Barker is going to be busy.

Lots of things are going to be happening in the next few weeks.

Did Mary not have a better dress to wear for this picture?

Because I can barely make out the emerald necklace due to all the dark green/turquoise lace.

Loved the submission you just posted! And wanted to comment on something mentioned in it - “I think there has been a serious breach between Charles and William.”

IMHO - the reason for this is clear if you pay attention in that the public embraced Charles III as King.

William truly believed what his mother and the media have claimed for decades - that the public would revolt when KC3 became King, except that never happened. Immediately after his accession, KP still played nice but from my observation that all shifted after the German state visit. That’s when the decades of work KC put in as Prince of Wales started paying off - the rapturous welcome, speaking German in Parliament, receiving firsts that Lizzie never did like the Air Force escort.

After that the briefing against The King from KP has been relentless, same as they briefed against H&M, as well as the public disrespect because they know the media won’t criticize them to keep those exclusives flowing.

There’s not going to be joint engagements between father and son because William cannot be trusted to position himself publicly as serving his father. The last years of QEIIs life, Charles was regent in all but official title but not once did Clarence House ever brief anyone to refer to him as such. KP can’t even bring themselves to say that Willy does investitures “on behalf of The King”. He will gladly not only take credit for his fathers work without honoring, like town developments in the Duchy, but attribute it to being inspired by his long-dead mother.

I hate to admit that Harry has a point when he says William is the problem. He’s drunk off his own self importance (hid well by the same PR facade Harry benefitted from) but he’s hoping that pretty family pics and media obedience will hide something any thinking person should be able to admit - he’s a woefully inadequate Prince of Wales compared to his father and is shaping up to be an even worse King.

Yup.

And I do have to wonder how far William thinks he can take his secret pissing match with his father. To what extent will William try to upstage his father because William is used to being the UK media's "goldenboy." Because William is used to having people whitewash his reputation in the media because he was the heir, and Harry's exploits were always published to make William keep looking good.

I'm reminded of the comments @helenaaurelia made about William after he threw Lady Susan Hussey under the bus, almost a year and a half ago.

A:

Its making me rethink everything he’s done, everything the palace has done. I’ve always blamed the more heartless decisions on Charles ,with William just supporting his father. Now I’m wondering if the roles have been reversed, looking at the changes that seemed to have occurred as William became more and more powerful, wondering how much of it he was responsible for. I just deleted a whole paragraph of speculation, deciding that he probably doesn’t deserve me thinking out loud about every ruthless and possibly heartless decision the BRF has made in the last decade and wondering if he was behind it. (No I won’t tell you what I deleted, that’s the point of deleting it.) From now on though, I’m looking at him through the same lens I look at Charles with. No more benefit of doubt for William.

and B:

The stories about him reminding everyone exactly who he is and who he’s going to be. I always assumed they were false, and that the stories of him always humbly waiting in line, not telling anyone who he is, trying to fly under the radar, being a nice helpful, friendly guy were all true. Now I wonder why I was so quick to believe the good about him and so quick to dismiss the bad. I still think he’s a kind, decent man who truly wants to do good. I just will no longer dismiss any unpleasant stories about him without the same scrutiny I give stories about everyone else.

And I think the anon from yesterday is totally right that "William is having a mental crisis of some sort."

The KP timeline of Kate's cancer and William's work schedule doesn't make sense. In the world according to the Kensington Palace comms team, W&K found out about her cancer on the 27 February, and she was able to start her "preventative chemotherapy" in less than 48 hours after that. And yet, William didn't need to change any of his work schedule to accommodate her first round of "preventative chemotherapy" that week.

Adjuvant therapy, aka "preventative chemotherapy" can be finished in as little as three months. KP has conveniently not let anyone know how long Kate will be doing "preventative chemotherapy." Is she doing this for three months or six months? IF she's only doing this for three months, then that means when the kids started back up at school after their Easter break, she would only have one month left. Which is the same time the KP comms team let everyone know that William can only work ONE DAY per week while his kids are in school full time. Kate could theoretically almost be done with her "preventative chemotherapy," yet William needs to hide from the public for even longer? Except for the big events like Trooping, Garter, D-Day 80th anniversary, etc., because William won't have to engage with the general public for those. William has to get his picture taken for the big events.

