Duchess Kate and Prince William’s second wedding anniversary is coming up later this month. I was trying to backtrack and figure out how long Kate and Will have actually been together – most people think that they first got together in fall 2002 (that’s when they started living together). Which means they will have been together for 11 years, if you don’t count all of the times they broke up so that William could explore his other options. And in all that time before they were married, I think Kate went to like two or three charity events (and they were always cocktail parties, right?).
But sure, let’s just stick with the fact that they’ve been married for two years and that’s when Kate’s real royal role began. Kate is expecting their first child and their lives are still kind of in flux – William is about to quit the RAF, their homes in the country and in London are still being renovated and decorated, and their press office is a mess. Kate can’t even go on vacation without the world collectively rolling their eyes, so there is a significant image problem. One way to solve the image problem would be for Kate (in particular, but I’m not excluding William) to do consistent work. Not just royal duties, but actual charity work on a consistent basis.
Shortly after Will & Kate married, people were like, “So, what is she going to do now that she’s finally got the ring after waiting around and doing next to nothing for nine years?” Eight months later (for real), Kate finally announced a list of five (FIVE!) charities and organizations which she would now work with. That was January 2012. She promised to add more charities and patronages every year. More than fifteen months later (and barely any work on those charities), Kate is now adding three more “causes” to her portfolio. Huzzah?
As if her plate wasn’t already full, the Duchess of Cambridge is about to add even more. Kate, 31, is adopting three new causes, and that will mean more public outings for the pregnant princess in the coming months as we count down to her baby’s highly-anticipated July arrival.
The new charities are in addition to the five she picked last year and reflect her “personal interests in supporting children and young people to build their skills, confidence and aspirations,” her office says in a statement.
The new patronages are Place2Be, SportsAid and The Natural History Museum. More about them:
Place2Be works in 175 schools to help provide mental health and emotional support for children in largely deprived areas. It is a “natural follow-on” from her work with Action on Addiction, a palace source says. Benita Refson, chief executive and founding trustee tells PEOPLE, “She understands the importance of early intervention to prevent the issues becoming deeper. She will shine a spotlight on child mental health and development and raise the importance and value of early intervention.”
She was inspired to become patron of SportsAid, which helps young disabled and non-disabled athletes achieve their ambitions, after her role in as an ambassador to Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. Chief executive Tim Lawler tells PEOPLE, “It’s a game changer for SportsAid to have her. She is young, she is inspirational and from the very generation that we deal with. She is keen to be a champion of champions. When we met it was clear she wanted to explore how she could make a difference. That personal interest was very evident and she was really charming in the process.”
And finally, The Natural History Museum reflects her interest in the environment and sustainability, and she visited the museum both privately as a child and in public last year when she opened an exhibit there. Kate also met a scientist from the museum when she was in Borneo with Prince William last year. Director of the Natural History Museum Dr. Michael Dixon said in a statement, “When she was here last November it was clear to me how much she shares our passion for understanding and maintaining the diversity of our planet.”
At her visit, Kate said, “William and I are just two of millions of people who have passed through these doors, and marveled at the spectacular wonders of the natural world, housed in this beautiful gallery. I care passionately about what this Museum stands for.”
I love how the palace press office fluffs up the backstories on how Kate chooses her patronages. If you read between the lines, it’s basically like “Kate met a scientist once at a black-tie gala, so she decided to represent science so she can wear more ball gowns.” I actually think Kate does give a genuine crap about sports, though. Athletics and game-playing and all of that – she seems to genuinely enjoy it. So I suspect that her heart really will be into the SportsAid thing, and that’s a good fit. And it will probably provide some really good “action” photo-ops. The Place2Be sounds like a very worthy cause, but I’m not holding my breath for Kate to do a ton of work with it, because I think she’s made a total of two appearances on behalf of Action on Addiction, and I think the cause was probably forced on her.
Anyway, congrats to Kate. I’m glad that she’s adding more to her “workload”. Just before she goes on maternity leave! Which will last three years. And then she’ll get pregnant again.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Yeahno, I can’t give her props for this. It means she’ll work maybe 5 days a month instead of the current 3? (And that’s assuming she doesn’t go on permanent hiatus after popping out The Heir, ofc).
