Back in January, People Magazine had an unnamed source within Buckingham Palace who let it slip that Kate Middleton will be taking her sweet time getting involved in charity work. The phrasing used was “months or even years” for Kate to begin her charity portfolio. My take on that situation was that Kate is lazy, vapid and exhausted after nine long, hard years of being solely focused on landing herself a prince. It’s one of the things that’s pissed me off about Kate the most – she’s never before shown any interest in working for a charity. And don’t say that Starlight Children’s Foundation – the only thing she ever did for them was get dressed up and go to one dinner.
Anyway, Us Weekly’s palace sources are now saying that Kate is already spending some time working on her charity portfolio. No, that’s wrong. She’s working on putting a list together for a handful of charities she might want to patronize. Our Little Waity spend a whole WEEK doing research! No, that’s wrong. She broke up her grueling charitable research schedule by doing some shopping.
With Prince William away in New Zealand last week for work, it’s been up to Kate Middleton to hold down the fort in London. And while you might believe recent weeks have been all about cake-tasting and dress fittings, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Sources tell UsMagazine.com that Kate, 29, spent a considerable amount of time last week planning her charitable works. I’m told that she met up with a leading children’s charity to discuss a future patronage.
“The plans that Kate’s involved in go far beyond the wedding,” a royal aide tells me. “One of her meetings was with Beatbullying, which is a charity she feels interested in working with.
“She’s hoping to begin her life of royal duty the second they are back from the honeymoon. Kate wants to do good and prove herself.” (No confirmation from St. James’ Palace yet, who say “Nothing has been confirmed” for Kate’s chosen charities.)
Also in the cards? A source reveals that Kate and William, 28, are hoping to plan a special one-off concert in London to benefit Japan disaster victims.
Kate was also lucky enough to get a second preview of her wedding music when she visited the Cadogan Hall in Knightsbridge on Friday.
A spokesman for the London Chamber Orchestra confirms that Kate spent time with conductor Christopher Warren-Green (who is also a friend of Prince Charles). “Kate came in to see a little of what she can expect,” adds an onlooker. “Everyone was very excited to see her at the rehearsals. It was totally out of the blue.”
Of course, there was also time for a little shopping. I’m told that Kate spent much of Thursday on the boutique-lined Kings Road, taking her time to browse around several stores (including L K Bennett and L’Occitane).
Catching her eye was a jacket in Joseph, which an assistant came back and purchased later in the day.
So much for British gossip rag reports of “stressed” Kate crumbling under the pressure. It looks like the young Middleton has it all under control.
As William joked to a fan in Belfast recently: “If something goes wrong in the Abbey… If somebody body faints, it’ll be me!”
[From Us Weekly]
Well, I’m glad that Kate realizes that it would be smarter to jump right in with charity work and royal duties/obligations post-honeymoon, because once the honeymoon is over, people were going to begin to ask what the hell Kate actually does during the day besides WAIT for William. Of course, while we’re now getting these reports about Kate maybe doing some charity work a few months from now, there are still no new reports of Kate getting her own staff. That truly worries me – the girl needs a press secretary/publicist and a secretary/assistant, at the very least. But William and Prince Charles don’t want Kate to have her own staff because they’re terrified she’ll overshadow them.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Good for her. And I think it’s smart to keep the pressure off of her and use William’s staff. Let’s face it, no one marrying into the Royals has a hard life of work and toil. At least she’s doing some things.
I’m guessing if she were too involved with a charity while she was dating people may have found fault with that, too – as in, ‘look, she’s trying to be Diana with all the charity stuff. Who’s she trying to fool?’ Sometimes I think she can’t win.
But, on to more important things: She looks soooo much better without the makeup (eyeliner!) and with her hair straight or pulled back like the two bottom pics. I seriously hope she loses those tragic curls. And the eyeliner.
she looks fit!
I love that red coat!!
My understanding is she was bullied so badly as a child that her parents took her out of the school she attended. So it makes sense to me she’d be all over being their patron.
And I hope she does a big speech at her first official function for them, and commits the hugest of huge protocol breaks, by looking straight into the camera and saying, “Look at me now, bitch!”
She’s smart to check out charities before getting involved. When I give to a charity I check out http://www.charitynavigator.org to make sure they are on the up-and-up.
