A Telegraph source denied to BuzzFeed News that the piece had been pulled as a result of pressure from the Palace, but the newspaper declined to comment on the record.
Amid continued scrutiny of how the British press covers different members of the royal family, the Telegraph newspaper deleted a critical column about Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, on Thursday hours after it went up on the website.
The story, titled “A rare misstep for the Duchess of Cambridge?,” criticized Kate for co-authoring a recent op-ed about early childhood education with US first lady Jill Biden, who is a teacher and holds a doctorate in education.
“However important the cause, she is in danger of falling into the same trap as the Sussexes; she has risked aligning herself too closely with a sitting political party,” author Joanna Rossiter wrote. “It’s impossible to imagine Kate penning this sort of article with the likes of, say, Melania Trump. Her decision to do so is a tacit endorsement of the Bidens.”
This is not the first time Rossiter has raised concerns about a royal duchess showing possible bias. In 2019, she wrote a column for the Telegraph criticizing Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, for her “unabashed support for all things woke” and “aligning herself so closely with the icons of the political left.” That story remains online.
The Kate column was widely criticized by royal watchers. When its deletion was noticed, speculation began on Twitter that it had been done so at the request of the Palace.
Pulled by the Palace? The Telegraph swiftly deleted a mildly critical op-ed about the Duchess of Cambridge today—just hours after it was published. The article claimed Kate had compromised her “stringent political neutrality” by writing a joint article for CNN with Dr Jill Biden.
Twitter: @scobie
“So unfair criticism of [Kate’s] co-authored piece with Jill Biden is pulled but loads of lies/racist/bigoted attacks against #MeghanMarkle is never pulled?” asked activist, author and lawyer Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu in a viral tweet about the column’s deletion. “I think this criticism of Duchess of Cambridge is utter crap but the double standard/hypocrisy is profound. We See You.”
BuzzFeed News reached out to the Telegraph and Rossiter for clarification on why the piece was taken down and whether it would be restored. Rossiter did not respond to repeated requests for comment; a Telegraph spokesperson declined to comment on the record.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson also declined to comment on the record, but a Telegraph source said that they were not contacted by the Palace and any suggestion that they were was “ludicrous.”
A tweet from the Telegraph’s official account linking to the deleted story (the column’s URL now redirects to the website’s news homepage) was deleted following BuzzFeed News’ inquiry.
The deletion came hours before Kate launched her most ambitious project to date: a center dedicated to the study of early childhood and advocacy work to support children and parents during the early years of life.
Today I’m proud to be launching The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood — let’s embrace this golden opportunity to create a happier, more mentally healthy and more nurturing society.
https://t.co/KKE6QfX99c
Twitter: @KensingtonRoyal
The Telegraph has a reputation in the UK for being a right-leaning news outlet. It was also the source of the widely-reported story that Meghan had made Kate cry during a disagreement before her wedding to Prince Harry — which Meghan refuted in her March interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In that interview, Harry alleged that there was “an invisible contract behind closed doors'” between the Palace and UK news outlets
“if you as a family member are willing to wine, dine, and give full access to these reporters, then you will get better press,” he said, adding that “the institution survives” because of this symbiotic relationship between the Palace and the British media.
In May, Harry also alleged that stories about Meghan being a bully to her staff during her time as a working member of the royal family were “the combined effort of the firm and the media to smear her.”
The Telegraph piece has not been restored online as of publication.