I TURNED BACK TO the Palace. Any progress on a date? A venue?
Nope, was the reply.
How about March?
Alas, March was all booked. How about June?
Sorry. Garter Day.
At last they came to us with a date: May 2018.
And they accepted our request for the location: St. George’s Chapel. That settled, we made our first public outing with Willy and Kate.
The Royal Foundation Forum. February 2018.
All four of us sat on a stage while a woman asked us softball questions before a fairly good-sized audience. The Foundation was nearing ten years of existence, and we spoke about its past while looking to its future with us four at the helm. The audience was keen, all four of us were having fun, the whole atmosphere was hugely positive.
Afterwards, one journalist dubbed us the Fab Four. Here we go, I thought hopefully.
Days later, controversy. Something about Meg showing support for #metoo, and Kate not showing support—via their outfits? I think that was the gist, though who can say? It wasn’t real. But I think it had Kate on edge, while putting her and everyone else on notice that she was now going to be compared to, and forced to compete with, Meg.
All this came on the heels of an awkward moment backstage. Meg asked to borrow Kate’s lip gloss. An American thing. Meg forgot hers, worried she needed some, and turned to Kate for help. Kate, taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube. Meg squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips. Kate grimaced. Small clash of styles, maybe? Something we should’ve been able to laugh about soon after. But it left a little mark. And then the press sensed something was up and tried to turn it into something bigger.
Here we go, I thought sorrowfully.
