision on Andrew. Charles and William were apparently working in concert, or at least that’s what they’d have people believe:

“William, in fact, was very involved in this decision, and it’s been said that he met with the queen in person ahead of their announcement that came out last week,” royal expert Kristin Contino exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, January 18. “I think that really shows — and I think that’s interesting — his growing influence and how she trusts his judgment and is looking for his advice. And I think that’s a great sign of things to come for William and how much she is relying on talking to him and his counsel.”

“Charles, of course, was involved in that decision too,” the A House Full of Windsor author added. “But I think [what] a lot of people thought was interesting is William’s heavy involvement in that. So I think she really is leaning on her two heirs at this time [to] help make those sort of big family decisions.”

[From Us Weekly]

It should also be noted that the Queen hasn’t been seen/photographed since December 15th, I think. They released a photo of her for her Christmas speech, but that photo was taken in mid-December too, the same time she recorded the Christmas message. Again, this could absolutely be a Weekend at Bernie’s situation, we truly don’t know.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.

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Prince William royals

Prince William laughed & ignored a question about ‘supporting’ Prince Andrew

prince-william-laughed-&-ignored-a-question-about-‘supporting’-prince-andrew

Prince William was Tag-along Baldemort yesterday for what was originally supposed to be a Kate-only event. Kate and William visited the Foundling Museum where – I believe – Kate was supposed to highlight the Early Years and foster care and all of that. That’s HER issue. But there was William, bumbling along, jazz-handing alongside his wife. Someone brought this up in the comments and I think it’s probably true: William tags along to Kate’s events when something scandalous or controversial is happening in the family. William is there as Kate’s minder, in case she gets a question about Meghan, Harry or (in this case) Prince Andrew. Personally, I would like to see what would happen if Kate did get a question she wasn’t prepared for. I think she would probably be able to lie with ease, but who knows? She might malfunction like a Stepford Wife robot. In any case, Chris Ship at ITV did ask William about Prince Andrew and William ignored the question:

Prince William offered no comment when asked about his uncle Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his royal patronages and military affiliations amid a sexual assault lawsuit against him.

Prince William, 39, and Kate Middleton, 40, visited the Foundling Museum — which tells the story of the 18th-century Foundling Hospital, the U.K.’s first children’s charity — on Wednesday. As the couple was heading out, ITV reporter Chris Ship asked William, “Your Royal Highness, can I just ask, do you support Prince Andrew?”

“Sorry, I can’t hear you,” Prince William said as he leaned in closer.

“Do you support Prince Andrew?” the reporter repeated.

Prince William did not reply and returned his attention to exiting the building as a woman thanked the couple for coming.

[From People]

I’m including the video below – William looked like he was about to say something when other people flurried around him, blocking Chris Ship. It looks like William laughed? It was an uncomfortable laugh, but it was still… not great. They’re all pretty bad at this. Charles ignored the Andrew question over the weekend too. While Charles and William are both eager to take credit for “pushing out” Andrew, neither of them wants to address the mess directly.

Prince William was asked about Prince Andrew at the end of a visit he and Kate made to the @FoundlingMuseum in London.

“Do you support Prince Andrew?” a reporter asked the Duke of Cambridge.

The response was about as detailed as Prince Charles’ on Friday (zero). https://t.co/zZ53gmdnv4 pic.twitter.com/7KYbogfwoZ

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) January 19, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.

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Fashion Kate Middleton Prince William royals

Duchess Kate wore Jigsaw trousers for her first event in more than five weeks

duchess-kate-wore-jigsaw-trousers-for-her-first-event-in-more-than-five-weeks

No mask, no personality, no preparation, just vibes. The Duchess of Cambridge stepped out for her first event of the year, and her first formal, public event since her piano recital on December 8th (she was photographed at church on Christmas day, which I’m sure counts as an event, but let’s be real). I wondered aloud during our Gossip with Celebitchy podcast if perhaps it would have been smarter during Kate’s birthday keenery if she had actually stepped out to do an event *before* her 40th birthday. I guess no one would or could convince her.

