bitchy | Prince William & Kate made a ‘surprise’ appearance to highlight the flu crisis

Earlier this morning, as I wrote a different story about the Princess of Wales, it occurred to me that we hadn’t actually heard anything about William and Kate since Christmas day. I wondered if, immediately after Christmas, they headed off for another ski trip. That’s what Kate did last year after Christmas – she went to Switzerland or France for a ski holiday with the kids, and William might have joined her at some point. Whether they did a repeat of that one year later, I still don’t know and no one is saying anything. But if they did leave the UK, they returned in time to make a “surprise” public appearance today in West London.

The Princess of Wales has made a surprise appearance with Prince William to visit a hospital and thank NHS staff for their hard work during the difficult winter months.

Kate, who celebrates her 44th birthday tomorrow, made a last-minute decision to join William to drop into Charing Cross Hospital in West London, where they met with staff, volunteers and patients – marking their first official engagement of 2026.

The princess “wanted to join her husband to show her support for the NHS and to thank the teams at Charing Cross for their efforts” over a difficult winter period, Kensington Palace said.

[From The Daily Mirror]

Most years, Kate is barely seen until mid to late January, if that. So this is a surprise. They’re still making it sound like Kate tagged along on what was supposed to be William’s solo visit, but that happens a lot. William tags along on Kate’s events sometimes too, especially when one or both of them is feeling particularly needy. “Don’t forget about meeeee!” Considering all of the gossip and news about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the past three weeks, it would make sense. Plus, Harry is due to come to London this month for his lawsuit against the Mail. You’ve got to believe that William and Kate are both studying the trial schedule and making plans for last-minute events to coincide with Harry’s visit.

Apparently, this visit was specifically about the “winter flu crisis” – the flu has been exceptionally brutal this winter here in America, and I didn’t realize that England and Europe were also dealing with that too. I feel so lucky that I got my flu shot last September and that I have magically not caught anything in about a year. I hear the latest strain of norovirus is pretty brutal too. Stay safe everyone! Mask up!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.