As we discussed yesterday, Duchess Kate made her first public appearance in months when she visited Hope House, which is part of one of patronages, Action on Addiction. Kate wore a Max Mara Studio dress which costs £298 (roughly $460). But the real “money” piece of Kate’s ensemble was her Asprey diamond button pendant necklace, which costs £2,800 (roughly $4330). I’m not complaining… I like jewelry, I like talking about jewelry, and Kate has some lovely pieces in her collection… and she will be getting even more throughout her life. Think of this $4300 diamond pendant necklace as a “starter piece” for the crazy jewels she’s going to have in a decade or two.
While Kate was speaking to some ladies at Hope House, she ran into an expectant mother who is due around the same time. And Kate SPOKE!
Royal baby jitters! Pregnant Kate Middleton was frank with fellow expectant moms during a visit to London’s Hope House, Action on Addiction on Tuesday, Feb. 19. In her first official event following her babymoon in Mustique, the 31-year-old royal showcased her growing baby bump in a MaxMara outfit — and talked about her pregnancy with two recovering women in an art therapy class.
One woman, 28-year-old Natalie, is currently expecting her second child, which is due this July, just like Prince William’s wife. “She was saying she had been unwell but is feeling better now and I have been about the same. We were all talking about children,” Natalie of their chat.
Recovering alcoholic Lisa is a mother of three, and asked Middleton the obvious. “I asked her if she was nervous about having a child and she said ‘it would be unnatural if I wasn’t. It’s just human, isn’t it?'” Lisa told reporters of her chat with Middleton.
“I said congratulations and good luck and I hope it all goes okay. She smiled. It was that nice she just chatted to us.”
One topic not discussed during Middleton’s Action on Addiction visits? The insults leveled upon her by author Hilary Mantel, who called the royal a “shop window mannequin” with a “plastic smile” in a recent speech.
Countered Nick Barton, chief executive of Action on Addiction: “I can only speak of what I know, and having met the Duchess several times I find her to be engaging, natural and genuinely interested in the subject. You can tell a lot about someone from the questions they ask and she asks really good questions, the questions of someone who wants to learn. She is also an intelligent woman.”
Added Barton of the Duchess’ efforts: “She is doing an enormous amount to reduce the stigma of addiction and increase understanding of it.”
“It would be unnatural if I wasn’t. It’s just human, isn’t it?” That seems… oddly worded. Stilted. Like, “One would feel nervous if one displayed human emotions, of course.” Maybe she just IS nervous. I’m nervous for her. But my fears of pregnancy and childbirth are well-documented on this blog – do not even talk to me about childbirth because I will gag.
As for whether Kate is really doing much (or enough) to help Action on Addiction, or whether she really gives a crap about anything other than shopping and getting her hair done… actions speak louder than words. And what we keep seeing is very little action and very stilted words.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
It’s possible the woman speaking to media paraphrased her words badly?
That’s what I thought, too.
I’ve never experienced “the miracle” of childbirth, but the whole thing seems impossible and looks painful. She should be nervous!
Plus, the nine months building up to the event, with everyone discussing it all the time, seems nerve wracking.
I agree completely. But I know it will be worth it when the time comes to hold the little miracle in my arms.
My mom always tells me, “Look how many women have giving birth throughout history. If so many of us have done it, it can’t be all that bad. The pain is surreal but it is a pain that can be endured.”
I figure she must know what she’s talking about having giving birth to 7 of us siblings in total. I was the last and with all the complications I gave her throughout a difficult pregnancy, I came too early. However my eldest brother was a total of 36 hours of gruelling pain.
It is the worst pain you can ever feel but it is the quickest forgotten.
What spinner said – it’s excruciating, but your body forgets the pain pretty quickly.
Honestly, I found pregnancy itself to be harder on my body than actual childbirth (well, once the epidural took effect!).
I suppose that’s good, since #2 is due in 5 months.
@ Cait
Yep…If it wasn’t so quickly forgotten, you’d never do it again. lol
Best of luck to you with baby #2.
By the last month of my pregnancy, I was so ready to have my son that I looked forward to labor. I reached a point where I was done with being pregnant and felt desperate to get it over with. It’s all rainbows and unicorns at mid-pregnancy, but towards the end I was uncomfortable, looked like a VW Beetle… labor was a relief!
@spinner
Pancreatitis was worse.
It’s not nearly as bad as you think, I guess endorphins, or something, kicks in. I didn’t have any meds at all, and when it was over, the first thing I told my husband was “it wasn’t that bad, I’d do it again”.
I think part of the reason I am childless is because I am scared shitless of the thought of expelling something the size of a watermelon out of a hole the size of a walnut.
same here (although everything was over in a little more than 12 hours and it wasn’t extra painful), but I was under the influence of adrenalin for another month
See, I had total opposite experience. I did it natural and it was so painful that I told my husband if I knew that was how painful it was, I would have taken the epidural or drugs! My pregnancy was a breeze though so I guess I had to pay somehow.
And lots of women who’ve had children love to tell their horror stories to poor women having their first! One of my closest friends is having her first and I swear, everytime she runs into someone who’s had kids, they regale her with all the things that went wrong when they had their kids. Pretty funny but I feel sorry for her!
so what about her is natural anyway?
Yup that’s what I was thinking.
Great point!
And how long has this been one of Kate’s charities? Shouldn’t she know all about it by now? Asking questions is great but not when you should already know the answers. Praising her for doing the absolute bare minimum is such a let-down
It is an addiction charity, even the those in the field don’t know all the answers.
Ofcourse she’s nervous. Unless we’re Gisele we’d all admit to it, i’m sure.
As for the woman’s comments. She met and chatted with Kate about something they all had in common. She was giddy she spoke to someone who’s deemed important.
I wish she said what Kate was doing to help. I want to see more of her doing charity work. Not just brainstorming and making small talk 1 hour a month. Where’s the follow through?
Generally being a patron for a charity doesn’t involve hands-on work. It’s usually more about increasing awareness, which is covered by the photo-op.
Did you hear about the after-rape toiletries-kits Camilla organised? Something like that is incredibly rare, because how often does a random person that the experts don’t already have covered?
So, serious question (not snark): what follow-through do you think she could/should do?
I agree she should work MORE, but I don’t think hands-on stuff would be the best use of her time. “More” to me would be simply covered by more photo-ops. IMO, the whole point of having a celeb support your cause is the publicity.
What’s the frequency of other full-time royals revisiting their charities? I think they manage to visit their patronages only a few times a year, but they have a lot of charities to juggle.
Kate is a part-time royal so she is NOT technically required to show up for charities every single day, so what exactly is she doing in her spare time? Researching about her charities shouldn’t take a long time considering she has a staff to help her.
I honestly think giving her that part-time status is a big mistake. She has always been lazy so don’t expect her to magically wake up one day and announce ‘I WANT TO WORK MORE!’. IMO her courtiers realize this, as they try to deflect attention away from her laziness by coming up with “secret visits” bullshit to her charities which are only reported in the media everytime the public criticism reaches a new high.
Long story short: I don’t think they really know what to do with her.
Lucrezia
I did hear about Camilla’s luxury bathing items baskets. Very thoughtful. Sometimes it’s the small gestures that show you are thinking and do care that have the greatest impact.
I understand what a patron does and understand that her charities have gained nothing from her.
Correct me if i’m wrong here.. She shows up for 45-90minutes. chats and then leaves. Nothing comes of her visits and I believe we would hear about it if it did. SJP seems to struggle with news to promote her with.
