There are times in public life when you have to roll with the punches, no matter how unfair they seem.
But after the past few weeks, every right-thinking person must seriously wonder how many blows the Prince of Wales (and of course the Princess) should expect?
The King’s cancer diagnosis, his wife’s own surgery, vicious social media speculation, ‘photo-gate’ and now the shocking news that staff members at The London Clinic may have tried to access Catherine’s personal medical records while she was a patient …
All this against the backdrop of a series of devastating losses, starting with the death of the Duke of Edinburgh in 2021 (always a tower of strength for the Princess, to whom he regularly wrote precious letters, as well as William) and then his irreplaceable grandmother and sounding board, Queen Elizabeth, the following year.
Prince William in Sheffield on Tuesday as part of his campaign against homelessness
There has also been grief – well, at least a form of it – over the devastating defection of Prince Harry, whose almost primal need to snipe, beat and shoot his brother and sister-in-law, to whom he was once so close to hunt the closet. , has been one of the most devastating sucker punches of them all.
Certainly, William’s heart has been hardened and his resolve reaffirmed when it comes to his sibling, especially after his unfaithfulness to Catherine in his memoir, Spare.
But friends tell me it’s important not to underestimate how much of a grief this has been.
Yesterday I was with the future king in Sheffield as he launched the next phase of his five-year Homewards initiative to end the scourge of homelessness in Britain.
It’s something he has an indescribable passion for, having been taken to homeless shelters as a young child by his late mother.
Both he and his staff consider it a ‘heritage project’, just as the environment, organic farming and interfaith harmony have been for King Charles.
William has felt a form of grief over the infidelity of his brother Prince Harry, pictured with his wife Meghan
Involving members of the royal family in royal engagements can be quite a strange experience – being ushered in and out of rooms before they clock you, watching them discreetly from the sidelines, knowing they know you’re there.
My eyes met William’s once and he gave me a nod of acknowledgment and an almost sad smile.
The Prince was in fantastic form with everything he encountered: engaging, enthusiastic, passionate and knowledgeable about the subject.
He wasn’t there to preach or show off what he knew (unlike some other royals I could mention). Instead, he wanted to listen, learn, and gather. “What is your lived experience of homelessness? What are the major challenges? What important things do you want me to leave with?’ he repeatedly asked the clients, charities, municipalities, landlords and leading businessmen he had managed to bring around the table.
Apparently he was “relentlessly focused” and “buzzing” with ideas about how to continue his project all the way home.
But after following the royal family for so long, you can pick up on the signs, and it was clear that William was also a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The Mother’s Day image of the Princess of Wales and her children that sparked the ‘photo-gate’ frenzy surrounding Kate and William
I know he is angry, frustrated and, yes, deeply disappointed about what has happened in recent weeks. “When will it all end?” he would have asked.
William has worked hard in recent years to shield and protect his family from the worst excesses of public scrutiny.
Although he does not have an easy relationship with the British media, he has learned to work with us professionally – and has, rightly, been given unprecedented privacy for a publicly funded national figure.
While the King has little choice but to be seen if he is to retain the people’s trust as our head of state – and has done so with genuine enthusiasm and good grace – as the next line to the throne, the Prince and Princess of Wales had hoped on a little more wiggle room.
William has now learned the hard way that this level of control does not extend to social media – let alone foreign publications and even prime-time US television – which are simply not subject to a fraction of the same regulation as news outlets here. .
Most worrying for the prince and his team is the way the worst sniggering excesses of internet trolls have broken the barrier and now appear to be controlling a particularly hateful form of public debate.
There’s even a whole, bizarre #whereiskate subculture in which clips of video bloggers taking a “deep dive” into the “Kate Middleton rabbit hole” amass hundreds of millions of views and spawn crazy – but rampant – theories, including claims. she used a body double at the Windsor Farm Shop and this week’s news about her medical records was deliberately leaked to deviate from that.
William and Kate imagined leaving Windsor Castle last Monday
Five years ago, William personally took on the big tech companies with his acclaimed Cyberbullying Taskforce, after being deeply affected by cases such as that of teenager Molly Russell, who committed suicide after seeing disturbing online content.
Ultimately, he disbanded the initiative in disgust after being forced to acknowledge that these new media giants had no interest in cleaning up their act.
The irony that he and his family are now victims of targeted harassment on social media will not be lost on him.
Of course there have been a few own goals along the way.
I have been clear that Kensington Palace was desperately naive in thinking that one of the most famous – and let’s not forget, most loved – women in the world could disappear from public view for three months and people wouldn’t talk about it. to talk. It.
Do we have a right to know what’s wrong with the Princess of Wales? Absolutely not.
But wouldn’t it have been wise to consider a slightly more informative approach to fill the vacuum that is now inevitably overflowing with rumor, conspiracy and bile?
The problem is that this approach does not come naturally to William – who, insiders fear, will become ‘even more insular’ as a result of his wife’s experiences.
And after the events of the past few days, you can sincerely sympathize.
It’s also worth noting that while everyone hopes and prays for the King’s successful recovery (and from what I hear, his spirits are currently excellent), Charles’ cancer diagnosis is a nagging reminder for his son and heir to what is at stake. possibly faster than he ever feared.
The couple attended church in Sandringham with their children last Christmas Day
That is a huge burden for William, not only as a man, but also as a husband and father of three young children.
For now, the prince and his team do not plan to respond publicly to what they describe as ‘the madness’, and believe their actions should send the message.
That said, I’m told they haven’t completely ruled out a public statement being made in the coming weeks, ahead of Catherine’s return to public duties.
There is a lot William would like to say.
It has been difficult for him to watch his wife’s reputation being torn apart by public opinion, just as that of his late mother once was.
How he handles the situation in the future will certainly be a hallmark of the king he will one day become.