So here we are, with Kate’s first event of 2022. She had a long Christmas and birthday holiday and she and William stopped by the Foundling Museum. It’s a museum devoted to telling the story of the Foundling Hospital, the UK’s first children’s charity/hospital for abandoned children. William and Kate did a “roundtable discussion” with experts about foster care and the challenges modern youths can

As for fashion, Kate wore a black sweater, a pair of black Jigsaw trousers (retail: £130) and a blue coat which is apparently a repeat. She also wore £7 earrings from Accessorize. It’s truly remarkable how Kate decided that she can put together business-casual trouser-looks with separates. Kate only figured that out once she saw Meghan do it. Never. Stop. Copykeening. Also: Will and Kate did wear masks as they entered the museum, but then removed the masks inside during the roundtable discussion.

PS… It definitely feels like William was, once again, tagging along to one of Kate’s solo events. He’s either worried that she’s going to make an ass out of herself, or he has so little going on that he just latches on to her sh-t. Tagalong Baldemort.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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Prince Andrew prince charles Prince William royals

Prince William fundamentally believes Prince Andrew’s ‘heart is in the right place’

prince-william-fundamentally-believes-prince-andrew’s-‘heart-is-in-the-right-place’

About 24 hours after Prince Andrew lost his HRH-style and his patronages, he hosted a shooting party at Royal Lodge, on the Windsor estate. Again, just a reminder: the Queen did not actually take away that much from Andrew. Yes, he’s sad to lose his HRH, but he hadn’t done anything with his patronages in over two years. He was only the patron of record during that time, and most of his patronages wanted to dump him a while ago. He still has his lease on Royal Lodge. He’ll still be invited to Balmoral. Mummy is still paying his bills and okaying shooting parties on the Windsor estate. Anyway, the Daily Beast had a rundown of some of the other Andrew stories happening over the weekend, so let’s do highlights:

The shooting party: The Sun on Sunday reports that he hosted a shooting party at Windsor on Friday, but didn’t take part. He and Sarah Ferguson joined the shooting group for lunch. A source said: “It seems quite brazen of Andrew to host a party and let his family go shooting with all the controversy raging.” The shoot, it was reported, may have been a Christmas present from the queen to Andrew’s daughter Eugenie.

Sanguine Andrew: A source told the Sunday Times of the queen cutting him loose: “He is quite sanguine about it. He was mindful of the intense pressures building on the institution and recognized it was the right thing to do.”

Tumultuous Andrew: However, sources close to Andrew speaking to the Sun claim he is “feeling like his insides have been ripped out.” A friend says: “He is in turmoil. Up until now, on advice of his lawyers, he didn’t think it would go this far. But he has now finally realized how bad the situation is and feels he has let the Queen down. He desperately wants to make amends, although he accepts that it will take a long time. He is relying on the love and support of his family to get through this.” Ex-wife Sarah Ferguson is “just trying to support him as she always has,” a friend tells the paper.

Tearful Andrew: A senior defense source told the Mirror that Andrew was “tearful” when the queen told him on Thursday she was stripping him of his titles and patronages. “The Prince was tearful when told the news even though he had expected it,” the source said. “He feels that he has let so many people down, not least his mother, during her Platinum Jubilee year.” Senior military figures see Andrew as “a bloody embarrassment,” the source added.

The Windsors have been talking about Andrew for a while: The Sunday Times also details the Christmas conversations featuring Prince Charles and Prince William that sealed Andrew’s fate, even though the queen took the lead on wielding the axe itself. “Conversations have been going on for a while,” a palace source told the Times. “The family were always clear that some of the duke’s advisers were too optimistic and these decisions were always going to have to happen.” It wasn’t just Charles and William sticking their two cents in. “Anne and Edward had more than a passing interest,” the source said.