@ Jackson
I completely agree about the hair & makeup. She looks so much better wearing it natural rather than her I usual raccoon eyeliner and pagent-hair wavy curls.
I think you’re being a bit hard on her. Fact is, no charity would have wanted her as its patron until she had an official royal status.
Exactly Kaiser: “there are still no new reports of Kate getting her own staff. That truly worries me – the girl needs a press secretary/publicist and a secretary/assistant, at the very least. But William and Prince Charles don’t want Kate to have her own staff because they’re terrified she’ll overshadow them.”
She is being tightly controlled, the Old Guard are terrified of her, she has the potential to be hugely popular but it’s easier to dripfeed stories about her supposed indolence rather than admit they don’t want another Diana on their hands.
If one reads the comments over in the British publications, one would deduce that she is not very well liked. She has her defenders, as she does here, but I don’t get the impression that she will ever overshadow anyone. What has she contributed for her 29 years? Good education, check. A close, wealthy family, check. Real job, not so much. No one expected her to set the world on fire with her accomplishments. Had she done something she could call her own, she would have been treated more respectfully right now. We would all be applauding how she held on to her own identity while she was waiting for William to propose. Rather, she chose to subjugate her entire adult life to him. I’m not sure why I should respect that. She finally did get what she wanted, though, didn’t she.
Oh, and she will never be another Diana. Diana was a unique phenomenon.
Why can’t Kate choose a charity that helps prevent sex trafficking since it is probably the greatest human rights challenge of century? I don’t have a problem with the anti-bullying charity but I think with her new position she could do even more. Actually, talk about bullying, there is no greater bully than a sex trafficker.
@Zimmer: you are totally right. Though I doubt she wants to do something that demanding.
How weird is it that she has to do research now after waiting for 9 years? Diana was a decade younger, but you could tell she really had heart for her charities. Kate just does it because she has to and has some palace people choose for her at the eleventh hour.
She and her grasping family are so tacky.
She was bullied in school? Well, way to show those bullies, Kate!!
What is she doing in those sporty pics? Rowing?
if she had gotten involved with charity work before getting hitched, she would have been slammed even harder for being a waity kaity. ie, already planning her royal duties without a proposal. girl can’t win.
Are those rowing pictures recent? She seems so much thinner now, I really think she’s lost too much weight over the past several months.
I don’t think she’ll “overshadow” anyone. I think she’s attractive, but not drop-dead gorgeous. And I think she’s pleasant enough, but she doesn’t have that “it” factor that Diana had. So I think she’s do fine, but not overshadow William. That’s probably exactly what he needed and wanted – someone who is attractive enough (but not too much), pleasant enough (but not too dynamic), and willing to follow the family’s wishes.
Also, William and Kate won’t be following the current queen – they’ll be following Charles and Camilla. All they have to do to be considered a “success” is to be more beloved than Charles and Camilla. I don’t think that will be difficult to do.
You see this is why you could never have royals in America because the moment they started doing the obligatory charity work conservatives would call them communists. 🙂
I agree she doesn’t have the “It” factor now if JLo had landed the Prince back in the day that would have been magnificent tabloid fodder. I also agree if she drops the eyeliner and brittle hair curls she is passably pretty but she does have a nice athletic frame.
She will always be Waity though so no respect from me
I think Kate is beginning to realize that after the run up to the big day, honeymoon and that trip to Canada she’ll have nothing to keep her in the spotlight and the public eye. Oh sure there’ll be a cocktail party or opening to attend, but those events will be largely devoted to other royals. Speaking of which, why wasn’t Kate invited to Cheltham Races this year? Princess Royal Anne and her daughter surely held sway for the entire event and not a Waity Katie in sight. In a way, I feel sorry for Kate. She doesn’t seem to have made very good friends with other members of the Royal family except William and Harry,and tacitly Prince Charles and Camilla. Her days after the honeymoon are sure to be spent without a lot of direction and thought as to what her role is. The Royal “portcullis” does in fact seem to have a tight lease on the princess-to-be.
She went to college/university, why is she only doing charity work (which is great)? Can’t she have a career as well?
I think those pictures are old…Kate joined a rowing team either a little bit before or after her 2007 break up with Prince William but when they reconciled she dropped out for supposed security issues after three months of training and “a fortnight” before the race.
