Though Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary Goldsmith was voted off of the recent season of UK reality show Celebrity Big Brother after its first episode earlier this month, the troublesome royal relative continued to stay in the limelight amid a long period of silence from Kensington Palace. Now Goldsmith is apologizing for an interview he gave before the princess announced her recent cancer diagnosis.
On Saturday, The Times of London published an interview with Goldsmith, the brother of Kate’s mother, Carole Middleton, where he used a pseudonym, “Laughing Girl,” to insult Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and predict the demise of their marriage.
When the interview was released, Goldsmith released an apology to his social media account centered on the timing of the interview. “This interview and shoot was done over a week ago and went to print before I was aware of the sad news regarding my niece Kate,” he said. “My thoughts and prayers are with Kate and the wider family at this difficult time and deeply upset at the timing of this article. I hope this draws a line over the continued speculation and horrible conspiracies.”
He didn’t, however, address some of the more inflammatory comments he made about his niece’s estranged in laws. When asked about whether Harry would be welcome at Sandringham for a royal family thanksgiving, he said, “I don’t have insider knowledge but my sense is the fam will never turn their back on Harry fully. He’s naive to think he can throw his family under the bus and still get invited for Christmas at Sandringham. I mean, how stupid can you be?” He continued, “I think he’ll be back but only if he says sorry. He upset his nan, and that is unforgivable. But let’s face it, Laughing Girl isn’t going to be around forever, is she? I think she’s fickle. And I think she’s so bad for Harry and for our country.”
In the conversation, he also mentioned his and Carole’s working class background when defending his niece from allegations of racism, this time addressing Meghan by name. “That’s why it makes me so angry about what Meghan said about Kate,” Goldsmith said. “Me and Carole grew up in a community as diverse as a [Woolworth’s candy] counter. All the cultures you can think of. The idea that Laughing Girl says Kate is racist makes me furious. Kate knows her family’s roots and is proud of them. I’m sorry, but Laughing Girl is not good people.”
Goldsmith also made light of Prince Harry’s allegations in Spare that Prince William physically assaulted him. “Spare was a joke. It’s pathetic,” he said. “A frontline soldier for this country getting tearful because he broke his string necklace and landed in the dog bowl. [Vladimir] Putin will be laughing at us, if that’s the best we’ve got.”
In a previous interview with Good Morning Britain, Goldsmith said he doesn’t keep in touch with Kate regularly. “I haven’t spoken to Kate for ages. Years, maybe a year,” he said, adding that he typically only sees her at “weddings and funerals.”