Another charity lost out with the baby hamper donation that seemed thoughtless. If it came with a handwritten note or something more personal, or if she attended the auction maybe they wouldn’t have had to cancel it?
I just want to see something come of this. Having her as a patron is has yet to positively impact any of her charities.
So, if she made more appearances, speeches, or even more visits with those charities the news would go crazy to cover it. Also, didn’t she say she’d participate in that sleep on the streets function? William did it, but the name escapes me… Did she follow through or back out?
Kate can have regular meetings with any of her FOUR charities if she wants to do so. She can have all the photo-ops to increase “awareness”.
But she doesn’t even do that. Visiting a charity once a month accomplishes nothing. People forget about it in the next 2 months when she doesn’t do any charity work and she’s out of sight except for shopping. She has so much time in her hands, but not enough time to put any sincere effort to charity work.
Answer me this: why can she go shopping for 10 days straight then go for a week-long vacation in Mustique without her “HG” acting up, but not bother to schedule 2-3 meetings a month with her charities even before she got pregnant? All we get is one photo-op and the Palace PR lies that she’s “working behind the scenes” that nobody believes.
She’s only visited her charities last year a grand total of 10 times. She spent more time being on vacation and shopping and staying at home doing nothing.
She just doesn’t want to do more than her scheduled 5-10 appearances for charities and her pregnancy has nothing to do with it. She’s never been interested in charitable work even as William’s GF. When she does visit one charity, she looks utterly bored, lost, and disinterested. She just doesn’t care beyond dressing up and smiling for the cameras.
Lucrezia: Camilla’s rape victim baskets is a great example of a royal doing MORE. She didn’t/doesn’t just do photo ops. She visited several centres, talked in depth to the victims and came up with a small token that would be helpful to the victims, is using her own staff to put together the first lot of baskets, having pulled together donations from various companies, and then gave a reception to announce the entire enterprise. Now I’m not suggesting she single handedly did all of this or that she didn’t get help with it, but the various comments made by the charity and the rape victims have painted a picture of an involved and very present patron.
Harry has Sentebale and the Military charities and Wellchild. We have seen him do the photo ops AND raise awareness through participating in awareness campaigns such as the walk to the north pole. He regularly meets with the charities during their meetings and the veterans he is helping, and actively raises money for them via Polo, fundraising dinners and the awareness campaigns. He also talks about them all the time so you are always aware of them. His next trip to NYC/Washington is going to include 2 fundraisers for them.
Eugenie is patron of the hospital that treated her scoliosis. She’s visited it several times in the one year she’s been patron, she raised money for them via charity runs/bike rides.
Beatrice has been less active this past year, but she’s been involved in one off charity fundraisers (she did 4 last year) where the money went to her Patronages, and she’s visited the Patronages several times.
Kate, despite being a Patron of Action on Addiction for 12months, has only visited them twice including yesterday. The first time was same time last year where she visited a non alcoholic bar up north, had a sip of something and 45mins later left. 12mths later she’s finally gotten round to visiting them again, this time the London centre, and it’s astonishing that she’s asking questions NOW. Shouldn’t she already know what they are about after 12mths of supposed behind the scenes work? Her Charity EACH are actually on record saying that her Patronage hasn’t made a difference to them. She sent them a baby hamper for their last fundraising drive which was so blah and no effort to make it stand out as coming from a royal thus increasing it’s value to a potential bidder. Turns out she just passed along a gift she’d been given as her baby announcement made the news. They’ve had to cancel their next fundraiser due to lack of interest leading to no ticket sales. We haven’t heard any more about the Art Room. Ditto the scouts. You’ll never convince me that she spends time with children behind the scenes because she remains awkward with them in public. The NPG has tonnes of celebrity and wealth patrons and corporate donors and she’s managed several visits to it in the past year. It doesn’t need her Patronage, and frankly is the only place where a photo op IS the only thing she can do for them. And yet she’s managed to visit them several times in the past year. I wonder why……..
@LAK, i seem to remember a while ago, someone posted a link to a twitter/facebook post of one of her charities in which it sadly reported that they had to cancel a fundraising event due to lack of interest. is it still canceled?
Kate should become the patron of Mustique. It’s a given that she will visit there at least on a yearly basis. Now that will engage her and occupy her for more than an hour or two.
@Lower-case deb: Yep. It was due to take place on 8th February. It was EACH. As we all now know, Duchess Doolittle was in Mustique.
She has form in this area. Do you remember the charity dragrace she pulled out of because it coincided with getting back with William and a holiday too.
Lucrezia: I posted about Camilla’s toiletry kits in a Kate thread last week I think it was, with a statement that this was an example of something that Kate could do. Simple, yet really good idea.
Example #2 of a royal who puts her money where her mouth is: Queen Rania.
LAK: I made the same point — Kate is being praised for acting interested and asking questions BUT she should know all about this charity by now. If she really cared about the cause and was truly devoted to the charity she could be answering questions about it not asking. Once again simply amazed that she is doted upon for doing the absolute bare minimum.
@LAK, thanks for confirming. that is a sad state. with the large following she has, she should’ve been able to encourage them to visit and prevent such a sad thing happening to a charity. fundraising is always important for charities.
i wonder if they can have some sort of social media thing for Kate (not twitter maybe, but facebook, like Madeleine of Sweden). so her fans on facebook can be informed of the events of her charities and maybe they can be encouraged to go. Kate doesn’t even have to post the status herself, i’m sure the SJP staff will find time to write 140 characters and a link to the charity site.
this is not needed if she is very visible with her “visits”. she only has 4 charities. if she only work 1 week each month, she can rotate each charity and give them the awareness they deserve. or she can tweet about each charity every week to remind her fans.
but right now, she spends more time on the plane to and from Mustique than she does on engagements.
people start criticizing her features and outward appearances precisely because they have nothing else to talk about. “looking interested and attentive” isn’t informative at all, as proven that the only soundbite this article can come up with is Kate’s maternity, which is not about the charity at all.
the visit is only beneficial to strengthen Kate’s frail image (she looks sad, lethargic, and bored), possibly heading for another stress breakdown due to an onset of Mantelitis.
I don’t know. I can’t totally hate on her for not wanting to work. Working can be…a soul-crushing enterprise. Sometimes I wake up and think — I’m going to have get up every week day for the next 50 years and endure intense stress, insane office politics and mind-numbing reams of paperwork. Every. Day.
If I could find a way out where I just shopped, lunched and did my hair all the time, I would do it in a heartbeat.
Realize though, the work people are calling for Kate to do is hardly soul crushing or mind numbing. Frankly, doing little more than the bare minimum won’t require a day or two out of her week. No office politics, several paid vacations and a paid wardrobe. And practically no responsibility-you can never really get fired. After years of shopping and hair flipping most people would want to do something to convince themselves they have a purpose. People use the word “work” really liberally when they refer to what most of the royals are asked to do for the sake of good show.
I see where you are coming from and agree that most people would quit their jobs if they could, but that is because most people work in sucky jobs that they hate. The situation is 100% different for someone like Kate who comes from a wealthy family, has the connections to get whatever dream job she chooses, and is now in the Royal family and can use her wealth and influence to really make positive changes for the UK and the rest of the world. It isn’t as if she was ever forced to go to work 9 to 5 everyday for a jerk boss just to support her family. The issue is that despite having the options that most of us don’t have to work doing whatever she chooses, she chose to not work at all throughout most of her 20s (excluding a few part time gigs as a buyer and for her family’s company) and now that she is a Royal, has chosen not to be actively engaged and passionate about her charity work. It’s so apparent that she just shows up to these events because she has to and it is a photo op. It’s an obligation rather than something she really looks forward to doing. Maybe that is why she is so nervous. It would have been beneficial to her if she had work experience in her 20s because it probably would have given her more confidence when it comes to public speaking and interacting with the public.
