Ginanne Brownell has the Royal Family duty watch in Newsweek's London bureau. Here's her take on the latest twist in Prince William's love life:
Spare a thought for the gals of the Sisterhood challenge team, informed this week by email that their helmswoman was having to pull out of the charity boat race with only two weeks left before the big race. But then again, if you choose Kate Middleton to be on your team, expect that her prince -- in this case, William -- will always take precedence. This week the 25 year-old on again-off again girlfriend of Britain’s heir but one (his father, Charles) to the throne informed her pals that because of security concerns she was going to have to drop out of competing to become the first all-female team to cross the English Channel in a Chinese dragon boat. Did this mean that Wills and Kate, who famously broke up (allegedly) over media intrusion, were getting back to together?
We'll get to that. First, the security concerns. The worry was that the paparazzi -- whom William and his brother, Harry, blame for the death of their mother, Diana, ten years ago this month in Paris -- would stalk the oarswomen all the way from Dover, England, to Calais, France, creating a media circus. "It's dangerous enough as it is, without having to take into consideration the world's [paparazzi] causing us to capsize the whole time," one of Kate's teammates told the press. "They've been a nightmare."
Anyway, whatever the facts, this was all too much for British royal watchers, who like poorly trained puppies lapped up all spilled gelato of gossip. This was certainly the sign that Kate and Wills were back together. The couple, who first fell in love at St. Andrews University in Scotland as undergraduates, were reported to have split up in April. Why? Supposedly, William was too slow to propose. Maybe. But Kate was never too far off his princely radar screen. She was seen partying in posh London clubs with some of his best pals, after all. Rumors of a reconciliation abounded after Kate magically appeared in the royal box at the Concert for Diana in London on July 1. Then she was invited by William’s step-mum, the Duchess of Cornwall (aka Camilla, wife of Charles), to her birthday party that month.
Like all Royals stories, this one seems never-ending. London's Daily Telegraph reported this week that Clarence House -- charged with dealing with the press for Charles and sons -- briefed the press behind the scenes about her departure from the Channel race. That means Kate -- whose lawyers have been in discussions with newspapers editors over claims that she has been harassed by the paps -- is being advised by Williams's media crew. The upshot? Kate is relying upon the courtiers that Diana so hated. The saga continues.
