This past weekend, Prince William was forced to “work.” He traveled to France to attend the reopening of Notre Dame, and he also did a private meeting with Donald Trump at the British embassy. His French agenda probably counts for like six or seven events all told. It’s notable because William and Kate do not like to work on weekends (or weekdays, if we’re being honest). They avoid weekend engagements like the plague. We’re supposed to assume that as soon as the kids are out of school on any given Friday, the family travels (usually by helicopter) to Norfolk, where they spend their weekends at Anmer Hall. But two weekends ago, William quietly changed up that routine. Apparently, he quietly flew to Spain for a hunting trip at the Duke of Westminster’s enormous estate. From the Mail’s Eden Confidential column:
Here’s a clear sign the Princess of Wales really is better now: I hear Prince William felt able to leave her for a shooting weekend in Spain. According to my tapas-eating sources, last weekend the heir to the throne stayed at La Garganta, the 37,000-acre estate in Castile-La Mancha owned by the billionaire Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, 33, who’s godfather to Prince George.
Said to be the largest privately owned hunting estate in Europe, it’s known for wild boar, deer and partridge. William, 42, previously visited in 2014 with Prince Harry.
Our future king was an usher at Hugh’s wedding last year to Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral.
Kensington Palace and a spokesman for the duke decline to comment.
Trust Richard Eden to put the most slavishly monarchist spin on a story about a man abandoning his wife and children for an international hunting trip during the school year! Yes, the heir slipped away to hunt boar without his wife and kids, but that must mean Kate is feeling better! O RLY? Something I’ve always found odd about William and the royal rota is that it’s like there’s absolutely zero energy towards keeping up with his location at any given moment. Charles never kept his schedule and his travels THAT secretive when he was Prince of Wales. But William can not only go missing for weeks at a time, he can also vacation internationally with no one knowing until weeks and sometimes months after the fact. Meanwhile, if the Prince of Montecito flies to Vegas, the Mail has the plane’s tail number within an hour.
PS… Remember that story about the current Danish king and how he possibly met his side-chick at a big-game hunt? Interesting.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.