It was definitely a choice for People Magazine to choose this week to put Prince William’s “private struggle” on their cover. This week, with Prince Harry’s visit to the UK. This week, after months of speculation about the Princess of Wales’s health. It’s been really weird and unsettling to watch the commentary around William too, especially in comparison to the commentary around Kate. Kate is the one going through chemotherapy, right? Kate is the one who had some kind of major abdominal surgery, right? Kate is the one who hasn’t been credibly seen in nearly five months. Where is the “Kate’s Private Struggle” cover story? Why is William being centered here?
With Kate Middleton and King Charles both undergoing cancer treatment, Prince William must balance family matters with an elevated leadership role within the monarchy.
“Whether you’re a prince or a pauper, no one would expect anything like this with his father and his wife both being treated for cancer,” a royal insider tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s cover story. “William is digging deep.”
The Prince of Wales, 41, has resumed public duties after taking time off to spend time with his wife and their three children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6 — immediately following the news of her cancer diagnosis, publicly announced on March 22. However, his primary focus remains steadfastly on supporting Princess Kate, 42.
“For William, everything hinges on Kate’s well-being,” says royal biographer Ingrid Seward, author of My Mother and I.
Throughout their 13-year marriage, the Prince and Princess of Wales have prioritized private time with George, Charlotte and Louis, routinely clearing their public schedules during school breaks and taking part in school drop-offs and pick-ups rather than always leaving the task to a nanny. Now, their family-first manta is more important than ever.
“William is prioritizing giving her all the time she needs to get better and the support, particularly to the children,” says a close source.
Adds longtime royal biographer Robert Lacey, “From what we know of their personal lives, for William and Kate, spending time with their children is the most precious and enjoyable thing they can do.”
“The double illness has placed enormous pressure on William, both as a parent and inheritor of the family business,” says Lacey. “It has brought all kinds of challenges. He [has handled] it with calmness and lack of drama.”
As I keep saying, the Revisionist History machinery has been working overtime in recent weeks. They’re really trying to rewrite so much of what has happened this year. “He has handled it with calmness and lack of drama”...? Et tu, Robert Lacey? Is the “lack of drama” in the room with us now? Because the clownshow on display for months has been remarkable. The bizarre sightings of Fake Kate, the lies, the sketchy timeline, the multiple fiascos over palace-issued photos, the palace blaming a woman with cancer for the manipulated Mother’s Day photo, William’s day-drinking at events, and on and on. William’s unsteadiness and clown drama is what has made this whole story so bizarre and so newsworthy. William’s actions are what turned “where is Kate” into a global story. And as I said, the way everyone keeps centering William in these stories is no bueno. It’s creepy, actually.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red & Cover Images, cover courtesy of People.