Some amazing things have been happening with Duchess Kate over the course of the past month, following Bum-gate, her latest “flasher” incident. First all, she’s worked more in the past two weeks than in the first four months of 2014. It might be too much to hope that someone finally got through to her that she needs to stop flashing everyone, wear appropriate clothes, stop playing with her hair and actually WORK. Or is this merely a quick succession of events right before a summer spent vacationing at some far-flung resort? Who knows.
So, following Kate’s appearance at Bletchley Park on Wednesday, Kate followed up on Thursday by making a trip to one of her charity patronages, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH). This was literally one of her first “charity” appearances of the year. I actually don’t know if she technically made this trip to a hospice on Thursday, or if it was a trip earlier in the week and the news just came out on Thursday. It doesn’t matter that much. She’s working, that’s what counts.
In a weird/funny move, UK papers are claiming that this trip was one of her many hush-hush SECRET charity visits. It’s not a secret, for the love of God. It’s clear Kate’s press office fully briefed reporters, coordinated with EACH so that the charity would release some photos, and Kate’s press office also released a statement in her name!! Here’s the statement:
“Around the clock support is crucial for children receiving palliative care. They and their families often need help every hour of every day, both in hospices and at home. As patron of EACH, I have seen first-hand this remarkable and varied work and just how vital the support of staff and volunteers can be to the families of children with life limiting conditions. It has been wonderful to see the fantastic public support for Children’s Hospice Week over the last few days. Please continue supporting your local children’s hospice in whatever way you can.”
[Kate’s statement, via EACH]
It’s a fine statement. Maybe her press office thought it would be better to get the message across by just issuing a print statement rather than *hair toss* trying to *looking down furiously at notes, fumbles* make Kate *smiles awkwardly, tosses hair again, loses place in notes, looks down again* speak in public.
Oh, and Kate’s pink/purple dress at the EACH appearance is another Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress. It’s a bad color on her and the skirt probably flew up as soon as she exited her car.
Photos courtesy of WENN, EACH’s Facebook.
Ah…so that’s why she seems to be slacking…all of her work is ” secret.” Lol
They really should give up on those “secret visits”. Her charities have denied the and no member of the press or paps or private citizen with a camera phone has caught her doing that.
Still, I find myself figiving her hair, makeup and wardrobe because she is working. I have no issues with this as it is now. I only hope this keeps up. We’ve been fooled before.
DISCLAIMER: Bad mood today!
I don’t care how many private visits she does. I care how many public visits she does. And I’m tired of listening to people talking about Charitable Catherine with her Under the Radar or Behind Closed Doors visits. Her job is to bring attention to her patronages. I think it’s great if she chooses to do things on her own time. But her job is to bring awareness and help raise money, as per her statement.
I think this is a PR work binge after bumgate and not working all year. I hope I’m wrong.
is this the same charity that had to cancel an event (fundrasing garden party or some such) due to low pledges? i think it was a big deal because she was vacationing at that time?
maybe not. i try to search on google.
Wouldn’t be surprised….
lower case deb
I’m havng more link issues on my mobile so no link, but it’s from this site.
Kate was gifted a bunch of baby items and bundles. She gifted/donated one of the bundles that was extremely plain to the charity for the auction. She did this with no written note to attach so the item could be set apart as from the Duchess. It seemed like it was donated because it was the most boring thing she had and the best was kept (even though none of it should have been kept).
In the end Kate was free for the event, but did nothing to promote it and much money was lost in having to cancel the auction from lack of interest.
There was talk the charity wanted to drop Kate as a patron having received no help from her and after trying to reach her for help never could get in touch.
How is it a private visit when there are photographs taken by professional photogs – v.s. cell phone or twitter pics?
Cookie Monster, I’m curious about that. Could residents ask for a selfie with the royals? I know we don’t have a Royal Family, but selfies are banned with the President.
You’d think that would be a less obvious way of leaking Kate’s Mission Impossible: Charity Work, via social media.
don´t know if the residents can make selfies on such a “secret visit” LOL, but normally selfies with royals are ok:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/17/article-2606441-1D2703CB00000578-167_634x426.jpg
Cookie Monster
It sounds like they’re trying to revive those “secret visits” by claiming this is one of them. By showing what 1 visit may look like it will give the public a true visual of what other secret meetings might look like and make it easier to believe.
Glad she’s working, but let’s not call it anything other than what it is. A meeting with her charity and the press.
Side comment.
Regarding her private visits. You would think she would have learned about her charities with these secret visists. Still, when she shows up for a public visit she comes off as still uninformed about the charity.
That said those were my opinions then. I hope she’s soaking things in here and it isn’t just for pr or because Charles is trying to rebrand the Cambridges. I hope this goes deeper and they really want to do this. That it isn’t viewed as a burden to keep the masses subdued.
