Ainsi sera, groigne qui groigne

Prince William at Wimbledon

“This time last week, completing the National Three Peaks Challenge. A huge thank you to everybody who has supported The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.” The Princess of Wales shared a picture with her alongside The Prince of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Michael, Carole and James Middleton and pet Orla.

Hi, Anon, how are you?

Do you mean their private secretaries? Because if so, I wouldn't really say they're exactly new.

If that's who you mean, well, they're not Simon Case and Catherine Quinn, that's for sure. That's probably as much as I could say, but I'll try to explain what I mean a bit better.

I think when Simon Case and Catherine Quinn were there, William and Catherine's work was at its strongest. It wasn't necessarily that they were carrying out more engagements or working longer hours. It was more that whatever they did felt important, relevant, and like it was part of a bigger mission. There seemed to be a clear sense of purpose behind what they were doing, and it gave the impression that there was an actual long term vision rather than just reacting to whatever came up.

Since they left, I feel like a lot of that has disappeared. Either that way of working left with them, or they were the ones who were really driving that sense of direction behind the scenes. Personally, I notice it much more on Catherine's side than William's, although I think it applies to both of them to some extent.

After that, it feels as though the motivation gradually dropped. They seemed to become a bit more comfortable and a bit less ambitious, and instead of their private secretaries pushing them, challenging them, or encouraging them to maintain that same standard, I get the impression that the secretaries simply adapted to the pace William and Catherine wanted. Rather than setting expectations or helping shape a stronger agenda, they seemed to go along with it.

I also think that over time their work started to feel much more repetitive. It lost some of the energy and sense of direction it had before. There are still individual projects that are worthwhile, of course, but overall it doesn't feel as focused or as impactful as it once did.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒, Patron of the Football Association & Welsh Rugby Union, joins Jason & Travis Kelce on a special episode of the 'New Heights' podcast | 3 JULY 2026

He was introduced by Jason as,