Prince William Skips Important Royal Event for a Ski Trip with the Boys
By Josh Duboff. Photos: Getty Images.
Well, well, well, do we have ourselves a bit of a royal scandale? Lately, especially with so much focus on the Prince Harry–Meghan Markle relationship, not all that much attention has been paid to Prince William and Kate Middleton, our flagship young royal couple. The pair seem to have everything together: they have two extremely photogenic children, they know how to expertly navigate an official engagement, and they both regularly look rested and resplendent. Now married for more than five years, we almost take their coupling for granted. Oh, Will and Kate, right—not much to see here.
Now, it could just be that we’re thirsting for some intrigue on the Kate-Will front, but recent developments over the weekend indicate, at the very least, William is going to be in for a talking-to from the Queen soon. Here’s the deal: Monday marked the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, which is Britain’s largest interfaith gathering, and one of the more important official royal events. The Queen was in attendance, as was her son Prince Charles and grandson Prince Harry.
Curiously, Kate and William were not on hand for the ceremony—as they had been the year before. It turns out that William’s absence was due to his attendance on a ski trip over the weekend, in the Swiss Alps, with a bunch of his friends, including pals Guy Pelly and Tom van Straubenzee. Per E! and other outlets, it does not seem that Kate (or the kids) were along for the ski extravaganza.
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E!—generally not an outlet to scold—gives William a hard time for his truancy, questioning, “Too many runs down the double black diamond trail, Prince William?,” from the jump. And the Daily Mail is practically apoplectic, screaming “William parties on the slopes with Aussie model on boys’ Swiss ski holiday as rest of royal family attend Commonwealth Day service . . . and Kate stays home with the kids”—and that’s just the headline. (The Daily Mail makes much, in its report, of the fact that the boys crew spent time on the ski trip with Australian model Sophie Taylor, whom William high-fived at one point.) The Daily Mail also notes William’s decision is likely to reignite complaints that he is “work-shy . . . failing to knuckle down to his royal role.” Royal experts the Fug Girls noted on their Twitter account, “This is going to go over very VERY very very very badly. As it should,” continuing, “Even if Kate didn't care, leaving her home w. the kids to carouse is bad optics. Real bad ones. It seems obvious that Wills really doesn't want the job he was born for. But that job has perks, so suck it up and move your ski trip, dude.”
Well, well, well! In all likelihood, this micro-scandal will blow over quickly, and Kate and William will make a joint appearance next week, smiling and assured, and all will return to order . . . or—or!—this Australian model will give a tell-all to a tabloid, and the paparazzi will catch a shot of Kate looking glum getting out of a car, and there will be just enough fuel to keep this nascent narrative a-churning for a few more days.
This story originally appeared on Vanity Fair.
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