Somewhere, Paul Emsley is breathing a huge sigh of relief: http://t.co/hmwa8IBHeB pic.twitter.com/8k16E3WbJl
— Christina Toms (@ChristinaToms) February 3, 2015
I will never get tired of this Paul Emsley portrait of Duchess Kate. It’s like he stared into her soul and this is what he saw. Anyway, Kate has always tried to show some interest in portraiture, photography and art, often to mixed results. The UK papers often refer to her as a “keen photographer,” although we’ve seen some of her photos and they really are… amateur. She’s also a patron of the National Portrait Gallery, which means that she shows up at a gala every now and then and thus, she’s a “patron of the arts.” But the Daily Mail claims that Kate has so much free time nowadays at Anmer Hall that she’s begun to try her hand at drawing.
Amid growing speculation that she has retreated from her husband’s social life, I can reveal that the The Duchess of Cambridge has been filling her spare time by drawing portraits of her children. In scenes reminiscent of a Jane Austen novel, Kate is said to have spent the summer enjoying long sunny afternoons in the picturesque garden of her Norfolk home Anmer Hall with her sketch book in hand, drawing detailed pencil works of Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
As Prince George is notoriously wriggly, she has perhaps had little luck in persuading him to pose in person because friends report that she has been drawing from her own photographs.
Kate, 33, has shown her work to a few select friends, including one or two from the art world. The sketches have been so well received that one friend is said to have joked that she should exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, where she is the patron. Modest Kate is said to have laughed off such an idea, but stranger things have happened.
Kate has, after all, shown the world her artistic flare before, when she took the first official portraits of Prince George and Princess Charlotte herself after their respective births. She has also shown her talent for painting with children at The Art Room, a charity which she also patronises. The Duchess, who read History of Art at St Andrews University, has been continuously taking pictures of the children since they were born, but she rarely plays photographer at the weddings of Prince Williams’s friends, as she has increasingly avoided accompanying him to the nuptials of others.
I… don’t know what to say. It’s like the story about how Kate finally qualified in advanced scuba diving. While I wouldn’t hold it against Kate to enjoy deep-sea diving or have a drawing hobby, I just don’t understand what’s the point of all of this? If she’s so bored that she’s drawing and taking cooking classes and scuba classes in her spare time, why can’t she find a few hours a week to make a couple of appearances at a charity? At this point, it’s like it takes MORE energy to find stuff to do to occupy her time besides royal work. And I love how sycophantic the Mail makes Kate’s “friends” sound. “Oh, your sketches are so lovely, you should show them at the National Portrait Gallery! You know, the gallery to which you are patron?” *blank stare from Kate*
Oh, and this was just announced as well: Kate is going to tear herself away from her sketches long enough to attend the Rugby World Cup opening ceremony with William on September 18th. Another fun sporting event, eh?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Let them eat cake, that I sketch.
In scenes reminiscent of a Goosebumps novel, let me go vomit.
I’m with you, literally and figuratively. The flippant idleness of this woman is quite nauseating, and I’m actually nauseous because Mother Nature has sent me a particularly awful round of cramps this morning. Fancy a sketch-session and some herbal tea?
@ Shambles – Warming pad on the tummy, Ibuprofen and Chocolate. The Chocolate probably doesn’t help but if you’re going to suffer you might as well enjoy yourself.
Meanwhile , the new Swedish bride of Prince Carl of Sweden ,Sofia ,is already out giving her first International speech today about children and immigrant lives.
Remember when the former Palace Press Office said Kate was going to use Melinda Gates attention to charity and work as example
I’m experiencing the same, Shamby,
*passes Moon Cycle tea to Shambles*
Danke, Kitten and Frisbee. I hope you feel better soon Kittenopolis. I have a heating pad on and the medicine (midol + herbal healing greenage) is finally starting to work. But these are the days that remind me why women are the strongest, most badass creatures alive. One of our internal organs tears itself apart once a month, but we push through.
*hugs you girls and covers up with hella blankets, turns on 10 Things I Hate About You*
Any tea going spare, you lovely ladies?
I’m currently tucked up with Scandal on Netflix and chocolate oranges if anyone would like to join?
I also have ‘adult colouring books’ which are currently quite the trend in a few Bookshops at the moment, if anyone would like to try and emulate the magically talented Duchess *vomits*
Plenty of Moon Cycle tea to share, Amelia. I’m so jealous that you have an adult coloring book! I want the “stress relief” one so badly– the designs are stunning. I’ll trade you some tea for the chance to color in one of your pages.
😉
You’re more than welcome to grab some pages and pencils, Shambles 🙂
Then we can make a start on getting our work displayed in the National Gallery too!
wow are we all synched in here ladies……..huh
Is there no one in their inner circle who will speak truth to these people? This kind of PR is ridiculous.
Whatever happened to her “BabyKins” clothing line she was designing that was supposed to be ready by 2008?
Lol
Apparently the plans fell through after two meetings with Italian design houses. It is unclear whether Kate lost interest or she was steered away from the project by William or others.
Other stories are she started it by using her Italian (LMFAO) to woo the design houses, it went into debt, and it was abandoned. I think the “clothing line” is as real as the rumored Testino internship and photography career. Fiction to try to make the lazy decade look better.
On the face of it, this is just another frustrating lazy duchess story. Looking deeper, though, it’s really troubling that she has chosen another “loner” hobby. We see stories about her being a recluse in regards to weddings and not going out with William’s friends, but what about her? What about her friends? I suspect that’s less of a story because her friends don’t exist. At this point, it’s incredibly troubling. This woman is just… alone… in everything. I’m starting to wonder if there is some sort of personality disorder (or mental disorder, but that’s further stretch). The idea that someone of her age with a family is SO heavily dependent on her mother for ALL of the details in her life is strange. But the combination of her reclusiveness and solitary hobbies indicates something odd. Honestly, I think the lazy narrative is probably the better of all options. From what I understand she just makes idle chit-chat when she is out and about, even at events. I have a feeling if Kate were to meaningfully interact with other individuals, whether during official events or personal time, word would start to get out that something is just not “right” with her.