It still means more pictures and outfits. Woo Hoo!
Also, I am glad for the charity that focuses on Mental Health support for children. In light of the mass shootings that happen because people are bullied and such, I really think this is a most worthy cause. A lot of people still think depression is something you can just get rid of like physical illnesses.
Agree that the charity focusing on the mental health of children is worthy and particularly relevant now. I actually don’t think that having fewer charities is a negative. It would be great if she would get deeply involved. We’ll see.
TulipGarden: Agree that less is not necessarily bad. But when you have to put behind the scenes meetings in the Court Circular to plump up her numbers, that’s not so good. I think she might be waking up to the fact that her PR is in the toilet, at least I hope she is, due to that flurry of engagement increases. Plus I think she’s got a few more coming up before she has the baby.
I don’t for one minute think William’s quitting the RAF. I think he’s being forced out.
You know, she could. And I wouldn’t give a rat’s butt if she did. But don’t try and choke this “caring duchess” crap down our throats if that’s the case! That’s my issue with all this. They’re trying to make her into someone she’s not.
Um. She announced four charities the first go to be a patron of, not sure of the fifth unless olympics or “volenteering” with scouts counts. So it’s 7 charities in 2+ years. Sportsaid and the museam will probably have many gala events so I’m sure she’s thrilled. The other she gets to pose with children once a year so it’s s good PR safe haven for post vacations.
Children are her PR crutch. We are not amused.
You nailed it. She’ll be on maternity leave for three years, then get pregnant again. For the normal people out there who actually work, because that’s what you have to do to survive. They’re rolling their eyes right now at the fact that she’s upping up her workload.
She’s far more clever than I originally gave her credit for…
I doubt she’ll wait 3 years to have another kid. Two years max.
I say pregnant within two, second child within three.
William willing, that is. (There’s a pun in there somewhere, I just know it!)
Wow, how will she manage to fit all of that work in? She has such a busy schedule of vacationing and shopping.
What is the big deal in getting dressed and just walking around? That seems to be the extent of her “charity work.” Why can’t she be spending time with these charities WITHOUT the press around? Host a benefit fundraiser, which would surely be largely handled by her people (the ones they tell us she doesn’t have), or some kind of other goodwill gesture. I think the fact of the matter is that she doesn’t give a crap to do actual work because she doesn’t actually give a crap about her patronages. There’s more to actual charity than having your father-in-law cut a check.
Even with all of the comparisons, this area will forever and anon keep her from being anything like Diana.
Key difference is Diana was “genuine” and everyone knew it. She was naturally charismatic and simply appealed to people. Kate is a big phoney and needs all the help she can get to raise her popularity. And no, changing her appearance via clothes, veneers, weightloss, etc. isn’t going to do it.
I could count on one hand the number of charities Kate participated in when she was still THE girlfriend and most of those were connected to Party Pieces. It wasn’t like she went out of her way to be charitable. That’s not exactly a bad thing, but she should have known beforehand that royal life would entail lots and lots of charity work so it would have been great if she had prepped herself beforehand. And it wasn’t like she did much else anyway!
I don’t think she’s really into charities and helping others, she’s just doing the bare minimum to get by. It’s all about the royal perks and privilege for Waity.
Her office actually tweeted recently that Party Pieces hosted a Christmas party at one of her charities “a few years ago”. I thought WTF? They hosted ONE a few years ago? How about one a year?
I don’t see her doing much, but at least the charities will get a little free publicity out of it.
It’s not so much an “image problem”, as its a “Kate” problem. She just doesn’t enchant or charm or thrill or interest people even a quarter as much as other famous royals did. Could it be cos she’s lazy, she’s a dull dresser, she doesn’t have a special glow about her personality…. I would nto want to be tricked into liking her by some “image control”. Either a person is worthy of admiring or not… and right now, she just isnt. It ought to not be a problem, too, that she doesnt fill the shoes of the star who walked before her– thats not necessarily the ‘job’ she has to do. While it certainly helps, its nto really her ‘job’ to be a ‘star’, she’s a part of the royal family, thats all.
