It just occurred to me as I looked through these photos of Duchess Kate in Stoke-on-Trent last week that Our Kate hasn’t had a “Marilyn Moment” in months. There have been a couple of touch-and-go moments when a breeze hit one of her dresses at an inopportune time, but no full-on Marilyn Moments or flashes of any kind in several months now. Her hemlines also seem to be longer for this pregnancy, which is a welcome relief.

Anyway, you guys know I love a good royal conspiracy. So I enjoyed this Daily Mail story from the weekend, only I can’t really come up with a good conspiracy for it. Apparently, two of Will and Kate’s trusted employees abruptly quit working for the Cambridges so they could go back to being employed by the Queen. It’s that weirdest thing?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are hunting for new domestic staff for their country home after their housekeeper and gardener suddenly decided to quit. It remains unclear why Amy Wood and her husband Colin handed in their notice after less than five months at Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

The couple started working for William and Kate last September when restoration work was being completed on the Georgian mansion. They had previously been trusted employees at Sandringham House two miles away, and it is thought that they will go back to work for the Queen there.

William and pregnant Kate moved into the 18th Century hall with their baby George in October after it was given to them by the Queen. Mrs Wood, 34, looked after the ten-bedroom house while her 37-year-old husband worked in the garden. He had been doing landscaping and planting work at the hall. The couple lived with their five-year-old son in a cottage in the grounds, so they were on hand to help when needed.

Locals were shocked to hear this week that they were quitting their posts and moving from the hall, which is said to be visited by Kate’s mother Carole on a very regular basis. A villager said: ‘Nobody knows why they are going – but I can’t imagine it was a decision they took lightly. It is the talk of the estate that they should be giving up their prestige jobs after such a short time. They appeared happy working there and it seemed that they got on well with William and Kate, who must be disappointed to be losing them. Amy is a brilliant housekeeper, while Colin is a great gardener. They are both discreet and would never talk about their work for the Royals.’

Another villager said: ‘It looks as if William and Kate will have to find another housekeeper and gardener. I guess they’ll want to get staff in place before the new baby arrives.’

Last night a spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment on ‘private staffing matters’.

[From The Daily Mail]

It’s interesting, right? Is it just me or do Will & Kate have a pretty high turnover in general though? I think some royals keep shuffling staff in and out, but the Queen likes staff loyalty and she likes long-standing employees. And seriously, the Woods were only working for Will and Kate for what? Less than six months, and half the time Kate and George weren’t even at Anmer Hall, they were at Kate’s parents’ house or Kensington Palace. My conspiracy theory: the Cooks worked for Will & Kate over the holidays, when the entire Middleton clan came to stay for a lengthy holiday. And that was it for the Cooks – they didn’t like the whole Middleton vibe.

Also: later this week, William is embarking on a six-day tour of Japan and China – go here to see his itinerary. I think Kate was originally sort-of planned to make this trip with him, months ago. But she’s pregnant and her doctors probably don’t want her to travel and face the stress of a tour. I wonder if Kate will be out and about while William is away?

Photos courtesy of WENN.