That’s a stretch. Some people just have more introverted personalities and prefer solitude. My mother was one. I can count the number of times I saw her socialize with non-family members on one hand-and she lived to be 73. It just wasn’t her thing. She also had tons of hobbies and they were all solitary. She was a kind and loving person, and she certainly had her issues (who doesn’t?), but there was nothing troubling about it. She was happy; she was just a loner when it came to socializing. So, I think it’s a leap to say that Kate has some sort of troubling, secret problem. Maybe she is just more interested in her family right now, which is appropriate since her children are still little.
I suspect this and I think this is why Carole’s presence is not only allowed but encouraged.
You make a great point, HH. It appears to me she is either afraid of everyone, thinks she is to good for everyone or has some kind of mental disorder.
I want to take dependence on her mother out of the equasion for this response, as I agree it’s OTT.
However, I don’t see anything wrong with having pursuits that don’t involve others. I’m a loner/introvert, and most of the things I like doing are by myself. An ex coworker couldn’t imagine being home with no plans on a weekend. To me that’s heaven. That being said, there is such a thing as balance. 🙂
ETA: Should have read SamiHami’s post first!
Or she could just enjoy being alone. All my hobbies are “loner” hobbies. It’s hardly a sign of mental instability. Why to people always go there?
She’s probably a bit of an introvert, has few close friends (as we introverts are wont to do), is very close to her parents and wants to just chill out with her kids. She may be kind of vapid and not terribly clever, hence her reported lack of “engaging conversation”. Quite frankly she’s done her job, let the woman alone. She’s birthed the royal babies, which was her entire point in a horribly outdated system that the UK still clings to and allows to exist. That she takes advantage of the privileges afforded to her is hardly cause for the violent dislike she gets.
Wren there are thousands in line to the throne. Socially it may have been expected that they reproduce. Officially, it isn’t part of their job description.
Here is the start of their job description, from the official website. “Members of the Royal Family support The Queen in her many State and national duties, as well as carrying out important work in the areas of public and charitable service, and helping to strengthen national unity and stability.”
W&K take the most perks for the least work. If they don’t want to do the work, give back the perks, opt out of the system, and go live a “normal” life. Otherwise, get to work.
you mean like kim kardashian who is back living with her mother ?
Or Michelle Obama who brought her mother to the White House with her?
I’m very introverted. I even took a Meyers Briggs test that showed introversion in the extreme. I’m happiest on my own but I work as a teacher so I am surrounded by people all day. Kate not so much unless you count their staff and I have a feeling Kate doesn’t have Diana’s casual relationship with them where she would pop into the kitchen to say hello.
I always have had a lot of social anxiety am am just not very good at making entertaining chit chat. It never has been my skill. I’m amazed by people who can. I’ve had to work at being able to have a conversation.
With Kate maybe she withdrew from female companionship because she worried about a more dynamic female snagging William. She used to run off women in her nightclub days with her death stare.
Of course people enjoy their alone time. My mother has mild social anxiety to the point that it can be draining on her to even be around her other brothers and sisters (large family). But I think people are not truly taking into account how isolated she may be. Unlike most introverts, Kate doesn’t have a 9-5 where she has to leave home for the majority of her waking hours and interact with people. She is not a parent who is even attending PTA meetings or other outside activities. She is not an introvert who is among people for most of the day or week that she needs time to recharge. It seems, she getting extremely limited interaction. I can’t name who she interacts with that isn’t her immediate family, or who isn’t on the payroll. That’s the troublesome part. Take this in combination with Kate who may not have been a social butterfly before marriage, but was semi-social. And this change is simply post-marriage, not post-baby. While I do think she enjoys being a mother, I think motherhood is a convenient catch-all for any concerns voiced about Kate. As a girlfriend, Kate went out to clubs, galas and parties frequently. These activities are not as suitable for a parent, but detract from the introvert argument, IMO.
Also, to the mother examples people posted: I believe KK only lived with her mother while the new home was being renovated. Also, KK and Kanye travel enough that the argument could be made that money on a temporary place is a waste. In the specific case of Michelle Obama’s mother in the White House, as busy as the President and First Lady are, perhaps it allows them to spend as much time as possible with her without flying back and forth to Chicago.
HH
+10000
Mental seems more like … or feel she is better and above everyone (like ma carol) – the turnaround/isolation is drastic since marriage and producing; from the ‘life of the party’ drinking smoking with many friends /sibling – to only carol and the middletons – very OFF!
So proud of Princess Sofia – she did well (as a new marry in..) with her GLOBAL speech in English – reminds me of CP Mary – make us women proud! Whatever her job before, she ‘worked’ and it shows (like the other professional, marry in ladies).
Nota
so good of you to remind all of Petulant / km duties – to HM (and via POW) .
Pipa – Princess Sofia is getting a lot of credit for one speech she made for a cause she has been working for for 5-6 years – yet everyone ignores the visits and speeches that Kate gave earlier this year for her child mental health charity. Obviously it is just trendy to pick Kate apart for everything she does.
Will CB cover Kate’s charity work next week?
Puffin
What visits and speeches? Dates? Occasions? Genuine question.
LOL!
