Royal Fans Think William & Kate Take After Princess Diana (& Not In A Good Way)

The late Princess Diana was criticized for a lot — even for wearing black, which is seemingly innocuous. Her eldest son is also facing scrutiny and being compared to her negatively. William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales have been called "lazy" for only doing 172 and 123 royal engagements respectively in 2023. 

In an interview with GB News, royal expert Gareth Russell talked about the criticism of the couple, and how Diana factors into it. "This is where you very much see that William is Diana's son," Russell said. He explained how although people consider William to be more like his father King Charles III, William and Diana did have a strong bond. Russell does not think people's opinions on William and Kate will bother them too much. However, "the danger for them is that even though this is almost certainly motivated by prioritizing their home life, it has enabled their critics to paint them as lazy," Russell told GB News. 

The royal expert added how such negative press may stick. He also said that William and Kate "were very much expected to be the star players and to be the star attraction for positive publicity" for the royal family. Not attending as many events could backfire because, he added, "If they're not seen as often, there is a risk that they enable their critics to write the story for them."

The number of events that William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales, attended was much lower than some other royals. Comparatively, the Telegraph reported that King Charles III was at 425 events in 2023. His sister, Princess Anne, lapped everyone with 457 (via New York Post). In the summer of 2023, before the end-of-year calculation of royal events, people were already talking about how William and Kate weren't doing enough. In fact, the Prince and Princess of Wales put their kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis first over the summer and took time off from royal events. 

Royal expert Richard Palmer discussed that choice with OK! Magazine. "They're very popular, they're a huge asset to the U.K., but there have been eyebrows raised in other parts of the royal household about the amount of time they're not doing official engagements," Palmer said. He speculated that William and Kate might start feeling pressured to do more, and also said how people may criticize them for taking so much time off work since most parents are unable to do the same. 

"The Princess of Wales has made it clear that her children will remain her priority for the foreseeable future," Palmer added, "and when you hear William and Harry talking about his childhood and how their father was always at his desk or away somewhere, you can perhaps understand why that is a priority." 

Despite some criticism, Princess Diana was revered and her death rattled many. Being family-focused isn't the only change that Diana brought to the royal family. People published an article for the 25th anniversary of Diana's death and discussed how Queen Elizabeth II softened a bit after Diana's passing. Not only did she show some emotion in her speech following Diana's death, but the queen also participated in sketches for the London Olympics in 2012 and for her Platinum Jubilee (the latter sketch includes international treasure, Paddington Bear).

"Who knows whether an event like that could have happened without someone like Diana coming in?" Ed Perkins said, who directed "The Princess" documentary for HBO about Diana's life. Another anniversary article in AP News talked more about Diana's effect on the royals. "I think we need to remind ourselves that [Diana] was probably the best-known woman in the English-speaking world, aside from perhaps Queen Elizabeth II herself," historian Ed Owens said. Because of that, Diana's death hit a lot of people hard.

Historian Sally Bedell Smith wrote a book titled "Diana in Search of Herself" and spoke with AP News about how peoples' reactions to Diana's death are what evolved the royal family, with Queen Elizabeth seeming to try and follow in her footsteps. "The queen was more likely to interact with people, and I think you see the informality magnified now, particularly with William and Kate,"  Smith said.