Tag: Kate Middleton

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Remember a few months ago when Prince William hired divorce lawyers and everyone was worried that meant he was, you know, getting a divorce? But then, at the time, the move was merely spun as him trying to break away from his father by hiring new representation, and since he and Kate seemed to be doing well, everyone accepted it. Well, new reports are now surfacing about a different time when the two split, which puts that rumored troubled time in their marriage into perspective.

Back in 2007, Prince William and Kate Middleton famously split and then got back together. And on Valentine’s Day 2008, William was determined to show Middleton that he was serious about their relationship. At least that’s what Grant Harrold, King Charles III’s former butler, says in his memoir, The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life in Royal Service.

Related: Did William really cheat on Kate?

“When they got back together, it was fresh, it was like a double boost,” Harrold wrote. “They both were making more of an effort. … [They had] this romantic dinner for Valentine’s Day, which they asked me to do, which they had never done before. They hadn’t done anything like that before. Suddenly, they wanted to do that. I felt that [William] was saying, ‘Look, I’m serious. This is going to up a level.’ That’s what I felt.”

“And, of course, a few years after that, they carried on,” Harrold added, “It was almost like a reset button, but this was serious. The first time around, it was boyfriend-girlfriend, ‘Oh, let’s eat here, let’s chill here, let’s do that.’ Suddenly, it was a bit more, ‘I’m serious, and I’m going to show you I’m serious.’ That’s how it came across, which was amazing.”

The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life in Royal Service

The butler recalled how he had offered a formal dinner for the couple ever since they went public in 2004, but they always laughed it off. But when Valentine’s Day 2008 approached, William suddenly said, “OK, let’s do a dinner, if you’re happy to.”

“I felt truly honored and delighted that William had taken me up on my offer,” Harrold wrote. “Even though it was a typically chilly February evening, we planned for it to be outside the main house, at the top of the Thyme Walk, the stunning avenue of clipped golden yew and herb bushes bound on two sides by a pleached hornbeam hedge that leads down to the lily pond at the bottom.”

Harrold worked for the King’s household from 2004 to 2011. “I left after they got married, so at least I got to actually see that part of their lives,” he said. “And it was a good time also to have left because they left Highgrove. My role would [not have] been looking after them anymore, and I loved looking after them.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton weren’t broken up for long in 2007, and after they reconciled, the relationship got stronger, and eventually the two went on to marry in 2011 and now have three kids together. And though they have had to contend with plenty of divorce rumors since then, as happens to many couples in the spotlight, it seems like they are stronger than they’ve ever been.

It’s been weeks since Kate Middleton debuted her new blonde look and quickly retracted it, but friends of the Princess of Wales are coming to her defense. After her cancer treatment, she has been working hard since her remission.

Prince William and Kate Middleton stepped out to see the Natural History Museum’s newly transformed gardens on Sept. 4, and the Princess sported blonde locks with her signature curls. Netizens immediately criticized the look, with some claiming it was a wig. A friend of the royal told RadarOnline, “Kate came back from her summer break feeling positive, only to be slammed over her appearance. She admitted it left her anxious and doubting herself. After receiving so much kindness since her diagnosis, being torn down over something trivial was really tough.”

“Kate has always shown strength, but this autumn has been relentless,” a friend said, referring to King Charles’ cancer treatment and Prince Harry’s reconciliation efforts with his father (which William is heavily opposed to). “With the family tensions and criticism of her appearance, she’s questioned how much more she can cope with.”

Despite it all, Kate knows how to keep her head high. “Even at her lowest, Kate managed to compose herself,” a source elaborated. “She knows public scrutiny comes with the role, but the cruel comments still hurt. Now she’s channeling her energy into regaining strength and carrying out her work.”

When social media users called the wig unflattering, the insults dug deep. “It is her armor,” said one source. “But she’s determined not to let criticism about it define her.”

Related: The Damning Ultimatum Charles Gave Harry After Their Reunion: ‘The King Has Been Absolutely Clear… ‘

“Some of the remarks were vile,” another source told the site. “People were mocking her, calling the blonde look a wig to cover bald patches.”

“Given what she’s been through, that sort of trolling is horrific,” they continued. “She’s worked hard to be open about cancer but also dignified – it’s disgusting that people use it as a weapon against her.”

A second insider said, “Kate is deeply committed to her role and never grumbles. Still, she’s only human. After enduring months of chemotherapy, changes to her hair are an inevitable reality. Mocking that is unbelievably cruel.” The Princess of Wales notably changed her hair color back to brown following the backlash.

Amid the hate comments, Sam McKnight, who worked as Diana’s personal hairstylist for seven years before her death, took to Instagram on Sept. 4 to defend Prince William’s wife’s hair makeover. “I am shocked, horrified, dismayed and disgusted by all the nasty comments about the Princess of Wales today,” he wrote in a post. “A woman’s hair is very personal to her, it’s armor, defense, confidence and so much more.”

He continued, “I cannot believe how evil and lacking in any kind of empathy are the comments, the majority made apparently by other women, attacking a vulnerable other young woman, who has no choice, by dint of who she married and the role she took on, to bravely face the public.”