The key words there are “Support the Queen.” Who has kept her son in waiting for many years. Can people not see what would have happened if Will and Kate and their completely adorable children were in the public eye constantly? If both of them had full schedules, according to the critics? They would be beloved by the people and when Charles turn finally comes to be the Big Tamale, who would want to see him and Camilla? Believe me, it is on Charles mind every day. As he was once overshadowed by Diana, he has no intention of being overshadowed by her children. So yes, every time they get a bunch a “lazy” criticism thrown at them, they get some more vacations for their pain.
The Palace has said multiple times that she sets her own schedule. Other royals have all said much the same through the years. Charles is not holding them back. He needs them to be popular in order for monarchy to continue past his mother’s death. IF he was concerned about younger royals being more popular than he is, he’d keep Mr. Charisma Harry locked in the basement. Instead, no one looked more proud of Harry at Invictus Games than Charles.
If both of them had full schedules, the focus would be on the charity work rather than their rare appearances and her clothing.
Them working doesn’t mean their kids will be in the public eye. All the others work and keep their kids out of the public eye. And really, how dare Her Majesty be long-lived and not die young? Charles has done more good than any other Prince of Wales in history. I think that the restrictions of being king are not something he’s looking forward to at all.
duplicate
The palace has made many sketchy statements for a few centuries. Why should we believe that they set their own schedule? Maybe Charles doesn’t directly control their schedule, but since he funds their lifestyle he has plenty of say over how many public appearances they carry out. As near as I can tell, neither the Queen nor Charles has any objection to their workload.
Neither Charles nor the Queen have ever SAID they have objections. To be honest, I can’t believe they think it’s OK. If they do then they’re more shortsighted than William and Kate
K and W get some pretty nice glam engagements. If Charles wanted to reduce their influence, wouldn’t he send them to tour factories and village fetes?
I mean getting to count meeting the stars of Downton Abbey as work is a pretty nice gig. So is attending a party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and going to a basketball game and getting to meet Jay Z and Beyonce.
William will not even have someone who worked for Charles in his press team. Charles is not in charge (lol) of William.
Thank you FLORC.
Puffin, what work will snowflake be performing next week …?
Global Child I believe is an org form by the King and Queen of Sweden – Princess Sofia only joined the RF in the past few months (and the few months before was performing royal duties) – imagine that -and already travelled alone and given a speech on their behalf.
Forget Princess Sofia, here is the pro at royal duties:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENUrH-cfdMQ
In our world, 10 years waiting – 4 years marry in … has not gotten delicate snowflake to that place (those strategic hg pregnancies ..!)
hee hee! That’s how I spent my yesterday. Watching “Girls Just Want to Have fun” and “Flashdance” both 80’s movies I’d never seen. Cheers!
Lol at the Jane Austen comparison. If anything, Kate is as charismatic as Charlotte Lucas, and Wills is on par with Mr. Collins.
But the brilliance of Jane Austen is that her characters were living in a maddeningly ironic world that expected them to be talented, quick witted, and beautiful, while pursuing dullard husbands who lived off inheritances and lacked the intellectual prowess of their female counterparts. If anything, Kate is like the dull-witted male Bennett cousin.
Now that was funny. Well done!!!
You just know that Doolittle has hit absolute rock bottom in terms of her uselessness and idleness when the newly crowned princess of Sweden, Miss Sofia, er, Slitz, a former nude model and reality show contestant, has shown Waity up by giving an internationally seen, 15-minute speech on children’s issues with some actual substance to it (albeit not written by her) — in a reasonably articulate manner, in a language that isn’t her native one.
That portrait is spot on. So cold. How often I see her fake smile never hit her overlined eyes.
Lol. Some of us just cannot pull off eyeliner on our lower lid. We just can’t. I have accepted it, why can’t she??
Rather, some of us could wear it like rock stars in our twenties, but now it’s time to give it up.
Yes it is – it captures the smug and fakeness quite well but it makes her look old and tired and well rough.
Yes, that portrait was “Spot- on” and looks exactly like Kate without all the Daily Mail, Hello!Mag. Retouching.
She’s so average looking, I’m sorry but I never got the beauty hype with her she’s just OK, even with loads of retouching.
Why does the Press still ballyhoo that she’s going to start working hard, when it’s just never going to happen. Kate is simply not a person who will Expert herself beyond the minimal.
if that were my portrait i would snatch it off the easel b4 it ever got greenlighted. it does capture her but man…it looks like shes going to sprout horns and her eyes are going to start glowing green
The artist got crucified to the point that he put out a statement. I forget right now what it said.
Kate fans and the UK press went into overdrive putting his work down.
They once showed the picture he took of her with his camera this portrait was also based on and the photo looks exactly like his portrait, this is the real Kate, IMO He captures her perfectly.
imo
I liked the Washington Post article about it.
In uproar over Duchess of Cambridge portrait, its artist speaks out
Washington Post, January 2013
“There’s a quotation an American friend of mine, the wife of an American artist, sent me in support,” Emsley said. “When Picasso was told his portrait of Gertrude Stein did not look like her, his response was, ‘It will.’ People will become acclimatized over time to something which is not something that they were expecting.”
“I did not deliberately age her or anything like that,” Emsley said. “I wanted it to be an authentic record, but it’s very easy to put in more shadows and things than are perfectly necessary, and I haven’t done that. I’ve tried to record, in a polite way, what I regard as her natural beauty.”
That last line intrigues me.
@NOTA, I’m curious what he thinks her “natural beauty” is. Personally I don’t see any in her public persona, maybe there is something privately, though.
I thought the painting depicted her perfectly. It certainly wasn’t beautiful,either (IMO).
