The Prince and Princess of Wales are back from break, a quick respite taken to spend time with their three kids, who were on half-term break from school. They visited Scotland this week together, on hand to meet organizations supporting the mental health of young people in rural communities. It was a bona fide joint royal engagement for the couple, and William and Kate had equal billing—as opposed to, say, the Earthshot Prize Awards this week, which is William’s venture—so that makes Kate’s response to a question about who she was a little bit extra puzzling.
Though in the weirdness that is royal life, Kate technically is deferential to William (in this case, it has nothing to do with gender and more with royal hierarchy—Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, always walked two steps behind her, for example), but the Prince and Princess of Wales usually don’t play by those rules and are, for all intents and purposes, equals. Kate actually has never come more into her own than she has recently, making speeches, wearing pantsuits, and owning her power. Which, again, makes this response all the more bizarre.
While visiting a primary school (as shared on X by fan account RoyallyBelle_), Kate (who is known as the Duchess of Rothesay while in Scotland) was happily chatting with kids at Burghead Primary School. “I really like your school,” she told a group of kids, Scottish flags in hand.
She gave a child a high-five, and the child asked who she was. “Who am I?” Kate responded. “I’m married to William,” pointing to her left (although William can’t be seen onscreen). “I know! It was very nice to meet all of you.”
Hmmm.
Respectfully, Your Royal Highness (because obviously Kate is reading this): while true that you are, indeed, very much married to William, you are so much more than that.
Granted, it was a quick exchange with a child, who apparently was unaware that Kate is, you know, one of the most famous women in the world—but maybe it’s a good chance to stop teaching the next generation that we as women are defined by our titles (“William’s wife,” “George, Charlotte, and Louis’ mom”) and teach them who we are, as women; and look, all women are fabulous, but Kate? She’s a little bit extra fabulous. (Who else do you know that can do sporting events in heels at royal engagements, bake birthday cakes for her kids or make curry or salmon on a random Tuesday night, do the school run, don a tiara for a state dinner, and strangely master every single hobby she tries her hand at? I’m just saying.)
“She’s never trying to outshine him in any way,” royal biographer Penny Junor told People about the couple’s dynamic. “I think that Kate is a bit like Prince Philip supporting the Queen. She doesn’t outshine William, but still has a lot to say, herself.”
A source told the outlet that Kate “is the sort of woman who will take on whatever she needs to. If she needs to step up to the plate, she does it—and she always has. She and William are a formidable team.”
Equals though they may be at home (and even competitive ones, at that), Kate is still very much a student of royal protocol, sometimes seen waiting for William to be the first to do handshakes at royal engagements. But, proving that it is a new day in the royal family, William often returns the favor and does the same, particularly at events where she is patron of the organization or highlighting a cause close to her heart, People reports, even though it is he who is heir to the throne.
Maybe it’s much ado about nothing, but it seems reductive for such a force to just be “married to William.” In a season where Kate has never seemed more confident, sure of herself, and powerful, we’d like more of that, please.
In another moment from the visit shared to X (this time by Greatest Hits Radio News), Kate sprung into action when a little boy fell off of his bicycle. The video showed Kate kneeling to make eye contact with the boy, rubbing his back, and assuring him he was “so brave.” Changing the subject to lift his spirits, Kate asked “Where’s your bike? Are you going to give it another go?” as she smiled, People reports.
Martin Collins, acting head of the primary school, said Kate went out of her way to offer the boy support: “One of the boys fell over as well, and she was really—sort of came to him and nudged him back, so that was really nice to see,” he told MFR News and Sport, adding that Kate was “really just involved with the boys and girls.”
By the way, Kate wasn’t the only one with an odd response to a question that day: while on the walkabout, William was asked who his favorite soccer team was (easy—Aston Villa) and whether it’s “tricky” being a prince. (That’s a budding journalist right there.)
“Is it tricky being a prince?” William repeated back. “It’s tricky being a pilot. How’s that for an answer?”
William was seemingly referring to his years of service in the Royal Air Force’s Search and Rescue Force, where he was a helicopter pilot from 2009 to 2013. In 2017, he left his position as a full-time pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance after two years of service, The Independent reports.