You hit the nail on the head and your description of her also explains why there is a difference between Kate and Diana. She actually did go from being a young and spoiled rich girl to someone who really seemed to care about others and worked to improve the world. Kate doesn’t seem to care.
The British people might have something to say about that considering she’s lazing about using their $$$. I know her family is wealthy, but this woman will be Queen someday and she is spending taxpayers’ $$$ on blowouts and vacations. Like I tell my 14-year-old all the time: With privilege comes responsibility. This woman doesn’t seem to get it.
Also, her response to the woman seems curt to me. Why not engage the woman and ask about her birth stories? Sadly, she’s probably incapable of interacting with “the people” on a genuine and casual level.
I have to say it: she’s no Diana.
Girl I would slit my wrists if the rest of my life was spent only shopping, getting my hair done and lunching. Everyone needs a purpose if life or to do meaningful work. All Kate has to do is show up at a charity for 1 hour and look interested. How exactly is that soul crushing work? She doesn’t have to get a stressful, painful office or bluecolor or doctor’s job. Regular socialites who still have plenty of time to party and vacation do more charity work than Kate right now.
But Diana: Kate gets is being allowed to plot her own way and pick and choose what charities she wants to *work* for. Think about what an incredible opportunity she has — she can take anything that she feels passionate about and really make a difference. Doing something meaningful for a cause you are passionate about is hardly bone-crushing work. It is actually quite the opposite – it’s ‘chicken soup’ for the soul. Yes if I were Kate I would love all the shopping trips and beauty treatments but I would also want to do something that kept my mind active and stimulated.
Amen, emmie_a!
@Diana
How do you know she doesn’t want to work??
I’ve never heard of her refusing to do royal duties. On the contrary, she’s very keen to cover for Charles.
She isn’t in a position to turn down Charles seeing that he pays her bills and expenses. All those clothes/grooming/household bills including the staff she pretends not to have are paid for by Charles!!!
It’s a different kettle of fish from turning down the tax payer because she can argue that the indirect funds she’s receiving from them aren’t really being received, but her direct expenses……if Charles asked her to work all next week, everyday, she is in no position to say no.
I am sure the irony of going to talk to unemployed people struggling to make their lives work on her next engagement on 5th March is completely lost on her.
SISI
once she covered for charles once and that was a glamorous dinner party. her work history together with her bare minimum visits to her mere 4 charities shows her unwillingness to work. seriously you want to like her fine but please don’t make her into something that she is not . the fact is she is a 31 year old married woman who have never worked a single day in her life and no amount of pr and princess crap will change that.
LAK,
i so agree with you, it annoys me when people make kate into some angel fallen from heaven to rescue queen and charles. her fans forget they are funding every aspect of her life and she is dependent on them not the other way around and she is doing them no favors because she is not in a position to do so.
LAK/Angelic: Please don’t twist my words. Kate is NOT known for refusing to do any royal work. Quite the contrary, she always has performed her duties with enthusiasm and aplomb. She has covered for Charles in the past, and will be visiting one of Charles charities next week (Princess Trust) – she is teaming with Charles, learning about his charities (behind closed doors).
In 2011, Kate became Royal Ambassador for The Arts, covering ALL fields of Art, Culture, art galleries and museums (National Gallery, V&A, etc).
Besides her 4 initial patronages (Action on Addiction, EACH, Art Room, National Portrait Gallery)- soon to be 7, she is a *Volunteer* for the Scouts.
She’s also Patron (with William & Harry) of the Royal Foundation, which covers over 40+ more charities
SISI: I think we know that Kate doesn’t want to work much by the amount of engagements she does. As the palace has said, she sets her own pace.
Sisi: Thanks for listing her resume but I am still not impressed. She might look good on paper but… What has she actually done for these organizations? What does she know about them? How have they benefitted from her? And how exactly do you know that she is conspiring with Prince Charles behind closed doors!?
SISi – The list of Kate’s patronages is illustrious indeed. too bad she doesn’t live up to it’s billing.
Since you have regurgitated the PR line, just like you regurgitated that NOW magazine report, i am simply going to be amused by your continued insistence in believing what you read.
SISI
again she covered for charles only once and that was a glamorous dinner party . she attended prince’s trust fund raising which was a concert ,that’s it. plus no she is not learning about charles’s charity it’s actually harry doing the work and making visits . also how come whenever she is shopping or vacationing we get her pics but when she is doing super secret charity work no one is there to confirm it or tweet it or she is ever seen in front or even near any charity? talking to you is like banging head against a wall. i am happy you believe all this pr and tabloid bull shit, nice to know at least some people still believe in this crap.
Those two children in the last photo are terribly sweet. I hate to think of the circumstances that bring children to such places and hope that Hope House really does good work for their moms.
Hilary Mantel’s comments were spot on. They chose her because there’s never really any chance that she’ll outshine Prince William. She’s oatmeal personified. I read comments on the Dailymail’s websites & they were all fat shaming Hilary saying she was jealous. I was like really? She’s a historian & really successful author, why on Earth would she be jealous of Kate Middleton?
Because if you say anything negative about Kate you are a jealous hater.
It’s sad. Appearance is valued over intelligence. Doesn’t that signal the downfall of civilization?
Because Kate, got the prince, apparently doesn’t have endometriosis, didn’t have a hysterectomy in her twenties and didn’t have to take steriods that caused weight gain and appareance changes and now she’s having the baby and family that Hilary Mantel undortunately will never have.
Funny thing is looking at her pics Hilary Mantel has had extensive plastic surgery herself…..
If you’ve read any of Mantel’s (fabulous) books, you’d realize that she doesn’t want the prince or his baby, etc.
She’s a woman with an educated and a well thought out point of view who sees herself as more than an incubator.
No one said the woman wasn’t intelligent. She simply was denied the choice to have a child by any man i.e. the prince of her choice.
To call any mother (Until you see how they treat said child) an incubator and imply that there is no feeling or concern for their child is cold, bitter, rude and uncalled for.
Treating other women and thier choices in life rudely and disparingly does not make one a great feminist – it just makes you ugly. Let’s call it what it is and not hide behind some fasle glory of feminism. Feminism respects all womens choices.
So the girl chose this life, she’s not hurting anyone – that’s the life of a royal.
One could argue a GOOD feminist would give all HER money to women suffering in 3rd world countries rather than attending social events too.
JL: I read Hilary Mantel’s piece. Have you read it?
For what it’s worth, I understand where the criticism came from, as she did say that Kate was trotted out as a vapid, jointed doll. Operative word: AS. Not, she IS. But that’s what she was trotted out as. She used that, and some other examples including the Queen (where she said she felt like a cannibal eating the meat off her bones), to make the point that the Royals are more like animals in a zoo. Kept in their enclosures, visited, smiled, waved, and on occasion poked at by curious visitors.
She then spent the rest of the essay talking about Henry VIII’s issues with his wives having children, and that his reign was a lot about gynaecology. It was actually a pretty interesting read.
And for what it’s worth, Kate IS a brood mare. Her only job is to produce an heir. Same now as it was then.
