One of the weird things about the Princess of Wales’s appearance at Trooping the Colour last month was the short shelf-life of the big reveal. Kate had not been seen in public for almost six full months and it was a big deal that she finally came out and showed her face at Trooping. There was a huge fuss on the day and for a few days afterwards. And then… everyone just kind of moved on. It felt like most people reacted with “oh, good, she’s well enough to be in public, let’s move on.” I wondered if the same thing would happen with her appearance at Wimbledon. It’s not like it was a state occasion, and she only had one of her kids with her, and William was in the wind – logically, that would make it less important than Trooping. But Kate’s Wimbledon outing has been much more buzzy, right? How was this a bigger story than Trooping? It’s weird. Anyway, People Magazine had an exclusive about her Wimbledon appearance too, some highlights:
Her Wimbledon appearance will sustain her: “This will have given her sustenance. She has gone through something awful and stressful, and it is crucial to have little wins to look forward to or to give you the courage and energy to go forward,” a palace insider tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue. “And this was it.”
The world was watching: The rare outing (announced the day before and just her second public appearance of the year) didn’t come without much thought, planning and steely preparation on the royal’s part. “It showed a lot of courage and character, as she knew that the world was watching,” says Robert Jobson, author of the new book Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen, out Aug. 6.
Photographer Karwai Tang captured her memorable entrance: “She usually comes in, walks down and into her seat,” Tang tells PEOPLE. “But she stood for a while and took it all in. For her to acknowledge it and take in the applause was special. Wimbledon had been waiting with bated breath for her to return, and she was back.”
Kate is gradually returning to her duties behind the scenes. A palace source confirms that Princess Kate has been making calls, speaking with staff and staying informed on the latest research for her royal causes while doing “a little work from home,” as Kate described on June 14. Adds a source close to the royal household: “It’s good not to feel under pressure and just take her time and have slow days if she needs to.”
A shift in priorities. “Before, she used to live her life by the calendar, and now she is living her life, and the calendar comes in after,” Jobson says. “She will be back, but when you have had an experience like this, it changes your perspective and the order of things.”
“Before, she used to live her life by the calendar” LMAO. One of the funniest parts of the 2024 Kate Missington Rebrand is that they’re trying to make it sound like she was the most perfect and most hard-working princess ever before all of this. Spoiler: she was not. And did you catch the fact that she’s being praised for “acknowledging” the applause? Please, she was feeding on it, she was reveling in being the center of attention. The sustenance line is interesting though… like, the Wimbledon outing is enough to “sustain” her during her months of summer vacation.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.