The Seriously Shady Side Of Kensington Palace
Crowns, palaces, and tales of kings and queens sound like the makings of a fairytale, but for the U.K., it's just another day in the kingdom. They're among the rare nations still rocking a real-life monarchy. For decades, the royals have been at the center of attention, and there has been a lot of divide over how people feel about them because they tend to have a shady past, a lot of which comes from Kensington Palace.
Kensington Palace has a rich history that dates back to the 1600s. It all started when monarchs William III and Mary II selected the palace as a retreat in 1689. Since then, it has become a home away from home for royals. From Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to his mother, Princess Diana, many royals have stayed on the grounds of Kensington Palace. Harry reflected on growing up in a palace during a book event in 2023. He shared, "As kids, it was an adventure, running around that kind of a place. What an experience," (via People). Sure, the palace itself may have been fun to explore, but that's about where the fun stopped.
Kensington Palace has become a place of office for royals, from diverting public crises to keeping hidden secrets. There has been some seriously shady behavior from the royal stomping grounds throughout the years, and we are breaking it all down.
Duchess Kate photoshop debacle
The shadiest scandal of Kensington Palace in 2024 has to go to Kate Middleton — it's all anyone talked about. Back in January 2024, Kensington Palace revealed that Kate had a "planned abdominal surgery," and wouldn't return to the public eye until Easter. But nobody expected Kate to be completely MIA, and many began to speculate about the Duchess of Cambridge's whereabouts.
It seemed Kensington Palace grew angry about all the speculation as they released a harsh follow-up statement about Kate. It read, "Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess' recovery and we'd only be providing significant updates."
The official first photo of Kate, — not that super grainy one from TMZ – dropped in March 2024 in honor of the U.K. Mother's Day by Kensington Palace. Kate smiled alongside her three children, but people quickly noticed signs that the photo was manipulated, specifically near Princess Charlotte's wrist and Kate's hand. The Associated Press dropped a "kill notification" on the photo, stating that after a "closer inspection, it appears the source has manipulated the image." In other words, Kensington Palace and the royals gave the photo a little digital facelift. The Duchess later tweeted a bizarre excuse, claiming she was "experimenting with editing," which supposedly led to the glaring Photoshop faux pas. But the drama behind the photo all seemed a bit shady, considering Kate has been out of the limelight, and Kensington Palace has done everything in its power to keep things under wraps.
Prince Harry says Kensington Palace took control
Prince Harry's departure from his royal duties has come with revealing details about the royal family, most of which haven't been great. Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, had ex-staffers seeing red because of the many bombshells dropped, including one that Kensington Palace allegedly lied in a statement released to the public.
After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family, there was a lot of speculation as to what really went down inside the monarchy that led the couple to leave. Around the time of Harry and Meghan's departure, The Times claimed tensions grew between Prince William and Prince Harry because William "wasn't friendly towards Meghan" and bullying behavior happened. Not long after the story was published, Kensington Palace released a statement denying tension between the two brothers and the alleged mistreatment.
Harry and William signed the statement, but Prince Harry revealed he never authorized Kensington Palace to release that statement, per Buzzfeed News. He said, "No one had asked me. No one had asked me permission to put my name to a statement like that." Harry went on to say that when Meghan heard about the statement release, she burst into tears. Harry explained the reason for the tears was because "within four hours, they were happy to lie to protect my brother, and yet for three years, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us."
Kensington Palace versus Tatler
If there is one thing that people have taken notice of Kensington Palace, it's that they like to control the narrative when it comes to the royals. In 2020, the news outlet Tatler released a jaw-dropping story about Kate Middleton. The story included shocking information from insiders and friends revealing the truth about the Duchess of Cambridge's private life and claiming she was upset about the new workload after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's departure from the royal family. One source said, "Kate is furious about the larger workload. Of course, she's smiling and dressing appropriately but she doesn't want this. She feels exhausted and trapped."
The news didn't paint Kate in the best light, and in a rare statement, Kensington Palace addressed the story. Kensington Palace said, "This story contains a swathe of inaccuracies & false misrepresentations which were not put to Kensington Palace prior to publication." However, a Tatler spokesperson claimed that Kensington Palace knew this story would be published. They told ET, "Tatler's Editor-in-Chief Richard Dennen stands behind the reporting of Anna Pasternak and her sources," they continued, "Kensington Palace knew we were running the 'Catherine the Great' cover months ago and we asked them to work together on it. The fact they are denying they ever knew is categorically false." But this isn't where the drama stopped, Kensington Palace reportedly got lawyers involved to have parts of the piece removed, and Tatler was forced to comply.
Did Kensington Palace throw shade at Prince Harry?
Kensington Palace may seem royal and proper on the outside, but are they just as shady? One photo posted by the palace had many thinking that they were. In honor of the late Queen Elizabeth II's birthday, the palace shared a post of Prince William and Kate Middleton alongside the queen and her husband, Prince Phillip. The caption read, "Wishing a very happy 93rd birthday to Her Majesty The Queen!" Seems sweet, right? However, people quickly noticed what they thought was shade thrown at Prince Harry. In the photo, Harry was not camera-ready and barely in it at all, and was hidden behind his big brother.
Not only did Harry's bizarre placement in the photo raise eyebrows, but people noticed that Meghan was conveniently missing. One user wrote, "Where is Meaghan? And you can hardly see Harry. Messed up family. The firm is archaic and needs to go." To be fair, the chosen photo was taken before Prince Harry and Meghan were a couple. Still, many felt they could have selected an image that included the entire family. Another user wrote, "They could have picked a pic a little less controversial." The strained relationship between the two brothers and sisters-in-law wouldn't come to light until after Prince Harry and Meghan's departure from the royal family. To many, knowing the story now, it wouldn't be surprising if Kensington Palace chose this photo to throw some shade at the couple.
Princess Diana felt isolated in Kensington Palace
In the past, when royals flocked to Kensington Palace, it was more of a retreat. However, over the years, Kensington Palace became more secluded, and many royals who resided there became isolated, including Princess Diana. Princess Diana had spent years living in Kensington Palace, and during her bombshell Panorama interview, she spoke about feeling alone. She said, "It's just by living at Kensington Palace, obviously, it is a little bit isolating, but, you know, maybe we all feel like that." There was not much she could do when she lived in Kensington Palace, whether that was on purpose or not. It seems that Kensington Palace had strict rules in place.
It was at Kensington Palace where Diana famously said, "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," which might be shocking, considering how far the palace tries to keep the royal's lives as private as possible. However, it doesn't seem like many knew about the bombshell interview. Princess Diana's interview took place after the staff left for the night, and essentially, the reporters and equipment had to be smuggled in. It shows the lengths she went through to tell her story because she knew the palace and the rest of the family wouldn't approve. The interview still brings surrounding controversy to this day as Princess Diana expressed her true feelings about the royal family and Kensington Palace.