Prince William and Kate Middleton have leveled up their social media game in the past few years to keep up with the trends, but one of their latest posts has landed with a thud. The royal couple was likely trying to sound encouraging of Princess Anne’s return to palace duties after her head injury, but it came off rather insensitively.
On July 12, the Royal Family’s X account reported that Anne had begun “a gradual return to duties today with a visit to @RDAnational’s Championships at Hartpury University and Hartpury College.” The next day, the Prince and Princess Of Wales’ account quote-tweeted the post, adding in a fun and causal way, “Super trooper! So great to see you back so soon! W & C x.” While the palace has been cagey about Princess Anne’s head injury after reportedly being kicked by a horse, it’s clear that it was a serious incident. She looked unusually frail and was sporting a noticeable, but fading, bruise on her left cheek.
The accident was bad enough that she was overheard by the Daily Mail telling people at her first event back, “I can’t remember a single thing about it.” According to The Daily Beast, her injury resulted in a four-day hospital stay, an absence from nine royal events, and notable memory loss. Princess Anne has always had the strongest work ethic in the royal family, and in a lean year of working royals due to illness, her scaled-back calendar impacted the palace deeply. It also feels slightly insensitive to push the hustle culture ideal on a 73-year-old woman — and even the Daily Mail pointed out William and Kate’s social media misstep.
The media outlet wrote that the message might be something “Aunty Anne mightn’t appreciate.” They continued, “A mole reports that medical advice was for the Princess Royal to rest up over the summer, the results of head injuries not always being immediately obvious – but Anne isn’t noted for doing what she’s told. William might have had another reason to see Anne back ‘so soon’. She can share the burden of investitures. So far this year there have been 25, with Anne presiding at 17.”
That work ethic issue that has plagued the Wales’ for years is creeping back into the narrative. While no one is going to fault Kate for stepping back from her duties while she battles cancer, some royal critics believe William should be doing more. Head injuries can take months to recover from, especially in your 70s, and it might be nice for the Prince of Wales to pitch in. Alas, he’s on summer vacation until the kids return to school in the fall.
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