Kate Middleton’s photo fiasco: Here are 7 times the royal family has apologized in public
British royal family keeps mum on Kate Middleton photo fiasco but here are 7 times they did apologize
The British royal family has not divulged anything about the photograph fiasco, except for Kate Middleton's apology message that she posted on social media. While the confusion regarding the Mother's Day photograph still persists, there have been instances in the past when the Windsor family has issued apologies to clear certain issues.
1. Prince Philip
Prince Philip, the late Queen Elizabeth's husband, apologized to a woman who got involved in a car accident with him in January 2019. In a letter addressed to the woman, he wrote, "I would like you to know how very sorry I am for my part in the accident at the Babingley cross-roads... The sun was shining low over the main road," before adding, "In normal conditions I would have no difficulty in seeing traffic coming from the Dersingham direction, but I can only imagine that I failed to see the car coming, and I am very contrite about the consequences. I was somewhat shaken after the accident, but I was greatly relieved that none of you were seriously injured." The Duke, then 97, voluntarily surrendered his driving license.
2. Prince William
Prince William once apologized on behalf of Kate Middleton when the Princess of Wales had to cancel a solo trip to Malta in September 2014 because of severe morning sickness. During that time the mother-of-three was pregnant with Princess Charlotte, and Prince william visited Malta alone. Addressing the congregation there, the Prince of Wales said, "Catherine has asked me to say how very sorry she is that she couldn't be the one to pass on the Queen's greetings to you all. She was looking forward to coming here, and I know she hopes very much that she will be able to visit in the future."
3. Prince Harry
Prince Harry has tendered two major public apologies till now. In 2005, Prince Harry was photographed wearing a Nazi uniform while attending a costume party. After the picture created huge uproar aming the public after first getting published by The Sun, Clarence House issued a statement of apology. The statement read, "Prince Harry has apologized for any offence or embarrassment he has caused. He realises it was a poor choice of costume."
4. Prince Harry
Attending the virtual Diana Awards in July 2020, Prince Harry apologized for institutional racism and said, "My wife said recently that our generation and the ones before us haven't done enough to right the wrongs of the past. I too am sorry. Sorry that we haven't got the world to the place where you deserve it to be. Institutional racism has no place in our societies, yet it is still endemic. Unconscious bias must be acknowledged without blame to create a better world for all of you."
5. Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York, apologized in 2011 for taking money from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to repay her debts. She told The Evening Standard, "I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me. I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite I cannot say." She continued, "Whenever I can, I will repay the money and will have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again. I cannot state more strongly that I know a terrible, terrible error of judgment was made, my having anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein. What he did was wrong and for which he was rightly jailed."
6. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
Sophie, the current Duchess of Edinburgh apologized to comedian Frank Skinner after making critical comments of his performance on Three Lions with David Baddiel and The Lightning Seeds at the Royal Variety Performance in December 2022. In February 2023, Skinner revealed in his radio show that Sophie sent him a handwritten apology note. Skinner recalled the incident and told his viewers, "I got a very lovely note this week - unexpected - from someone I've talked about on the radio show. And you know when the word classy springs to mind... I was quite moved by it. It was the most beautiful thing - handwritten and lovely. I was very pleased."
7. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Prince Harry's wife, Meghan Markle apologized to her former Immaculate Heart High School classmates for missing her school reunion on May 5, 1999. However, she had a reason to give the event a miss as the Duchess gave birth to her son Archie on the following day. It is said that she wrote the letter on Kensington Palace headed notepaper, per Hello! Magazine.
