What's next for Will and Kate
On their tenth anniversary, we take a look at what the next decade holds for the couple
What a difference a decade makes. On April 29, 2011, as the world watched Prince William marry Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey, the beaming 28-year-old and his demure 29-year-old bride were very different people. Ten years on, the pair released some charming photos taken by Chris Floyd, followed by a gorgeous video of the family in Norfolk. If you haven’t watched it yet, click here.
Kerry took a look at what we can expect from the next decade, for The Saturday Telegraph. Here’s an extract:
Thanks to a pandemic and family fall-out, William and Catherine have stepped up to the forefront of the Royal Family, showing a confident and caring side as they support frontline healthcare workers. Having been an air ambulance pilot, as soon as lockdown was announced in the UK, William and Kate launched mental health and bereavement service Our Frontline for key workers. This commitment has helped propel them to their highest-ever levels of popularity. A recent survey by Deltapoll revealed Brits by far prefer William to replace the Queen than Prince Charles – with 47 per cent saying they want him to be king next, compared to 27 per cent for his father.
Royal insiders say it is extremely unlikely to happen. But when William does get there, it’s clear the monarchy will look very different.
Certainly, William and Catherine’s evolution over the decade has been seismic. In 2011 William was working as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot based in Wales. Between 2015 - 2017 he worked as an air ambulance pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance, a career he was passionate about - he piloted life-saving missions for what he described as often “very traumatic jobs involving children” - donating his salary to the charity. Despite this, according to The Times’ Roya Nikkhah, William initially faced criticism from palace courtiers for taking such a “normal” job.
“Some senior courtiers questioned whether it was becoming of a future king to be doing a middle-class role, hanging out with ordinary people,” she writes. “They thought he wouldn’t stick it out, he’d find it boring, or was doing it out of stubbornness to put off royal duties.”
Catherine, too, was very quiet in her first months of marriage – the duchess didn’t make a public speech on her own for almost a year. The pair enjoyed six years of a relatively normal married life, delaying full-time royal duties until 2017 when the family moved back to London and Prince George started school. And this slow and steady approach will pay off in the future, say royal commentators.
“Freed from the pressures of being the immediate heir, William benefitted tremendously from a slow but steady build,” says Victoria Arbiter, royal reporter for CNN. “They’ve also been granted more time with their children than perhaps any former senior working royal, which only bodes well for the future.”
Fast forward to 2021 and they are almost unrecognisable. Catherine is calm and confident in public, showing a genuine passion for her patronages including children’s charities, arts organisations and The Lawn Tennis Association. William, likewise, champions everything from homeless charities to environmental associations, BAFTA, the Football Association and the NHS.
According to insiders, William’s relationship with his father has become closer, particularly as they construct the future of the monarchy. It’s expected he and Catherine will assume more responsibility, with three senior royals having left their duties – Prince Harry, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Andrew. “The couple is only going to become more prominent. Once travel restrictions have been lifted, goodwill tours to several Commonwealth nations are all but guaranteed and they’ll likely be widely dispatched on behalf of Brand Britain,” says Victoria.
As for the day William does become king, according to Roya, he wants to do things differently. “William thinks the public look to him to keep royal work looking modern”, she writes. “He’s carving out his own relationship with diverse communities. He sees it all as a way of doing things now that will help a smooth transition.”
He gets frustrated by what he calls “flummery,” or talk over action, keen to make a real difference. “He has lots of things he doesn’t like – the antique ivory collection at Sandringham for instance - but he understands he will be custodian of many things that are not his to change,” says royal biographer Ingrid Seward. She predicts the prince, who is passionate about the environment, will streamline some palaces. “He will be a green king and will probably use many of the palaces as museums,” she says.
“In some respects, he’ll need to be more hands-on as the public has come to expect royals to be more relatable and accessible, but still his focus will be on the welfare of the nation versus his own appeal,” says Victoria.
He will also need some help. By the time he takes the throne, the current senior royals will all have gone, so we could even see a revival of some of his cousins. “He might possibly re-recruit his cousins Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie,” says Ingrid.
See Diana’s wedding dress this summer
It first took our breath away 40 years ago, when Diana, Princess of Wales, married Charles at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981, and now the iconic gown is to go on display at her former home, Kensington Palace. The silk-taffeta, puff-sleeve dress (and its sequin-encrusted longest train in royal history) will be the frock star of a new exhibition, Royal Style in the Making, opening June 3.