I really think Emsley did a wonderful job in capturing her features and whatever essence is there. I don’t find the black background off-putting at all and I love that her eyes captures the viewers’ eyes. That’s the focal point, I think. Really intense. It’s where one gets lost in contemplation & seduction. Emsley looked into the abyss & it looked back. Lol. Anyway, I think the portrait as a whole speaks to her power & depth. I don’t mean this in a mean or insulting way but Kate is probably one or those “nice-nasty” mean girls/women: pretty but not overly bright but manipulative, keeps her own counsel/cil, strategic, cunning, and icy when not in front of people she wants to impress. The type who’d cut you before they smiled at you. . . you know ala Joan Crawford’s Mommy Dearest or Mildred Pierce. I think Emsley’s work hints at that. All in all, I think the press et al just weren’t ready for something that didn’t radiate light from her posterior.
As far as her sketches, I just hope the heads on the stick people are in proportion to their bodies. Urgh!! Anything else just pisses me off😡.
I agree, Dena. I don’t think the portrait is bad at all really. Catching someone as they are is what it’s about.
Very true guys. And Kate not only hand selected the artist for their style, but also the photograph to be used and OK’d the final product.
This is her. It’s also such heavy contrast from the retouched images we tend to see.
Behind the eyes in her portrait:
https://twitter.com/RoyallyKate/status/542305613401702402/photo/1
I’ve never found that video too negative. It was a glimpse of emotion. That was a true reaction we would all have. I guess, at least she wasn’t wooden as her norm.
The bar has indeed been lowered.
I am always stunned because I think that the portrait is horrible! I really don’t like Kate, but she is a pretty woman. I’m astounded at how bad she looks I the portrait, especially her mouth. Family members who don’t like her must have been convulsed in giggles when they saw this.
The portrait looks exactly like the source photograph. This is what she looks like minus the photoshop.
Dena
+1000
You described the many reports of carol and the middleton women traits – smiles galore to Titled, aristos (who are smart to see the climbing); the other side is ignore the ‘commoners’ – no time or waste of energy for those folks (never mind ‘taking’) – hence, Doolittle difficulty and insincerity, lack of service to the needy/charities (HM Royal duties), and giving back. Never was or in carol and the middletons to give back.
Nota 10:19
spot on – but she’s in for a rude awakening by the people/subjects! Doolittle and carol never took the time (of the busy waity decade) to learned about the RF (and Petulant is not the authority of the BRF -the Firm/ Monarchy); there are two other heirs to HM and a spare to King Charles (who may be getting with a professional).
Pipa
I can feel your glee in your words from here. Excited to attack.
To me that look says, “I finally won b*tches and I paid a heavy price. Now I’m doing, or not doing, whatever I want because I don’t care what you think.”
nota; I didn’t notice this before in her portrait – but there is something threatening in her gaze. I believe she might be expecting us to kiss her a**.
Or perhaps the infinite ways we deconstruct women and the face they present to the world should just stop. Men do not do this.
Perhaps as we watch her behavior, we then see it reflected in her portrait.
Yes, imo, they do although in some cases they do it differently. Some men can be as critical and gossipy as some women can be – in their own way. She is someone who has appeared, for 14 years in the public eye, to value her appearance above anything else she brings to the table. Criticism of that, along with praise of that, doesn’t surprise me.
She chose this painter, she chose the source photo, and he painted what he saw.
notsugarhere…….Thank you for posting the Artist commentary on his portrait of Kate.
I love what he said.
I guess I find too much praise or criticism of aesthetics to be futile. Some have been chastised for criticizing the York princess’ appearance so the standard should be the same. And to say that Kate gives us nothing else of substance to talk about doesn’t fly either because even posts about the queen mostly generate comments about her easter egg suits and cupcake hats. Everyone tries to look their best – sometimes we concur with the results and sometimes we chalk it up as a fail. But it seems a little empty sometimes, imho. Kate has bad skin from poor lifestyle choices, genetics and a long history of eczema. If she overdoes the makeup and tanning to feel better about herself I just shrug and realize it is not my face not my business. Just my take – not trying to be the comment police, I swear!
I’m commenting on the look I see in her eyes and the fact that the painting looks exactly like the photograph. The amount of time she spends on her appearance vs. the amount of time she spends working obviously weighs comments more heavily to be about appearance.
People criticizing the Yorks are generally bashing Beatrice for having Hanoverian eyes. That isn’t a choice on her part, but KM’s lifestyle choices and 90 percent of her focus being on her looks not her work is a choice.
Amazing. A mother with two kids under three who finds time for a new hobby.
Who also has tons of staff. So many, that she doesn’t have to have the actual kid to sketch him. Let’s stop pretending Kate is the average mom, shall we?
I think she sees herself as a stay at home mom. If she was a typical stay at home no one would criticize her for going to a tennis match or some other sport event. It. The fact she is on the public dime is what drives people crazy.
Right? I know we live different lives, but George and my daughter are a couple months apart, and our youngest daughters are a week apart in age. The idea of free time is beyond me. I mean, I paint my nails every other night before crashing into bed, but that’s as far as I can attend to my creative streak. (Purses lips and narrows eyes at poor Kate’s endless sketch time)
Who also doesn’t cook or do dishes, buy groceries, clean the house, garden, take the car in for oil changes, pick up the dry cleaning, do laundry, change nappies or wipe bums, etc. etc. etc. Oh, and I forgot, she doesn’t have a social life with her husband or any friends.
Get off your ass and go work Kate
+1
It’s amazing that she has two little children and finds the time to draw them!! I suppose the nannys are doing a good job then.
Well it has been widely reported that she is continuing her charity work in child mental health next week with a royal visit to the Anna Freud centre and William has been involved in several high profile rescues in recent weeks.