The Queen buries her head in the sand: A royal source said of the queen herself: “She has had the opportunity to shut this down for the past two years—but she will do anything for a quiet life, and buries her head in the sand on family matters.” Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction was pivotal. Andrew might have escaped his expulsion “if Maxwell had been freed or the case had fallen apart.” The infamous BBC Newsnight interview, in which Andrew dripped with arrogance and self-delusion, didn’t lead to the queen to taking action “because he still had enough clout with his mother to convince her he’d get it over the line,” a source said. “Nobody had the energy to really dispatch him.”

How Charles & William really feel: Charles was the “acting chief exec” and “the driving force” on Andrew’s demise. As for William, “there is a frustration over Andrew’s awful judgement, but fundamentally William thinks his heart is in the right place.”

[From The Daily Beast]

Re: William and his “frustration over Andrew’s awful judgement, but fundamentally William thinks his heart is in the right place…” What? Andrew was BFFs with a pair of pedophile human traffickers and Andrew stands accused of raping at least one trafficking victim. Andrew’s defense is built on shaming Virginia Giuffre for being a victim of trafficking and trying to argue that victims shouldn’t sue their abusers. But sure, Willy, Andrew’s “heart is in the right place.”

Re: “Nobody had the energy to really dispatch him” – all that means is the Queen has been digging in her heels for years and everyone knew she was wrong but she refused to listen to anyone but Andrew. Which speaks more to her own lack of morality.

Latest in today’s @TheSun Dozen friends stay at Andy’s mansion for shooting party, friends say he is in “turmoil” and “penny has dropped, and we can reveal TWO witnesses who can place Andy with Virginia are being pursued by her lawyers. pic.twitter.com/cKD54hsLk5

— Matt Wilkinson (@MattSunRoyal) January 16, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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Prince Andrew Prince William royals

LOL, Prince William was apparently ‘incandescent’ about Prince Andrew

lol,-prince-william-was-apparently-‘incandescent’-about-prince-andrew

As soon as Prince Andrew’s HRH style and patronages were removed, we knew that Prince Charles and Prince William would be falling all over themselves to take credit for “convincing” the Queen to toss Andrew in the trash. In the days that followed Andrew’s “defenestration,” that’s exactly what happened. Kensington Palace elves ran around telling everyone that Willileaks was “instrumental” in his uncle’s dismissal, that William spoke to his grandmother face-to-face for an hour at Windsor Castle, that all-seeing future-king William understands the gravity of Andrew’s current debacles. And we know it’s coming from William’s side because the word “incandescent” was used:

Prince William has been ­“incandescent” at how his uncle has behaved throughout the legal saga. The Queen ruthlessly made her mind up on Wednesday, and she had some help coming to her conclusion. The Mirror ­understands the irate Duke is angry at his uncle for bringing the Royal Family into disrepute. A source said: “The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge are completely aligned in their view that the Duke of York has presided over a complete and utter disaster.” It is believed detailed discussions within the family had been going on for weeks with William aware action was required.

The Queen and Prince William spoke at length in her private quarters before the decision was reached. A royal source said last night the Duke of Cambridge was locked in talks “for more than an hour” with his gran. William, 39, is understood to have made sure no stone was left unturned.

Additionally, Prince Andrew fears financial ruin amid the on-going sex case. Mounting legal bills and a potential £10million settlement with his accuser has left him counting the cost of being banished from the royal family. But the Queen has offered her son a lifeline. She will not foot any legal bills, but sources have confirmed that Andrew will not lose his security detail. The Queen would privately meet the cost of his £300,000 protection if he is left broke.

[From The Daily Mirror]

Willileaks leaking that he spoke to his grandmother for an hour and “left no stone unturned.” I wonder what that was like – I imagine that William was screaming, stomping his feet, with his fists balled up and his face turning red. And the Queen looked at her incandescent grandson and understood that this too would be a problem further down the line. Maybe Liz just thinks that Willy will be Chuck’s mess to clean up.