William and Harry gave permission for the dress to join the exhibition as part of a number of events to mark what would have been Diana’s 60th birthday on July 1. Other pieces you can gawp at will include a rare toile (test garment) for the 1937 coronation gown of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. The exhibition is on until Jan 2 and you can buy tickets here (from £23). The cost covers access to other public areas of the palace and gardens. FYI: Bookings after July 1 will be able to see Diana’s statute in the Sunken Garden. See you there.
Who will play Prince Andrew?
As if being cancelled from the Royal Family isn’t humiliating enough, now it seems Prince Andrew is too toxic for The Crown. According to news stories, producers of the Netflix show are struggling to find an actor willing to take on the role for Season Five. Kerry wrote a column on the topic for The Sunday Telegraph today. Here’s an extract:
The Sun claimed they were finding it so difficult to cast Andrew, they’d taken an ad out in Spotlight, looking for a man in his 30s to 40s. A casting source said, “It’s not the sexiest role and is unlikely to set a Hollywood career alight.” However, Netflix was having none of it. “There is absolutely no struggle to cast any role... and it is normal practice for productions to advertise in Spotlight,” a spokesperson said.
Hmm. Hard to imagine they’d have to advertise for any part on the series – wannabe actors would surely be queuing up to play Bowing Butler Number 17 for a chance to put The Crown on their CV. Still, they shouldn’t worry – if Season Five is anything like Four, Andrew will get about six minutes screen-time, only emerging for his mother to make ominous comments as the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein haunts the dinner table like Banquo in Macbeth.
But it’s a shame, because the next season takes us through the 1990s, which is peak Fergie-time. The year 1992 was, of course, the Queen’s “annus horribilis” as the marriages of Charles and Diana, Anne and Mark and Andrew and Sarah went up in flames as well as Windsor Castle. But it was also the year of one of the most delicious royal scandals, when pictures were published of a topless Fergie having her toes sucked by her “financial advisor”, Texan millionaire John Bryan, while lounging by the pool at her St Tropez villa.
To be fair, Fergie was separated from Andrew, so was free to have her toes sucked by any millionaire she pleased, it was just unfortunate that when the pictures hit the papers, she was holidaying at Balmoral with the Queen, who we can assume, wasn’t expecting that bulletin with her breakfast buffet. Her Majesty was, it came as a surprise to nobody, not amused and Fergie was forced to flee in disgrace.
Surely that tasty vignette would be irresistible to creator Peter Morgan, meaning whoever does get cast as Middle-Aged Bad Andrew would be assured of one dramatic moment. We reckon they should go the other way and cast someone with enormous acting chops like Christian Bale, or Joaquin Phoenix, and let them get their teeth into the role. Neither are afraid of playing baddies.
Failing that, they could book The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan – who, if he can get an audience to start liking ultra-villain Negan - will find playing The Prince Who Must Not Be Named a breeze.
Charlotte and Archie - birthday twins (almost)
Princess Charlotte and Archie Windsor may be separated by more than 5,000 miles but they’ll always be close cousins in one respect - celebrating their birthdays in the same week. First to blow out candles (six) on her cake today, May 2, is Charlotte. Nicknamed “Lottie” by Mum and Dad, Catherine once revealed that “she is the one in charge.”
Lottie will be spending the weekend at Anmer Hall, Norfolk, as the bank holiday means no school on Monday in the UK. That’s one wish come true, so she can enjoy an extra beach day, exactly like the family day-out video posted this week. We’re also happy to see she posed for a new snapped-by-Mum birthday pic (see above), released by Kensington Palace and “taken by The Duchess this weekend in Norfolk.” Wearing a £59 Rachel Riley dress, she’s looking so grown up and the image of distant cousin and (almost) royal birthday twin, Lady Sarah Chatto (who celebrated her birthday the day before Charlotte’s).
Over in Montecito, Archie’s 2nd birthday bunting will be flying high on Thursday. We’re hoping Meghan and Harry will post a pic or video of the lesser-spotted royal toddler, just like they did on his first birthday. Maybe one of Archie playing in his Chick Inn or toddling down their local beach with pet dogs, Guy and Pula? Whatever the birthday boy gets up to, we’re betting he Zooms Great-granny over a waffle breakfast and thanks her for another perfect present.
When Philip walked another princess down the aisle
Archie’s birthday, May 6, was also the day in 1960 when more than 300 million people watched Princess Margaret wed Antony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey - the first-ever televised royal wedding. Touchingly, Prince Philip gave his 29-year-old sister-in-law away, as her beloved father King George VI died in 1952. Biographer Ingrid Seward describes the moment a nervous Philip walked her down the aisle in her book, Prince Philip Revealed. “Am I holding on to you or are you holding on to me?” Philip whispered, to which Margaret replied, “I am holding onto you.”