I actually don’t have much issue with her clothes; she usually looks pretty good, but THAT COAT!!!! Gah!
Shouldn’t she do actual work for the charities she has before adding more?
Excellent question, Georgina! Except Kate thinks she IS working. What with redesigning the country home, KP, keeping track of William’s whereabouts, well, she IS busy!
As if her plate wasn’t already full, the Duchess of Cambridge is about to add even more.
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Hahahahahahaha!!! Full plate? Whether you take this literally or metaphorically, this statement is utterly ridiculous and patently false. No wonder there is no writer’s name on the article – too ashamed to attach their name to such rubbish.
Great point. This was probably written by her press office.
But it is working. People and the rest of the mainstream media reports it faithfully. The majority of people in the world believe she is a busy,dedicated caring a royal. We at CB commenting are skeptical, but generally it’s all working for them.no general pr collapse, yet.
I don’t know about the majority of people, but you are right, there are a lot of “sheeple” out there that eat it up and ask for seconds, that’s for sure!!! One thing I like about celebitchy is the cynicism and wit I often see in the comments. Sure people may concur about certain things, but there’s less of a “follow the pack” mentality — at least in the posts I read.
Does The National History Museum really need a patron? I think Kate would be very happy to be a patron of Topshop and Bicester Street 😉
I think these 3 charities are her get-out-of-work card for the next year. Better to release the news now. Still, 3 is better than nothing.
No, they do not need a Patron. Neither did the National Gallery, of which Kate also considers herself to be a patron. Clearly, these are both resume pads. And, as Kaiser pointed out, both museums hold annual galas. A gala is a perfect excuse for Kate to order some custom McQueen and Jenny Packham gowns (price upon request).
Which highlights the point that Muddleton is a huge waste of taxpayer funds, she’s expensive to keep and simultaneously worthless. She’s chosen two of the most famous and already popular museums in the UK. If she cared at all, she would find a small museum in need of publicity and funds, maybe near Anglesey and draw attention there. Course, then she would have to be in Anglesey.
The way People wrote that article offends me. Regular people have “a lot on their plate.” This pampered ditzy Duchess has had neither a full workload nor a full plate of food since her University days.
They ought to throw a few of the other royals numbers in, so people like my mother-in-law don’t tell me “Kate works so hard and with such elegance, have you seen this month’s People?” Mother-in-law was a diehard Diana supporter, and also adores the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. If she could just see, published in her glossy People rag, that Diana’s numbers in a single month shatter Kate’s for an entire year…
I agree. I think the problem with Kate is that she does not want to be doing the ‘work’ associated with being a royal but wants the attention and material perks of being one.
Diana was a sincere, caring lady who continued her charitable work even after she was no longer a member of the royal family. I believe she truly cared about the work she did and tried her best to help those in need. Even in her early days, when she struggled with adjusting to royal life, Charles’ cheating and pregnancy, it was apparent that she possessed compassion and a work ethic (she worked as a nanny and housekeeper before she married). She may not have been traditionally book smart (did not possess a degree like Kate) but she was definitely people smart and did her best to help others. She was not perfect but she was a lot more useful and genuine than Kate is or ever will be.
“As if her plate wasn’t already full”
Full with WHAT?
full of itself.
it’s an inceptionoplate.
What does her “charity work” entail exactly? Going to events? I don’t see how that is doing anything? Is she just more of a product endorsement? I am not trying to rip on her ( well maye just a tc)…. I am genuinely interested in what royal charity work really means???
Appearance = publicity. After she was photographed with that Girl Scout-like organization on a camping thingamajig, the program, which was suffering from a chronic shortage of volunteers, received something like 10,000 new applications from all over the UK in the next few weeks.
Visibility, press, especially good press, are always worth something.
Also, everyone wants to party (and be seen) with a princess. Every time there is a gala where she’s the guest of honor, all the rich donors want to buy tables and donate.