“Continuing”? Her last anything related to this issue was 7 months ago.
Puffin
Kate has cancelled last minute before so regarding her charity events they are eggs not to be counted until they hatch.
And yes, next week, she is said to work. What about all the time between? She’s a royal that has the most free time and doesn’t schedule anything on her diary until just before.
If the pattern holds Kate will work a flurry of 3 to 8 events over the next 1 to 2 weeks. Then we will see several vacations, until her tour which will have built in vacations while being a vacation on that nation’s cost.
As long as she works I guess it’s ok, but nothing will come of this. The pr will state she cares and is “keen” to help, but no action shall be taken.
hahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I adore your straightforward comment. 🙂
She’s so rough
Usually I don’t see the ‘roughness’ that everyone else sees.
This is not one of those times. I don’t see her aging well.
she is very rough. its weird that the palace hasnt forced an image change on her. the makeup looks very inexpensive, actually cheap. her hair is wrong. her underbite is hard to look at but she cant help that…idk…i think even if you tried to revamp her entire look it maybe wouldnt really change much. she has an unlimite budget now and im sure sees pics of herself in the press. this is the look shes after it seems.
you are forgetting that she’s been through several revamps. i’d say that shes happy with how she looks. Mind you, as much as her extensions amuse me, i’m glad she switched hairdressers to one who weaned her off the OTT Disney Princess sausage curls of her early Duchess-ing days.
Those sausage curls were just weird – but I’ve seen women who copied her.
I’m not a big fan of people or palaces forcing women to look a certain way. I’d rather cringe at Kate’s heavy handed makeup than think she’d have to let courtiers manage something so trivial. Kate reminds me of girlfriends from college who still cling to the hair and makeup they wore when they were totally hot twenty somethings. They refused to evolve their look with the times. Oh well, it’s a personal choice.
snakecharmer That’s a good point that this is the look she is after and I agree to a point except for the length of her skirts and fewer Marilyn moments. Something seems to have influenced her to consistently lower her hemlines and take some measures to stop her skirt from flying up and revealing her nekked or thonged bottom. I don’t believe she would have done either of those things without external pressure coming from BP and/or media.
@IMO I have a friend in her early 40’s still rocking the same do that got her men in her 20’s, long thick curly hair (no style or products, a bit unruly with no layers) and she gets her hair trimmed maybe once per year. She does these flashdance pictures on Fb and dating sites in the hopes that that is what men want. needless to say, she unlike the Dutchess is twice divorced and still single. My friend’s hair and makeup is soo dated.
Andrea
Lost it at flashdance – thanks for the rotfl visual!
I seriously don’t get how flashdance could still be a thing even for men in their 40’s. LOL She has the one off the shoulder shirt, the works in those pics too!
Andrea
If there is any mention of leg warmers I’m going to lose it!
She’s rich, she stays home with her kids and she sketches..big fat deal…so what, who cares.
I’m just guessing that the taxpayers that support the lazy Duke and Duchess Dolittles of Mustique will have something to say about it.
Remember Marie Anitonette!
She isn’t rich. He isn’t rich enough to pay for their homes and lifestyle. Two free homes. They don’t pay any of the three dozen staff (either office or home) themselves. All security from the taxpayers.
Think of a government employee who takes a paycheck, health care plan, free housing – but doesn’t do the work required.
We have those; they’re called Congressmen.
Hey-oh! I’ll be here all week. Try the lamb.
🙂
😀 Okie!!
At least the Congressmen show up everyday – with way less perks!
Oakie
:O
Drum crash just for you!
Love it – but not only do we have W&K, we have the House of Lords, who are like Senators with no accountability. Beset by freeloaders on all sides.
I suppose 35-million pounds is not a lot of money..isn’t that the amount Diana left him in addition to trust funds and of course his granny would pick up a tab or two –
I see nothing wrong with her wanting to stay home with the kids, and I had hobbies when my kids were little; it kept me sane.
If I were a Duchess, and a young mother, you could bet your bottom dollar that I would be doing the same thing she is doing. What is the point of being a royal if you can’t take advantage of it. There will be plenty of time for her to make the rounds.
BTW: What is it about Prince George’s cheeks that makes me want to bite them… lol. He’s adorable!!
“If I were a Duchess, and a young mother, you could bet your bottom dollar that I would be doing the same thing she is doing. What is the point of being a royal if you can’t take advantage of it. There will be plenty of time for her to make the rounds.”
i’m sure Marie Antoinette said the same thing to herself………
or the Romanovs….
was it Nero who fiddled whilst Rome burned?
I think you’re forgetting that “Duchess” is not merely a title these days. It’s a frickin’ job. Being a royal – when taxpayer funded – means THAT is your job. Name one other profession where by now she wouldn’t have been fired.
I think her PR people (and possibly the entire family) are forgetting that “Jane Austen novel” does not evoke the image they’re going for. This is not the 19th century. Somewhere there’s a single mom with 3 kids and 2 jobs plotting her murder. Or an involuntary haircut.
LAK, I love you for that Nero comment alone. Lol. That was a good one.
“William, I think mother hired too many gardeners. There seem to be dozens upon dozens of people walking about the lawn carrying what looks to be pitchforks & shovels . . . “
Then she needs to own it the way that you do. Saying one thing but doing something else is the controversy.
If Kate wants to stay at home with multiple nannies, and a house full of staff and turn up to Wimbledon but not to a memorial service-she needs to just openly own it because this issue won’t go away. Looking for unearned praise as someone dedicated to charity work is going to hurt her image far more than just owning her behavior.
LAK, great comment.
