General News for the Cambridge Family Part 3: March 2017-September 2022


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If word had gotten out that not only the PM but the next two generations of the Succession had contacted Covid, I can only imagine the level of alarm/consternation in the UK.

For William to make the decision to keep the information quiet was not only wise, it was thoughtful as well imo.
 

This post was from 3 April when he called the staff at Queen’s Hospital Burton and University Hospital Monklands. A call, only his voice, not video link. And now listening closely, his voice (breathing?) indeed sounds a little unsteady. Was it the phone? Connection? But if he's indeed have breathing difficulty as reported, it makes sense.

And btw, Richard Palmer is not happy.


Oh my, the Cambridge really run a tight ship. :ohmy:
Not a good news for those royal reporters, isn't it?

That tight ship has bothered them for a long time. I remember when the royal reporters were so huffy about not knowing Lupo's name that they compared it the the abdication crisis. ?
 
If word had gotten out that not only the PM but the next two generations of the Succession had contacted Covid, I can only imagine the level of alarm/consternation in the UK.

For William to make the decision to keep the information quiet was not only wise, it was thoughtful as well imo.

No it wasn’t. It was the exact opposite. Irresponsible and selfish.
 
If word had gotten out that not only the PM but the next two generations of the Succession had contacted Covid, I can only imagine the level of alarm/consternation in the UK.

For William to make the decision to keep the information quiet was not only wise, it was thoughtful as well imo.


Agreed. To keep the information quiet while the PM and the heir to the throne were also ill, was the right decision IMO.
 
I am sorry a bit over dramatic to think the country would go into alarm panic mode. The queen is a figure head, with 1000 heirs or more. There is no shortage of people to step up as regent if some how both Charles and William had died from it. We're not talking Sweden before they changed the succession laws where the only heir was in his 60s and there was no one else (prior to CP being born).

There would be more concern over Borris as he is the one with actual political role. But then again, and who would take over if he had died. Unlike the US, there is no written in the constitution line of succession to who would succeed as PM if Borris had died. Someone had to be deputized.


I actually in part wonder if it was damage control. If the men in grey were trying to save some face.


https://ca.hellomagazine.com/royalt...rince-william-call-nhs-hospitals-coronavirus/


I remember this visit to NHS in the start of April. Where neither he nor Kate were wearing masks, and they were touring health workers to show support. I was not alone in pointing out that not wearing masks, and making an unncessary visit to front line workers wasn't the best idea. Thinking not only William and Kate could be at risk, but they too could also bring germs with them to the workers they met with.

Now we learn William was sick soon after that with covid.


Thankful that he is okay. But I don't think it was right to hide that he was ill.
 
I am sorry a bit over dramatic to think the country would go into alarm panic mode. The queen is a figure head, with 1000 heirs or more. There is no shortage of people to step up as regent if some how both Charles and William had died from it. We're not talking Sweden before they changed the succession laws where the only heir was in his 60s and there was no one else (prior to CP being born).

There would be more concern over Borris as he is the one with actual political role. But then again, and who would take over if he had died. Unlike the US, there is no written in the constitution line of succession to who would succeed as PM if Borris had died. Someone had to be deputized.


I actually in part wonder if it was damage control. If the men in grey were trying to save some face.


https://ca.hellomagazine.com/royalt...rince-william-call-nhs-hospitals-coronavirus/


I remember this visit to NHS in the start of April. Where neither he nor Kate were wearing masks, and they were touring health workers to show support. I was not alone in pointing out that not wearing masks, and making an unncessary visit to front line workers wasn't the best idea. Thinking not only William and Kate could be at risk, but they too could also bring germs with them to the workers they met with.

Now we learn William was sick soon after that with covid.


Thankful that he is okay. But I don't think it was right to hide that he was ill.

I thought their NHS visit was around March 20th. Did they have a 2nd one in early April?

When I look up NHS and the Cambridges at a later date around your time frame, I only find by phone engagements-

The Duke of Cambridge, President, the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, this morning held a Meeting via telephone with Ms Caroline Palmer (Chief Executive).