She does so little for the small charities she picks that it probably creates a negative impact as public assumes that the charity is attracting the donors and stops giving. EACH has come out and said she’s not created any increased action or money by Patroning them, and they’ve had to cancel recent fundraising activities due to lack of interest.
Popular charities like NHM, Sportaid and NPG don’t need her help since they have so many glamourous and big money sponsors so she doesn’t have to visit them at all beyond having her name added to their letterheads.
This is the negative side of publicizing a visit: there is an initial increase in interest and donations, and then nothing happens.
But because the media reports that a charity benefited from Kate’s visit the first time, some people will assume that the organization doesn’t need any more help.
If she visits her charities 4-5x a year, staying for more than 1 hour and doing more than getting photographed outside the building and posing for pictures, it would emphasize that there’s much to be done for the charities.
How about a working meeting? An event where she’ll actually sit down, listen to a committee, take notes, and then hopefully put the information to good use.
Unfortunately, she seems to be working on a quota: just doing some events to meet the requirements, nothing more. No “extra mile” for Kate.
Well…isn’t this nice. More charities for her to pay lip service to, but not visit. Good luck with that fundraising.
So she’s padding her already padded CV again? Big deal.
Poser.
Agree, Maven. I don’t know why they bother.
I hope they get more then a single visit .
To misquote Diana; she’s chosen the ballet to patron when there are starving children!!
On the plus side, she’ll definitely visit the natural History and Sportaid frequently since they have frequent galas and oodles of glamourous patrons. Just like she does with NPG.
I hope, for the charities’ sake, that they can benefit from her “patronage”.
She’s made more visits to department stores and shopping boutiques in the last month than she’s done charity work for an entire year.
And her charities IMO are nothing but PR stunts for her. Not a lot can be accomplished in a yearly visit that only lasts 1 hour!
She only does charity work when there is backlash and she needs a publicity boost. The Palace scheduled several charity events for her and William to attend right after they got back from holiday in Mustique: 2 weeks with 5 events (how exhausting!).
Now that there’s no backlash, where is she?! Oh yeah, shopping again.
She’s all but disappeared since her last event 2 weeks ago, except for the tweets of her shopping all around London and some shop clerks and managers revealing Kate shopped at their stores. She is spotted everywhere going shopping, but not one person has spotted her going to the museum, library, or any charity organization in her private time.
Is there a gag order on her charities to not reveal if Kate truly visits them? It’s always the Palace saying Kate does “secret visits” that have no evidence whatsoever.
The funny thing is that NHM is a 10min walk away from KP. Watch how hard it is going to be to pay them a visit beyond the inevitable galas.
It seems to be a day for announcing Royal Patronage. B has also been announced as the new Patron of The Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10005522/Princess-Beatrice-becomes-patron-of-dyslexia-charity.html
@ LAK. Yes, interesting. Kate Middleton is paid to do this work, Beatrice isn’t. Now they have an equal number of charities I think. Plus the big splash of Prince Harry adding one of Diana’s charities to his list last week, his upcoming USA visit, AND the Walking with the Wounded trek?
The timing of this KM announcement smacks of a desperate move from her PR department. “Quick, everybody else is actually working, the peasants might notice all she’s doing is shopping. AGAIN. Announce something!”
I heard Beatrice had a new charity. Thanks for posting this. Positive news about the other royals always seems to get lost in the latest Waity announcements.
I find it hilarious Bea has the same number of patronages as Waity & Bea isn’t the future Queen.
Surprising (and odd) to hear she is moving in with her parents for 6 weeks after the birth….Not sure how reliable the source (a “friend”) is though.
I’m not a royalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a theory that she is prevented from doing more by Prince Charles. I think both William AND Kate’s schedules are heavily controlled by Charles’ office.
Over the past few years, Charlie has been trying to consolidate the future of the monarchy around himself (ditching lesser royals, making sure only himself and his horse – sorry wife – are seen at attendance at certain functions etc.)
William, Kate and Harry are allowed to prop him up (e.g. at the Jubilee), but not to overshadow him.
The man has a real problem with the public’s perception of him and gets jealous when someone eclipses him in the public eye (i.e. Diana). If you can be jealous of your wife, you certainly can be jealous of your son and daughter-in-law.