So staying home with the kids means she can’t leave them with one of many nannies, her mother, and the rest of their staff (that they don’t pay for) to spend an hour or two a week visiting some of the more worthy charities she is SUPPOSED TO SUPPORT?? She spends far more time away from her kids at the hair-dresser’s, clothes shopping, at the gym, vacationing and faffing around with her sketching when she should be doing what the BRF does which is doing charitable work and promoting all things British in return for living the government funded lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Natalie, I couldn’t agree more. If she wants to be a helpmate to her husband rather than getting out there herself, that’s her choice. But then her husband needs to earn the two free houses and the rest of it too. He’s not going to be doing that on £40K a year from the ambulance outfit.
If that’s the case, they need to stop with the Karing Kate BS. Because it’s obvious she doesn’t care as she only does the bare minimum.
Natalie/Bluhare
Yes.
Natalie, it’s all about the unearned praise!
LAK
Good points except Marie Antoinette was seriously railroaded and a scapegoat. Besides, I reserve my disappointment for William and Kate but my burning torches and pitchforks for royals like Prince Andrew.
IMO: I know Marie Antoinette’s history and agree that alot has been laid at her feet that shouldn’t be there, BUT she also didn’t live a blameless life. Her personal failing made it easy for their enemies to lay the blame at her feet.
Kate’s personal failings make it easy to see the royal reflection properly. Like Marie Antoinette, she glides along in her bubble never seeing the gathering peasants with pitchforks at the gate.
She doesn’t have a job.She is supported by the taxpayers and staying in subsidized housing.She is basically on welfare.
LAK
But the shoes – Mimi Antoinette’s shoe game was awesome.
Very glamorous welfare! Sometimes I wonder if history comes into their equation of being. When William said that there was no such thing as royal work, was he referring to all the previous generations of royals, who have used their wealth and power to do as they please? Is it possible that they believe that being royal and glamorous is enough? It seems like this is a standoff they are willing to have (as they toy with us).
The taxpayer does not fund Will and Kate – they have private incomes from the Trust that Diana left and private income from Charles from the Duchy of Cornwall Estate
William is also the first prince in the line of succession to have a paid job as a rescue pilot
William doesn’t touch his inheritance. That has been discussed many times. He continues to cry poor and The Duchy money is used for all of their expenses, including her jewelry and clothing shopping sprees. They use the majority of $4.6 million a year out of The Duchy. Upwards of $8 million in taxpayer money was used on the abandoned Kensington Palace abode, money that should have been directly towards needed safety improvements to Buckingham Palace.
The taxpayers pay for all of their security including the $1 million+ security upgrades at her parents residence. The Crown Estates, Duchy of Lancaster, and Duchy of Cornwall do not belong to the Windsor family. Those lands belongs to the People. As steward and future steward of The Duchy money, Charles and William are required to use the income from The Duchy wisely. W&K’s spending sprees don’t fall under “wisely” in my book.
Because she has a social contract with the people. They are allowed to keep the Duchys and all the income, have free housing and free security, and they do some good for their countrymen. She and Wills take, but don’t fulfill the giving part of that contract.
The Queen doesn’t touch her wealth either. God forbid she spends a cent of her BILLIONS of pounds to maintain the roof of the mansion she lives in. No that must come from the peasants.
Puffin
To add to Notas comment and Maias.
They do infact, live off of the taxpayers. Their homes and security are all tax funds. And most private funds were funneled from tax funds 1st and became private.
This is as I understand it how their “private funds” were found to renovate their homes that the tax funds pay for.
It’s never originally private funds. It’s always rerouted from tax funds allocated to purposes.
I think by the time she is Queen,here’s hoping Liz and Chuck last a good few years!, she will not know what to do…she has wasted this learning time and the goodwill that goes with it,when you make mistakes,of dress or in a speech…
When I see her now I just feel the need to buy a pitchfork like any good peasant!!
She wants to live like Edwardian aristo’s,pre WW1′..sketching and overseeing the servants,tea on the lawn,occassionally trips to spend a lot of money in ‘Town’….
But even their life was not all roses…
Whilst our libraries close and social care falters it’s good to know I can make sure she lives like the ‘princess’ she truly is..
Please don’t tell me my tax does not keep her..it does in many ways…
I wouldn’t mind the mistakes as long as she did the work.
Yep, I very much agree she wants to live like Edwardian aristos on TV. But the problem is that they never lived the way it is shown on TV. Social gatherings often were political among those aristocratic circles which crown princes and their wives would attend. Edwardian aristos had a lot of interests into art and sciences and they supported these causes.
Kate wants nothing and is interested in nothing beyond those two little reasons for which she is kept in the monarchy: her children.
So off topic but this kinda of relates to the Edwardian angle. I like steampunk stuff & it has that Victorian & Edwardian feel to it. So, me and the guy I was seeing at the time dressed up in our steampunk gear. We couldn’t help but to laugh our asses off because with his walking stick he looked like a straight up Victorian/Edwardian pimp! And I looked like a cute yet enterprising lady of . . . dubious leisure. BUT to Kate, I’m sure that’s a thinly placed reference to her & Pippa once being referred to as the Wisteria sisters. To the manor born . . .
Absolutely agree, she has squandered ALL the good will she could have relied on to make her transition to a working Royal, if not easy then at least bearable. Had she played her (considerable) cards right she would have had an entire country behind her, willing her to do well, proud of her achievements and how far she’d come. Instead she even has people like my lovely 81 year old neighbour ( and rampant Royalist but I’ve forgiven her!) calling her a ‘lazy cow’ and a ‘waste of money’. It’s the sheer selfishness of it that gets me, she could help so many people, draw attention to serious hardship and unfairness but the stark fact is she doesn’t give a sh*t, never did, never will.
William will be living with his new wife or mistress by then.
