These are photos of Kate Middleton in a cage for the holidays! No, not really, although it does look like she’s entered the “veal pen” of royal life, doesn’t it? These are photos of Kate in the backseat of some kind of royal transport, with her family of commoners. This is to be Kate’s last Christmas as a commoner, sob! She spent Christmas with her family, not with Will or any of the royals. William didn’t even spend the holiday with his family though – he worked! He was on call with his helicopter rescue team in Wales. But no worries – Kate and Will are going to spend New Year’s together, with the royal family.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are set for the most exciting year of their lives – but they had to spend Christmas apart.
The lovebirds, both 28, were 270 miles apart Christmas Day as William had volunteered to work a shift with his helicopter search and rescue crew in North Wales, while Kate spent the day with her parents in Berkshire, England.
But they won’t be apart for long: The two are expected to spend New Year’s Eve together.
William is off work now until after the New Year celebrations and is heading for Sandringham, the royal family’s retreat in Norfolk, eastern England. It is known whether Kate will immediately join him, but if she does, it would mark the first time she has stayed there while the Queen and extended family have been in residence.
It has been a momentous Christmas holiday period for the couple.
Kate joined William at one of his official royal duties just days after she had been on the guest list at a private luncheon hosted by Queen Elizabeth.
Elsewhere, the Queen – in distinctive fur hat – led members of her family to church on Christmas morning, taking a bouquet of flowers from a young well wisher.
There was no mention of her grandson’s upcoming wedding in her annual televised address – or anything about her other grandchild, Zara Phillips’s engagement.
Meanwhile, the man who will officiate the couple’s April 29 wedding, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has said there was “cause for celebration” that any couple should want to “embark on the adventure of Christian marriage.”
In his Christmas Day message, Dr. Rowan Williams, said, “As the prince and his fiancee get ready for their new step into solidarity together, they will have plenty of inspiration around, more than you might sometimes guess from the chatter of our culture,” the BBC reports.
[From People]
Okay, did anyone else chuckle with “the adventure of Christian marriage”? I mean, good for them, and I’m not judging, etc. But “the adventure”? “Christian marriage”? Ugh. It makes me think that Kate and William are embarking on some kind of mega-triathlon with Jesus.
Anyway, good for Kate, I guess. She doesn’t look too bummed to not spend the holiday with her fiancé. It’s only going to get worse, Kate!
can i just say, darlinks, it’s a little vulgar of the archbishop to mention religion at all, and especially in the same breath as the royal fambly? one expects a bit more self-restraint from the church of england.
also, ‘the adventure of christian marriage’ makes me think of white-water rafting with fourteen kids, twelve of whom were accidents. but i think that just shows how long i’ve been in the us.
I think it should be “the adventure of royal marriage”.
boring boring they are really boring! ha. how happy of a life will this chick really have as a puppet in the royal scheme of all things english…it’s just so antiquatedly proper. *said with an english accent* sounds like a nightmare.
Who cares? They look freaking old
You should see the comments in the British press over Waity No Longer Katie’s assent to royalty. They are giving this boring, lazy woman no quarter over there. And they’re paying for it with their taxes. Sure, comments on a press story are not an actual scientific opinion poll, but as anecdotal evidence, there is a lot of negativity towards her.
Why are they negative. After reading about the break ups and make ups they aren’t sweet to me anymore. He’s a typical guy with prestige putting the girl through stupid crap. He was really pursuing other women in his early days. I know some guys like to see how strong your attachment is to them. So they do things to test you out, but 9 years. She just played the game his way and got the ring. Does she have any control or say in this relationship. It doesn’t seem so from what I read. If he had respect for her he would’ve started daring her seriously around the time he was ready to get married . 25… get married 3 yrs later.
Totally unattractive. He could of at least chosen someone who is nice to look at…considering we will be looking at her picture plastered all over the place for the next 50 yrs.
The “the adventure of Christian marriage” is coming from an archbiship not some average joe. Because of William’s service, I’m sure this isn’t the first Christmas/major holiday they spent apart and probably won’t be the last.
About 10 years ago I thought Williams was really cute. Now he seems more awkward looking. I think he’s looking less Diana and more Charles.
The first pic is soooo heavily photoshopped!
The mention of Christian marriage by the Archbishop is appropriate given that, should William be king, he will be the leader of the Anglican church. 🙄
And much of the British media would rip apart anyone he did engage – usually they adore tearing into women who have the temerity to leave the kitchen sink!
Can you imagine the heat that the Bush’s or Obama’s would have gotten if their daughters got married out of tax payer money ESPECIALLY during a world wide recession????
I was thinking the whole Christian marriage might refer to the fact that they’ve been “living in sin” for the last 5 years.
I don’t think people quite understand that although our taxes pay for the monarchy in Britain, they are also massively valuable to one of the UKs biggest industries- tourism.
We don’t maintain them for charity or out of personal affection, they are an important commodity.
And JulieM, I can’t speak for all of my country men and women, but I think she’s lovely, and most of the people I know think she’ll make a fine princess and future queen.
People want to see the queen and king. Tourists come through for that. Interesting .
I think Kate is a lovely person inside and out. I don’t understand why the British press and Brits give her such a hard time. Yet Brits will be all up in some celeb’s ass over some fictional fluff article in the daily mail. I just don’t get it.
She is a beautiful woman, and she’ll make a good Queen one day, I’m sure. I think the Brits probably do like her, but the press, as always, skews the truth so much that it has nothing to do with what really was said, or what really happened. I don’t believe the supposed “polls” that show the British people don’t like her. I think they probably do, very much. Plus, next to her, Camilla looks like Shrek. That must warm the hearts of some of the folks across the pond…..
