Will Duchess Kate take over one of Prince Andrew’s military patronages?

Over the weekend, the Duchess of Cambridge released never-before-seen photos of her trip to a British Army training base. I can’t imagine that Kate was there for even one full day. I strongly suspect that she was only on the base long enough to pose for keen photos and flirt with Army dudes. The fact that Kensington Palace held on to the photos and the news of the trip is very curious too, although this is not the first time KP has “banked” photos and news of an event for months at a time. In Kate’s message over the weekend, she wrote: “I look forward to discovering more about the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force in due course.” That was enough to make me wonder if Kate is about to get some big new military patronage. Now one of the Mail’s gossips says that’s the case, and Kate will likely get one of Prince Andrew’s most prestigious military patronages.

Photos of the Duchess of Cambridge in Army fatigues indicate that Kate, famously reluctant to take on military roles, is at last ready to step up and maintain the strong links between royalty and the Armed Forces. It also fuels the rumours that she is to take on higher-profile roles, with the colonelcy of the Grenadier Guards said to be heading her way.

The Queen is dithering on filling that role out of respect to Andrew, who had the post removed from him. But the Grenadiers would give Kate a warm welcome – as they did to their first female royal colonel, Princess Elizabeth in 1942. The delusional Andrew still thinks he can get the role back, but he should abandon hope. ‘The lads wouldn’t wear it,’ advises one officer in the Bill Browns.

[From The Daily Mail]

I remember when Harry walked away and the Queen removed his military patronages, there was a lot of talk about who would get what, and how maybe Prince William was keen to take whatever Harry had, or maybe Kate would “soften the blow” by taking them. What’s funny about that is there has been zero urgency, within the family, to talk about who should take over Andrew’s patronages. Most of them are still sitting there, patron-less, mostly because Andrew and the Queen are still convinced that he can “come back.” So yeah, maybe Kate will be the new colonel of the Grenadier Guards. Or maybe she’ll finally get one of Harry’s old patronages. I definitely think she’s about to be assigned something new.

Also: “Kate, famously reluctant to take on military roles…” This is true. She had been in the Firm for seven years before the Air Cadets patronage was forced on her by the Queen at Christmas one year, and that was her first military patronage. I don’t know WHY Kate is so “reluctant” either, other than the fact that she’s lazy as hell.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Kensington Palace, Instar.

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