Catching up with the royals (July 7, 2025)
Kate's post-cancer 'roller-coaster' and Harry's 'blow-up' with his gran
KATE’S FRANK TALK ABOUT LIFE AFTER CHEMO
Two weeks after suddenly pulling out of attending Royal Ascot, the Princess of Wales visited Colchester Hospital, where she planted some "Catherine’s Rose” plants in its garden. She also met with patients and staff at the hospital’s Cancer Wellbeing Centre. Holding a mug of tea in her hands, Kate spoke openly about the emotional impact of cancer and how, like many, she’s finding that life after treatment is harder than expected.
“There is a whole phase when you finish your treatment, everybody expects you to be better: Go! But that’s not the case at all.”
“You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment. Treatment’s done, then it’s like ‘I can crack on, get back to normal’ but actually the phase afterwards is really difficult.”
“You have to find your new normal and that takes time … And it’s a roller-coaster, it’s not one smooth plane, which you expect it to be. But the reality is it’s not, you go through hard times.”
“You’re not necessarily under the clinical team any longer but you’re not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to. And actually someone to help talk you through that, show you and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment I think is really valuable.”
Her comments are a reminder that her cancer journey is unique, as are those of all cancer patients. It’s not like others in the same situation, and not similar that of her father-in-law, King Charles III, who has been able to maintain a busy work schedule while still undergoing weekly treatments.
FOSTER WINS THE AWARD
Well, my favourite design by Tom Stuart-Smith, which featured a metal oak tree in the lake, didn't win the design competition to create the memorial for the late Queen Elizabeth II in St. James’s Park, across from Buckingham Palace.
Instead, the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee opted for Lord Foster's romantic design for the memorial area. Its features include:
A cast-glass bridge which will echo the design of the diamond tiara she wore to her wedding in 1947 (Queen Mary’s fringe tiara, for the curious)
Two statues: One of Elizabeth and Prince Philip as a couple, and another facing the Mall — the ceremonial route to Buckingham Palace — that has Elizabeth on horseback, in an echo of the first such statue that was unveiled on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 1992 (It’s temporarily in front of the Governor General’s residence, Rideau Hall, while the Hill is under construction).
As the announcement explains:
Foster + Partners’ winning design concept celebrates Queen Elizabeth’s life through a time of great change, balancing tradition and modernity, public duty and private faith, the United Kingdom and a global Commonwealth. The design concept illustrates how she brought these dualities together: two gates, two gardens, joined by a bridge and unifying path.
Though Foster is one of the top architects of our time, he once soundly criticized then-Prince Charles for scuppering his ultra-modern design for a heritage site within London.
THE SOCCER FAMILY
Prince William, patron of the Football Association, paid tribute to Diogo Jota, the Liverpool FC player who was killed in a car accident with his brother weeks after marrying his longtime girlfriend.
In other soccer/football news, the prince set up a consortium of businesses to fund a new access road to the grounds of a tiny football club in Cornwall called Mousehole AFC. The existing road was in terrible shape, forcing fans to trek through a tiny village, and hurting the community and the club.
WORTHWHILE CANADIAN CONTENT
Prince Edward, was in Canada for nearly a week of private engagements (meaning it wasn’t a Canadian government-sponsored official tour).
He began in the province of Prince Edward Island, which was marking the 150th anniversary of the Prince Edward Island Regiment. The Duke of Edinburgh has been its colonel-in-chief since 2005.
He also went to Ontario for a series of engagements, including attending the Canada Day commemorations in Ottawa. He also got to wear some fun customized gear, including a HRH lifejacket with Toronto Police Emergency Task Force and Marine Unit.
MEGHAN SELLS OUT AGAIN
The As Ever 2023 Napa Valley Rosé, with its “soft notes of stone fruit, gentle minerality, and a lasting finish” quickly sold out, like other As Ever products. It cost US$30 a bottle, with a three bottle minimum order, and is for only U.S. customers.
How the Duchess of Sussex will be able to sort out her supply issues is an open question. Selling out is wonderful (though we don’t know how many items were sold), but when that situation occurs again and again, it becomes harder and harder to attract and keep loyal customers. One factor that may help solve those logistics issues is that she’s using big white label suppliers — reportedly the teas and jams/spreads are made by Republic of Tea while Vanity Fair says the wine is from Fairwinds Estate.
Up next is a sparkling wine.
HARRY’S ‘BLOW UP’ WITH HIS GRAN
If you’re not reading Royals Extra, the Substack by royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith, then you have to subscribe! It mines two decades of deep research, much of it on-the-record and is a treasure trove of anecdotes, stories, and revelations.
And that brings us to an item in her June 30 post, which recounted what Lady Elizabeth Anson, a cousin and close confidant of Elizabeth II, told Bedell Smith before her death in 2020 about the Queen’s relationship with both Harry and Meghan. The topic is focused on the time just before their grand wedding in May 2018 (so roughly 18 months before they announced they were leaving full-time royal life).
While everyone initially thought Meghan would a great addition to the royal family and good for Harry, feelings changed in the run-up to the wedding, as Lady Elizabeth stated:
“Harry has blown up his relationship with his grandmother ... She said she was really upset. I was shocked when the Queen told me this, how she was so saddened. I had no idea about the conversation, that he was rude to her for 10 minutes.”
“[Elizabeth] says the jury is out on whether she likes Meghan … [She] is very worried. Harry is besotted and weak about women. We hope but don’t quite think she is in love. We think she engineered it all.”
“It’s worrying that so many people are questioning whether Meghan is right for Harry. The problem, bless his heart, is that Harry is neither bright nor strong, and she is both.”
These revelations from an impeccable source damage the claims by Harry and Meghan that they were close to and respectful of the Queen. They also follow a series of reports that cast doubt on that narrative, including Harry yelling, “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
As the Queen said after the Oprah interview, recollections may indeed vary.
SHADES OF ….
A pair of British celebs sorta repeated the Sussex "twerking" video while inside Buckingham Palace. They were there for a King's Foundation event, though photography is firmly discouraged inside royal residences. And that’s not the end of the royal connections to the video, as the royal family’s official Instagram account responded with "We see you!" causing the King's Foundation to reply, "All of our attendees are very well behaved."
My latest Royal Roundup on Global TV’s The Morning Show on July 7, 2025:
Note: I’ve lifted the usual paywall on this post as it got delayed due to a huge storm, which caused the cottage where I was staying to lose power for 23 hours. Did I mention it’s on an island in the middle of a lake? Power banks and other conveniences meant it wasn’t the hardship of old, though I grew weary of hauling pails of water up from the dock for the cottage’s toilet. It also complete threw off my work schedule, hence today’s offering.
The good news: The water is the perfect temperature for swimming.
The bad news: Local mosquitoes think of me as the Blood Bank of Patricia.
