Once again, the knives are seemingly out for our fair Katie Keen, the Princess of Wales. Is all of this solely about Kate’s thunder-stealing at the Chelsea Flower Show, or is this a larger shift to openly criticize Kate for some other purpose? I do not know. But it’s interesting. So, the basic gist is that Kate is sort of a patron of Action for Children, and the chief of AfC is a convicted murderer. Kate had no idea when she met this guy in Glasgow in May 2022. William was there too, but the Daily Mirror didn’t put his name in the headline, nor did they use photos of William in the same frame as this dude.

Paul Carberry stabbed a father-to-be on a train five times and wounded another passenger. Colleagues knew of his past when he became the £154,500-a-year chief of Action for Children in March. But charity patron Kate and her husband Prince William had no idea of his crimes when they met him at a primary school a year ago.

Carberry, 60, was photographed smiling with the couple – then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They then joined others in a discussion about teaching children emotions.

Carberry was a teen himself when he carried out his fatal attack, age 16. But it did not stop him becoming boss of AfC, which aims to “protect and support children and young people”. Nor has it prevented him securing a role on the Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce in his native Scotland – with a brief to curb youth gangs.

Today, when we confronted Carberry about his past, he told us: “That’s something I’ve regretted every day of my life. A family did not have their loved one because of me.”

Carberry stabbed John Murray, 21, on a train carrying Scottish football fans to London for a match against England in 1979. Court reports said Carberry, who had been drinking beer and vodka, was in the Govan Team gang – named after a tough district of his native Glasgow. The court was told violence began after a member of Carberry’s mob molested a woman on board. Carberry was reportedly brandishing a flick knife as he chased Murray and two pals through the crowded train. He first stabbed Michael McBain, 22, who was asleep on a carriage floor. Then he repeatedly plunged the knife into Mr Murray when a locked door stopped him escaping, reports said.

Carberry served time at a youth jail and in adult prison before being freed in 1985. He got a job as a social worker and rose high in the profession. He joined AfC and was its Scottish boss when he met Kate and William – patrons of a string of charities – at St John’s primary in Inverclyde last May. He said afterwards: “The Duchess is a great supporter of our charity. I was honoured to discuss our work with the Duke and Duchess.”

AfC said the Palace was informed about Carberry’s murder conviction when he became CEO this year. None of the charity’s literature refers to his crime. And there is no sign Carberry ever mentioned it during public appearances or articles.

[From The Daily Mirror]

So, it’s insane that he effectively only served a sentence of about six years, even if he was only 16 years old when he ran around, stabbing multiple people on a train. It’s also bonkers that… like, no one ever brought it up again? Hello, background checks? Just a cursory background check by the charity OR the palace? I get why a charity might not have the resources to do a deep dive on all of their employees, but what I don’t get is why the palace didn’t catch Carberry’s criminal record before Kate and William did the photo-op with him and his charity last year? That’s what this is – it’s not specifically a criticism of Kate for shaking hands with a murderer, it’s that palace staff are half-assing these events and no one is doing their due diligence. No one thought it would look bad to have Kate posing with this guy, just like no one thought to run background on various other shady people Kate has posed with recently.

I remember this event in Glasgow last year, people were saying that Kate seemed like she was medicated. She was so extra at this event.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Instar.