You had me in hysterics at your royalist neighbor calling her a lazy cow.
OMG. I just left a message referring to pitchforks then I slid down a comment and saw yours. OMG. Funny. Hey . . . the revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will be live. 😉
These Edwardian discussions have reminded me that KM spent 2 hours hanging around the set with the actors of Downtown Abbey. Two hours of her fangirling and calling it work.
Nevermind that she witnesses real life Downton Abbey at various BRF residences and palaces.
I agree with you. WWT. She’s squandered a huge amount of goodwill. Absolutely huge. I only have one qualifier to your statement. Of all the articles that came out in the DM about Carole moving in, and assuming that there were grains of truth in them, one of the things that was said was that Carole runs the staff because Kate doesn’t like to do it. Reminded me of the other article a while back that had William yelling at them for not showing Kate enough respect and demanding they address her as HRH and Ma’am. I think Kate’s a wuss. I might sound mean, but if your staff won’t listen to you then it’s time to find new staff.
I wonder if we’ll ever find out the reasons why the young housekeeper and gardener with a child, just up and quit.
I think that her being a bit of a wuss is consistent with how Gary and her cousins have described her. Gary said that she has always been very nice and a genuinely likeable person and said that was part of the reason William liked her. Her cousin said the same. Others in her cohort also said that she is a straight arrow, no sides to her and all that. Her innate sweetness, don’t-rock-the-boatness along with William’s control freakishness could have exacerbated her initial lack of confidence, and niceness becomes wussiness when you have very very little self-confidence. So I bet you’re right. She is just incapable of handling staff and prefers to retreat into her shell while Mummy takes over.
Knowing how people leak left and right in KP I bet there is some truth to the “carole taking over” stories – especially since DM ran with variations of that more than once, and both accounts were consistent in details and theme.
Being nice and not being able to give an order to household staff / lead them are two different things.
I think Kate doesn’t really want to make any decision concerning her probably considerable household and so there is confusion among the staff.
Now there is some irony in that: Kate is made an aristocratic leader by marriage to a future king and now the poor dear is not capable of instructing her own staff.
She is lacking leadership experience and life experience in general. I wouldn’t mind that but as she is the wife of a future king I don’t like it at all.
I dont see a problem with it, and I don’t know why it has to be seen as a “hobby” instead of a passion and creative outlet.
There’s nothing wrong with her using her artistic talents. It’s a healthy and normal thing to do.
I have no problem with her developing interests. What I do have a problem with is getting stories about how she’s taken up scuba diving and now sketching but none about charity work. She can have her fun, but I expect her to earn the charmed life she’s living at taxpayer expense.
What I also have a problem with is when she is touted as a role model. I think she is a very poor role model and I am frankly astounded when bloggers tout her as one they want their daughters to follow. This is what I find most alarming about her public image.
Yeah, I don’t really care either. That’s the monarchy!
That’s a future fallen Monarchy.
Lol
It’s not “the monarchy” when it comes to loads of other royals who are out there working tirelessly. Harry, Edward and Sophie, Princess Anne, Charles and Camilla, all work their arses off not to mention the Queen and Prince Phillip who are 89 and 94 for God’s sake. No, she is just butt-lazy, always has been and always will be. William picked a real liability for a wife. This story is just beginning…
Well said Jaded! Well said.
I agree. I think finding an outlet for your creative side is important, especially if there’s stresses in your life. However, if that’s all she does she’s looking like her husband who finds his passion all the time until he gets tired of it.
“Oh, your sketches are so lovely, you should show them at the National Portrait Gallery! You know, the gallery to which you are patron?” *blank stare from Kate*
HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!
Alternative scenario,
“Do you mean that place where they’ve got all those paintings, why do they have all those paintings there? How can you tell it’s a painting, can you tell by looking at it?”
It’s a pity Liberty’s MIA she’s so much better at this!
Do you think they’d hang her Portrait of a Snail in Red?
As in cold and sluggish? Yeah – why not?
I thought that snail had a saucy je ne sais quoi.
This snail?
https://t1.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/48/00/40/400_F_48004047_BkeqafxzclFKX7KWbRJSVsP9L2tXbF0d.jpg
considerable je ne sais quoi…
firsbee, in case that wasn’t a joke, I meant the red snail she painted at an event. It looked like a turtle with a target painted on its shell.
Actually, is that not a self-portrait?
bluhare – Thanks for the LOL. And the je ne sais quoi according to a psychologist’s Rorschachian interpretation was that the snail represented Kate’s subconscious wishing her life would slow down.
Laughing big time, Frisbee! Egalite, fraternite and all that! 🙂
No, I meant the snail she painted when she and William visited somewhere when they were in California, I think. It was jaunty in it’s own way.
Never saw the snail but went with the flow – like you do 😀
frisbee
The snail
http://i4.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article183043.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/kate-middleton-paints-a-picture-while-attending-an-art-class-during-their-tour-of-the-inner-city-arts-campus-pic-getty-images-321142501.jpg
@ Florc – Thanks for that! All becomes clear. Think I prefer the one I found with the saucy, jaunty Beret 😀
Lol Frisbee
I like yours too!
Ah, forget it. Damn snail looks like a fish stuck in a yoyo. It’s needs a beret!
The official title of that painting is “Snail is Keen to Work and Hits the Ground Running.”
I’m assuming in that part, friend = Carole or Pippa.
If you stare at her portrait long enough, you can summon a demon from the depths of hell……but seriously though, that is one creepy portrait. I tried looking at it for some time but I had to scroll down quickly because it’s night here where I am and I’m all by myself!
Because the Artist is capturing her true personality,IMO.
Cold, conniving, ..smug.