Notice too how none of the papers can stick to one story about who said what and when. According to other outlets, Charles, Anne and Edward were discussing this with the Queen over Christmas. But William and Kate were in Norfolk over Christmas, which is why William needed his own incandescent storyline of how he barged his way into Windsor Castle, engorged with rage.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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Prince Andrew Prince William Queen Elizabeth II

Prince Andrew is ‘shellshocked’ by the Queen removing his HRH & patronages

prince-andrew-is-‘shellshocked’-by-the-queen-removing-his-hrh-&-patronages

Garden party at Buckingham Palace

There’s wall-to-wall coverage in the British papers about Prince Andrew. And Boris Johnson, if truth be told, because BoJo and his Tory buddies were holding non-stop parties at Downing Street during the British lockdown. In fact, I halfway wonder if the Queen was deployed to take some heat off the Tory government this week. As we discussed, Andrew’s patronages have been taken away and he’s not allowed to use his HRH style. Someone leaked to the NY Post that Andrew was hurt by how “cutting” the Queen was when she told him face-to-face that she was taking away all of his shiny toys:

Prince Andrew was told face-to-face by his mother, Queen Elizabeth, that he will no longer be known as His Royal Highness, The Post is told. Looking stony-faced, the embattled Duke of York was driven a few miles from his house, Royal Lodge, to Windsor Castle on Thursday morning. There, the Queen, 95, broke the news that she was stripping her 61-year-old son of all his remaining military titles and royal patronages in the wake of the sex-assault lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

And while the two reportedly remain close, the royal source told The Post: “There was nothing from the Queen about her sadness or dismay, nothing emotional at all. It was so cutting.”

Sources speculated that the Queen, who is believed to have been funding Andrew’s legal defense from her private accounts, may continue to do so. It’s reported that he receives around $323,000 a year from her.

[From The NY Post]

Yeah, I don’t buy that Andrew found it cutting at all, especially since mummy is still going to give him lots of money. I doubt this was some kind of cold, formal ceremony either. It was probably just Liz, her favorite son and maybe a handful of senior aides. Andrew was told that all of this was happening for the good of the institution (and he likely agreed) and mummy promised to still pay his bills and fund his legal defense, and probably his potential settlement with Virginia Giuffre too. The rest of this is just bullsh-t meant to make Liz, Chuck and Baldy look tough and authoritative. Speaking of:

Prince Andrew is “shell-shocked” after the Queen stripped him of his military titles and royal patronages, a source close to him has said. It comes as the royal family is said to be ‘furious’ with the prince over sex claims and dragging the family into disrepute. And a source close to Andrew last night described him as “shell-shocked”.

William met the Queen in her private quarters at Windsor Castle, where sources said it was decided the “axe should swiftly fall” on Andrew’s royal career. A royal source said last night the Duke of Cambridge was locked in talks “for more than an hour” with his gran.

Another suggested the Queen came to “the ­realisation Andrew’s position was grave indeed” after ­conversations with Princes Charles and William.

The source added: “If as expected Andrew offers and goes ahead with a multi-million pound settlement then his position will become untenable. The Queen could not take the chance of it coming to that and decided, along with her two heirs, the time for action had come.”

A royal source said: “The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge are completely aligned in their view that the Duke of York has presided over a complete and utter disaster.”

[From The Daily Mirror]

I think Andrew is an arrogant dipsh-t, but again, he’s not shellshocked. He knew what was coming – between losing in court and Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction, things had been going in this direction for weeks, if not months and years. And the idea of William talking to the Queen for an hour about Andrew has to go… again, I just don’t think that’s what really happened here. Something to keep your eye on: who bought Andrew’s Swiss chalet, how did Andrew pay off the $9 million outstanding debt on the chalet, and who is actually paying Andrew’s legal bills?

Royal Ascot Photo: Albert Nieboer / Netherlands OUT / Point De Vue OUT

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.