Kate Middleton has been spotted in Scotland — and the fact that her appearance is being treated like the royal equivalent of a Loch Ness monster sighting says everything about what a strange year it’s been for her.
On Sunday, the Princess of Wales was spotted driving to Crathie Kirk, the little church near the Royal Family’s Scottish retreat, Balmoral. The SUV she was a passenger in — Prince William (sans that beard he was sporting a few weeks ago) was driving while Prince George was in the back — was part of a convoy of Windsors heading off to warm a pew during their annual pilgrimage up north.
In any other year, it would have been a fairly unremarkable occurrence. This is what the royals do in August: go to Balmoral for grouse hunting season, join the monarch for church, have a family picnic out on the moors where, for a bit of novelty, they ditch the staff and man the barbecue themselves.
The chatter, if there’s any, is usually about who did or didn’t score an invite — a stay at Balmoral being a reliable barometer for who’s in or who’s out with the head of the family — or, when it comes to Kate, why she’s dressed for winter in late summer. (Answer: The average high for Scotland at this time of year is between 15 and 20 Celsius, with lows of between 8 and 12.)
In fact, this particular photo opportunity — and it is one, since there’s a long tradition of royal watchers gathering outside the wee church to catch a glimpse of the royals, who’ll happily wave to them on their way by — is such a set-piece of the royal year that it’s practically the equivalent of you, say, posting pictures of your family’s annual Labour Day get-to-together at the cottage to Instagram. (That said: It’s unlikely your annual pilgrimage to the lake included a regiment forming a guard of honour to greet you as you walked into church, which is what the Telegraph reports happened for these folks on Sunday.)
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In a post-Kate Middleton Is Missing world, and in the midst of her ongoing retreat from public life as she undergoes cancer treatment, the semi-obscured snaps of the princess obtained by the Daily Mail have landed differently. Given that this is just her third sort-of-official public appearance this year, there’s a significance to these snaps that simply isn’t there when you’ve had umpteen other chances to see her, and many of them from much better angles than through the reflecting glass of a car window.
If this year has proven anything, it’s that when the royals don’t want to be seen, they aren’t seen. Which begs the question: Why have we been “allowed” to see Kate on this particular occasion, one where they knew full well there would be people taking pictures and then running to post them on the internet?
Keeping suspicion at bay
There’s the obvious answer: It’s a way for the palace to manage the ongoing public curiosity about Kate’s well-being and whereabouts in a low-key way. Showing her doing something incredibly normal is certainly one strategy for navigating the abnormal levels of suspicion and conspiracy that’s grown up around Kate (and continues to thrive in certain corners of the internet, where they’re no doubt having a field day with the fact that Kate’s wearing an identical outfit to one she wore last year at Balmoral), and it’s possibly a sign that they’re keen to not have a repeat of the frenzy that arose earlier this year.
It also has the added benefit of reinforcing some other messaging that Kate and her team might want to get across. The fact that William is driving her, for example, telegraphs the solidity of their relationship, while having Prince George with her reminds us of the focus on ensuring the emotional wellness of her children that she’s reiterated several times since her cancer announcement.
Taking care of herself
It’s also a nod to something else Kate said in a social media post earlier this summer, where she outlined her MO for the foreseeable future, namely using her good days to “spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity” and “taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal.”
In light of that, seeing her at Balmoral seems like we’re being reminded of that. Broadly speaking, this is the place where the royals come to retreat from the world and relax in an environment where they feel like they can let their guards down. (Roll your eyes all you want, but have you ever had to make intelligent small talk with a stranger while a bank of cameras take your picture and your every move is analyzed for days after?)
It was famously the Queen’s favourite place in the world, and of course, where she spent her final days. It’s also a spot with personal significance for Kate and William: Apparently, they’ve been spending time at a small cottage on the estate since their dating days.
Maybe some “wild swimming?”
Kate has spoken several times about how much she loved the outdoors as a child and how meaningful it is to spend time with her own kids outside. One of the few things we know about her personality is that she’s the kind of person who gets a kick out of “wild swimming,” braving icy cold waters for the adrenalin rush of it all. “The colder, the better. I absolutely love it,” she told a podcast last year. “Slightly to the point where William’s [saying] ‘You’re crazy’ and it’s dark and it’s raining. I will go and seek out cold water. I love it.” Somehow we think Balmoral, with its lochs and rivers, has no shortage of places for her to indulge.
And while this appearance has accomplished what Kate and team probably intended — she’s alive, she seems well, she’s with the royals in a place she loves — it has also raised some questions.
Specifically, the one articulated by the Daily Beast, who said of these images: “They also provide incontrovertible evidence that she was well enough to travel several hundred miles from her home in Norfolk to join the traditional royal summer vacation.”
This is both a good thing — and also the groundwork for another problem for the royal comms team if Kate continues to keep her official diary blank, as it apparently is for the rest of the year. While it’s a minefield trying to diagnose anyone’s health from their appearance alone, it’s what people do, which means any images like this of Kate could be a double-edged sword if you’re trying to create the space for her to recover at her own pace while also holding the “royals are leeches who do nothing on the country’s dime” crowd at bay.
But for now? Enjoy your holiday, Kate.
