A few days ago, the Telegraph published another royal-adjacent “My Saturday” column. Tom Parker Bowles recently did the same column, and he was “oily” in his flattery towards his stepfather, King Charles. This new one is from James Middleton, the Princess of Wales’s brother. James, like Tom Parker Bowles, is promoting a book and openly trading on his royal connections. The British media has not breathed a word of criticism about Tom or James. Not even when James sort of lets the cat out of the bag about how much time Kate has spent at Middleton Manor in the past year:
We tend to skip lunch, so as not to break up the day and feel sluggish afterwards. I found my 20s really challenging. I’ve only figured out who I am after going through depression. I wish I hadn’t had to go through it to find it. But if you don’t have hard times you can’t appreciate the good ones. There was an added pressure when Catherine and William started dating. I’m famous by default; the association has never been my choice.
There are certain things I’ve learnt, like not to wear drag to a Hallowe’en party because you’ll find yourself in the papers as a “cross-dressing brother”. But I can’t look back thinking, “How would I have done things differently.” The peace of the countryside helps maintain our mental wellbeing; it was part of our reason for moving out of London after 11 years. It sounds like a joke, but we try to live like our dogs. They’re not worrying about tomorrow or yesterday.
We’ll often stop at my parents’ house for tea or supper. My sisters and I are all within 30 minutes’ drive, so there is often an aunt or a cousin passing through, too. The cousins all play their role in looking after Inigo – there’s seven of them altogether at the moment. I think they’re all impressed at how much of a mess Inigo can make. But there’s lots of laughter and giggles about. Even when I had my depression I recognised the importance of family, and rather than one person being burdened with it all, it’s shared. I think any challenge that a family goes through is one that brings them together.
James’s son Inigo was born in September 2023. Kate reportedly had abdominal surgery in January of this year, then she was reportedly diagnosed with cancer in late February. We were told, this whole time, that Kate was recovering at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor and Anmer Hall in Norfolk. I’ve believed for some time that Kate was barely in Windsor this year, and that she was pretty much living in Norfolk and Bucklebury with her parents. This seems to be a confirmation of that, right? Every story James Middleton has told about his family, it’s like “oh, of course Kate and the kids were in Bucklebury, of course the Wales kids spend a lot of time with my infant son.”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.