FLORC, Seriously? Do you think she’s had a change of heart? She’s been pretty consistent in her indifference to charities and the plight of others for over a decade and especially now, when she could make a difference. I don’t understand giving the benefit of the doubt to someone who has proved themselves unworthy of it. Yes, this is to soothe the masses and dazzle ’em with BS.
Hmmm
I’m an optimist at heart. I was a true cheerleader and defender of Kate at the start. Then she let everyone down. Then she got married and my hope renewed! Then she let us all down. Sure she’s screwed up and there are many outside influences that need to have her seen working. Bum-gate, Charles rebranding, padding numbers, Goodwill/Pr, but when there’s this rush of work I have renewed hope.
Goes for lots of things. Gross Uncle Terry not being one of them. He’s bad to the core.
And I hate to compare Diana and Kate, but here we go.
Diana was wealthy and didn’t do much. She wasn’t too smart either. Then she had to sink or swim. Along with the troubles of her marriage she threw herself into charity work. She became the Princess Diana who held the HIV+child and the Diana that was the figurehead for removing landmines. That was not the Diana Charles married.
With any luck maybe Kate will find she needs more than endless shopping sprees to soothe her husbands never ending “hunting trips” at gentlemens clubs.
Diana didn’t really have her family either. Kate has hers and i’m no fan of how Carole pushed Kate to change herself for a man. She may be a lovely mother that keeps the family close, but that was just awful and Carole is imo as bad as terrible uncle garry and all his drug/slave trading endeavours.
FLORC,
Not only that Carole encourage Kate to change herself but encouraged her to put up with all sorts of atrocious behavior. Remember the time William was supposed to spend New Year’s with them and simply never showed up? I don’t know how you encourage your daughter to marry into that.
IMO, what was captivating to the public about Diana and charity was that she was this truly fancy/aristo woman (Lady Di) who genuinely cared about issues and people that had been cast aside by society. Kate has neither of those qualities.
I can’t say that Carole is definitely like this, but she reminds me of the typical stage door mother who pushes her child to achieve those goals for which she herself can live vicariously. Otherwise, I can’t explain how a mother would encourage her daughter to remain with a man who humiliates and dumps her, and has behavorial problems of his own. Perhaps Kate was a willing victim and was complicit in these machinations, but any normal parent would tell their child to cut and run and find a man deserving of her. But these are different circles and the prize was that sapphire ring and the life that Carole and Kate wanted to buy into. Obviously they felt such treatment was worth it.
“I think this is a PR work binge after bumgate and not working all year. I hope I’m wrong.”
Of course it’s PR binge to erase the memory if Bumgate. You ever see Kate do this much “work” ever? After Bumgate she and the firm released no statements, kept quiet then scheduled Kate for event after event to make her look serious and now releasing statements for Children with serious illness. Never happened before.
This isnt about Bumgate this is her padding her quarterly numbers
RedSnapper, it could be both. Good point, though.
I think you’re right – it is a PR stunt, trying to help the public to forget Bumgate. It’s not working.
That dress is ugly. It was ugly years ago too when she wore it to a party. The print was bad then, and it’s bad now.
Absolutely a pr stunt and attempt at damage control, end of story. Secret charity visits, my a$$. She doesn’t do anything secretly, every bit of so-called charity work she does is planned and calculated v.s. the more spontaneous, in the dead of night private work Diana did. Key difference — Diana genuinely cared about people and did it because she wanted to, unlike Kate who does it for attention.
vava
I forgive this dress because nothing could be worse than that brown dove print dress.
This is perfect PR to get everyone believing that this is not the first ‘secret’ visit of its kind. This now validates that she has done it in the past and all the naysayers were wrong. I think that was the point of the exercise. So even if we’re not seeing her, she’s doing ‘secret’ work all the time. Yeah, sure.
It certainly seems that there’s now a concerted effort by the palace to rehabilitate her image after Bumgate and her slacker life style. Most of the stuff she does though, is still fluff.
I agree, bluhare, what is the point of ‘secret’ visits when that is not going to raise a charity’s profile? Who is going to believe she is the second coming of Mother Theresa? Oh wait…nevermind.
I think it’s a shame that her image has to be rehabilitated in the first place. She had lots of goodwill from the wedding and the overseas tour. Why her PR team did not run with that, is the question. If the royals were going to “help” Kate in the way that Diana wasn’t, what is this? (Someone should have helped her with her underpants). If this is Charles fault (?), what a dunderdude. And I’d fire their PR; the situation is so amateurish; a good PR firm would have known better.
Blame the PR or blame them? I blame them.
@bluhare, exactly what I wanted to say but you said it perfectly. (I am in a growly mood today as well, but I thought this the last time I read about her “secret” visits when I was in a fine mood!)
I hate that I appear to be right.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2664060/Your-bill-refurbish-Kates-palace-4MILLION-New-kitchen-nursery-bathrooms-quadruples-cost.html
The KP redo is apparently costing the British public 4 times the original amount.
