The Princess of Wales’ popularity is ‘unsettling’ for King Charles and Queen Camilla – but the Palace see Kate as a ‘great model for the monarchy’, royal experts have claimed.
On this week’s episode of Mail+’s PALACE CONFIDENTIAL series, the Mail on Sunday’s Assistant Editor Kate Mansey and the Daily Mail’s Diary editor Richard Eden discussed the Princess of Wales’ surprise appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show.
The royal mother-of-three, 41, made her first appearance at the annual event since 2019 and arrived hours before King Charles and Queen Camilla were scheduled to appear.
Discussing the flurry of royal activity at the event, Kate insisted that the Princess of Wales ‘was not competing’ with her in-laws with her top-secret engagement.
The expert said: ‘I think she’s a great model for the monarchy [and] for the Royal Family and they appreciate that.
The Princess of Wales (pictured) made a surprise appearance at Chelsea Flower Show this week – hours before Charles and Camilla were due to arrive
‘They wouldn’t have had her there if they didn’t think it would be brilliant so I think there’s a way they can all exist.’
What’s more, the royal expert noted that the King and Queen are currently in Northern Ireland where they’re engaging in ‘high level diplomacy’.
Earlier this week, the royal couple hosted their first garden party at Hillsborough Castle since their Coronation before visiting St Patrick’s Cathedral in Co Armagh yesterday.
Kate added: ‘So a bit of glam and glitz from Catherine [is welcome]. There’s room for everybody!’
That said, Richard Eden noted that the Princess of Wales’ popularity is ‘unsettling’ for Charles and Camilla.
Before the Queen passed away, the royal expert highlighted how there were royal aides who wanted Charles and Camilla to complete as many engagements as possible with William and Kate.
Using the example of the 2021 James Bond premiere, Richard said they were seen as the ‘new Fab Four’ – following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s departure from the Royal Family.
He explained: ‘I think that was a chance to show that this was the future of the monarchy and it’s in safe hands, that sort of thing.
The Mail on Sunday’s Assistant Editor Kate Mansey insisted Kate was ‘not competing’ with her in-laws
The expert noted how King Charles and Queen Camilla are currently in Northern Ireland where they’re engaging in ‘high level diplomacy
‘Now that [Charles and Camilla] are King and Queen, it is slightly different.
‘They want lots of attention for their causes and the things that they feel strongly about so it could be a bit unsettling if they don’t get that attention.’
It comes as Prince Harry claimed King Charles was envious of the Princess of Wales’ media coverage and allegedly accused her and Prince William of ‘drawing attention away from him and Camilla’.
In his bombshell book Spare, the Duke of Sussex described how his father ‘controlled the purse strings’ for his brother- meaning how much the Prince of Wales worked was essentially dictated by his father.
Using the example of the 2021 James Bond premiere , Richard said Kate, William, Camilla and Charles were seen as the ‘new Fab Four’
According to Harry, the King and Queen Consort (pictured on Christmas Day) ‘openly scolded’ Prince William about him and his wife ‘drawing attention away from them’
When the then Duchess of Cambridge announced she was expecting Princess Charlotte in 2014, Prince Harry recounts how his brother had started being referred to as ‘Work-shy Wills’.
Jumping to William’s defence, Harry wrote: ‘He did as much as Pa wanted him to do, and sometimes that wasn’t much, because Pa and Camilla didn’t want Willy and Kate getting loads of publicity.’
Prince Harry claims his father and stepmother ‘openly scolded’ William for him and his wife ‘drawing attention away from them [and] their causes’.
Providing an example, Prince Harry went on to recount how his father’s press officer was left furious the Duchess of Cambridge’s team had booked an engagement for her on the same day as one of Charles’
As it was too late for the mother-of-three to cancel her engagement at a tennis club, Charles press officer instructed that the Duchess should not hold a racquet in any photos.
‘Such a winning, fetching photo would undoubtedly wipe Pa and Camilla off the front pages,’ Harry wrote. ‘And that, in the end, couldn’t be tolerated.’
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