Plus I suspect William is perfectly happy with Kate doing less…
William and Kate work on their own, setting their own pace. To blame Charles for their laziness is grossly unfair especially since he is trying to rework the monarchy to evolve around the 3 heirs.
It’s a fact that behind the scenes he has invited them to attend his own charity and business meetings and only Harry shows ups regularly. That’s why Harry’s work for his charities and Royal duties is a lot more mature and substantial than William and Kate. William can’t keep the bored look off his face when he is at engagements. You can’t blame that on Charles. And where William goes/does, so follows Kate.
Charles had a character failing where Diana was concerned, but he isn’t having one now. It’s all William and Kate’s own character failing. Nothing to do with Charles or The Queen.
What’s the big deal? This is usually the way the royal women (the closer to the crown they are) conduct themselves. She first has to provide the heir and the spare, who will be farmed off to boarding school soon enough. It’s then that she’ll be expected to earn her keep and pull her weight, working with charities or whatever. This is no different to what William’s mother did.
There is enough archival evidence via video/photos/court circular to show this isn’t true for modern royals.
It’s very true for the ye old royal family, but not true anymore since the abdication in the 1930s.
The Queen dumped Charles and Anne on her own mother to continue working. The Queen’s own children (and their wives) did the same. Diana pulled out close ot 200 engagements in her first year during which time she was pregnant with William, and never stopped until her divorce. Even the much despised Fergie worked more than this, pregnant or not. None took off substantial time either to enjoy their families or marriages.
History has been rewritten in the face of Kate’s reverting back to kept rich women of ye old times and in the process people really believe that Diana etc are thought to have been idle in the same way whilst being mistreated by the royal family structure when it isn’t true at all. Kate has had more support, more time off and more cossetting and coddling than any royal woman probably in entire history of the royal family, and still more excuses are found for her. It’s quite unbelievable.
@ LAK. Thank you again for being the voice of reason and fact on this issue. The ridiculous re-write of Diana’s and Sarah’s work levels to make bone-idle Kate Middleton look good is getting really old. There are no excuses for either William or Kate at this point.
“The Queen dumped Charles and Anne on her own mother to continue working.”
What do you mean? It’s not like she had a choice, to work or not to work.
Or even to “cut down” on her engagements at the time.
Besides, Elizabeth’s position is entirely different to Catherine’s. Elizabeth was and is the actual sovereign, the “ruler” (if mostly on paper).
Catherine will never be more than a consort, even if her husband does become the king.
Mel – The previous poster was saying that all royal women, particularly those closer to the throne took time out or had fewer duties and i was pointing out [albight with hyperbolic language] that The Queen had used her own grandparents as nannies in order to get on with her job.
The Queen is the sovereign BUT that makes her no different from all other ordinary working mothers including those with demanding jobs who have to go back to work after baby and use any resources at their fingertips whether that be grandparents or nannies.
Kate is the first who is using all the rights accorded to working women who isn’t working. Maternity leave was designed to help out women who had jobs so they could bond with their babies etc not for stay at home women for whom maternity leave is an oxymoron since they are at home already bonding with the babies and not rushing off to go back to their jobs.
I’m pleased to announce that Kate is also to be patron of my new charity, “Save the Idle”. STI provides ballgowns, shopping and holiday vouchers to those who are lazy, pointless and have no discernible personalities, but whose parents are too poor to keep them in boundless luxury until they are 30 and who, through no fault of their own, have failed to marry some rich dude/dudette so they can keep them instead.
It is a cause close to Kate’s heart.
I would be very happy to be the test subject for your new charity, baskingshark. Although, can you raise the age limit a bit?
I’ll practice the dumbing down part. “Can I tell how this . . . um . . . gown fits by trying it on?” How’s that?
Hehe, more like “Can you have the gown fitted, by fitting it?” 😀
LOL, sure thing, we’ll begin accepting applications the day after Kate actually does a full days work.
You may be waiting some time.
Baskingshark: Just like Kate’s patronages. Well played!
She is a good woman 🙂