I tweeted something about this on Saturday, as dozens of well-sourced stories about the left-behind Windsors magically appeared during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Colombian tour. The Windsors have been very quiet in recent months, minus the odd palace confirmation here and there. But as soon as the Sussexes were out and about, the Windsors were absolutely screaming “pay attention to meeeeee!” Even the Princess of Wales got involved in the need to offer “counterprogramming” to the Sussexes’ wildly successful Colombian tour. Apparently, Kate, Prince William and their three kids all attended a Nerf war in Norfolk two weekends ago.

The Royal family had a bit of a rumble last weekend as the Prince and Princess of Wales faced off against their children in a Nerf battle. Prince George, 11, Princes Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis joined in the festivities at the Gone Wild Festival at Holkham Hall, Norfolk for a high-intensity Nerf war with toy guns and smoke bombs.

Excitable and ‘unforgettable’ Louis ran around yelling ‘Nerf or nothing, let’s do this!’, according to Norfolk Nerf Parties boss Georgina Barron.

The Princess of Wales, who has been battling cancer, even ‘grabbed a Nerf gun, ran around, and played stuck in the mud with her kids’, Ms Barron added, noting that hosting the family was the ‘biggest honour’ and ‘unforgettable’.

Ms Barron said the royals, who were not photographed at the event, had wanted to enjoy a ‘wholesome family day like any other normal family’. Kensington Palace has been approached for comment.

The Gone Wild Festival caters to 640 children each day, but last weekend had a ‘very special VIP family’ join in the fun, Ms Barron said.

‘I was called to the production team’s office and told that a very special VIP family had requested to play Nerf wars,’ Ms Barron recalled. ‘The Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their three children, arrived with friends and family. They asked if we could provide a high-intensity, non-stop game of Nerf fun, and of course, Norfolk Nerf did what we do best.’

She says the Waleses, alongside her own family and members of the public, were running around the premise with Nerf guns and smoke bombs.

‘My sons Euan Barron, Jenson Barron, and Junior Barron had the ultimate honour of playing Nerf Wars with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and the adorable Prince Louis,’ she said.

Shell Lancaster, who also attended last weekend’s festival, said she saw William and Kate help their children ‘go down the wall’. Ms Barron added that the Nerf warriors had ‘face paint on’ and all ‘charged around together’. They also played the children’s tag game stuck in the mud. She revealed the family had ‘requested no protocol’ and ‘just wanted a wholesome family day like any other normal family’.

The small business owner says it was a day ‘my boys will never forget’ and has offered her ‘coolest, kindest regards’ to the royals.

[From The Daily Mail]

Yeah, I believe that it happened, but I’m curious about the timing of the stories and I’m curious about why this information even came out. Usually, Will and Kate’s activities in Norfolk are shrouded in complete secrecy. We barely get confirmation of when they arrive at and leave their Norfolk country home, much less hear about their activities once they’re there. Also: if the point was to give us some assurances about Kate’s health these days, it’s odd that she can run around (literally) doing a Nerf war and yet she can’t Zoom with some charities from home, you know? But hey, I guess the British taxpayers are fine with this.

2023 photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.