Not only that the group was going to post naked for a calendar or something the purpose was to raise money for I think it would be scandalous for a girlfriend of Prince William’s to pose nude or race nude. Worse of all the girl that organized the whole thing was found to run an orgy club!!
Kate didn’t know that and I don’t know for sure but Kate had to distance herself. Not only that she and Will were back on.
The only good thing? The press went on and on about how fit she got from the training and and speculate that she may be rowing again to get ready for the wedding.
Here’s the old gossip:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-470427/Woman-training-row-Channel-Kate-Middleton-runs-upper-class-orgy-club.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-473230/Kate-Middletons-sailing-team-set-Channel-race–despite-fact-sail-.html
Lastly so random sloan fashion I wanted to share:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/how-to-live-like-a-prince-the-shabby-style-sloaney-slang-and-social-rules-of-william-and-harrys-inner-circle-452961.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1558926/Sloanes-are-back-and-even-richer-than-before.html
@hairball I think it’s fairly traditional for the royals to do charity work instead of normal jobs, especially since they don’t need money. But I’m sure she can do both if she wants. Prince Edward’s wife has a normal job. Publishing or something?
I think you dont know but as what ive read years ago shes a long time supporter of 3 charities and one of it is for children with cancer.
@Chris: Remember? We did have Royal’s in the States and we gave them the heave-ho a few hundred years ago … and I don’t think it had anything to do with their “charity work.”
Wow, can someone tell me why Kaiser is so anti-Catherine to the point she pisses Kaiser off? I mean saying things like “It’s one of the things that’s pissed me off about Kate the most – she’s never before shown any interest in working for a charity.” Is Kaiser British or paying British taxes? Who the freak cares what Catherine does? She’ll have enough to do when the time comes. The last thing she needs is to be a Diana-clone, being patron of 1000 charities that would leaves her no time to look after the most important tool to prevent divorce–to make William happy and to be available when he wants a quick shag. She can’t exactly do that when she’s away espousing the importance of badger vaccines. 😛
@Maud Lebovski:Sophie had a PR job, which she was forced to leave shortly after the wedding. The lesser Royals do have jobs indeed (or at least prior the wedding for the women), but the heir and so on do charity work.
I find it strange indeed that after nearly a decade in the Royal circle Kate STILL need time to decide which and what and …oh my how exausting.
Any way at some point in the 90′ Prince Philip criticized Charles that he and Diana were “lazy” as their joint charity attendance was way under the work done by Princess Ann. I did the calculation and came to 2 events pro day for the most part of the year. No wonder the English find her more worthy of the throne than Charles.
Ah, okeydokey. Thanks Micki. 🙂
She did some work for Starlight via her parents’ company. They donated party packs to hospitals for sick kids at Xmas and Easter etc., and she was responsible for that. And Harry’s girlfriend, Chelsy, said recently that she hated the way the relationship dictated her life, and that she couldn’t even do anything for charity without running it past his people in case it was seen as an endorsement by the royals. When Kate and William reconciled in 2006 or whenever it was she had to pull out of a charity sporting event she was training for almost at once, because it was regarded as unsuitable.
For what it’s worth, I’ve met her a couple of times for work reasons. She was lovely. I’m not remotely well connected socially (never met William or anyone royal), so not a useful contact, yet she was friendly, kind and just all round nice. Admittedly that kind of minor contact is meaningless, but then again I’ve met a few slebs when I waitressed as a student, and most were pretty obnoxious from the get-go. Was kind of sad, in fact. And the slams she gets in the British media are mainly because William’s lawyers reined them in, and that pissed the press off. The Daily Mail attacks Kate Winslet all the time (and Facebook, actually) because they hate being sued or threatened by anyone famous. They get their own back by unflattering coverage. Which is then lapped up by the cat-strangler royal watchers.
It’s also worth pointing out that the media are so desperate for royal wedding stories they make stuff up. There’s a royal tour planned for June already, and yet we were told she’d not do any for a year or two by the press. They don’t know much, so they invent to fill the vacuum. It’s like the stuff about the Middletons cashing in on the royal wedding. They’re the only company like that *not* selling branded wedding party items. Just look at what Partyrama are selling – Kate and William wedding tat up the wazoo. But that’s not the story the media want to tell, so they don’t.
Well said, Brit!