Things may have quieted down this past week in comparison with last which saw the Cambridges’ baby announcement, Meghan Markle’s Vanity Fair cover and Prince George’s first day of school, but that didn’t mean the Duke of Cambridge wasn’t out and about, delivering on the promise that he would be doubling down on his public duties. Even so, the biggest news from this week was undoubtedly the fact that there was a break-in at George’s preschool, Thomas’s Battersea.
Twice in 24 hours, a 40-year-old woman entered the preschool, presumably in the hopes of encountering George. She has subsequently been arrested, with early reports indicating she suffers from mental health issues and has recently become fixated on the Cambridge family. Fortunately, George wasn’t at school during either incident – his class currently leaves by lunchtime.
William was out and about in Liverpool on Thursday when he remarked that it had been an “interesting” week. He noted that the Duchess of Cambridge is doing well, and that George doesn’t seem to have picked up on the fact that he now has to attend school every day – honestly, I feel for him. At his age I have a vague recollection of asking my mother each morning if it was the weekend yet, because I knew those were the days I didn’t have to go to school but didn’t quite grasp their cadence. Look, I’ve never been a fan of mornings.
As for George’s first day, William admitted, “Most of the parents were in floods of tears. The kids were all fine.”
At an engagement at Aintree University Hospital, William made a few other asides about his children, namely that, “George rules the roost but Charlotte’s not far behind.” I think we all got that sense during her fabulous temper tantrum in Germany.
Later, when asked about Charlotte, he responded, “She’s going to be trouble when she’s older, but all fathers say that.”
As for the other prince driving headlines, there’s a rumor circulating that Prince Harry introduced Meghan to the Queen at Balmoral. The main driver of the story is a U.S. tabloid, however it has been confirmed by Ingrid Seward, royal biographer and Editor-in-Chief of Majesty magazine, who says the introduction took place after the couple returned from Botswana last month. And that makes some sense – there was a weekend in-between the White Garden engagement and the following Monday’s baby news that Harry was reportedly out of town with Meghan. Balmoral is as good a guess as any, I suppose, and I do find it likely that Harry would introduce Meghan to his grandmother prior to an engagement announcement, despite what some other sources say.
As for other gossip, there’s now a story circulating that Christopher Geidt, the Queen’s former private secretary who recently announced his resignation, was forced out at the behest of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York. If it’s true, it’s the first story I’ve heard of Charles and Andrew working together. Anyway, the issue was apparently over Geidt’s desire to align Clarence House with Buckingham Palace in the wake of the Duke of Edinburgh’s retirement, a goal that’s been tried and failed before and doesn’t necessarily support other agendas to give Charles more responsibility ahead of his 70th’s birthday in 2018.
As for our favorite duchess, there’s no news coming out of Kensington Palace about Kate. While William mentioned she’s doing well, that doesn’t of course mean that she’s not still ill and unsurprisingly there’s no indication she’ll be undertaking a public engagement anytime soon. My guess we have another few weeks to go without Kate, but I’m hopeful she’ll pop up in October, not November.
In the meantime, Vogue did an interesting article on how royal pregnancy announcements have changed since the Queen’s time, which is worth a quick read.