Stressed-out Prince William covers the latest issue of Us Weekly. I mean, technically the Princess of Wales is on the cover as well, but the cover story is all about how William is coping. Or rather, failing to cope. This has been the subtext and, at times, the context of royal gossip for months now. During an extremely difficult and tenuous moment for the monarchy, William blinked and went into hiding. Tina Brown went to England last month during Kensington Palace’s ongoing crisis, and her sources apparently told her that William and Kate are completely choked with anxiety and William in particular has frozen under the weight of expectations. Some highlights from Us Weekly:
William is stressed out from having so much on his plate: “It’s been stressful,” a source exclusively shares in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “William feels a profound sense of duty to uphold the monarchy’s stability and inspire confidence in the public that everything will be OK. It’s an immense responsibility.”
Charles’s slimmed-down monarchy scheme has failed: According to royal historian Gareth Russell, “It was always anticipated that Charles would have three working siblings and two working children and their wives, and that would be a sustainable footing. Now you have the king and the Princess of Wales battling cancer at the same time and while it’s no one’s fault, it does show the cracks.”
The low point: The media frenzy surrounding 42-year-old Kate’s health was a low point for all. The mom of three put an end to wild conspiracy theories and speculation over her whereabouts on March 22 when she released a video revealing her cancer diagnosis. “Kate had planned to talk about it,” says the first source. “She and William were hoping people would respect her privacy until she felt comfortable enough to discuss it.”
William needs support: “He’s got young children, a sick wife and a sick dad, and memories of losing his mom [Princess Diana] early,” royal biographer Tessa Dunlop tells Us. “There’s a lot at stake, and he does need support.”
William shut down: “After William’s dad and Kate’s diagnoses, he shut down for a couple of days,” a second source shares with Us. “He canceled all meetings and spent time with Kate. Then he picked himself back up again because he knew it was up to him to be strong for the whole family.” At home at Adelaide Cottage, he’s trying to keep up a sense of stability. “He helps the kids with homework and reads to them at night,” explains the source, “little things to make life more normal for them.”
William and Kate are closer than ever. “Behind the scenes, they’re in solidarity,” says the first source, noting that the family of five went away on a trip during the kids’ break from school. “William’s been there for Kate in every way.” Kate, for her part, has been handling things “well,” adds the source, and engaging in activities to lift her spirits, “like walks and getting out more.”
William needs space: People around William are giving him time to process things. “Around the palace, he looks tense,” says the second source. “He clearly has a lot on his mind. The palace is backing off and giving him space.”
“After William’s dad and Kate’s diagnoses, he shut down for a couple of days…” In the timeline set up by Kate’s video, William learned of Kate’s diagnosis a MONTH after he learned of his father’s diagnosis. Kate’s diagnosis was the explanation – a month after the fact – for why he skipped his godfather’s memorial service on February 27th. Just a few days after that, he was day-drinking in Wrexham and hanging out with celebrities. At some point, the palace needs to acknowledge that William’s behavior was what made all of this so strange and newsworthy. The manipulated photos, the blatant lies, the fact that KP blamed the Mother’s Day photo debacle on Kate (who had just been diagnosed with cancer, by their own timeline). Whatever was going on with Kate, William was the one making the drama much worse.
There’s also talk in this piece about how William is a former air ambulance pilot and so he knows how to handle difficult situations. That conversation is a bad one for William. As we can see, he does not handle a crisis very well. No one wants an emergency first responder who freezes, shuts down and needs to be handled with care at the first sign of catastrophe.
Cover courtesy of Us Weekly, additional photos courtesy of Instar.