Even Kate and William’s friends are shocked by the disappearance of their wedding ring

Speculation about the health of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage, sparked by the lack of a wedding ring on Kate’s ring finger in her famous Mother’s Day photo, was firmly pushed back into the mainstream after Stephen Colbert trolled Prince William in his Tuesday monologue with rumors of an affair.

Colbert stunned the public Tuesday night by referencing an affair William allegedly had with his neighbor, Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. The palace has repeatedly denied that an affair ever took place.

A former royal staffer told The Daily Beast that Colbert’s comments would be “deeply annoying” as William and Kate’s office at Kensington Palace desperately tries to put things right after a tumultuous few days of headlines.

Stephen Colbert trolls Prince William over alleged affair

The former courtier, who worked with William and Kate when he was employed at the palace, said: ‘It’s deeply annoying and unnecessary for the palace, but it’s no surprise that rumors about the affair are heating up . What else are people supposed to think when she sends a photo without her wedding ring? »

Another source, who is a friend of Kate and William, said they and their group of friends were “completely baffled” as to why Kate had posted a photo showing her without a wedding ring when she looked ” guaranteed to get people asking about the status of marriage.

The friend said: “They are often seen together at school events, and it is truly remarkable how one of them, and often both, will always be there at every game, at every concert of music and at each awards ceremony. The relationship has always seemed incredibly strong despite the immense pressure they’re under, so it’s fair to say we were all completely baffled when the photo came out with the missing wedding ring, especially since it was retouched. This seemed to guarantee that people would ask about the status of the marriage.

In public at least, William and Kate present not only a united front, but a telegenic one. Their family unity and genial, camera-friendly good looks also represent the future of the royal family in microcosm – a future that is more open, seemingly progressive, and at least more normal and approachable than the more rigid, them-and-you royal models. -us from the past.

Any threat, perceived or not, to Kate and William’s marriage poses a perilous question mark over the royal institution itself, at a time when it already seems smaller and more vulnerable than ever, King Charles and Kate being absent from public functions because of their medical problems.

Rumors about the affair date back to 2019, when the Daily Beast reported on attempts by palace lawyers to suppress reporting on the alleged affair by issuing harsh legal notices to British publications, warning them not to write about the rumors.

At the time, official Kensington Palace sources told The Daily Beast that the allegations were “totally untrue and untrue.” Royal law firm Harbottle and Lewis sent letters to British media saying the stories were “false and very damaging”.

Instead, British newspapers reported that there had been a terrible argument between former friends Kate and Rose, without giving the cause.

Colbert said in his opening monologue that “Internet detectives” were guessing that Kate’s absence “might have something to do with the fact that her husband and the future King of England, William, were having an affair.”

Colbert, who poked fun at the fact that Rose’s married name, Cholmondeley, is pronounced Chumley, said there had been “rumors of an affair…since 2019.”

Speculation about Kate and William’s marriage has reignited in major British newspapers after Kate and William were photographed together in a car on Monday, with Kate looking, seemingly somber, away from her husband.

Prominent columnist Liz Jones wrote in the Daily Mail that the photo raised alarms because it suggested that Kate was not cooperating and that she had not participated in the photogate but had taken responsibility for it.

Sarah Vine, a politically connected columnist at the same newspaper, wrote that her missing wedding ring was “concerning,” saying it seemed “deliberate, a statement in its own right.” If it’s not there, could it be because she doesn’t want it? It’s not worth thinking about.

She added that the miserable atmosphere of “the instant they were leaving Windsor” was “far from encouraging”.

The problem with this image, Vine writes, “is that it’s actually a lie. Worse, it now seems like a lie designed to cover up other lies, a classic example of that old adage: It’s not the crime that gets you, but the cover-up. And there’s only one way to stop it: tell the truth about what’s really happening – or risk drowning in a quagmire of their own making. »

Kensington Palace did not respond to a request for comment.

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