Reading Time: 3 minutes
Kate Middleton and Prince William may have had a PR misfire.
But it may depend upon who you’re asking.
The heavens let loose upon the Princess of Wales and her divisive new hair.
A bunch of kids got caught in the downpour. Kate appeared to keep the umbrella to herself.
It looks like Kate Middleton had a major photo op fail
Is the Princess of Wales a bit of an ice queen?
That’s what some are wondering after Kate Middleton and Prince William’s latest royal stunt.
When Kate stepped out with her, again, very divisive blonde wig, they knew that it was a photo op.
She and William met up with some school children at London’s Natural History Museum.
Before the planned photo op with the children, a massive downpour of rain began.
Kate and William had come prepared, each having an umbrella.
The children, in their school uniforms (which is considered “normal” across the pond), did not.
As many on social media and beyond have noted, Kate appeared to keep the umbrella squarely over herself while the rain drenched the children.
Welp, the future of the monarchy, is looking more grimm by the hour. pic.twitter.com/AsZgP0VrDd
— Meghan,Duchess Of Advocacy (@meghan_world) September 4, 2025
Did Kate really do anything wrong?
Some very creative takes on social media have looked at the same photos and videos of Kate Middleton and suggested that she was positively heroic.
Royalty win!, these folks say, presenting Kate as leaping into action to usher the children to shelter.
But … the umbrella part is weird.
We’d like to believe that most people on this planet would offer an umbrella to children in a downpour, even if there aren’t cameras on us. (And, let’s be real, especially if there are)
“She’s protecting the wig at all costs,” tweeted one person. It is unclear how much of this was a theory and how much was a joke. But it sounds like a real possibility.
Another possibility is the famously absurd royal protocols.
If you have to wear pantyhose as if it were 1985, maybe you’re not allowed to share your umbrella with peasants — or allow filthy rain to touch your royal hair.
And, of course, there is a simpler explanation.
What is the simplest explanation of all?
Kate Middleton isn’t just wealthy through her marriage into the royal family. Her parents are loaded.
Sometimes, coming from money means growing up without normal courtesy towards others.
Whatever the reason — and we’d love to believe that, unlike the umbrella, it was out of Kate’s hands — it’s unfortunate that these kids got caught in a downpour so that the Prince and Princess of Wales could snap pics with them.
Not the end of the world but not someone’s favorite museum trip, right?
