A former royal butler has revealed why he suspects Princess Catherine is not one of King Charles’ “favourites” despite the future Queen’s high public approval ratings.
Former ITN Royal Editor Tim Ewart says people in the UK are still “quite concerned” about Princess Kate’s health.
Prince William has told veterans at a D-Day event that Princess Kate is getting better and would love to have attended as his wife continues her cancer treatment out of the public eye.
“There have been no formal medical bulletins, we still don’t know what form of cancer Kate has or specifically what treatment she is receiving,” Mr Ewart said.
“The crucial moment in the short term is going to come over the next week when she is due to appear at Trooping the Colour.”
Paul Burrell served as Princess Diana’s butler and confidante for a decade from 1987 until her death in August 1997, before becoming one of the UK’s best known royal commentators.
The former Buckingham Palace insider believes Kate – who is among the most popular royals in the world – is not favoured by Charles because he is yet to grant the future Queen a crucial honour.
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348 and is handed out at the discretion of King Charles himself in recognition of contributions to the nation and crown.
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The future Queen has yet to be invested as a Lady member of the Garter. Picture by Chris Jackson – WPA Pool/Getty Images.
The most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, it is outranked in precedence only by the decorations of the Victoria Cross and the George Cross.
Many current and past members of the royal family are part of the order, including William, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and even the disgraced Prince Andrew.
“I also wonder why Kate hasn’t been made a Lady of the Order of the Garter when she is our future queen which is out of kilter for me. I think it revolves around the King and his favourites,” Mr Burrell told SkyNews.com.au on Wednesday on behalf of Slingo.
“I wanted the King to invest Kate into the Order of the Garter, but he hasn’t done it.
Mr Burrell suspects the snub is because Kate is not one of Charles’s “favoured” family members. Picture: Supplied.
“I’m hoping that the King will invest Kate in the most noble order. I’m hoping he’s going to do that, if he does it will make headlines, she deserves it.
“She’s our future queen, she’s a Princess of Wales, it’s time for her to become a Lady member of the Garter.”
Charles is set to to add new members to the Order at Monday’s Garter Day service, with the little-known Duchess of Gloucester set to become the latest Windsor family member in the order.
While Kate has yet to become a lady of the garter, the Princess is currently the most popular royal family member in the United Kingdom, with an approval rating of 71 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.
Polling by YouGov shows Kate is considerably more liked than her husband William, who is on 67 per cent, while the King has a far lower approval rating of about 58 per cent.