As I said before, there are so many problems that the situation is not “Where do you start?” but “Where does it end?”

Because, yeah, I do think William is having a mental crisis. I think he has been hiding something in an attempt to upstage his father's big announcement. Because that is something William would do. It was something he had no qualms about doing until his home life started unraveling with Kate. And who really knows what is going on with her because KP has never been honest, and I've always found it suspicious that Kate filmed her cancer announcement video with William's private secretary present instead of her own.

So, yeah, calm before the storm 'n all, and I can tell there is going to be a huge shit storm because Charles just called Kate a rank celebrity on Tuesday with that "honour." We're about to have a major BRF scandal because William decided to prove that he really is Diana's son by going full Spencer. And any longtime BRF watcher will know that "Spencer" equals crazy or egomaniacal crazy.

Submission: William is co-dependant on Kate

Sometimes I feel that William is codependant on Kate. A year ago when that boy sent a letter to invite Will to their school, Kate wasn’t mentioned and yet in his twitter reply, he specifically said that he AND Kate couldnt come. Again today, he visited the school and apologised for Kate not being there. The thing is, the boys never invited her, not because they’re disrespectful, but because their group is centered around male mental health. She was never expected to come even if not sick. 

At the Baftas too. He apologised for not seeing many movies because he usually watches the nominated movies with Kate, and said at the moment things were a bit challenging. But he’s the president of the baftas, It’s part of his job to watch them or to at least read a full summary of the movies. Good for them if they enjoy watching them together but that’s not meant to be a couple activity.

I feel he cannot function without her. Of course he loves her and after all these years, they’ve grown to develop some couple activities. But it really feels that he doesnt exist on his own anymore. We like to make fun of Harry for his weird obsession with his mother, when the truth is that William himself has found a mother figure in Kate.

I dont know if I’m biased because I’m a woman, but I dont feel the same about Kate even though he’s a complete part of her now. Women are known to bear the brunt of the mental load in a family, so I could totally see her managing William’s needs and emotions on a daily basis, at least on some level, all the while having her shit together (doesn’t mean she never relies on him). Whereas I dont see William able to carry all his children AND wife daily routine, their emotions and needs, especially in a difficult time like this, but even in normal times. And yes I know that many people would rely on family in a similar situation, but I just see him being so paralyzed by the situation, that the Midds or the staff would have to act and make decisions for him.

----------------------------

I am reminded about an ask and response @helenaaurelia had on her blog about a year and a half ago (December 2022):

Anon:

The media and H perhaps doesn’t want to admit that William is boring af, it’s more profitable to insist in a ‘conspiracy theory’ tone that he is being protected than admit that he perhaps wasn’t got caught doing very damaging things because he is boring.

Also, I know William has grew up and he knows what is bad and what is good, but I think Kate helped him TONES to make him behave. I mean, that story where William was with Guy Pelly messing around at some holidays with motorcycles, and then Kate telling them to stop and behave, because the photographers could take pictures, and William agreeing as a puppy to entered to the house, it’s very telling. I think she is also responsible to help both to not being caught in shenanigans.

@helenaaurealia:

I think there’s also a story about how they were at an engagement, and he was being a bit grumpy, refusing to smile, being curt and so on. Kate was being smiling and charming, then suddenly dragged him aside, seemed to speak rather sharply to him for a moment, then they came back to the group, only from then on both royals were smiling and being charming.

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU 1999 — dir. Gil Junger

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

For Anon

There you have it.

"And Royals don't normally receive honors that low."

Submission: Continuing Questions Regarding the Wales

Brat:  If this is too long, just delete.

