Following the Princess of Wales’s cancer & chemotherapy announcement on Friday, the weekend was full of stories about… Prince William. How William is doing, how William is coping, how William is the hero of this situation. Even though it’s clear, in retrospect, that William’s staffers were the ones throwing a woman with cancer under the bus to protect their clownish media strategies. That’s all been wiped clean, I suppose and we’re being introduced to Heroic William, the man who would stand by his wife through thick and thin. Interesting. From Rebecca English’s piece, “When I saw William this week, he looked like he’d the weight of the world on his shoulders. But he’s proving what a class act he is.”

He is a man born into centuries of tradition and steeped in duty – but is a husband and father first. Time and time again over the years, Prince William has made clear that while he takes seriously the burden of his future role as king and his current responsibilities as heir to the throne, he will never put them before his wife and family. Those qualities will be needed now, more than ever before.

William has always made clear how proud he is of Kate, both personally and in the way she has embraced her role. Indeed not so long ago, while talking to me about his own work, he made a point of bringing her into the conversation, stressing how he would see her sitting in their lounge, night after night, poring over papers relating to her groundbreaking work on children’s early years. It was abundantly clear he wanted the world to know that she was his equal, and more. And he has always emphasised that it was Kate who was the brains behind their joint Heads Together campaign with Prince Harry to break the national stigma around mental health.

But more importantly, I would suggest, it is the princess’s grounded brilliance as a mother, and the joy and happiness that she and their family have brought him, that has irrevocably changed William’s life.

He is a child of a broken marriage and warring parents, and grew up in the white heat of the public limelight. Kate’s steadiness, diligence and discretion have been just what he needed as a man. I don’t think any of us can even begin to understand how difficult the past few months will have been for William. Just watching what his wife has been going through: The worry of major abdominal surgery, the joyous news that the surgery had been successful, and then the heart-stopping diagnosis that, in fact, cancer had been found. Add to that his father’s own surgery and subsequent cancer diagnosis… well, that’s a hard load for anyone to bear.

…It is also a sign of the solidity of their relationship that both they and their staff were at pains to stress yesterday that their children have been at the heart of everything they have done since January, in spite of the sometimes hideously unbearable provocation they have received, particularly on social media.

Indeed, as aides briefed a small group of journalists, including myself, about the cancer news that they were about to break to the world yesterday, there was not one attempt to finger-point at the gossip-mongers who have caused the prince and princess so much distress in recent weeks. The fact that the couple have not publicly lambasted the trolls, and instead focused on their children and those who have found themselves in the same, frightening position, shows what a class act they are. Several of us asked whether their statement had been issued now to counter those vultures. And while it was made clear that they hoped that speculation would now end, it was also stressed the announcement was very much being made around the children.

[From The Daily Mail]

Much is being done, right before our eyes, in real time, to pivot everything around Kate’s statement. Palace incompetence is being buried and forgotten, conversations about manipulated photos (blamed entirely on Kate) are being wiped clean, and William’s odd behavior this year is also being rewritten, clearly. Some of what we could see in the past few months can legitimately be explained by William and Kate focusing on their children and Kate’s recovery. But there is a lot being buried, whitewashed and covered up too. Also: why the f–k did Kensington Palace allow that Tatler cover story to go through? It’s insane in retrospect – there’s barely any mention of Kate, and it’s all about embiggening William alone.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, cover courtesy of Tatler.

London, UK, 07 February 2024: William, Prince of Wales arrives to attend the London’s Air Ambulance Charity Gala Dinner at the OWO in central London.,Image: 844429435, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: DANIEL LEAL / Avalon

London, UK, 07 February 2024: William, Prince of Wales (R) with US actor Tom Cruise at the London Air Ambulance Charity Gala Dinner at the OWO in central London.,Image: 844429536, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: DANIEL LEAL / Avalon

The Prince of Wales, president of Bafta, attends the Bafta Film Awards 2024, at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London.,Image: 848011043, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt / Avalon

The Prince of Wales, president of Bafta, attends the Bafta Film Awards 2024, at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London.,Image: 848022772, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt / Avalon

The Prince of Wales meets EE Rising Stars Phoebe Dynevor, Ayo Edebiri, Sophie Wilde and Mia McKenna Bruce after the Bafta Film Awards 2024, at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London.,Image: 848094485, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt / Avalon

Prince William, Prince of Wales arriving at the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday 18 February 2024 at Royal Festival Hall, London. .,Image: 848129762, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights – Julie Edwards/Avalon.Red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards / Avalon

The Prince of Wales, Patron of London’s Air Ambulance Charity, talks with Air Ambulance pilots, doctors and paramedics, at the London’s Air Ambulance charity gala dinner at Raffles London at The OWO, in Horseguards Avenue, London Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 07 Feb 2024 Credit: Daniel Leal/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**

The Prince of Wales touches the hand of Renee Salt, 94, a Holocaust survivor, during a visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in London Featuring: Renee Salt, William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 29 Feb 2024 Credit: Toby Melville/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**

The Prince of Wales wears a kippah as he visits the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in London Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 29 Feb 2024 Credit: Toby Melville/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**

The Prince of Wales looks on as he visits the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in London Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 29 Feb 2024 Credit: Toby Melville/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**

The Prince of Wales and Chairman of Wrexham AFC Rob McElhenney share a drink during a visit to The Turf public house at Wrexham AFC in Wrexham, to hear about how it plays a key role as a hub for the local area, and the support it provides to local causes Featuring: William, Prince of Wales, Rob McElhenney Where: Wrexham, United Kingdom When: 01 Mar 2024 Credit: Chris Jackson/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**