Royal protocol covers every facet of life, from the moment a royal wakes to the moment they sleep, there’s a protocol in place to guide how they should properly do it, at least in the UK.
And there’s also one sometimes-spoken (but more often unspoken) rule: don’t overshadow the reigning monarch.
But someone seems to have neglected to inform Prince William and Kate Middleton of this fact. Or perhaps they don’t care.
Middleton recently risked King Charles and Queen Camilla’s ire with a simple public appearance – one that took attention away from the reigning monarch’s plans.
On Monday, Middleton made what seemed like a simple (uncomplicated) visit to the Chelsea Flower Show.
But there’s just one problem: the King and Queen had plans to visit too.
King Charles and Queen consort Camilla visited earlier in the day, but their appearance received less media coverage and attention than they planned for.
GBNews reports, “A royal insider has shared his disappointment at the lack of reporting on the King’s engagement.
An insider told the Daily Mail: ‘With his love of horticulture, His Majesty’s appearance at Chelsea was an important engagement.
‘It’s a shame that his visit with Her Majesty the Queen received less coverage than might have been expected.’
‘I hope they are not too disappointed.’
Royal sources have expressed concern that the King and Queen’s visit was overshadowed by a surprise appearance from the Princess of Wales.”
If you believe black sheep of the family, Prince Harry, this is an ongoing problem. There are apparently protocols in place to ensure that William and Kate don’t make appearances that overshadow the King and Queen.
In his autobiography, Spare, Prince Harry wrote, “Pa and Camilla didn’t like Willy and Kate drawing attention away from them or their causes. They’d openly scolded Willy about it many times.”
In his book, Prince Harry referred to one particular occasion which raised the King’s ire.
On that day, Kate was scheduled to appear at an engagement at a tennis club. This engagement was planned on the same day that Charles and Camilla were due to appear elsewhere at an official event.
Prince Harry claimed that this had been strictly prohibited. It was expected that Kate’s day out would ruin Charles and Camilla’s chances of being on the front page of the papers the following day.
Harry wrote in his book, “That couldn’t be tolerated. Told that it was too late to cancel the visit, Pa’s press officer warned: ‘Just make sure the Duchess doesn’t hold a tennis racquet in any of the photos’.”
So was Middleton scolded for her seemingly harmless appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show?
Without Harry on the inside to spill the tea, it’s unlikely if the public will ever know.
But given what we know about the King and Queen’s feelings about being overshadowed, it seems likely that she received at least a mild scolding.
Online, some people are referring to Charles’ preferences around Kate’s appearances “childish and petty,” but as the King, he gets to make the calls.
Middleton will just have to be careful not to shine too brightly – something she may find difficult to manage.
Are they that insecure? But maybe, they should just realize that the Prince and Princess are just way more popular. They need to get over it and be happy they bring a positive and bright future for the ummm 🙄 Monarchy.
They should just thank God they have a better son & daughter in law heir to the throne than Harry & wife.