I’m not going to do a deeper dive on this and I’ll just boldly claim that Kensington Palace rushed out an announcement for some planned events next week for Prince William and Kate. KP rushed out the announcement because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed to People Magazine yesterday that they would be in New York for their first in-person Archewell Foundation event to mark World Mental Health Day. I’ll be fair to Will and Kate (even though they don’t deserve it) – I’d be willing to bet that they already a Tuesday appearance booked well before the Sussexes made their announcement. It’s the rush to announce Will and Kate’s Tuesday event which is questionable.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to New York City is set to clash with an important date in the Prince and Princess of Wales’ diary.

The warring couples will both make appearances on Tuesday to mark World Mental Health Day – although they will be on opposite sides of the Atlantic. The announcement of Harry and Meghan returning to the city where they claim they were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” in May, came hours after William and Kate revealed their plans.

On Tuesday, they will also mark World Mental Health Day with a forum for young people in Birmingham in conjunction with BBC Radio One. According to Kensington Palace, the event will bring together 100 youngsters to discuss how they manage their emotions and to talk about the mental health challenges their generation faces.

It will also mark the start of further engagements on Wednesday and Thursday of next week, which will highlight the importance of mental health with university students and emergency responders. Meanwhile, over in NYC, Harry and Meghan will host their first in-person Archewell Foundation event. The occasion will see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex provide a platform for parents to navigate mental health when it comes to the digital world.

[From The Daily Mirror]

Again, I’m not going to do a deeper dive and look for the receipts, and I’m not claiming that Will and Kate’s event itself was thrown together at the last minute in a bid to compete with the Sussexes. I’m merely saying that the announcement of the Wales’ event didn’t come chronologically until after the Sussexes, despite the Mirror’s reporting. It’s perfectly possible that Kensington Palace staffers had been organizing Peg and RepliKate’s schedule for weeks, but here’s the thing – these days, Will and Kate prefer to keep their schedules very quiet. There are exceptions – that stupid QEII death-anniversary trip to Wales, the Black History Month appearance this week – but usually, their events are a surprise to everyone outside the Rota. They announced this sh-t specifically to “compete” with the Sussexes, just as they suddenly had tons of events during the Invictus Games. Sad!

I’m also sure that William and Kate’s thing was intended as yet another weaksauce gaslighting event for an audience of two: Meghan and Harry. They were already going to take swipes about people who get too much therapy and suddenly don’t want to be the family scapegoat.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.