Perhaps I’m wrong, but the justification for the expense of updating KP seems to be; that the royals needed a palace to be royal in. (one needs a palace to be royal, even). Circular, isn’t it?
Bluhare
Add in Amner Hall renovations and the million+ put into the Middletons private home she’s burning through money like water.
I have a friend who work with restoring and refurbishing historical architecture – and it is damn expensive to keep up these old buildings. It takes a lot of work, and that is expensive. It seems to me that a renovation of Kensington Palace would have to be done eventually and the longer you wait with these old buildings, to greater the damage and the higher the cost.
Is Kensington Palaced own by the BRF or the British State? Is it a protected building?
My friend who works in this field has in fact worked on a restoration plan for the official residence of the Queen of Denmark, which is a beautiful rococco palace.
Here’s a pic:
http://www.billedbladet.dk/sites/billedbladet.dk/files/media/amalienborg_hj.jpg
He said that the damage is very, very extensive and that restoration really had to be done NOW or the building will become uninhabitable – so the Queen and her husband actually have to move out! There hasn’t been done anything about the building since the early 1960s – this might not seem such a long time, but with centuries-old buildings, this IS a very long time. Ideally, such old buildings should constantly be surveyed so any damage can be repaired as soon as it manifests itself – and, believe me, there will always be new damage, and frequently.
This renovation will, of course, be time-consuming and very expensive – and it will be payed for by the Danish government since it owns allmost all of the royal residences. As the palace is also considered one of the finest examples of rococo architecture in the country, it is of course a protected building and as such the government is obliged to keep it in good repair, even if it wasn’t a royal residence.
What I’m trying to say – in a very long-winded manner, is that Will and Kate should really be blamed for all of the soaring expenses to their residence. As I understood it, they pay for fixtures, furnishings, etc. themselves. But any structural work is payed for by the government – hence my question about who owns the building and its status as a historical building.
I am not arguing about the historical building and status aspect. But if you read the article, there was work done on new rooms for William, Kate and the baby including bathrooms and a kitchen for George and a new bedroom for William and Kate.
That being said, my point before was that I was afraid this new Charitable and Workhorse Kate was a PR drive. And I appear to be correct. Whether the building needed it or not, they are still quadruple the budget they gave for it on the taxpayers account. They also didn’t need to choose that particular apartment. There were others available that were not as large, but Kate wanted that one. With the huge bills it appears to be costing. I have a hard time believing they’re paying for everything they say they are as well. First, I hope they’re paying for their own bloody furniture. If they’re paying for flooring, fixtures and paint, great, but it reads like it was just thrown in there to make them look better.
Sorry, the bad mood continues. I was really starting to raise my opinion of them a bit too.
PS And since I’m truly sour, why does the bulletin board talk bout April showers at the end of June?
KP is not privately owned by the family, but I believe it’s held in trust for the nation by the monarch. It does make sense to a certain extent that the public should pay for renovations, however, the public does not get any benefit out of it – it’s very possible we will never even see the inside.
I think it was a mistake on William’s part to ramp up these official residences if they do not intend to yet take up full time official duties. One begets the other, and I think they’re going to start hearing it from the papers (if they haven’t already).
Arthistorian: here is my particular issue with this renovation.
1. KP underwent an extensive 2yr renovation that was supposed to take care of all these problems.
2. The particular apartment WK now occupy had undergone a renovation by the charity that was taking up residency. HM had to buy back their lease including the cost of their renovation.
3. The new report says specifically bedrooms and nurseries. Last year’s report said specifically asbestos, roof and rewiring. So the asbestos etc cost £1M and their bedrooms/nursery are costing £3M. Nothing to do with restoration or updating the building.
we heard as recently as march this year about the new paint job that was required because the previous paint job had come out purple due to Kate’s hormones….i bet the new paint job is out of the £3M.
The telegraph says that a huge portion of the money that was allocated to pay for palace upkeep was spent on WK’s apartment. Meanwhile we are bombarded with tales of crumbling BP’s leaky roof and masonry. it’s the priorities that make me furious and the wastage of WK’s lifestyle charged to taxpayers.
Two words describe these egregious renovations for all William and Kate’s homes: conspicuous consumption.
Hey wolfpup, there aren’t any wrong opinions. Just ones that I might not agree with. 🙂 Yours usually aren’t in that category.
Also, the palace is going into overdrive with absolutely stupid reasons, like the place had no running water. Do they think we’re complete idiots? That the charity (that runs these buildings) who occupied the space before them did so with no toilets, and that Margaret, who lived in it until 2002? had to have servants haul water in for her? GAH!!!!
