Princess Kate's absence with William in Saudi Arabia ‘part of grand plan'

Prince William will be kicking off the third day of his Saudi Arabia visit, which is a crucial political visit held at the behest of the UK government to strengthen the long-held alliance between the two countries.

However, it was anticipated now that William’s wife has been feeling better after her cancer journey, the Princess Kate will be joining him for more overseas visits, especially noting how she is given a key role when the King hosts State Visits.

Royal experts believe that this is part of a grand scheme of things which is why Princess Kate was left out from the tour. The royals are currently embroiled in the intense scrutiny following the harrowing information coming out of the Epstein files.

For the first time, the all senior royals were forced to make a statement on a sensitive matter, a major break from the ‘never complain, never explain’ rule that was set by Queen Elizabeth. It had all come around so close to the Saudi visit.

When William touched down, the press envoys made it clear that the Princess of Wales was not present as she had stayed home to be with their three children, ‘who are at school this week’. Royal expert Ros Wynne Jones quipped that the children are at school 33-36 weeks during the rest of the year.

He raised the question if the “courtiers deny the Saudis a golden image of Princess Catherine” who is considered a “global icon”. Kate “chatting and playing with young women footballers and symbolising a new woman-friendly state in the Gulf” would have made for a very nice optics.

Hence, it brings back the question if Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis actually needed help with homework.

There are plenty of controversies surrounding celebrities who have previously visited the country giving the differing views of nation. Comedians Jimmy Carr and Jack Whitehall were accused of ‘entertainment-washing’ when the performed in Riyadh’s comedy festival.

Similarly, athletes have been criticised for siding with the country over political clashes and policies that don’t sit right with many. The expert noted that “after ‘artswashing’, ‘sportswashing’ and ‘tourism-washing’, this week is an exercise in Royal-washing, albeit a game Britain’s diplomats are willingly playing.”

It is possible that the courtiers were hoping to contain any possibility of a scandal and protecting Kate, who already faced a major health battle.