I am at the point where I’m wondering if William is having a mental crisis of some sort. Even if he’s not doing the ribbon cutting (that apparently he despises), there could be daily updates from KP. William, The Prince of Wales, met with blahblahblah this afternoon to discuss blahblahblah, etc., etc. As it is, there is almost radio silence. You know what? William should be doing DOUBLE the workload to make up for Catherine’s absence. Apparently, that never occurred to him. What IS the man doing with his time? The kids are in school. His wife is under the care of the most competent doctors in the UK. I will remind the Wales fandom that although the Queen was mum about her medical condition–even as it was obvious that she was battling something that was obviously fatal–she continued to WORK. She quietly shuffled off a bunch of duties to her son, the current King, but she was still visually present. I think there has been a serious breach between Charles and William, along the lines of Charles and Harry. Maybe it’s because of Harry. But not actively supporting his father during the King’s medical journey is unacceptable. (As far as I can tell, he’s made ONE comment, and that was on February 8, and it was also a twofer, mentioning his wife first). While the King is undergoing “real” chemo, the Queen and other family members picked up the slack. William did not assume his father’s duties that we can see. I find it *shameful* that William has just enough bandwidth to make rare comments about his wife but is essentially absent in supporting his father’s cancer journey as well. In fact, we can’t see much of what he IS doing.

Also, I find this chatter about Adelaide Cottage rather interesting, because I think the original move was a PR push to pad the fiction that they are just like you and me, except they are royal. Now we hear that they are, um, renovating an annex because, hello, it’s too small. No shit. I guess the push to shove Andy out of the Lodge failed, and how they are stuck with Adelaide for the near future. One look at Amner Hall will immediately dispel the fiction that they don’t have a battery of help to manage their lives. They ARE royalty. William isn’t out in Norfolk mowing the grass and clipping the hedges on Saturday mornings. This place has TEN bedrooms. Are we honestly supposed to believe that they are roaming around in this enormous mansion by their lonesome, dusting, cooking, and sweeping? I don’t think so. Do I think that Catherine is responsible and probably makes the kids make their own beds every day? Yes, I do. Do I think she’s making three meals a day? No, I don’t. If I remember correctly, Anmer Hall has two kitchens. Does Catherine muck about with the kids in the kitchen making brownies on Saturday afternoons? Sure. Is she putting forth meals every night? Not bloody likely. Again, they have a battery of staff at their disposal no matter if some fans think that Wills is washing up every night after Catherine throws together some mac and cheese at the last minute. Someone who can spend over $72,000 on clothes and accessories for ONE YEAR is not putting dinner on the table every night. Get real, people!

It would improve William’s image if he did events WITH his father. And, yes, I know the polls are showing that William and Catherine have the highest approval rating. Let’s look at those stats in a year. It didn’t take very long for the Harkles to plunge to the bottom. I don’t think that Catherine will ever hit any true lows because there is a genuine quality about her that is transcendent. She truly connects with the public, and the camera doesn’t lie (take notes, Meghan). But William seems to be using ANY excuse not to do his job (and I am serious about this; it is his *job* to be The Prince of Wales) that will, over time, deplete all that goodwill generated by Catherine’s illness. I think he’s using Catherine’s illness to shun his duties. Or not. We don’t know! I for one am not swayed by the story that William can’t do anything because of Catherine’s medical regimen. If it’s THAT serious, then it’s full-blown Stage 4 cancer. If it’s not, then what in the hell is the man doing with his time?

Out of sight, out of mind. Royalty is a visual exercise, otherwise the rabble starts to yell louder. Why are they living in these castles and spending 100,000 pounds on clothes and taking ten vacations a year and we never see them? The concept of the divine right of kings doesn’t work except in the minds of people like Andrew and Harry. It’s privilege on steroids. The one thing that the Wales fandom consistently ignores is that Charles has a tremendous sense of duty. He understands or believes that this is a gift from God. His mother believed the same. Perhaps you have to be religious–which both the King and his mother are/were–to have that sense of God’s gift and it’s accompaning responsibilities. I don’t know if William is religious, but if Charles can get his ass out there looking like shit (AS DID THE QUEEN!), then why in the hell can’t William and, yes, Catherine do the same? Unless we are being lied to about Catherine’s condition.

I continue to question this situation because it remains, IMO, murky and disingenuous. And I think all these journalists who questioned the information coming out of KP were entirely correct. It was a clusterfuck of a PR nightmare. Should they have spread those vile rumors? Of course not. But William and the KP media team are entirely to blame for the CONTINUED smoke screen shadowing William and Catherine, except now journalists feel guilty because they were shamed by her video appearance. I’m not shamed. I continue to have serious questions about what in the hell is going on with these two even as I wish Catherine and her children the best.

