It’s been a hell of a week in royal drama. The newest chapter of the Palace’s ongoing Kate Middleton crisis revolves around a family photo that turned out to be poorly Photoshopped, a choice that Middleton — or someone posting on Twitter for her — took the blame for. On Monday, having come clean about her tendency to “occasionally experiment with editing,” she was spotted in a car with her husband, reportedly en route to a private appointment. Meanwhile, a lot of people on the internet have resurfaced a years-old rumor that William had an affair with fellow aristocrat Rose Hanbury. Which begs the question: What has Prince William been up to while all this unfolds?
When he left the Palace with Kate, William was headed to a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, where he linked up with Queen Camilla (freshly back from a rejuvenating vacation). From there, he spoke at an Earthshot Prize event, because there is nothing like climate change to take your mind off the fact that people think your wife is secretly in a coma.
William surfaced again on Thursday, when he was photographed playing basketball and pool at a new youth center in London with students from a local school and participants in the center’s Development Group. After stopping at a crafting table, he took a tour of the kitchen, decorating cookies with a few nearby kids. In a video of the visit, he tells someone who complimented his frosting work, “It’s really not impressive. My wife is the arty one.” The Palace would certainly like us to think so, wouldn’t it?
Later on Thursday, William delivered a speech at London’s Science Museum for the Diana Legacy Awards, an honor named after his mother and awarded to people under 25 for social action or humanitarian work. Prince Harry appeared separately at the event, via a video call that started hours after William had left. I guess even conspiracy theories can’t bring those two together.
William’s week of royal engagements has also been dutifully documented on his and Kate’s shared Instagram account — right next to the edited Mother’s Day photo from Sunday. This guy is just posting through it.