My guess is that after Diana, they’d rather have someone who won’t cause them problems (i.e.:overshadow). So, she does little, and they condescendingly make up excuses, and set up some outings for her. And my guess is they like it, keeping the stars in the blooded representatives.
I’ve got nothing else. I can’t see any reason for picking a bride-in-waiting. Let’s face it, that’s all the she did once she got an “in” with Wills.
That is a line people are wilfully unwilling to accept. All this business of avoiding Diana’s mistakes would be more effectively believed if William hadn’t gone out of his way to pick someone who would willingly toe the line.
@ LAK
I hope so as well, I find that reasoning for choosing a bride kind of insulting, choosing someone because she’ll do what they tell her to, or be inactive because no one is pushing her to do more and in a way, they deserve to have it blown in their faces.
After all the official line seems to be: if people complain, just schedule some public engagements for her to wave at people and show up for an hour.
LAK and CC: And isn’t Hilary Mantel’s point made by the fact that Kate visited this charity yet no one knows exactly what they do? I dont’. All I know is she went there looking great, smiled, made small talk and then went home.
Isn’t a patron supposed to help with awareness rather than just show up?
bluhare
Kate exits her charity in front of cameras. She just got done talking with some women from this charity that answered her questions.
This seems like the perfect time for Kate to tell the cameras what she’s learned and how important the charity is to helping these women! Right? The knowledge is fresh in her mind so why doesn’t she strike while the iron is hot?
I can only imagine 3 ways about this.
1. she didn’t listen and doesn’t care.
2. has somewhere else she had to urgently be… unlikely, but possible.
3. Can’t form her own thoughts coherently on the spot and needs a speech writer.
Am I wrong? If she did that it would be amazing for her charity!
Alexandra: That’s exactly what I meant. I don’t know why she went or what they do. She doesn’t seem to participate in anything other than photo ops by herself; any actual activity is with William and/or Harry.
Well for once, a celebrity not talking about the miracle, natural childbith with birds singing, the sun shining, the heavans rejoicing and how they are so looking forward to it and wouldn’t dare take an asprin to alleviate the pain.
Good for her, she’s scared sh*tless and admits it. As for the wording, I’m sure she knows being honest isn’t the ‘party line’ and is probably waiting for the backlash of just stating what she really thinks.
I’m a doctor and I was very nervous the first time I gave birth, even though I had delivered babies. Now with 3 months to go with my second, yup, still nervous.
I’m not a huge Kate fan, but she’s damned if she do, damned if she don’t. I don’t get the hatred for her. She’s fine, harmless, and seems appropriate and sweet. Eh….
I think that at some point last year Kate really botched up her acceptance by the nation.
I thought her mingling around the Anglesay wives will create the needed halo “approachable, one of us” and so she’ll build a public image like the late Queen Mum. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. Now she can’t do anything right.
It’s probably an ever growing resentment with their endless holidays, her topless pics (whether it was her fault or not doesn’t matter, she’s damaged goods now), the Middletons apparent inability to stay off the spotlight, her lack of work duties.
The sympathy she got from her HG didn’t last long as more and more people are questioning whether she had HG in the first place. Perhaps she’ll finally redeem herself with the birth of the baby.
As Diana’s son William will always be given a jail out of free card which he abuses time and time again. That goodwill won’t always extend to his wife.
I blame her over-zealous PR. Talk about over egging the pudding. It’s now at a point where any news of them is greeted with skepticism.
@Good Capon and LAK:
I think the major problem with her(apart from the laziness) is that she didn’t turn from middle class (well off mind you, but still) into RF member. The other European Princesses had various problems(real and PR ones) but managed the transition allright so they are simply loved in their countries. Even Mete Marit, who was a very real drug addict.
Now Kate still lives in a place for entitled socialites but has acquired royal demands in the process. Truly bad combination I think.
For better or worse, Kate might be faring better in the press if she had inherited some of her mother’s ambition or drive. Love her or hate her, no one can say that Carole Middleton hasn’t worked for what she’s got.
@Micki – That is a very good point.
IMHO all of this stems back to her Waity Katie period. Had she shown any inclination of working-even as a street cleaner/ticket seller/librarian- anything that showed the public that she has a good work ethic, we wouldn’t be bitching about her every damn day.
Instead she kept making excuses why she couldn’t work: the paparazzi is bugging me/William needs me 24/7 — girl, Chelsy Davy is hounded by the paps yet she managed to get a postgrad degree!
If she had a good work ethic, we could have reasoned out that her lack of royal duties was due to her handlers who doesn’t want her to overshadow her husband: she’s ready and willing to work, except that they don’t want her to. Instead we got a lazy, work-shy Kate.
St James Palace has also announced publicly that Kate sets her own pace.
She is not being told by the Queen or Charles to be lazy and hide from royal duties so she doesn’t overshadow them. It is Kate who has always been work-shy. Even at her short stint at Jigsaw she had the nerve to set her own conditions for her job: she couldn’t work full-time and she could skip off work whenever William needed her. The employees there barely saw her at work.
She’s never had a CV of charity work. Her charity work as William’s GF were limited to costume parties, expensive galas, parties, parties, and more parties for the rich and famous, where she didn’t have to put any effort/contribution except showing up in an expensive outfit.
She’s never cared to do any work before. But now it’s worse because she’s not just dependent on her parents only, but also on Charles whose percentage of salary comes from the taxpayers (I doubt William’s salary can cover Kate’s clothing budget of more than $165,000 in 2012 when William makes only a fraction of that). Kate’s laziness is magnified not only with the reluctance to do more charity work, but also the willingness to disappear for 2 months without royal duties but has no qualms about going shopping and vacationing for weeks at a time.
If she is seting her own schedule then it is extremely light. If there is a link to SJP publically stating that she sets her own pace then could someone paste it as I would love to read it. Interestingly, the last time she visited one of her four charities the East Anglia Children’s Hospice was 19th March 2012, nearly a year ago, which beggers belief.
Isobel George – go look at the twitter feeds of several royal reporters. Richard Palmer and Victoria Arbiter specifically. All royal reporters deal directly with the palace, and publish any information they get from the source. No spin unless the palace is doing the spinning.
All the royal reporters have at one time or another asked the palace directly and that is the answer they get. Repeatedly. They have tweeted it several times.
If you wanted to know about the Palace comings and goings, you can follow them too on twitter, and you can ask the reporters yourself to confirm what the Palace has told them, to clarify or verify any royal rumour/story.It’s the closest you’ll ever get to asking The Palace a question directly and receiving an answer almost immediately.
I don’t know what its like in the UK, but in the states one is required to have a masters degree to be a professional librarian. I don’t have opinion on Kate either way, but I don’t see her going back to school for anything.
If I were in her place, I’d go to school forever, but I’m a nerd like that
LAK, thanks.
So, Kate thinks this is an schedule fitting for a future queen? I find her work ethic contemptible. She neither plays the part of an ordinary RAF housewife nor does she show committment to anything apart from holidays and keeping hairdressing appointments. Somehow, with Charles, Camillla and now Wiliam and Kate, I do not think the monarchy will survive their extragavant indulgences.
I’m also terrified of childbirth, so I like when any celebrity mom-to-be admits that it isn’t a totally magical, wonderful experience.
Maybe she still thinks Carole will take care of having the baby for her, and feels light apprehension for her mum?
Of course she is nervous. She would actually have to “work” at delivering a baby.
Ha! Cesarean!