LAK,
The fact that the tax money pays for new bedrooms, bathrooms and nursery is suspicious. However, knowing what I know about the field – renovations always soar in expenses after the initial proposal, which is based on a survey of the visual damage – and the visual damage is just the tip of the iceberg. When work begins they always find that the damage is more extensive than what it initially appeared. Water damage is especially difficult because it really can spread and be compounded by fungus and mold very very quickly – and water damage is one of the biggest problems with old architecture.
Since I don’t know all the particulars I don’t really feel comfortable judging wheter these expenses are warranted or excessive. However, the article is certainly slanted in a way to kindle outrage. And perhaps it is true – but sticker in this situation really is that Will and Kate don’t pull their weight work-wise and it is thus harder to accept the huge amounts of money that is spent on their upkeep.
It sounds like Buckingham Palaces really needs a big overhaul – and soon, because of the reasons that I outlined in the earlier post.
Regarding my friend, I don’t know if it is his firm that is doing the renovations on tQueen Margrethe’s residence, but he did a lot of measuring and surveying when they put in a bid – so he has actually seen the Queen’s private rooms. She has a snug little bedroom under the attic, wallpapered in burgundy and with a little fireplace. I love that she sleeps under the attic! Her husband has a grand bedroom on the bel-etage.
Arthistorian: i adore that description of Margarethe’s bedroom. our very own Queenly Harriet Potter!!!
back to WK’s KP refurb…..this is what i know about the public reports nevermind the media spin on it.
Every year, infront of a select committee of public records, government expenditure including line items, has to be explained to a bunch of jobsworth MPs. Transcripts are available via the parliamentary website.
It’s been known for some time that WK’s expenditure was through the roof in all areas that are publicly funded. A few months ago, the Palace leaked a story about bracing themselves for a backlash when the figures finally became public.
Last year’s report was very specific that the high cost that was just over £1M was due to asbestos, re-wiring and bringing the building up to code.
This year’s report is equally specific that it is kitchens, bedrooms and nurseries. Not a peep about asbestos or re-wiring etc like last year. And the report is very specific that the new rooms cost £3M.
The Palace is going out of it’s way to justify this expenditure in a way they didn’t have to last year. everything from lack of running water/bedrooms to WK needing an official residence to this being a value for money expenditure to the tax payer. Funny how these same excuses were not used last year nor were they an issue apparently even though the public was told exactly what rooms had been refurbished.
As an example, i remember the fun we had on CB joshing about day nurseries and night nurseries for PGtips even though he wasn’t born yet. His nursery was comprised of day/night nurseries, a kitchen and a study. i guess that wasn’t good enough and a new one has been built for him.
IF this was about restoration of an old building that was throwing up more problem areas as you’ve explained, it would have been in the report. Just as last year.
LAK,
Thanks for all the info! Well, it seems that it isn’t old damage that’s the problem – and I must say that I’m quite surprised at the numbers – because I would think that all the structual stuff would be a much larger expense than the interior (kitchens, etc.) since that type of work usually reveal many more problems than what initially can be seen.
You have to wonder EXACTLY those £3M cover because that’s a very big bundle of money – the only thing that I can think of is thatthey have had installed extra kitchens and bathrooms since that would require a lot of work on additional wiring and plumming, which is quite expensive.
PS.
I don’t know if Queen Daisy likes Harry Potter, but she’s a big fan of Tolkien. She read LoTR to her sons when they were children and she illustrated an edition of the book in the 1970s under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmner.
You and LAK have such great information, AH. I love the little factoids you throw in too. Magarethe as a Tolkien fan!
Sorry if my tone was a bit intense. I had just read about it, and all these engagements Kate’s been taking on started to look a bit different. I actually do think that time and care should be taken on these buildings. They’re national treasures.
And now William and Kate aren’t even going to be living there full time. The Dm continues their onslaught with an article saying he IS going to fly with East Anglia air ambulance.
A new article that breaks down to cost and the specific renovations:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2664671/GIRL-ABOUT-TOWN-Prince-William-turns-Bank-Dad-Kensington-Palace-revamp.html
Hold a cardboard sign in front of your face, Katie Cambridge! That’s how we roll.
Can you imagine?
Doesn’t ‘secret’ work defeat the point of being a patron, which is to publicise your charities?
Exactly! I do not believe she makes secret visits, any more than I believe she wrote the statement. But thank god she didn’t read it!
I think the publicity around this secret visit only proves that she doesn’t do this regularly.
+ 1, and x100000
Oh when will their press office hire a professional?
YES!! Secret visits are great, but they don’t replace her actual job which is to promote the charity publicly.
I know it’s DVF, and I know it’s paisley, but I still think her dress looks like bacteria. Not a choice I would’ve made for a hospice.
Superficial aside, glad to see her actually out and doing something for her patronage. Keep going, Duch!
Usually I love paisley, but that print looks like things growing in a petri dish.
