Internet sleuths are out in force as the Prince and Princess of Wales attend a Christmas event, picking apart a video to “analyze” a 5-second interaction between Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Such intense “analysis” is usually reserved for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, where off-hand comments or screengrabs from carefully trawled videos are used to proclaim relationship problems or news of impending divorce based on their body language and/or expression. By the end of it, the consensus is always in the vein of Harry looking subdued, bored, or defeated in face of a “bossy” and “domineering” Meghan. In a twist of fate, now it seems that William and Kate have caught the attention of armchair analysts.
There’s not a whole lot that can be said from viewing a 5-second video clip, but one X user found something to say anyway, offering up commentary suggesting relationship woes for the prince and princess. This sort of behavior is nothing new for the X-verse, although it’s usually aimed at Harry and Meghan instead of William and Kate — although it’s equally pointless and proofless no matter who the target is.
The tweet in question points out that Kate didn’t arrive with William and their children, and that she “dodged” an arm rub from the prince, calling it the “coldest meeting.” Bold claims and it’s all based on one video clip.
In a graphic display of hypocrisy, the William and Kate fans, who would gladly jump on board the second a so-called royal expert took out their judgy glasses to decode Harry’s frown or Meghan leaning forward while talking, took offense to the suggestions and flocked to the post in defense of the royal pair. Much of the criticism was lobbed directly at the poster, zeroing in on personal details from the poster’s profile as the royal legion lashed out.
Other comments suggest that the poster is reading into it far too much or seeing things that just aren’t there, suggesting that there are no problems to see in the first place. Some users called out the poster, claiming that the video clip had been edited to show something different from what had actually happened.
What’s interesting about all this is that defenders of William and Kate often engage in the exact same behavior, only it’s applied to Harry and Meghan instead. Fans of the Prince and Princess of Wales are quick to defend the pair, offering much more leeway than they’re prepared to give to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Much is written of the Sussexes and their “relationship problems,” to the extent that Harry has joked about the rumors during official engagements. “Expert” after experts weigh in on the Sussexes’ body language, off-hand comments, or separate appearances, all with the angle that something is rotten in their relationship. This continues despite the couple being steadfast in their denial that there’s even any suggestion of a divorce on the horizon.
No stone goes unturned in a quest to find new “evidence” of divorce, relationship issues, or whatever else is trending, to prove that their relationship is over — or at the very least, heading that way. Gleeful trolls spend their time and energy looking for something that isn’t there, posting to X and other platforms in a perfect example of turning nothing into something.
At the end of the day, these are real people with real relationships that are lived — mostly — off-camera and in private. No matter how big their profile is, it’s not possible for complete strangers to diagnose and examine relationship problems that may or may not exist. So maybe it’s time to put the pitchforks down, stow away the Sherlock hats, and chill out instead.
Published: Dec 8, 2024 02:20 pm