Gary Goldsmith may believe he is his niece's 'knight in shining armour', but his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother is the "last thing Kate needs" and she has likely been left deeply upset over his remarks on her health.
Insisting that he didn't need the Princess of Wales ' permission to star on the ITV reality show, Gary has responded to speculation on her health to housemates while declaring that he "loves [his] family" and that they can "trust" him. "My heart's in the right place with the family. I genuinely love them and respect what they do. I’m a royalist deep down," he said while confiding in his co-stars.
And while royal expert Jennie Bond agrees that he doesn't have bad intentions, she tells the Mirror that he will inevitably cause damage to the royals and will likely have left Kate "thoroughly depressed". " Gary Goldsmith is going to have to work very hard in not giving too much away - though I'm not sure how much he knows," she says. "I don't think it's a particularly close relationship and I don't think he's part of the 'inner circle' anymore - I think he's increasingly been pushed outside that circle now. He's very much a freelancer, doing what he wants.
"Clearly whatever's happened to Catherine, she's probably feeling fragile - mentally as well. To have a serious setback like this at the prime of your life, it must knock your confidence and so she'll be fragile at this stage in her recovery and to have this thrown at her. She must just be thinking, 'Why, why, why did Uncle Gary have to do this?' I imagine she's thoroughly depressed about it.
"I think that Gary comes from a good place in his heart. If he talks about her it's - in his view - to give her side of the story, give her a mouth, a voice, when he knows she can't off the back of allegations made of her. But I think it's the last thing she'd want - if Catherine or William want to say anything, they will say it. They don't need anyone else to, least of all someone within their own family - and they don't have that strong connection anyway."
Asked whether Gary's Celebrity Big Brother stint would help or hinder William and Kate in long run, she says: "In the end I think it will hinder and it will cause a family rift and we've heard enough about the royals not getting on. I think they're trying to portray the image of unity - Harry's gone his way and we've even seen Andrew has been accepted on the odd family occasion. They are not just a monarchy, it is a royal family and they've tried to show that they are a loving and affectionate family. So having a potential rift now between Catherine and Carole is not a good look."
Kate spent nearly two weeks at The London Clinic in Marylebone after undergoing abdominal surgery and was discharged on January 29. Kensington Palace announced she would step back from all official duties during her recovery and she was seen for the first time since her procedure on Monday while out driving near her Adelaide Cottage with her mum, Carole Middleton.
In the house, Gary spoke about the conspiracy theories regarding Kate, saying: "I think they should leave her alone right now because there's a reason why they're [family] not talking about it and they are giving her a little bit of space. I just think it's fundamentally wrong and if it was happening to anybody else they would think to give them some space. But because Kate's Kate, she does such an amazing job, there’s always interest in her.
"She's the number one royal for a reason and I just beg people to give her some space. I do think that they're changing the dynamic and they are family centric. They've got duty and it's a privilege to have the roles that they do have, but it's family first. You've got to look after yourself. You put your own oxygen mask on before you look after others. Kate, get well, love you and when you're ready we'll see you again. That's what we do to anyone else, why not her?"
He also revealed he had spoken to Kate's mum Carole as he responded to speculation about his niece's health. "I spoke to her mum, she’s getting the best care in the world," he said. Probed on whether Kate would be back, he replied: "She’s amazing, she will be back, of course she will.”
Yet, Jennie points out that he likely won't be in contact with Carole anymore after appearing in the CBB house. "Not anymore," she says when asked if they're still talking. "I rather doubt that he did tell her because she would have been against it and there would have been a massive family row! And why would he bother telling her? I don't know but I'm sure if he had told her she would have tried to persuade him not to. So now we have another family rift - they've got rifts going on all over the place now - Gary, Meghan's side of the family and Harry's side of the family. And now Carole and Gary and Catherine and William."
She adds: "If Carole knew I'm sure she would have read him the riot act. So I think he almost certainly has gone against his family and their better judgement - and for what?"
The Mirror has reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.
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