Can you imagine if she dedicated some of her time to do even half of the work Jolie does, or that Diana did? She could make a huge difference. I hope this trend continues, though I’m doubtful, I hear the Maldives are gorgeous this time of year…
The problem with that is to do the amount of work Jolie does/Diana did, you would actually have to care about the causes you follow. Kate is only a “patron” of these charities because that is what is expected of her role. She didn’t wait around for William all those years because she’s a humanitarian. She did it because she wanted to get the popularity and social standing from being part of the Royal Family.
very true. She’s only doing charity work because it’s expected of her. You can tell her heart isn’t into it because if it were, she’d be much more active and dedicated.
+1 If her heart was into it she would have started doing charity work since her early 20s. I started doing volunteer work in high school and continued in college. If I had her money and free time, I would have continued doing volunteer work and charity visits on a regular basis. She knew she wanted to marry into the Royal Family. We all figured that she’d be the one William would marry because she stuck around the longest. She has had ten years to build her brand, her image, and her associations with worthy causes. She just isn’t into work of any sort. This is her duty and she does the minimum amount of work required or must do whenever she does something embarrassing like expose herself to photographers. Once bumgate dies down, she will be back to decorating her house and vacationing on a private island.
I guess i’m feeling charitable since Bluhare took my crabby attitude this morning.
People can change. I say this every time Kate is seen working and I really hope it’s her turn around moment.
I agree she’s never had an interest in charitable work or helping others unless she had much to gain from doing it and the helping others was a pleasant afterthought to planning a party.
This is bum-gate, Charles rebranding W and K, and padding her numbers for events. For me this matters less because as long as she’s out there promoting charities and getting their name and cause out there this is good.
Now this dress KAte wore to this …Charity for something, is not a good print, but the DVF wrap is awesome. Such a fan of the wrap dress.
The press really should do their part in this also. Don’t cover Kate. Cover the charity! This is where I place much blame on the Kate fans. If you’re such a fan of hers then whhy are you fans? Because of her physical appearance or because she works for charities? Betters the world? Or because of her hair, clothes, bum, and that she married a prince.
I am into the royal family, because of my interest in history, (enjoying the story line since Diana in 1981), as well as having simple curiosity about what other people think. I enjoy all the fuss. But Kate has let me down, Diana aside (which she will never be – and that’s OK). If she were to appear more down-to-earth, and natural, I think that it would be easier to like her, but at this point, I can’t she that she is anything other than what we see.
Could Chuck be trying to control the conversation, that he was unable to do with Diana? Yet Kate is complicit, otherwise she would have appeared more prepared for work.
Agreed Wolfpup
Kate isn’t exactly prepared for these last minute visits. And they’re only last minute because left on her own she never thinks to put them in her schedule.
They’ve found her nitch. She can sit and listen with a prepared written statement that isn’t spoken. And surely, nothing is expected to come from these visits. They are serving their only purpose. PR Photos.
FLORC, take it back!! I want to be charitable again! I hate my new Jellus H8r hat!
@FLORC
What I don’t get is that if she’s so shy/finds it difficult to do speeches (which I would too), why doesn’t she do more hands on charity work? How hard is it to scoop some soup into a bowl for a homeless person in a line? Bag some food for the homeless. Pass out said food. Sort toys/books/clothes, etc for poor people. Stop by a children’s hospital (a different one each week) and read them stories for a few hours. SOMETHING.
Oh Virgilia, there you go being all logical and practical! 🙂
@bluhare
I am nothing but……
Kate makes my eye twitch….
Why she likes short, frilly, fly-up skirts is beyond me. Her hips, thighs and rear end are so thin and not a bulge in sight….she can rock any narrow or tight skirt any day ( I could be so lucky!) and not worry about flashing the paps more often than they do her.
Hmm, flat as a board and protruding bones- that’s your idea of “rocking it”??
LOL! I want the hourglass figure to return. Now that really rocks a tight skirt!
Meh, it’s a drag dressing an hourglass figure in a fashion landscape that doesn’t favour it. Everything is so loose and drape-y up top and skinny on the bottom, so it’s more than easy to look like a bag of produce when the other ladies look lovely. And let’s not even start on uniboob.
“Bumgate” has become the only thing to get Kate to do consistent public appearances and charity appearances. Including releasing serious statements. OMG! Finally. She has to replace that image of a fashion girl that does nothing but care about clothes and flashing her naked bits to the public. It will be interesting to see if she keeps this up from now onwards or only till “Bumgate” goes away from the public memory. I guess if she gets sick of it she can become pregnant and gain automatic sympathy that way.
I have a feeling that Bumgate won’t go away from the public memory. I know I’ll always remember her flashing when I think of her. That, and the manic grins and the obsession with touching her hair.
That’s what I remember about her–the touching her hair (which I do that too, but that’s why I keep my hair pulled back), and the fact that she has so many marilyn moments…plus she and her hubby are lazy f-cks.
Oh keep working through that grueling schedule , she might need to go on leave soon.