- Court Circular ll 31 March 2020

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge this afternoon talked to staff at Queen’s Hospital Burton, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, via telephone

Their Royal Highnesses afterwards talked to staff at University Hospital Monklands, Airdrie, Lanarkshire, via telephone

- Court Circular ll 1 April 2020
 
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I am so glad Prince William recovered. It was the right decision not to disclose at the time.

People are interested in his life way more that Boris and Prince Charles, so this would have been a VERY big news and it would have taken attention away from other important things.

Prince Charles is old, so I can imagine royal reporters would have focus on succession stories if Prince William is sick.

Kudos to the Cambridges for continuing to leave drama behind and focus on the work for the Monarch. [....]
 
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I am sorry a bit over dramatic to think the country would go into alarm panic mode. The queen is a figure head, with 1000 heirs or more. There is no shortage of people to step up as regent if some how both Charles and William had died from it. We're not talking Sweden before they changed the succession laws where the only heir was in his 60s and there was no one else (prior to CP being born).

(...)
I actually in part wonder if it was damage control. If the men in grey were trying to save some face.

https://ca.hellomagazine.com/royalt...rince-william-call-nhs-hospitals-coronavirus/

I remember this visit to NHS in the start of April. Where neither he nor Kate were wearing masks, and they were touring health workers to show support. I was not alone in pointing out that not wearing masks, and making an unncessary visit to front line workers wasn't the best idea. Thinking not only William and Kate could be at risk, but they too could also bring germs with them to the workers they met with.

(...)

I agree that possibly there's some damage control in play here, but on the other hand I don't think a concern to prevent mass panic can be set aside.

Let's put it this way.
IIRC UK didn't have mask policy in March (when the in-person visit to NHS-111 happened, as later engagements always via phone call and video link). From the documentation of that NHS-111 engagement, the Cambridges were not the only one who didn't wear mask. I also remember early 2020 (or maybe late 2019) there's a comments about how snobbish the Queen was for wearing glove when shaking hand (the one who defended her said she was in risk age, the one attacked her said she's snobbish or selfish since most still took Covid lightly, no regulation etc). So imagine if the Cambridges wore mask while NHS staff didn't wear it (on paper, they should know better about health and safety better than the royals). The public response would be:
- "Does the Cambridges they know better than NHS staff?"
- "Snobbish royals don't want to be contaminated by "dirty" peasant."
- "The government lies to us, we should wear mask. See even royals don't trust Boris."

The last response could lead to mask panic buying (it happened in my country: the price of the mask rose rapidly, panic mass buying which led to lack of supply for medical staff). This scenario can also happen if the news of William illness went public. So if there's someone who need to save face, it's the government.

On another note, it brought a question, for those engagements (the NHS-111 in particular), who requested it? Was it NHS-111 to raise awareness about the increase of unnecessary calls to 111? The government? Or the Cambridges who shamelessly barged into someone's workplace as PR move to stay relevant?

Really, I don't believe during breakfast, one of the staff or William/Catherine suddenly had this idea of "Hey, let's visit NHS-111 today. I think it's a good to promote us. We're royal, there's no way the will refuse us."
 
If Prince William and Prince Charles being sick made headlines, oh my imagine the insanity. We'd have to hear about the whole Cambridge family being in danger. [...]
 
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If Prince William and Prince Charles being sick made headlines, oh my imagine the insanity. We'd have to hear about the whole Cambridge family being in danger. [...]

I think the discussion would have been about a possible regency for Catherine, in a worst case scenario for Charles and William. Just like Margret would have been passed over in lieu of Philip. So the media would have talked about the 1953 regency act and if we'd have a 2020 regency act.
 
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No it wasn’t. It was the exact opposite. Irresponsible and selfish.

What was irresponsible and selfish about not wanting to cause worry and alarm?

ETA: If God forbid, the disease had claimed both the Prince of Wales and his heir, [...]

A Regency would have been put in place for Prince George. Poor child.
 