Reality: I will take your word for it that your friends think Katie is terrific. You are there, I am not. Too bad that she and William have to cancel their expensive April ski holiday right before their wedding. What a sacrifice for Queen and country.
I have heard the tourism argument before. How many tourists go to the UK actually expecting to see a member of the royal family? My guess is tourism is way down because of the hard economic times being experienced around the world. And your taxes are still paying for a lavish, expensive wedding.
No they don’t come over expecting to see a royal wandering about town, they come to see the beefeaters, buckingham palace, to buy souvenir tat with their mugs on them. It’s not an argument, it’s a fact, the industry is worth billions.
And personaly, my taxes aren’t paying for anything. I’m a student and don’t pay them, but thanks for your touching concern.
@ Lia I’m British. Theres a fair few of us who really don’t relish having to fund this farce wedding, particually for such a dull and un-inspirational couple.
Ugh, I can’t believe I’m going to touch on this. Christian Marriage, which is what Will and Kate will enter into in the eyes of the Church, (vs. legal marriage, which is perfectly fine, legal, and the right to which I support for everyone who is legally able to consent) is considered to BE a “megatriathalon with Jesus.” You’re supposed to keep God in your hearts first, so that you can be a better partner because of your relationship with Christ. While I can’t speak to Will and Kate’s relationship or personal religious views, as all we have are tabloid speculation, if two Christians get married, it is supposed to be with God and the embodiment of Christ’s love and commitment to the Church, and the Church’s respect and commitment to Christ.
The wedding is all going to be paid for by the Middleton family and the royal family…not the taxpayers.
Emer: Do you actually believe that the Middletons and the Hanovers are going to fork over tens of millions of pounds for the wedding? Do you really?
Reality: See Mae @18 above, a fellow citizen. Tourists would come to see Buckingham Palace whether the UK were a monarchy or a republic, as well as Big Ben, Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Museums, Theater, Pubs and all the other wonderfully cultural non royal things on offer in London. I’m a Yank but I lived there for two and a half years. Fabulous city.
You’re a student and don’t pay taxes! Yet. Get ready for a Reality check, Reality. And weren’t there just student riots in London (Charles and Camilla caught in the crossfire) over University tuitions going up? Guess you will just have to sell a few more mugs.
JulieM: Do you actually believe that the Hanovers have anything to do with our royal family? Do you really?
I can only reiterate that the monarchy (the Windsor family) has its value and that most people seem happy to have Kate as future queen.
And you are wrong, the British Taxpayers are not going to be footing the bill for this wedding-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8154398/Kate-Middletons-family-to-help-with-cost-of-10m-Royal-wedding.html
Hi Reality: Hey, this is fun! That article doesn’t say how much the Middleton family will contribute to the tab. Do you actually think they will shell out 10M pounds? How about 100,000 for the dress. For you and me, that may be a fortune, but it’s chicken feed compared to the whole bill. I read that the security alone would be 10M. Westminster Abbey management is already complaining that the royals will only contribute a small amount to the “hall” rental for the day.
The present Queen is a direct descendant of the House of Hanover from the German royal dynasty. From George I (1714-start) to Victoria (1901-death), the royal house was known as Hanover. Victoria’s son, Edward VII was House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha (name derived from his father, Prince Albert). The house of Windsor was declared in 1917. I seem to recall there was a war on. The royal house changed it’s name, but not it’s ancestry. Really.
Ok this is getting embarrassing. Please stop, you’re making me feel sorry for you. You made a mistake and I called you on it, so all this desperate rationalising is only making you look worse.
The House of Hanover died with Queen Victoria in 1901, then it was the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, renamed Windsor because of the war. I never questioned their ancestry, as I too have studied our history, I questioned your mistake in calling them Hanover when that house was dissolved over a century ago. So don’t pretend you did it on purpose, that’s just pathetic.
That is all. Good night.
I’m American but have many British friends. They’re all split 50-50 on whether they like Kate Middleton. Most people just wish the couple the best (like they’d wish any couple the best) and hope that this union will not see any of the tragedy or scandal that has unfortunately plagued the British Royal Family in the past.
How much I (dis)like Kate depends on what I read about her. There are articles that make her look like a lazy, emptyheaded party girl and articles that make her look like a sweet, down-to-earth person that most middle class folk can relate to (and there’s more overlap than you might think between those two categories). I like her look and her style, but I don’t seem to glean much of her personality from what’s reported of her in the press. If I learned that she had a few endearing quirks, such as being an amateur harpist or a closet sci-fi fan, I’d probably be more endeared to her.
But it’s all moot. What matters is that William loves her (my opinion is irrelevant as he’s the one marrying her) and that they have a lasting and functional marriage.
The House of Hanover was renamed, not dissolved. And I did say Hanover on purpose, not pretending I did.
The End.
I’m an American that studied in London for almost 4 months, and even in that smallish period of time, I got the hint that the tabloids in the UK can actually be WORSE than the crap that likes to be pulled in the United States. I was there during the national elections and boy, let me tell you, the tabloids had a field day with Gordon Brown’s verbal slip when he thought his mike was on. (And the touristy part with the royal family is mostly to pose in front of Buckingham Palace or to catch a changing of the guard. I personally found the Tower of London and the bit of the Roman wall nearby much more fascinating – I went to Bath one Friday for a trip and I was in total awe, I’ve studied a bit of Roman history =) )
I honestly think Kate is very pretty in a subtle way, and I’ve always liked her very simple, yet classic styles (at least from the pictures I’ve always seen of her).