KATE AND WILLS STEP UP

AS THE CAMBRIDGES CARRY OUT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS JENNIE BOND TELLS OK! HOW THEY ARE‘ SHOULD ERING THE WORK LOAD’ OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX.

- SAMUEL MCMANUS-MAXWELL

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were kept busy with separate commitments last week. Kate, 40, met both volunteers and users of mental health initiative Shout, the organisation she and her husband launched with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May 2019. Meanwhile, 39-year-old William was at the new-look BAFTA headquarters, discovering how the academy helps young people break into the film, games and TV industries.

The couple’s decision to split their duties can probably be explained by the extra pressure placed on them since Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, stepped down as senior royals in 2020. Royal commentator Jennie Bond exclusively tells OK!, “It’s been quite tough on William and Kate, with their young family, to step up and take on so many more responsibilities.

“They obviously set up Shout with the idea that the four of them would share out the workload and now it’s just the two of them. William has an awful lot else to do, so Kate is shouldering more of the workload.

“It must be difficult with the children, but they are getting used to the reality, which is that Harry and Meghan are not going to be part of these royal appointments anymore. But Kate appears to be weathering the storm brilliantly. She’s really coming into her own now, at the grand age of 40.”