I wonder whether the royal bum watcher had to save the Duchess from emotionally scarring those poor children…..
I think that message is missing some hyphens….
I feel sorry for her. So much vitriol about her intentions, when perhaps she was simply trying to have a positive impact? She’s a young mother, and I’m sure she doesn’t make her own schedule — that’s up to the Royals, right? Give her some credit! And I will say that every time I see her interact with children, she shines with warmth. Not the normal self-involved celebrity at all.
They actually do make their own schedules, the senior BRF and courtiers don’t. She is lazy, she was lazy before she had George, and her inappropriate behaviour and dress at numerous public occasions was becoming ridiculous. So yes, it’s a case of suddenly trying to lay a veneer of work and charitable appearances over a history of negligence of the work she should have been doing from day one.
And she’s so predictable that whenever there’s a scandal, her appearances and events get increased to whitewash her PR. It’s just so phony and she’s extremely ill-equipped to handle her role/job.
Both Will and Kate need to pay attention to their PR team, and follow their advice, as though PR were their boss. They are lost without help, on their own…such a pity.
I’ve changed my mind; they are ever so much more entertaining doing it “their way”.
wolfpup,
I see this advice often- they should listen to their PR team. That’s like supporting and enabling a dishonest image to soothe the masses; it’s so cynical. In this case, it’s not like it’s speaking to the Dolittles’ strengths (if they have any). So, I agree, giving them their head has really exposed them for who and what they are. I hope it continues.
Sandy
To be fair almost everyone here has tried to defend her down every route.
I’m actually trying today.
It is a known and multiple times confirmed fact that Kate does make her own schedule. No one tells her what to do. Many events regarding the Queen where all BRF members attend are required of her, but within the year those are very very few and make up a fraction of other royals full schedules.
And like clockwork when there is a scandal Kate is seen very last minute attending events we know she had o intention of attending. Or else she would have put it on her calendar like all other BRF members.
That is how we know this.
And she’s gotten better with kids. She was terrible, but much improved now. And I will give any mom of a young child credit for working. Kate happens to have full staff for all her homes, people to take care of every thought she has and a few nannies in tow that tend to George always. They are often Photoshopped out or cropped out of photos. It’s easy enough to find the real photos. Kate could do so much. This is a start and credit to her. But she is old enough people shouldn’t have to make excuses for a 30 year old University grad, mother and wife, married into the firm for 3 years and still is Fergies old title of Duchess Dolittle.
Vitriol, Sandy? Really? Although some of the comments about her appearance and how she dresses can seem petty at times, the vast majority of the comments pertaining to more important stuff – like her work ethic and sincerity are usually well-substantiated. Commenters like FLORC, Lak, Bluhare – to name just a few, but there are several more – are very credible and are always able to back up what they say.
Oh, and regarding Kate and children – I respectfully beg to differ. She comes across as shallow, insincere and wooden in her interactions. Other royals – Sophie, the late Diana, Zara – have more of a natural flair with people and simply come across as genuine and empathetic. Kate is a try-hard and it shows.
So true. And I concur re: the reliability of the commenters you mentioned. Their comments also have substance which I like – despite the fact that this is a celeb gossip site after all! Add Hmm, Goodnamesalltaken & vava to the list of regulars who “get it” but don’t go out of their way to shame or offend people
I don’t feel very reliable today. I am fed up with them; almost irrationally so.
Legitimate question: do other Royals do ‘private visits’ with their patronages, or is this something new for her? I totally understand how private visits would have been helpful in the first year or so to get her accustomed to the processes and her role in the visits without being under a microscope. Now, I’m less sympathetic as she appears to use ‘private visits’ for good PR when needed, like “oh she’s been doing these all along, we just don’t show you”. Sorry no, don’t buy it. And based on the ‘April Showers bring May flowers’ board behind her in one picture, I’m going to say this happened at least a month ago and they were holding onto it, waiting for a opportune time to release it.
Great point about the board! Makes it look even more manipulative and cynical on the part of the palace. And why no cell phone pix somewhere?
I believe other Royals do have private visits, but they are in conjunction with public visits. And the reason why we don’t know about them is because they are indeed “private” visits.
Private visits are to speak more 1 on 1 and have it less fluff talk for a photo op. They’re for getting down to business.
Kate’s private visits were told to us for reduced fanfair. That there would be such a mob around her at all times that she had to have secret meetings. That was the reason given at the time. Come to find out the charities let it slip they haven’t seen her for any secret meetings and she is easily photographed seen in salaons and then shopping, but not once entering a building that would house a charity meeting.
Still hoping this is a turn around though.
I just noticed that about the board, Shazbot. GAH!!! She didn’t even visit this week; this was a couple of months ago!
That’s it. I’ve officially got the vapors.
wait until you hear about the helicopter. you might never recover again.
They’ve got a bloody helicopter? What for? Don’t tell me it’s to take them to engagements. They’ll have to hire a helicopter duster to keep it clean.