C=section isn’t funny but her “working” in birth.
Or course she is nervous. Having a baby will the hardest she will have worked in her life.
Royals they’re just like us. They get nervous at childbirth too. Urgh. Is this really a story or more ‘Kate is just a regular person Palace PR’?
Seems like tabloids fluff to me. Doesn’t match Royals PR.
I remember my husband asking me how I felt as we walked into the hospital to give birth and I clearly remember being so nervous that I responded,”fine,considering I am about to experience one of the most physically painful human experiences known to man.” Unfortunately I did not enjoy the benefits of an epidural…….what is weird is that I forgot about the pain once my daughter was born.
I agree with Kate on this, that it is completely normal to be nervous about childbirth. Those who say they aren’t nervous are lying.
Seriously. I’m nervous just READING about other peoples’ experiences with giving birth.
DUH.
I’m also in the horrified about childbirth club. Terrified doesn’t even cover.
Don’t be :). Thankfully, we have medications that can help … I lead a holistic lifestyle but I will admit that when my blood pressure started elevating due to the pain at only 5 cm dilated, I called for an epidural. Now, had I to go through the entire process without one, I would say be very scared! It can be tolerable, though, if you choose it. As my OB told me, “we don’t give rewards for pain endured.” If it was THAT bad, none of us would ever have another!
I gave birth three times, and it’s no bucket of kittens. This will be one of the few things in Kate’s life that she can’t pay someone else to do for her. That has to be a sobering thought.
I never forgot the pain. I remember it all very clearly. Also, that whole “you won’t care who is in the room when you’re giving birth” line? Bullsh*t. I cared.
As Sylvia Plath said about pregnancy, “It’s like boarding a train there’s no getting off.”
Actually, she could schedule a c-section and then have the obligatory tummy tuck afterwards.
I didn’t have a c-section, but I do know that surgery hurts.
TragicSandwich: My post wasn’t clear, but I was responding to the Kate will have to work to birth the baby comment. I suggested a c-section would eliminate a lot of that.
And I’ve had surgery too.
My point is that having a C-section is hardly the “easy way out.” One supporting example: insurance plans often cover an additional day in the hospital for post-C recovery.
And from what I’ve read about tummy tucks, they’re kind of awful on their own.
Of course you would care who is in the room with you while you’re giving birth! Childbirth is treated as such a boring, routine thing by the medical industry, but to each woman giving birth, it’s an experience requiring a lot of effort and concentration, and often is very emotional for the woman. Having the people you want with you is vital, and telling women that “it won’t matter once you’ve started labour” is disrespectful and untrue. A midwife said to me, “If a woman doesn’t look beautiful while she’s giving birth, then she’s not getting the support she needs from the people around her.” (To clarify, she meant a woman whose birth is progressing normally, with no complications.)
In my case, I was delivering at a teaching hospital, and I was very clear ahead of time that I did NOT want students in there. My doctor was all, “oh, you’ll never even notice!” But I did. Every person who came in the door, I looked at her and said, “Does HE need to be here?” Just to make my effing point that I DID care. I’ve always been a bitch–that doesn’t go out the window when you’re in labor, either!
This is a little off topic – does anyone know if kate and Zara get along?
A picture paints 1000words. Zara is incredibly tactile with all the people she loves whether family or friends.
In the few picutures of private events that they have attended together, Zara isn’t tactile with Kate or show much interaction between them and it always looks polite at best.
Thanks, LAK. I always enjoy your comments!
LAK, I think I’d keel over backwards if Kate and Zara got along. Zara, sporty, self supporting daughter of no-nonsense-Anne, and Kate the spoilt wife of William? They sound like chalk and cheese.
BTW, are the rumours true? Are Zara and Mike splitting up?
Bluhare – Last i heard they were as loved up as ever. same old same old. Where did you here that?
Spot-on, as usual. Zara seems to be very down to earth and certainly more genuine than Kate.
LAK: Because they sold their house and moved on to Princess Anne’s estate. Some are interpreting that as a bad sign. I hope not. I like those two.
Bluhare – The estate is huge. Zara has always kept her horses stabled there so i doubt it’s a traumatic move.
Peter lives on the estate too.
Anne gets on famously with Mike and Autumn so i don’t think it’s a bad idea.
RE: Zara and Mike – there have been some reports they having a bit of a “blip” in their marriage
http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/adam-helliker/376740/Zara-and-Mike-in-marriage-blip
Kate could have chosen to remain a private person and with her background could have married a rich husband who wanted a Stepford wife. She didn’t. Her privaleged position comes with great responsibility, something she seems to shirk at every opportunity. It seems strange that Mantel’s remarks were made two weeks ago yet have only just emerged. Was “Dummygate” manufactured by elements of the press favourable to the monarchy to take criticism away from her last holiday? Who broke the story?
I’ve been up and down this thread a couple of times, and just now noticed that Hilary Mantel’s talk was two weeks ago??? They saved it until she was back from vacay and after the photos?
Ick.
Is no one going to point out that the pendant is a button? It was specifically designed to resemble a button — she has manifested her BUTTON PROBLEM into diamond jewelry!
Brilliant comment!!! Waity loves her buttons.
First of all, the comments by the historian are hardly the harshest complaints that could be levied against Kate. I get the feeling that someone in Kate’s PR team latched onto the idea that more people will automatically side with Kate, a household name, rather than a quirky intellectual. Thus these comments are becoming a circus event with major public figures throwing their hat into the ring for poor brave little Waity. Thanks prime minister Cameron, but nobody really gives a shite whether you are team Kate or Team Hilary, and nobody is surprised that with your posh background you completely respect a lazy spoilt woman with absolutely no work ethic or character.
Secondly, althou the public preferred Diana- with all her spirit and charm– the palace probably prefers Kate. Kate is pliable. Kate is patient. Kate is simple.
Hillary Mantel is not a historian, she writes fictional novels. – they are not historically accurate. Very talented author but she has “issues”.
Her comments on on Kate, someone whom she never has met, is pregnant and cannot answer back were beyond the pale… simply unnacceptable!
kate is a public figure paid by tax payers like like Hillary and me and we have free speech so we can say whatever we want to say about our public figures . imo he fans have ” issues ” who don’t understand the words free speech, public figure , hard work, responsibilities etc. what makes you think she have “issues ” ? so everyone who don’t worship your beloved princess have issues and she is just perfect.
If you read the entire transcript of her speech, you will see that she is indicting the media for their portrayal of Kate, not Kate herself
SISI: Have you read Hilary Mantel’s essay? It’s actually quite brilliant.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n04/hilary-mantel/royal-bodies
She didn’t say Kate IS those things. She said Kate was trotted out AS those things. Major difference.
Bodhi,
i know and that’s the most ironic part she was actually trying to defend her. i think her fans should spend more time reading and less time bullying people who don’t worship her. the most astonishing thing about this episode is that kate’s fans don’t really believe that an unattractive woman have a right to have an opinion on a public figure and everybody is so jealous of the the most beautiful woman to walk on earth (kate) . it just shows the mentality and how her fans value woman and why they like her. it’s just so stupid ,superficial, immature .
“Beyond the pale”
Um. What?
Does not compute. Public figures throw insults at other public figures All The Time. It’s not treasonous to speak about monarchs anymore, it’s now perfectly legal as it would be and has always been to speak about any common born individual.
