bitchy | Why is the Mail reminding everyone that QEII thought Kate Middleton was lazy?

It’s always curious to me when years-old royal gossip suddenly gets presented like it’s new information. It’s even more interesting when it’s about the current Princess of Wales and the regurgitated gossip feels pointed and shady. Take, for example, one of the Daily Mail’s current top royal stories: QEII made a “stinging remark” about Kate Middleton’s many vacations. It’s true, and it’s true that Buckingham Palace briefed against then-Kate Middleton several times during Kate’s decade-long wait for the ring. QEII didn’t think much of Kate, and the palace made a point of briefing the media about how the queen thought Kate should get a job and stop going on so many vacations. Thus, a pretend job at Party Pieces came about (eventually) and that was about it. Why is this being repeated right now?

Before she settled into the royal family, the Princess of Wales had often been spotted jetting off on luxurious holidays. William and Kate were seen holidaying on the Caribbean island of Mustique with the Middleton family, or off on a couple’s ski trip in the Alps. While for many their jet-setting lifestyle looked dreamlike, it did not impress the late Queen who apparently expressed concern about the number of holidays her future granddaughter-in-law was taking every year.

Perhaps aware that William and Kate would soon be engaged, the Queen stressed that the future Princess should get a job rather hoping around from country to country. The stern words of advice were said to have ‘stung’ Kate, Royal expert Katie Nicholl has suggested. She wrote in her 2010 book William and Harry: ‘If she was not with William at Balmoral then the couple were skiing or holidaying on Mustique. Kate was there so often the press dubbed her “Queen of Mustique”, a title that had previously belonged to Princess Margaret’.

When Kate was heading to the island in the 2000s, Britain was heading into a recession, and ‘such frivolous displays of wealth were unpalatable to the Queen’, according to Nicholls. She added: ‘While the rest of the world speculated that an engagement was on the horizon for William and Kate, the Queen believed an announcement should be postponed until Kate was settled in a career.’

One source quoted in the book added: ‘It is Her Majesty’s opinion that if Kate is one day going to be William’s consort, then she needs a proper job. Swanning from one five-star holiday resort to another is not the prerequisite for a young woman possibly destined to be Queen.’

It is clear that the royal couple, since marrying and having their three children, have taken the Queen’s advice to heart. While they have been seen holidaying on the Caribbean island since, they have also taken more staycations, including trips to their Norfolk, the Isle of Scilly and Balmoral. The family will also avoid overseas trips with their young children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, according to OK! Magazine. Instead, they will holiday at their Norfolk royal residence, Amner Hall, instead of jetting off each summer.

Hilariously, right after Kensington Palace briefed the media in 2021 about how Will and Kate would only vacation within Britain, they traveled to Jordan for a family vacation, only no one knew it until they released their Christmas card. Will and Kate also spent much of their first six years of marriage vacationing in Mustique, India, France, Switzerland and every other vacation hotspot. I will admit that we haven’t heard about many Mustique trips recently, but that’s probably more about Carole and Mike Middleton being broke as hell. So… why is this story being pushed right now? Is Kate being told that she can’t leave the UK anymore? Does the Mail have information about a family vacation outside of the UK?

Photos courtesy of WENN, Kensington Palace, Avalon Red.