Kensington Palace makes unprecedented statement over Kate story

A member of William and Kate’s PR team has gone on the record with an extraordinary statement in the wake of a royal backlash.

IN LONDON

A member of William and Kate’s press team has shared an extraordinary statement, revealing themselves to be the source of comments in a recent article.

Last week, The Times UK quoted a “Palace source” claiming that officials would no longer release details of the Princess of Wales’ clothing for everyday engagements, marking a break from years of protocol.

“There is an absolute feeling that it [the public work] is not about what the princess is wearing. She wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting,” the insider was quoted as saying.

“There will always be an appreciation of what the princess is wearing from some of the public and she gets that. But do we need to be officially always saying what she is wearing? No. The style is there but it’s about the substance.”

Given the interest in Kate’s outfits – and even just generally – the story was quickly picked up and widely reported internationally, sparking plenty of reaction and opinion pieces.

Such was the intensity of the coverage, the Palace has now been clearly moved to take a dramatic step in a bid to clarify the remarks.

Kate at an engagement in London last week. Picture: John Phillips/Getty Images

The Palace has released a statement in regards to the intense coverage of a recent article about her. Picture: Richard Pohle/Pool/AFP

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On Tuesday, UK time, the Palace released an official, on-the-record statement from a spokesman, who exposed themselves as the source of the comments.

“Over the last week, I have received numerous questions about a story regarding The Princess of Wales’s clothing and how Kensington Palace shares information about her outfits,” the spokesman said.

“To clarify, the comments that appeared in the article were from me, not The Princess of Wales.

“The comments that were reported should not be directly attributed to The Princess of Wales.

“To be clear, there has been no change in our approach to sharing information about Her Royal Highness’s clothing.”

The fashion furore came after a close friend of Kate’s told The Sunday Times back in 2022 that she was finding the ongoing scrutiny of her appearance “enormously frustrating”.

“When she goes to the Bond premiere or is at Trooping the Colour, of course she puts on the ‘uniform’ of the role,” the insider said.

“But what was enormously frustrating and difficult for her, especially in the early days, was she was going out and doing the work she was interested in and was hugely important to her, and people just talked about what she was wearing.”

The unexpected development also comes days after new claims surfaced about what the Prince and Princess of Wales are really like behind closed doors.

A new book has also recently shared claims about their lives behind closed doors. Picture: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

“Numerous” royal staff who have worked closely with Kate and William over the years have lifted the lid on their private dynamic to author Tom Quinn for his new book, Yes Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants.

“[King Charles and William] both get irritated very quickly,” one former member of staff told Mr Quinn, in an excerpt published in the UK’s Times.

“They are very picky. It comes naturally to them.”

In those moments with the prince, it’s Kate who knows how to handle the situation.

“I don’t know where William would be without Kate — she hasn’t had everything done for her throughout her life, so she calms him down when he gets a bit fractious,” the insider added.

“She said he sometimes has to be treated as her fourth child.”

However, it’s previously-unheard details about their parenting dynamic that have really shed light on the couple’s relationship.

A former Kensington Palace maid reportedly told Mr Quinn that “Kate had to explain [to William] many of the things that parents outside the royal family do with their children as a matter of course”.

“She had to show him how to give the children a piggyback, for example,” their ex-employee explained.

“William said very quietly, ‘My father never gave me a piggyback.’”

Other sources spoke of Kate’s ability to navigate the internal politics of the Palace – and how it differed dramatically from Meghan’s, despite them both initially receiving similar treatment from “snooty” staff.

“Kate is someone who slowly and carefully absorbs the atmosphere of a place, the relationship between people and the rules,” the former Kensington Palace staffer told Mr Quinn.

“She doesn’t jump in straight away and try to change everything to suit her way of thinking. “She bides her time and is very intelligent and intuitive about other people, what they do and how they behave.”

Originally published as Kensington Palace makes unprecedented statement over Kate story