The monarchy has always been a relic of a bygone era with problems evolving with the times, that is why the Magna Carta was forced upon early English kings by the common people. Liberalization and reform run opposite to the foundational principles of monarchy as and institution. Monarchies are inherently conservative and disfavor change.. Royalists and the individuals constituting “The Monarchy” as a firm will have to learn to live in changing times, reforming, liberalizing, becoming an institution that can survive for the next generation…
To me, Kate and William are going to have to take on more public service work, whether they want to or not, simply because it will be forced upon them in the court of public opinion. At some point the tides swing, the Hilary Mantles of the world become the voice of the people rather than the minority view.
Finally, one of those amazing reforms of our modern era is that we are all free to speak our views on any topic. Hilary can speak about Kate until the Mustique Tan gives way to the English Pale.
@ Thinker
Oh come on, that will never happen. Tanning beds and fake tan with replace the “Air de Mustique” variety 😉
Um, Sisi, Hilary Mantel just won the Booker prize, arguably the third most prestigious literary award in the world. But I guess that fact counts for little when you are wearing Waity-coloured glasses all the time.
“They didn’t know what to do with” Princess Diana, either, and look what came of that.
Diana was still a child. She was operating by instinct, by intuition.
Kate is literally a decade older than Diana was, when Diana was a young bride and mother. Kate has been carefully repressing her instincts and patiently waiting for the “prize” – William. I think it’s highly unlikely Kate will follow any path Diana blazed.
Giving birth will be the most work, Kate has ever done
Unless she has a c-section.
You do realize by writing that you insult people who have had c-sections, right? One might not have the arduous task of pushing out a child when they have a c-section but the recovery is typically very hard on the body. No need to be self righteous and douchey about it.
Marigold
The comment didn’t seem douchey to me. Recovery varies a lot! Sometimes women need a c-section and sometimes the want one. Sometimes it’s easier for them to recover rather than a vaginal birth.
You shouldn’t generalise when everyone’s response is unique not typical. You come off as exaggerating to make your point by making those statements.
The caesarean is over used for (imo) vanity reasons. And I believe Kate will have a c-section. Not for complications as it was intended, but for vanity.
Thanks for “getting it” and providing a mature response, Alex.
I don’t get why someone would have a c-section for vanity. Wouldn’t they rather not have the huge scar if they can avoid it?
@Merritt
A woman can choose to have a c-section out of vanity for several reasons.. And the tummy scar isn’t noticeable. Plastic surgery has come a long way. Also if you scheduled your c-section for reasons other than pregnancy complications you can afford the plastic surgery or just some really fine stitch work
Reason 1.In a vaginal birth the babies soft skull will come out a little cone shaped. It is so slight, but in some shaved adult heads you can see what happened. In a c-sec it stays round. Pure cosmetics. The brain stays fine.
2. Women can feel like their vaginal area becomes distorted after the stretching and tearing from the natural birth.
3. No pain, post birth tummy tuck.
4. the baby is born on a specific date like they wanted for whatever reason.
I do not agree with these things, but it happens. I saw a woman get one so she could have both children with the same birthday.
The reasons for vanity c-sections go on, but those are enough for now.
Having a c section is not easy. It’s much harder on your body after the surgery then giving birth naturally is. It is a major surgery. It’s not a pop into the operating room, pop out the baby and then go have a glass of wine afterwards kind of experience. It’s painful.
Alexandra, you are so off base as to the causes and reasons of c-sections that you should stop talking, now, before you embarrass yourself. Excessive interventions in a litigious climate coupled with people (doctors and mothers) who do not know or have forgotten what normal birth looks like cause the excessive c-section rate. Are there people who choose c-sections? Yes, but not for vanity.
Oh, and we have them to save lives, too. Neither I nor my son would be alive in the pre-surgical era.
I stated a few reason. Not every reason. Just the ones to make my point and I believe I did.
Besides the attacks to be neither of you countered my argument or said what I have stated isn’t factual. You merely added information and twisted my words.
I never said you can walk out after having a c-section and have a glass of wine. Don’t try to belittle my stance by taking it to an extreme.
My post was to list reasons why some women choose to have c-sections for vanity purposes only. Nothing else. That’s all I have to say on this.
By the way I would just like to point out that one of her four charities is the National Portrait Gallery which is a state funded museum and NOT a charity.
She’s a patron- meaning she has absolutely no work to do for them, just her name attached to it.
In the same way she’s now a patron of the All-England Tennis Association (Wimbledon) because she was papped watching some tennis games with her sister last year.
Hard work if you can get it.
And she wrote the tennis club a nice thank you note, but her assistant typed a condolence note to parents of a child who died. Although now I think about it, she didn’t have an assistant back when she wrote the note to Wimbledon, but does now. So maybe that one would have been typed too.
Hillary mantel is spot on. I think shes dosent have a personality. Ive never seen it unlike diana who had tons of it. Hers even shines thru in photos kate dosent she like a robot stepford wife.
Latest post on the Hope House appearance!
http://katemiddletonduchessordiva.wordpress.com/
The link references her necklace as being an evil eye. And I hate to say it, but it looks spot on! Being raised greek orthodox I have the evil eye repellent talisman. Hard to get the 2 mixed up.
People can get really offended and threatened by that necklace. This isn’t a dig at Kate. Just a general observation.
I’m a bit curious why people get offended with the necklace? I’m Arab and generally children and pregnant women wear some sort of evil eye pendant to ward off bad luck. I wear the evil eye myself and its common to find it in households to ward of envy and bad wishes. why the dig on Kate? I dunno that post bothered me for some reason and I don’t like Kate in the slightest (think she’s way way to vapid and lazy).
It wasn’t meant to be a direct dig on Kate. I thought I included that, but I guess not.
It (for me) boils down to superstition. Apparently, 1 charm is made for giving the evil eye to those you dislike and another to ward off ill-wishers.
Not sure what the difference is outside of some designs. I do know that I was raised to wear my charm and be wary of people with bad intentions.
Now the design is a fashion thing and people will buy it not as a talisman, but because it looks nice.
Again. No dig at Kate. Just something I noticed. She can’t be blamed for this.
Everybody complains that Kate is fake, then girlfriend finally gives an honest (and true) answer, and you pick apart the semantics.
And I’m ancient enough to remember when Diana was first around, and she wasn’t more than wallpaper for the first years of her marriage either. The Team picked a nice, young virgin who wouldn’t embarrass anyone. Diana didn’t grow a pair (at least publicly) until DECADES after she became princess….
i think you need to go back and read the history again.
I would hardly call 1985 a decade after the wedding which is when she started to rebel.
I grew up with Diana too and I remember the speeches and the little visits she used to make as well as the big photo ops in her first 4yrs. And stuff I don’t remember can be easily googled.
Early Diana didn’t distinguish herself in quite the same way as she did post 1985, and that’s why there is now some sort of collective amnesia about what she did in those early years.
Fact is that between google and youtube, one can find pictures and video of her working, talking and charming the crowds. And giving speeches in those early years. Not to mention the court circular which confirms her engagement numbers.
Don’t forget that Diana was only 19 when she married Charles and they “dated” for a few months before marriage so she didn’t have the years of experience of being with a Royal before entering into the Royal Family.
Frankly, I don’t understand the excitement around this woman. She’s cute enough but most definitely not the style icon she’s made out to be by all the media, here in the US and in Britain. Most of what she wears is plain and some of it is downright dowdy. She’s mot exceptionally beautiful. She doesn’t seem overly bright and yet, the media paints her as this generation’s style icon. If she’s an icon, then I’m a super model.