I can’t for the life of me remember the last time I was this uncharitable. It’s like I’ve been reading about a person on whom I have pinned some hopes, just to find out she’s a skinny and vapid celebriwife and nothing more. I’m very disappointed.
this was so secret… not even Kate remembers
Sounds like they’re trying to make it look like Kate does charity on the sly, in private, when we think she’s not working at all. It’s a publicity stunt, imo, to say it was ‘private’ and that somehow, surprisingly, these photos were released to the public. They’re trying to portray her as another ‘Saint Diana’ doing secret charity work. I saw the DM article. Loads of the commentators saw the irony in calling it a private event.
I think we will see more of these written statements from her staff, I mean, her. I guess it’s much easier for her staff, I mean her, to communicate to the public through writing than it would be verbally.
But then again, she’s busy doing secret charity work (not shopping, hair-primping, lunches, vacations, attending galas, weddings, etc.) when she’s not out in public so she’s too busy to make even short speeches. *Cough*
I agree, Anne. It’s hardly private when you’ve got a camera crew documenting it. Diana would do private visits, and guess what. They were actually private. A lot of them didn’t come out until after she had died.
If she wants to bring to everyone’s attention the work this charity does, and the support they need, then a “secret visit” seems counter-productive. How is anyone to know about or donate to something if she does it secretly? I think she’s really going to have to step up her game & we’ll see her working more, now that Queen Letizia is on the scene.
@ Racer – ditto about William; what was he thinking to have chosen this woman. It makes you really wonder about his judgment as well.
Ditto about William. Kate’s so clueless.
It says a lot about William, IMO. He met his match.
William had no other choices. No one else in the pool would marry him. His other gfs left him. Almost all saying some variation of he had a wandering eye. Although Kate knew this. That Fashion show was when William was taken.
Kate proved herself and William had to make a choice.
I think it’s more telling of William that he only told his Grandmother (the freaking Queen) about the engagement moments before the press release/interview.
Kate is merely a pawn. She will be tossed under the bus should William ever want to divorce. It will be sad, but it’s a good example of why other women didn’t want William.
I disagree, William had plenty of choices, there was NO reason he had to marry at 28 or 29. He’s only having his 31 st or 32nd birthday this weekend. He could have still been a single Prince , doing royal duties on his own and traveling for the royal house. He didn’t have to marry Kate.
I think he’s just as lazy as her and even worse because he knows what the Monarchy means and is. He’s self destructive IMO, he wants to slowly implode it.
William had said publicly he thought he’d marry between 28 and 30, and even though I don’t recall seeing any public pressure on that point I think he felt held to that. Generally speaking, I think this is a Tiger Woods situation – wanted the image/brand of being a family man without being ready to actually settle down.
I also agree with FLORC in that I think he thought Kate was his best/only option. It’s not like he didn’t look elsewhere.
Ugly dress. Why she chose that one to wear again is beyond me. Especially when there’s proof she wore it, drunk as a skunk, giving a lap dance to some dude in a bar.
I guess this not-so-secret visit occurred shortly after Bumgate since the bulletin board clearly gives away the time period. April, not June. I guess EACH should be thrilled their patron decided to show up after a year. Hopefully, this PR stunt will increase their pledges, so they can continue to do their good work, in spite of their lazy patron.
Scroll down a bit. Could not find it via search engines.
http://royaldish.com/index.php?topic=13593.msg772860#msg772860
Bwaahaahaaa! That’s Kate in her Monica L. dress! She must be a complete dumba** to bring that out again.
Oh, wow, I hope she fumigated the dress after that lap dance! :O
Wow. Guess Kate didn’t think that photo would ever be found again.
Whoa, Nellie! Here’s to seeing less of her in the future.
On an unrelated note – what do you think her daily diet is like? I’m genuinely curious. She looks very thin and she has never been big to begin with.
Have you seen photos of Kate during even some high school photos, this was a girl with some flesh on her legs, a much bigger girl, muscle fleshy legs, and a booty, round, girl had a nice figure. Now she’s a bone. I think she changed her body type to what she thought William liked. Yuck now even her skinny jeans are hanging on her butt…
Re: what William liked. That doesn’t make sense because she only lost weight quite recently — around the time of the engagement. She was good enough for William all those years before, did he all of a sudden decide she was too heavy?
I think it is all the photographs. She thinks she photographs better like this.
I agree with that too I think her dieting is for the cameras, but I think she started on her quest to skinny years before the engagement, but her body was not getting super slim, so she just kept going until she became super skinny. Kate started losing weight slowly as soon as she met William, IMO, but her body was still healthy looking because Kate is supposed to be a bigger woman, she is not naturally this thin, that’s why her body looks strange. It’s just not a natural thinness. IMO people who say she’s naturally thin, I believe are wrong. I think she’s naturally a bigger, healthier looking lady but she constantly diets.