—————————

Oh, I’m definitely publishing this because these are some of the same thoughts I have had since the beginning of this year.

To me, the biggest clue that Kate isn’t as sick with CANCER! as Kensington Palace and everyone else believes is the honor she was awarded yesterday–Companion of Honour.

William only got Grand Master of the Order of Bath because he HAS to be given it as heir to the throne. Believe me, if Charles could give William the same honor he awarded Kate yesterday, he would. Without question. A thousand times over. 

Because if Kate was even remotely close to dying or seriously suffering with Stage 4 cancer, they would have given her The Garter because it would be befitting on death for her position and popularity. The fact that they didn’t is clue number one. Clue number two is that Charles clearly has no intention of giving her The Order of St. John, which she could easily be given three or four years from now after a few more public engagements with cancer charities & etc. Maybe she still will but I highly doubt it. Because honors like this aren’t given out every year or even every other year. She’s clearly not going to get anything else for a minimum of five years. 

And I side-eye the entire Wales/Cambridge fandom for whining about Sophie very likely getting The Garter long before Kate will. Ed & Sophie have been doing Will & Kate’s job for more than ten years. Ed & Sophie have been attending the foreign weddings and engagements that Will & Kate should have been attending a long time ago, as their preparation for being on the throne. Of course Sophie is going to get The Garter before Kate. Sophie has been and still is doing Kate’s job for her! Of course Sophie deserves to get The Garter before Kate.  

But, yes, this entire situation is very suspicious. The timelines of events don’t match up to the story KP & Will & Kate have been spinning from the very beginning. That mysterious hospital convoy from 28 December…well, we still have no clarity on that. We might not get any real details on that until a few years down the road, I guess.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) dir. Mel Stuart

I’m so glad you did a post on the order. As Gert outlines, it’s not an “honor” and is some serious shade.

What’s also clear is that Lee and Willy activated their pet reporters to spin this as some kind of prestigious award, even using the same photo to accompany the spin. It’s so pathetic 😂

PS: He will continue getting zero credit for it compared to Saint Elizabeth II, but The King has give far more visibility and reward to the Monarchy’s workhouses who have given more service than William and Catherine to the country at this point. Well deserved honor for the Duchess of Gloucester 🫶

Gert is right. This isn't an honor.

Being given an honor that is lower ranked than one Kate already has means this: "We can't take your Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order away, but here's where you really stand in the monarchy." That's what this is.

If this was some high honor being bestowed upon The Princess of Wales, then why didn't Princess Margaret get it? Margaret did far more for the arts than Kate has, whether you compare Margaret's lifetime or just thirteen years Kate has officially been a royal.

This isn't a high honor. This is a public insult that Kate has to suck up and take because The King, Queen, and all of BP & KP know what is about to happen.

Of course, the KP comms team has to polish this turd. Just like they've been polishing all of Will & Kate's turds over the last years. Everyone at BP and KP is at DEFCON 2 right now because they know DEFCON 1 is going to happen soon, in May. Kate's recent "honour" just makes it official, even though the general public and the Wales fandom doesn't realize it yet.

Nothing is funnier than watching the Wales fandom scream about how Kate is "saving the monarchy" because she's the most popular royal or whatever. All the courtiers at BP know that her poll numbers are about to plummet. That's one of the reasons why they did this.

She's no longer going to be the most popular. Also, monarchy isn't a popularity contest. Celebrity is. Which is why the shade of lumping Kate in with all the other celebrities with this order is so on point. She's only capable of acting like a common celebrity folks, not a royal.

And the idiocy of the Wales fandom whining about how Harry would be given The Garter by now because his dad is king just shows how out of touch the Cambridge cult really is. Harry is about to get his style removed. He'll be lucky if he gets to keep his title. The best order Harry could hope for as a working royal is Order of the Bath. Or maybe just Royal Victorian Chain.

I suspect she is going to be more reclusive for the next year or two.

Why do you think that? Apart from ending the treatment and then taking some time to recover (weight, body, etc?). Do you think she is pissed with W/KP or else to take such decision? Or why?

