The royal family has made a point not to respond publicly to Prince Harry’s memoir Spare or Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, but paparazzi captured a look at Kate Middleton for the first time since both projects were released, and it was far from her jolliest off-duty sighting.
The Princess of Wales was photographed driving this morning in a beige coat and dark printed scarf. Her straight brown hair was styled down, and she appeared contemplative and relatively stoic behind the wheel. You can see the photo here on Express‘s site.
It’s a departure fr0m Kate’s usual smiley demeanor at her official engagements—but then again, it was a casual Wednesday morning sighting by paparazzi. Even without a brother-in-law’s tell-all memoir dominating the global news cycle, it’s far from anyone’s happiest hour.
Kate quietly celebrated her 41st birthday on Monday, the day before Spare was published. In the days prior, leaks from the book outed details about the royal family’s treatment of Harry and his wife Meghan Markle.
Kate has not commented on the memoir, of course, but multiple sources have discussed how unhappy she allegedly is about the book’s portrayal of her and her reported coldness to Meghan.
A source told Us Weekly on January 8 that “Kate feels that Harry’s actions are atrocious.” The insider added, “She is appalled at him for dragging her name through the dirt and is finding it hard to forgive.”
On Kate’s birthday, Tom Bower, author of Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, told Page Six that Kate is “outraged and hurt [by Harry’s claims about her in Spare].” Previously, Kate was reported to have felt Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries was a “betrayal.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.