Prince William Slammed for Using ‘Race as Focal Point’ While Praising Wife Kate’s Filipino Nurses

Social media users are taking jabs at Prince William on the internet after he reportedly applauded wife Kate Middleton's "Filipino nurses." The Prince of Wales awarded a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) to Patricia Spruce during one of his first public appearances since the Princess of Wales made her way home from the hospital after abdominal surgery, per Page Six.

After spending almost two weeks in the London Clinic, Middleton, 42, went back home to recover at the end of January. She isn't anticipated to be seen in public performing any royal duties until approximately Easter, but according to a report, she has started doing some of her work from home. Her surgery's reason has not been made public, but Page Six was informed it had nothing to do with cancer. 

Spruce wrote in a public LinkedIn post after being awarded the MBE, “What an amazing experience, the castle was just breathtaking, everyone was so lovely too [sic] us as we were just in awe of everything.” Spruce added, “Prince William said that Katherine [sic] had two Filipino nurses looking after her and they were amazing and kind.”

Royal observers swiftly criticized William, 41, for bringing up the nurses' racial background while applauding their medical skills. “Like what does their race have anything to do with it??” tweeted one reader. “It is very important to know Kate’s nurses were Filipino. Why? Hell if I know, ask Will. He made their race a focal point in a room full of White people,” another reader slammed. “William said Kate had two Filipino nurses. Why was it important to say they were Filipino nurses as opposed to just nurses?” questioned another.

The second X user went on, “It’s very telling who was included in Archie’s complexion debacle,” alluding to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's allegations that members of the royal family had questioned the color of their son's skin.

In an interview with the US chatshow host Oprah Winfrey, Meghan stated that during her pregnancy with Archie, senior members of the royal family had discussed with her and Harry “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

While Meghan declined to identify them at the time, a new book published in Dutch in December 2023 seems to have named King Charles and the Princess of Wales as the family members. Scobie said that the names of these royals were a result of a "translation" error and that corrected versions would be made available on December 8. As a translator, I translate what is in front of me,” Saskia Peeters, the translator told Mail Online. “The names of the royals were there in black and white. I did not add them. I just did what I was paid to do and that was translate the book from English.”