Also, do you really think that Will semi-hiding is due to not face more people in public? Anxiety? Not wanting to answer to people when they ask about K (controlling privacy)?

For one, KP's statements in this whole debacle starting from the beginning of the year don't hold up to scrutiny.

KP comms team have said that William missed Constantine's memorial service on 27 Feb due to finding out about Kate's cancer diagnosis. They also said she started her "preventative chemotherapy" at the end of February. However, William was able to still work and do his regular light load of engagements at the end of February and early March when this supposedly happened.

Usually when people start a huge regimen of chemo, supportive family members & friends take time off at the beginning because there are so many unknowns going through the first round. That's not to say that people cannot take time off later as things progress, but usually the first day of school is a big deal, not the twelfth.

So Workshy Will was working when Kate was allegedly recovering from her first round of "preventative chemotherapy," if you examine their timeline. Hmm, okay.

Second, as I said before, "I’ve never heard of a person undergoing “preventative chemotherapy” needing extensive renovations to their personal real estate to improve their health, particularly when they already have above average living space." I have no doubt The Sun's real estate sources are correct in that Will & Kate are renovating and extending out the Adelaide Cottage building, but the added notes of Kate needs it to help her recovery are complete bullshit. The only reason that is in there is because Kate is not going to be out in public much of this year. KP comms team is doing positive leaks like this one right now because they can. Well, before she becomes a pariah and people don't want to see her. If you read that Sun article again, you'll realize the undertone is that Kate needs to be away in a protective bubble away from the public for a significant period of time. KP knows it, and so do some other people. And it's clearly a longer period of time than anyone would need for "preventative chemotherapy."

Three, yes, William is going to semi-hide from the public. He can't completely hide from the public because he's not dying, and he doesn't have a valid excuse to not be in public, unlike Kate right now. William has always been an anxious person, even though his die-hard fans can't admit it. So, yeah, I'm not surprised he's going to semi-hide from the public. He'll do the big engagements, such as Trooping, Garter, etc., because he doesn't have to engage with the public. Doubtful he'll do Wimbledon because Kate clearly isn't going to go to Wimbledon. They have to interact with members of the public at Wimby, which is why it's not going to happen.

Will & Kate don't want people yelling at them. Will might be able to suck it up and take it right now, but there is no way that Kate would be able to muster through something like that until next year. Maybe.

Congratulations to Birgitte on being awarded The Garter!

I will note that QEII could have given it to her at any time in the last five to ten years but didn't. Obviously, Charles is interested in awarding people for their service. Sophie is clearly going to get The Garter and The Thistle by the end of the decade.

William getting Great Master of The Order of the Bath was to be expected.

But Kate receiving Order of the Companions of Honour? Oh, this is not the "honour" some people are portraying it to be.

Did William throw a fit behind the scenes and demand Kate be given something? Are the courtiers over at BP & The King pissed at Kate? Both?

One thing is clear, Kate certainly isn't in danger of dying from her cancer anytime soon. If she was, then they would have given her The Garter.

But she's also isn't good enough--i.e. hasn't worked hard enough--to get the Order of St. John or Royal Victorian Chain either.

As a royal and a future queen, receiving no honour today would have been better than getting this one. This is bad. This is saying The Princess of Wales is on par with entertainers, not royals who serve the nation and the monarchy.

This is shade.

This is bad.

This is very bad.

It's so bad that I wish @helenaaurealia was still around to tell us how bad this really is.

Because this is bad.

Because Kate clearly is not going to get any higher orders in the next several years. Probably nothing for the rest of the decade. If she was going to get a higher honor within the next ten years, then she wouldn't have gotten anything today.

Someone's stock is about to plummet.

Will the Wales fandom survive until William’s birthday?

With Kate in seclusion and William going into semi-hiding, it's still a valid question to ask.

Well, well, well...

Speaker Generic Ken is facing possible ouster!

I'm so not surprised!

Looks like he'll make it to the six-month mark of his speakership this Thursday. But how much longer after that will he be able to make it? Can he make it to Memorial Day weekend? Flag Day? Juneteenth? Independence Day?

Oh, and, hey, looks like that wider war in the Middle East is happening.

Sorry Lebanon!