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Richard Palmer needs to quit while he’s ahead. Comparing the BRF to American politicians like the President, VP and Senators is asinine. William does not wield any power; he is not in the same position at all as any of the people who hold these offices. Palmer keeps asking why people pay attention to the BRF if they have no power, are so irrelevant. He’s missing the point. You can be relevant without holding power. We aren’t talking about a cover up by the Queen or even Charles - William is the heir to the heir; he likely won’t be King for a long while. There’s just no urgent “need to know” in his case.
 
Richard Palmer needs to quit while he’s ahead. Comparing the BRF to American politicians like the President, VP and Senators is asinine. William does not wield any power; he is not in the same position at all as any of the people who hold these offices. Palmer keeps asking why people pay attention to the BRF if they have no power, are so irrelevant. He’s missing the point. You can be relevant without holding power. We aren’t talking about a cover up by the Queen or even Charles - William is the heir to the heir; he likely won’t be King for a long while. There’s just no urgent “need to know” in his case.

Oh please forgive him. He's on holiday, how dare William to let this info slip out now?

I mean, imagine the miss opportunity, those headlines to write if this came out in April?
"Irresponsible William Risking NHS-111 Staff"
"Succession Crisis"
"Harry Abandoning His Old Grandpa and Sick Pa and Brother"
"Andrew for Regent?"
(I can make up 100s something more outrageous variations, but let's not do it here).
And don't forget since it's Express, their online version will have something like: "ROYAL HORROR", "ROYAL HEARTBREAK" (yes, in capital).

What a waste, William!:sad:
 
Richard Palmer needs to quit while he’s ahead. Comparing the BRF to American politicians like the President, VP and Senators is asinine. William does not wield any power; he is not in the same position at all as any of the people who hold these offices. Palmer keeps asking why people pay attention to the BRF if they have no power, are so irrelevant. He’s missing the point. You can be relevant without holding power. We aren’t talking about a cover up by the Queen or even Charles - William is the heir to the heir; he likely won’t be King for a long while. There’s just no urgent “need to know” in his case.

I don’t really disagree but he does have a valid point about relevance. It does seem like people pick and choose what is deemed important to know. I happen to agree that privacy is important. Personal info should be private. Work should be public.

Palmer is bringing that up here. Does he have a right? What’s the difference? William is the 2nd in line. They told us about Charles and Sophie, but not William? Why? It does look odd from that point of view.
 
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I don’t really disagree but he does have a valid point about relevance. It does seem like people pick and choose what is deemed important to know. I happen to agree that privacy is important. Personal info should be private. Work should be public.

Palmer is bringing that up here. Does he have a right? What’s the difference? William is the 2nd in line. They told us about Charles and Sophie, but not William? Why? It does look odd from that point of view.


The media in general - UK, USA, etc...- is always insisting that they have a right to know everything, and are quick to scream “cover up” when they don’t get the scoop. Add in Palmer’s poor comparisons to American politicians and it’s hard to take him seriously here.

As far as relevancy, I don’t think that people are really picking and choosing. William is reported on because he’s a future King, but that’s his working life. He’s not the direct heir, so I don’t think people have the right to know everything in his private life, and in this case, it seems he had the right motives in keeping his condition secret. Palmer resorting to hyperbole in saying that this will haunt W is only weakening his already weak argument.

I go back to this question of “need to know”. Why exactly did the British people NEED to know back in April that William was sick with COVID ? The only people it really affected was himself and his family. Now with Charles, his bout with COVID could have immediately affected the line of succession - had he had a serious bout that left him in poor condition, well...that’s a big deal. I guess overall the difference is that father is closer to the throne than William. I will say, bad as his case was, if W‘s had been really serious - then I’d think differently. If he were hospitalized, a future King...then I think privacy goes out the window (because, that could have been a tragedy which would affect the line of succession)
 
I just have been thinking back to all the times that I've read the statement "The Palace does not comment on the health of the royal family". If there is a press release about Philip's health or Charles or any member of the BRF, it is not a palace release but a statement that most likely has been approved by the family itself. If William wanted to keep the status of his infection of Covid-19, that is his right to do so.

