Kate Middleton's Splashy Public Comeback Seemingly Takes A Dig At Trump's Election Win

Since her chemotherapy concluded, Catherine, Princess of Wales, is increasing her royal workload. On November 9, 2024, the princess appeared at the Festival of Remembrance and attended the Remembrance Day service the next day.  Soon after, Kate announced on X (formerly Twitter) that she would hosting her annual "Together At Christmas Carol Service" on December 6. "This year's service provides a moment to reflect upon the importance of love and empathy, and how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives," Kensington Palace stated.

Some people are hypothesizing that this choice of words could be a commentary on the divisiveness following Donald Trump's presidential victory. However, the royal family makes it a practice to abstain from expressing their political views, like when King Charles didn't publicly congratulate Trump on election night. In addition, William, Prince of Wales, didn't discuss Trump's win during the Earthshot Prize awards, or draw attention to their divergence on the urgency of climate change.

Rather than a political stance, it's plausible that Kate's 2024 Christmas Service is rooted in her recent health experiences. In its statement, Kensington Palace explained the concert was intended to support caregivers and community volunteers: "individuals who have inspired, counselled, comforted, and above all else shown that love is the greatest gift we can receive." Kate started preparing for the service around the time she announced the end of her cancer treatment, and her moving message was clear about the ways cancer impacted her mindset.

While the royal family eschews public political discussions, they've reportedly displayed some anger about Donald Trump behind the scenes. In 2012, Trump expressed a lack of sympathy when paparazzi took topless photos of Kate, and he asserted that she was at fault for the incident. William, Prince of Wales, and King Charles apparently reacted badly to Trump's tweet, "in what one Clarence House butler referred to as 'torrents of profanity,'" according to Christopher Andersen's "The King" (via Independent). In addition, Andersen also claimed in his book that Charles, William, and Prince Harry didn't want Trump to come to the U.K. after he became president.

However, in 2024, days before Kate disclosed of her cancer diagnosis, Trump expressed his sympathies for the royal family. Kate was dealing with criticism regarding her edits to a Mother's Day portrait, and Trump offered his take on the situation. "I looked at that actually and it was a very minor doctoring, I don't understand why there could be such a howl over that," Trump informed GB News.

Even though we'll likely never know Kate's opinion about the 2024 presidential election, if she was subtly dissing Trump, she wouldn't be the first royal to inspire this speculation. When Trump traveled to the U.K. in 2018, some theorized that Queen Elizabeth was sending a message with her jewelry. As she was conducting other royal business prior to meeting Trump, Elizabeth wore a brooch from Barack and Michelle Obama.