Diana was a royal princess from 1981 to 1996. That’s a decade and a half – she didn’t have “decades” of time to distinguish herself. She hit her stride after being on the job for 4 or 5 years but she worked diligently from day 1.
Let’s not forget, Diana was The Princess of Wales, married to the immediate Heir – she was required to keep a high profile (the opposite with Kate)
William is still in the military. Surely, getting through her pregnancy (& HG) and taking care of her baby & husband are her first priorities right now for Kate.
sisi
also let’s not forget she have an army of staff ,she spends most of her days with her mother or in london so not taking care of husband who is not a child that needs to be taken acre of and last but not the least they are defiantly costing us like full time royals and people who way further down the line of succession are working triple the amount the her. also she doesn’t have hg when it’s time to go on vacations but 1 visit per week for an hour is just too much for our delicate duchess. wow i really hope you find someone with more substance to admire or at least stop insisting that she is more then a trophy wife who is there to breed and nothing more.
SISI: I think we can all do a collective sigh of relief that Kate has indeed got over her “HG”.
Sisi – my post was in response to the assertion by the OP that Diana didn’t hit her stride until she had been a princess for decades.
I don’t think Kate should match the number of engagements Diana did or that Camilla currently does.
However, it probably would be a good idea if she stepped her game up a bit given the wave of current sentiment.
I’ve been reading through the comments from the beginning – and I have to ask if “Sisi” is Pippa?! If not, I am honestly gobsmacked.
Had to laugh at your “ancient” comment. I remember the early Diana years quite well myself, but at 45 I don’t consider myself “ancient”.
I’m also 45, and not feeling particularly ancient either, but glad it gave you a chuckle. It was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. And my reference to decades wasn’t in terms of the amount of work that Diana did, but rather her ability to publicly speak her opinions and not tow the royal party line.
And I’m secure enough in my femininity to use a figure of speech like “grow a pair” without apology.
Hahaha, Malificent!! I thought that a bit over the top too.
im offended that you imply “growing a pair” (of men’s private parts) means that a woman finally stands up for herself. Why do we need to associate masculinity with courage?
It’s a figure of speech in general use.
I think she has a pregnancy glow about her. She looks even prettier than prior to being pregnant. She and William are a breath of fresh air if you ask me. They seem more down to earth and in touch with the public. They are a cute couple.
“They seem more down to earth and in touch with the public.”
All the evidence to debunk your statement is everywhere. These 2 are so out of touch with reality. Jeez. You did make me laugh!
Ha!ha!ha!ha! That WAS a joke, right??
Am I the only one who thinks there is padding under her dress- those bikini pics showed nothing, and now quite a large bumb. Yeah ‘popping’ blabla but it could also be a nice planned distraction from bikini gate. ….Shows how much I esteem her/them…
I don’t know about “bump” padding, but a heavily padded bra has always been part of her uniform – at least since she lost all that weight…
Couldn’t agree more. There was no cleavage in the bikini pix, and now, suddenly cleavage. Major padding on the sides of her bra to push the girls together. Padded bump is a possibility, but I wouldn’t put money on it.
The fact that nobody is talking about how Mantel compares the role of the royal family in this day and age to the way that giant pandas are portrayed (look! they’re mating!) is surprising.
I think she’s kind of right – we do treat the royals like giant pandas on display for our amusement. They have no power anymore; it’s all for show. And like Mantel said, cheerful curiosity can turn into cruelty in an instant.
The essay was interesting and thought-provoking. I highly recommend it.
I did, I did!!! (waving furiously)
And I agree. We do.
I would be following the Royals much, much more closely if they were giant pandas.
Good one, TOK!!!
A mannequin Without personality. This is what she is.
First: The only real job Kate has now is getting an heir or two on the planet.
Second: How often are Charles and Camilla out and about working for there charities? Not more than Kate, I think. And they are the first in line to the throne, not Kate and William. So why isn’t there a focus on their laziness?
Third: Lady Diana, when she married Charles, wasn’t working from day one. That only happened when her marriage was falling apart and she had to get the spotlight on herself. And you know what, her only job was to get photographers following her and make pictures of the causes she was supporting. Just like Kate is doing now.
I get sick of all the “Kate is lazy and spoiled” talk. She is doing what she is suppose to be doing. Get over it.
You are incorrect about Diana not working from Day 1. She was thrown into the water without a lifejacket after the marriage. Diana was never coddled like Kate. Diana had to figure things out on her own.
I actually remember Diana committing a faux pas on her first (I think it was the first) engagement. She was given a silver vase or chalice, and turned it over to check the hallmark. 🙂
Check the court circular before making these absolutely WRONG statements.
You don’t see Charles and Camilla working because the media isn’t interested in covering them. Charles has consistently put in 550-600 engagements annually. Camilla 200-300.
Diana started working on her honeymoon. That honeymoon cruise they took included diplomatic meet/greets
Diana worked close to 200 engagements her first year, and continued with increased engagements at that pace and more in the subsequent years. And she was pregnant. Twice. Without slowing down.
All is verifiable.
No need to downplay CCD’s work records to justify Kate’s lack of one.
Lak – you do a great job of educating the ignorant. Keep it up.
Diana had a job working at a daycare in London, and she also worked part-time as a babysitter.
I was just going to post that.
Last year Prince Charles had 645 oublic engagements and even the 90 year old Duke of Edinburgh with a history of bad health had 394.
Kate had 123 and that included the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee.
She IS lazy and fully deserving of her honourary “Duchess Dolittle” title. Other royals who do much more to pull their weight get very little fanfare — e.g. Princess Anne, Charles, Sophie and even Prince Andrew’s daughters.
As others have accurately pointed out, Diana did actually know the concept of “work” and Kate is nothing compared to her.
I’ve been brutally honest and harsh in my assesments of Waity lately so today I’ll say something nice: She looks absolutely gorgeous in these pics and I think that whole dress/suit/outfit with sheer panel in front is killer 😀 I love the color on her.
That said, it’s pretty clear from the original piece that the woman didn’t ask Kate if she was nervous about “childbirth” at all (that would be a but much to ask a royal) but rather just asked her is she was “Nervous about having a child”. My take away from that is that she was inquiring about Kate’s thoughts about becoming a parent, hence her response. I really don’t think anyone would be so ballsy and rude to ask a pregnant total stranger-particularly a royal one-about their personal worries about birth and labor! 🙂
I absolutely agree with you. People are so touchy about birth, that they see it everywhere, but I think this was just a general question. “Having a child” as in “parenting”. Your life not revolving around yourself anymore, but this new little being.
In my mind, Kate is a trust-fund baby to that uber-wealthy degree where she is not expected to do anything, ever and as a result maintains a very child-like mentality. In my mind, she has the sort of the Little-Girl Disney-Princess mindset of what it means to be a Princess— Marry a handsome Prince (not that Willy is all that cute anymore, but he was when he was younger), wear a bunch of pretty dresses and sparkly jewels and live a life with servants and pretty things and all sorts of lovely perks. The other, more realistic, less fairytale stuff she refuses to get involved in. She wants to be a fairytale princess, not a real one.
Hence that line she always trots out about everyone looking after/taking care of HER. Never the other way around.
I find the differences between her and the other kids, especially Pippa fascinating.
They all grew up together, but Kate the star of the family is so completely different from the other two who despite their inherited wealth are still expected to fend for themselves whilst chasing the family social ambitions.
I have a feeling that expectation for Pippa will change if she scores an aristocrat boyfriend.