I just keep thinking of what it would have been like with William home and isolating with the virus and his family also in isolation. It may have been traumatic should one of the kids turn on the TV and hear reports of "breaking news" of their father being seriously ill with the virus. Kids get scared by illnesses much easier than us adults do.

I totally agree that their public lives should be public and their private lives remain private.
 
From what's being said, they didn't want to panic people. Prince Charles had already had it, Boris nearly died, and people were anxious enough. Neither Charles nor William were in serious danger, but it would still have caused worry.


I would think they're announcing it now to remind people that even young, healthy people can be badly hit by it, so we all need to take this very seriously, which not everyone is doing.
 
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While I somewhat understand the decision not to make it public at the time, I don't think it was the best decision for a few reasons:
1. For some it might be hard to trust them to release relevant health information in the future (although I still think that if hospitalization had been needed it would have been released).
2. Contract-tracing requires that people that you have been in touch with know that you contracted the virus.
3. Even if you decide to withhold that information for the time being; why not release it when you are in full health again - instead of let is slip now (as that seems the way it has become public knowledge): it might have made especially the younger generation a bit more cautious.
 
I think it was better that way, because if it had been announced at the time that William was with Covid-19, people would have been very worried, especially at that time also Prince Charles and Boris Johnson were infected.
I believe that Prince William will not have taken the decision alone not to make public that he was infected. William and the Royal House just didn't want to alarm people any further.
 
No it wasn’t. It was the exact opposite. Irresponsible and selfish.

Sounds like the Sussex brigade is on the case. Smelling blood already ?
Oh well.

It's not rocket science to understand that two heirs + the PM tested postitive to a potential mortal disease could have been quite challenging for the entire state structure of the UK.

Again, if it's true, it was an obvious, and let's say classical, political move especially in time of crisis. How many times have we learnt afterward that a "simple cold" from HM or the DOE was, in fact, a bit more serious ?

Unlike some other peripherical members of the BRF, the Cambridges are precious cargo for the sake of the poitical balance of the UK. Secrets and tactical decisions are part of the game. And by that, i guess the choice to hide the Duke's condition could well have been taken at Number 10, not less ...
 
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2. Contract-tracing requires that people that you have been in touch with know that you contracted the virus.

IMO, it is difficult to conclude that contract tracing protocols were not complied with .
 
It's confirmed.
Rebecca English
@RE_DailyMail
KP have belatedly confirmed that Prince William did have coronavirus in April - Kate and the children did not. Valid questions as to why this was kept secret, although KP say he didn’t want to alarm people after his father’s diagnosis. Original story by @clemmiemoodie
The DM link
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...lliam-secretly-battled-coronavirus-April.html

Mr Palmer is not the only RR who's fuming. Robert Jobson of Evening Standard:
Prince William’s decision to LIE about contracting COVID-19 earlier - for whatever reason - is appalling. KP were are asked several times by the media whether Prince William had contracted the virus and were told categorically “no”. This has created a serious issue of trust.

(...)
Again, if it's true, it was an obvious, and let's say classical, political move especially in time of crisis. How many times have we learnt afterward that a "simple cold" from HM or the DOE was, in fact, a bit more serious ?

Unlike some other peripherical members of the BRF, the Cambridges are precious cargo for the sake of the poitical balance of the UK. Secrets and tactical decisions are part of the game. And by that, i guess the choice to hide the Duke's condition could well have been taken at Number 10, not less ...

You're right, according to Palmer, in 2018 when the Queen had Cataract Surgery, he "asked a senior royal aide whether there was any medical reason why the Queen had worn sunglasses to a number of events and that person told me no, it was just because it had been sunny." (quoted from his tweet). Only to be announced few weeks later that she had surgery.

Someone pointed out also about communication between KP and no 10 (that KP informed the government of W's condition at some point), but "The Royal Family is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and most government papers released after 30 years are censored if they include sensitive material about the royals" (also Palmer's word), so there's no way to know unless either KP or no 10 revealed it (which I doubt they will).

