You could tell that the royal reporters thought that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were looking increasingly desperate and exploitative. You could tell because of the relative silence from the official royal press pack in real time regarding Kate’s maskless appearance at Sarah Everard’s makeshift memorial this weekend, which was then followed up by the weirdly fake-looking “Mother’s Day cards” from their children to “Granny Diana.” Now even the old-guard royal reporters have to admit (in their own special way) that William and Kate look like desperados furiously trying to keenly copy Harry and Meghan while simultaneously sliming Harry and Meghan. From Camila Tominey’s piece in the Telegraph:

The Granny Diana cards: Combined with the Duchess of Cambridge’s unexpected attendance at Saturday’s vigil for Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old marketing manager found dead after going missing on her way home in London, the messages added to the impression that the Cambridges are taking back control of their own narrative in the face of the Sussexes’ “truth”. As respected royal biographer Penny Junor puts it: “I think it was very much William trying to say: ‘I am Diana’s son, too.’”

William disagrees that Diana would approve of Harry: Yet that recollection of events is unlikely to be shared by William, 38, who has always taken issue with his mother’s reputation as a “royal rebel” when she was the epitome of public service, spending 16 years stalwartly representing Queen and country despite her inner turmoil. “At the moment, Harry seems to have taken ownership of the whole story,” adds Junor. “He is calling the shots on what this family is all about and invoking Diana. But what he’s actually done is effectively put a bomb under William’s future. He’s done such damage to his family.”

CopyKate & CopyBald: Intriguingly, though, the Cambridges’ recent candour when it comes to publishing images of their children – along with their heart-rending artwork – does appear to borrow from the Sussex playbook of drawing back the curtain on the window to their souls….Kate’s unexpected presence at Saturday’s “banned” vigil on Clapham Common, when she let it be known that she “remembers what it was like to walk around London at night before she was married”, marked a real watershed for the once-passive Kate, asserting her credentials as one of the monarchy’s most influential members.

Yes, Kate & William are trying to “emulate” the Sussexes: Junor believes that the couple “are acutely aware of the following the Sussexes have got” and are “rightly trying to emulate it. People my age are bemused and appalled by what Harry and Meghan said on Oprah, but younger people, who don’t give two hoots about monarchy, sided with the Sussexes and they are the future. Maybe the Cambridges are learning, just as the Royal family did when Diana came and started doing things in a different way, that there is traction to be had in being a little more open with the public.”

This stupid Diana-statue unveiling: Despite all that has been said and done, and with William admitting he had not even spoken to his brother on Thursday, three days after the interview aired in the UK, royal aides insist it would be “unthinkable” for either to pull out. Yet royal watchers remain perplexed as to how the Palace are going to orchestrate what could prove to be a very awkward engagement with the world’s press looking on.

Whether William & Harry will reconcile: “Part of me thinks that the relationship is possibly irreparable,” Junor says. “We know how determined William can be, and Harry and Meghan have not only trashed his wife but accused the Royal family of racism. It’s the most damaging thing that anyone could say [about] anyone else. It is hard to see how they come back from this.”

Will & Kate aren’t keen to keep competing: Behind palace gates, however, insiders insist the Cambridges remain “hopeful of a reconciliation”, saying: “What they really want is peace.”

[From The Telegraph via the Calgary Herald]

I’m enjoying the fact that even veteran royal reporter bootlickers like Camila Tominey and Penny Junor can’t spin William’s “Granny Diana” fiasco and Kate’s “look at me, I’m exploiting a dead woman” memorial appearance as anything other than a series of stunts aimed at reclaiming their narratives from the Sussexes. Like, that’s all it was, I agree. It *was* William stomping his feet and throwing a tantrum and saying “I’m Diana’s son too, you guys!!” As for all of the CopyKeen stuff… we know. We knew. Will and Kate have been copying Harry & Meghan for years now, from the clothes to Zoom staging to their social media. It’s really pathetic that the Future King and Future Queen are so dull and unimaginative that they have to copy Harry & Meghan.

This is so idiotic: “We know how determined William can be, and Harry and Meghan have not only trashed his wife but accused the Royal family of racism. It’s the most damaging thing that anyone could say [about] anyone else.” Why are they (white people) like this? A group of white people act racist and when someone calls them out, they’re like “how dare you, that’s the worst thing that’s EVER HAPPENED TO ME.” That’s literally what’s happening now.

Photos courtesy of WENN, KensingtonRoyal social and Avalon Red.