Bluhare,
I think it’s in large part the photographs (I also think there’s some social pressure). For what it’s worth, I think that’s also why she rarely wears her hair up – I don’t think she likes the way her face looks with her hair back.
i have a friend who thinks she has large ears (rubbish) and she never wears her hair up. I think it is something similar with Kate, she needs her hair to cover something. Maybe she hates her ears too LOL.
And now i feal very bitchy:
It could be her round back… i mean it is really visible when her hair doesn´t hang around like a curtain.
Or it is her ´big´face.
Or it is her bad facial skin. With an updo you show every little fault and Kate hasn´t the best skin. No wonder she applies her make-up with a shovel 🙁
Unless she has an eating disorder or body dysmorphic disorder, I have a hard time believing she thinks she photographs better in her current emaciated condition. I’ve never seen her in person and recognize her solely on photographs and it’s plain to see that she looks frail and unhealthy now, with clothes hanging off her – unless they are altered &/or padded somehow.
yes once she had a wonderful athlethic body, but then IMO she tried to look like William´s beloved soulmate Jecca Craig (skinny, long brown hair, tired face: mission completed). William loves bony girls with long hair and Kate knows she has to please him
http://allroyal.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/tumblr_lwn1l5b6te1r5eib1o1_500.jpg
Exactly Dany, that’s what I was trying to say, bit couldn’t put it together clearly. Yes. She started copying Jecca, the girl she thought William was close to. She even dressed similar to her at first.
That is one scary photo of Jecca and I see nothing appealing or attractive about dieting down to skin and bones, especially if you think your man prefers you that way.
I can’t imagine losing weight for a man. I mean, I’d lose weight if I didn’t feel good with a whole bunch of chub hanging off of me–but because a dude guilt trips me into it. God no. I’d kick his butt to the curb and make a date with the couch, netflix, and ice cream just because I’m in a good mood.
Virgilia, I’ve read your comment up the thread as well and you are wise beyond your years and bring a lot of common sense to the Kate discussion. Well done!
I believe that visit was in May and was recently leaked. She also did a PSA for hospice.
I suspect most of her charity work is hush hush because its private events with very deep pocketed donors.
Was the PSA ever released or is it just that statement someone in her office wrote?
Yes, print statements for Kate will work best until she can get that public speaking down. But the only way to become good at public speaking v is to keep doing it…for real. Not mock ones performed with a teacher behind your palace walls.
I wonder sometimes if there is any resentment towards Kate from the parents of these children. Like all Kate does is show up, shake a few hands, smile, look concerned and then she gets to go back to her royal life, with a healthy pampered kid and a “want” for nothing (except maybe an attentive husband…I kid). Meanwhile the parents of the children from this charity (and others) have REAL, SERIOUS life issues concerning their children’s lives. All Kate has to worry about is which nanny has the day off.
Having said this though, I’m not saying that Kate should feel guilty for having a healthy child. But I do wonder at times like this, does she truly get how fortunate she is.
As much as the pro-Kate brigade would have us believe otherwise, I doubt Kate’s association with any charity and her handshaking visits due very much for the particular charity’s bottom line. Cannot imagine legions of people pulling out their cheque books just because Kate paid a visit. Get involved and DO something Kate, or better yet, pull out your own bloody cheque book!
they did. last time someone leaked it to the press that they donated to the flood victims in Wales with their own money (not solicited from the public/fundraising).
i think we’ll just have to wait for others to start telling us of the Cambridge’s donations. because i think publicity is better to raise awareness
They gave $5K after returning from their 10 day vacation at the exclusive resort that cost them $20K or some ridiculous figure. The donation was also given weeks after the floods occurred and was a direct result of the negative press they received due to leaving George for an extended period of time, grousing about the pictures taken of Nanny Marie with George and the cost of their latest vacation. These two do nothing spontaneously. It’s always to counter bad press.
What’s up with the bulletin board…..april showers bring may flowers. Did this visit happen in april? Then kept secret until PR needed a boast…I just wonder. Other blogs have caught this. Thoughts anyone?
Oops sorry ..you have already commented on the bulletin board
Yeah I remember reading on People that this was a secret. I hate how other news sites try to make her seem as if she doesn’t want attention for doing work. I’m glad she’s doing more work though. Where has she worn this dress before? It’s so familiar.
She wore it to a party back in the day.
http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag119/KikiLaShrew/Kates/8be326f3201ed2b68d9e94b890705bfe_zpsfc09b17f.jpg
I saw this on another post and assumed it was doctored????!!! Is this for real?
It’s real. It’s been floating around for years on royal fan tumblers.
Those tumblers have amazing photos. Really obscure ones too. They are a mine field of photo gold.
Thanks. Lol quite a stretch from clubbing to here.
Carole Middleton is everything that Hyacinth Bucket wishes she could have been.