But yes, the timing is rather interesting. If it's indeed slipped out during W's conversation with Kate Garraway during The Pride of Britain Awards filming, why it only makes news now, day after Boris's press-con fiasco.
 
I am sorry a bit over dramatic to think the country would go into alarm panic mode. The queen is a figure head, with 1000 heirs or more. There is no shortage of people to step up as regent if some how both Charles and William had died from it. We're not talking Sweden before they changed the succession laws where the only heir was in his 60s and there was no one else (prior to CP being born).

There would be more concern over Borris as he is the one with actual political role. But then again, and who would take over if he had died. Unlike the US, there is no written in the constitution line of succession to who would succeed as PM if Borris had died. Someone had to be deputized.


I actually in part wonder if it was damage control. If the men in grey were trying to save some face.


https://ca.hellomagazine.com/royalt...rince-william-call-nhs-hospitals-coronavirus/


I remember this visit to NHS in the start of April. Where neither he nor Kate were wearing masks, and they were touring health workers to show support. I was not alone in pointing out that not wearing masks, and making an unncessary visit to front line workers wasn't the best idea. Thinking not only William and Kate could be at risk, but they too could also bring germs with them to the workers they met with.

Now we learn William was sick soon after that with covid.


Thankful that he is okay. But I don't think it was right to hide that he was ill.




It was totally wrong to hide that he was sick and, even worse, symptomatic. The Royal House has to be transparent.



Other questions will be raised now. Kate and the children most likely were infected too if William was sick and they were together. Was that also kept from the public?
 
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Robert Jobson is complaining that KP lied to the media. He is claiming he (and other reporters) asked if william ever had covid and was told no. Now it’s revealed he did. I get the idea of withholding due to public image of the palace or whatever. That said I also can see why some will question statements from the palace. They clearly have no issue lying to save face, what else have they been lying about?

Anyways it will be a talking point for the day and we will move on to something new.
 
The Royal House has to be transparent.



Other questions will be raised now. Kate and the children most likely were infected too if William was sick and they were together. Was that also kept from the public?

You are so naive ...
As for Kate and the children, they were possibly not infected. See Charles with Camilla ...
 
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I just have been thinking back to all the times that I've read the statement "The Palace does not comment on the health of the royal family". If there is a press release about Philip's health or Charles or any member of the BRF, it is not a palace release but a statement that most likely has been approved by the family itself. If William wanted to keep the status of his infection of Covid-19, that is his right to do so.

I just keep thinking of what it would have been like with William home and isolating with the virus and his family also in isolation. It may have been traumatic should one of the kids turn on the TV and hear reports of "breaking news" of their father being seriously ill with the virus. Kids get scared by illnesses much easier than us adults do.

I totally agree that their public lives should be public and their private lives remain private.

Good point, Osipi. And for that, I'd give Catherine a big hug if I could.
Let's see:
- isolated at Anmer Hall,
- sick husband
- 3 young kids (all that normal ruckus and maybe question like "where's Daddy, Mummy?" since he's isolating),
- a prospect if worse comes to the worst, all would come down on her 7 yo son's shoulder,
And with all of above, she still had her usual radiant smile in those zoom appearances, not letting anything slip out on her face.

This lady really has a spine made of steel!!
 
I very much doubt that anyone would have been panicking that Prince George would end up becoming king at the age of 6, with Harry as regent! It was made quite clear that Prince Charles only had mild symptoms, and, from what's been said, William was unwell but not badly enough to need hospital treatment. We saw Prince Charles making a speech not long after his diagnosis, and it was obvious that his life was not in danger.


However, the Prime Minister nearly died at the beginning of April, and, if it had become known that the third in line to the throne had had the virus as well as the second in line, there might well have been a sense of panic that the virus was absolutely everywhere, and people would have been going to hospitals and doctors' surgeries when they'd been asked not to do so unless it was a genuine emergency.
 
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