Still, I think perhaps the reason they’re expected to work right now has to do with the Middletons not wanting it to be TOO obvious that they’re social climbers. I have a feeling if things with Wills hadn’t worked out, Pippa would have been sent after Harry (if she hasn’t been already).
BTW, LAK, you are my spirit animal. Just thought I’d let you know.
Exactly. Very child-like.
I am on the watch out for Kate’s bump, I’m hoping she is faking it like Beyonce and Gisele.
*sarcasm*
I agree with everything negative about Kate written here.
It is weird that Will and Kate, who are not even prince and princess of Wales are so criticized. Diana WAS princess of Wales, Camilla has her place now, not Kate.
I do agree that she could “do” more, but The bad mistakes commited with Diana are maybe being taken into account with her, they do not want her to grow too big, so much that she has gotten bad reviews. I know she is not. The young charismatic Diana, but I do not thinkk they want her to become a big star.
There is so much that is misunderstood or deliberately misrepresented by The Palace.
In many ways, one can draw a parallel between how Kate is being promoted right now and how Diana was supposed to have been received/perceived by the public.
The problem was that Diana had buckets of charisma which caused the public to responded to her like she was a rock star.It was unprecedented and spontaneous. The more the public saw her, the more they wanted her to the detriment of the blood royals.
For those too young to remember her alive, think of the public’s response to her death.
When the Palace say lessons were learnt regarding Diana, they mean that they will never let another person overshadow the blood royals again.
Kate doesn’t have that charisma so Palace fears of her becoming a star are unfounded.
Agree, But you know what? Just imagine That in the time of Diana, the media and social media would have been the monster that is today, and still she became very popular worldwide.
Then she tried to use her star power to defend herself of the attacks she was getting. When I read many of the shennanigas of Charles, Diana, Camilla, et al. I just had to think in the magnitude of the hypocrisy of the world they live in, but that is another story.
After all. It is a young marriage, she and William will probably take it slow well after she has the baby. I don’t have any idea of what other people in their position do in other countries? I know Letizia gets horrible criticism(deserved or not, who knows, butthe attacks to her looks are very nasty) but at least she is “princess of Asturias” not a level under that.
I am not a fan, nor a critic, but it seems that just because she “in” she is being criticized and scrutinized the most.
I continue to be baffled by the fact that the Firm has not been coaching her on how to “be” when she attending this types of events. I mean, if she turned up and was actually personable and interested, the masses won’t give her such a hard time about her holidays which are as regular as her blowouts. She has been around for 10 years now – even if she was the most dull and self absorbed person on the planet, she could have been trained in how to behave in public as the Royals are experts and they would have numerous people at their disposal to teach and assist her. Actors do it all the time. Behave one way in public then another when not around anyone with a camera phone. Why is it spo hard for Kate to have learnt anything about how to interact with people over the timeframe she has been with Wills? She knew the job she was signing up her and pursued it with sole focus – now that she has it, she isn;t willing to do the legwork to even meet a minimum standard.
Maybe she is super lazy and thinks she doesn’t have to really make an effort because Will isn’t there? Or maybe she has really pissed off the royal family with her lazy work ethic and perceived self of importance, they are happy to let her flounder until she concedes to them? Pissed about her drawing focus during the Jubilee? Inserting her family into Royal events as if they are the ones with the pedigree? Spending boatloads of money on clothes ans appearances and then doing barely any work / appearances to justify the expense?
She waited Will out for 8 years to put a ring on it – does the royal family really think they can whip her into line within 2 years now that she has the title, access to unlimited funds and media in her home country falling all over themselves to write her up as the Second coming?
But then hubbie seems to be a lazy SOB with entitlement issues, why should we expect him to have married someone any different?
Birdy – One of her cousins said after the Cambridge visit that She had a hard time being interested / showing interest in the people she meets.
Given the hands off training approach of the royals, i suspect that with her educational background and 8yrs of waiting, they assumed she had absorbed the lessons.
There is a video on youtube from their canadian walkabout which shows that William is as terrible a teacher as the rest of the royals. It’s the first walk about they did. One minute he is talking to her, the next he just walks off to his side of the crowd and for a about a minute she flounders, looking confused, not knowing what to do, looking from side to side. You can actually see by the various rapid facial expressions that she is trying to figure out what she is supposed to do, comes to some inner conclusion and then turns to her side of the crowd. She doesn’t engage with the crowd at all but does a sort of general passing her hand through them, all the while looking behind and around her for William.
I keep remembering extracts of *Penny’s book on William which has passages about Kate from her university days. Impression was that she was a plodder rather than instinctive. The type that hard to study hard to get the good grades. We know that she has studied for her ‘princess/duchess’ role for years hence the make over and the sausage curls so perhaps what she needs is some acting lessons from professional actors. She tends to be good with instructions. Notice the theme dressing for specific occasions.
With precise instructions that she can follow, i am sure she will learn how to feign the interest.
*i think Penny Junor is a harridan, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t nuggets of truth
She could never grow big. She doesn’t have the “it” factor. To set her free would probably only prove to be a bigger embarrassment to the firm.
How far along is she again? Specifically? She looks very small/not really showing at all when you look at other pics from this day… She didn’t look pregnant at all in Mustique. Is she doing a Beyonce?
And I’m curious as to the whereabouts of her Prince William Middleton…
Waity seems to have no interest in anything but William, shopping and holidaying. She is probably quite vain and lazy as a person, and the SJP’s PR is going to great lengths to hide this from the general public. This, I think, is the reason why she is so poor at feigning interest in her charities – she simply has no real interests at all. I assume everyone knows people who are just like Waity in this respect…. Personally, I kind of changed my mind about her after she allegedly was heard wondering whether Faberge eggs were still being made when touring the royal wedding present exhibition with the Queen 😀
I’ve seen enough women cry, screamm, clutch the bed in agony and pain. It’s very difficult for me to talk to them and get their vitals during the duration of the contractions because they’re just so distracted. it shows in their very wrinkled faces. So yeah, you can say I’m a little nervous about the whole childbirth process. Although i read about it a lot in my books (I’m a nurse turned medical student ^_^), I am only aware of the scientific and physiologic mechanisms through it. When that day comes,I hope I can give birth with the least complications, not scream like a banshee on candy. Goodluck to all pregnant women! i wish the best for you and your baby. ^_____^
P.S: When I graduate from medical school, I’ll probably NOT go into obstetrics. The process of seeing a baby split your lady parts in two still gives me goosebumps. LOL
Honestly, I think she looks much better with a little extra weight. She looks a lot healthier. The one thing that I think irks me about these people is that they want all positive media, and when somebody actually takes a photo of them when they are not prepared, then it is like all hell breaks loose. It is a photograph. It is not like they have a grave disease or they are living in poverty. There are much more pressing matters at hand in the world, than whether Princess Kate was photographed in a bikini on a beach somewhere. If they want privacy, then they should build a enclave, with walls like they had back in medieval days. They basically are just figureheads, with no real purpose. Waity basically “waited” it out throughout her 20’s, so that she could get the golden ticket and never have to work again. Is anyone really even that shocked by this? I think she has a very poor work ethic, and I somewhat blame her parents, because how else did she manage to live without working for a decade basically? She could of easily volunteered while she was not engaged. She just chose not to. I would love to know what the Queen really thinks about she and her family.
I’m pregnant for the first time and dreading giving birth, so I understand where she’s coming from.
That does seem like very odd wording. Cold, even.