I am critical of the Cambridges but gmafb with this.
:/
Really? Oh how I miss ArtHistorian and LadySlippers.
But it is a creepy portrait. At least I think so. I looked at it for a while and got a bit freaked out. Like I said, it’s night here and I’m alone and I’m like, oh Lord, what if she blinks!! I’m not trying to be critical. That’s just one creepy ass painting 🙁
Serenity, I see your point,
Serenity
Damnit, I’ve started giggling now.
Thanks :/
I’m crossing my fingers that ArtHistorian has gotten a fellowship and has no time for us.
Nota
Is AH in graduate school??
nas, talk jewels. If anything will bring her out, that will. QUEEN MARGARETHE HAS SOME AWESOME BLING!!! DAISY’S JEWELS ARE THE BOMB!!!
There you go.
AH is working on her thesis, but has been unable to find a fellowship in over a year iirc.
bluhare, we need to wave some Lalique under her nose.
Christie’s has a Jewels and Watches auction coming up on the 16th, Sale 10438. On October 6th they have Sale 11854 Un appartement quai d’Orsay décoré par Jansen which includes 16 lots of items by Lalique. You can see the items in the auctions online.
Sotheby’s has an Important Jewels auction coming up September 24th and 25th. Over 500 items for sale and you can browse the lots for sale online there too. They include:
Lot 162 Silver-Topped Gold, Pearl and Diamond Tiara-Necklace formerly owned by Mamie Doud Eisenhower
Lot 262 Silver, Gold and Diamond Rivière Necklace
Lot 68 18 Karat White Gold and Diamond Bracelet, Cartier (similar to one Princess Lillian left to either Victoria or Madeleine of Sweden recently)
And several Art Deco diamond Double Clip brooches
She can also browse the results of the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction from May 12 2015.
She is clearly only interested in the fun, sporty celebrity events, none of that poor people suffering malarkey for her.
She is so disappointing.
+1
You count the things she has done for the child mental health charity?
What has she done? A PSA. Photo ops. What has she done for a child mental health charity that isn’t directly and only linked to a pr line?
Dear me. How have I not seen that portrait before? It’s so… blank.
I think Katie has complications. Hyacinth Bucket Syndrome has had a knock on effect and she’s now suffering Stepforditis, too.
Nice hair though, that said, I still think it would look better on a Cocker Spaniel (oops I’ve just realised where she get’s her hairstyle from!)
Ha!
(And it’s pronounced, ‘Bouquet,’ everybody. Just FYI. At least since Richard met her, that is.)
The protrait, though, is from when she was newly pregnant the first time around. It was one of her first public appearances after being hospitalized. I remember watching her appearances because I’d had HG with my first pregnancy and was curious to see if she’d be as green as I was.
But Kate has bags under eyes shallow skin, pockmarks and dark circles and looks older than her age in the live , real photos about in the green dress,
IMO Kate is not the beauty the press tries to create, she is just OK, nothing that special
The artist painted the truth.
Oh, I didn’t mean to imply that the protrait was a representation of her HG. It was unvieled during that time, not painted.
She’s a pretty girl. I’ll never say otherwise. Is she an otherworldly beauty? No. But few are. With the money at her fingertips you’d think she’d learn to fake it better, though. I’ve rarely seen someone who knows less what does and doesn’t work for them, makeup-wise.
It’s also probably got a lot to do with how thin she is – and the poor diet she eats to make sure she stays that thin. In addition to stress, suntanning, and her smoking habit. It’s a recipe for disaster, basically.
On the other hand, Diana wasn’t an otherworldly beauty, either. She had an eating disorder, no self confidence, an incredibly stressful life, and no manor to lock herself away in. But Diana had It. Even fewer people have that.
I grew up during the Diana era, and have only recently noticed that she was not necessarily a raving beauty. Yet even in the days before ‘shopped photos, she had such a spark that came through.
This one is almost the polar opposite of that type of charisma and spark, IMO.
Diana had things beyond beauty that money can’t buy and the press can’t manufactured. She had IT! Diana did have lovely skin and sparkling eyes, but what Diana had was Beyond Beauty, she had a inner warmth and charisma that made the world fall in love. Diana had a certain magic that can’t be manufactured, she had IT.
Kate just doesn’t have it she has no real charisma or even charm, when she tries to excuse warmth it comes off as stilted or practiced,
I don’t think William wanteda person with a great deal of work ethic or real charisma or real “get up and go”, since he has very little himself. JMO
Natalie had a good comment about all of that on the other thread. I missed it yesterday but it is worth a read.
I just read through Natalie’s and some other’s comments in yesterday’s Kate thread and I found myself agreeing with a lot of what was said, notasugar. As someone who has spent quite a lot of time with a pyschciatrist and self-reflecting I agree that it’s clear that Kate has no self confidence. She’s been in William’s orbit since she was a teenager and spent nearly ten years waiting for it to be “official.” I can’t imagine having my every move watched by the planet, but you would think she would have known going into it that there was more expected of her than to just look pretty and birth babies.
Aw, thanks notasugarhere.
People were up in arms about it because from the engagement through to PGtips’s birth, only photoshopped pictures of Kate had been published in the media. People were quite shocked at this portrait even though it is quite close to the reality.
Exactly!
If people go look at some old closeup shots even from her dating days, Kate s face looks very much like that portrait in several photos, i used to be shocked when a un retouched photo of her face would appear and how much older , worn out she looked even then in her twenties.
I can’t believe I’d never noticed it! But it certainly gets across my general impression of Katie Kan’t – all the lights are on but nobody’s home.
I got a headache from rolling my eyes so much.
Nobody should have to examine the inside of their own skull as often as we do over this woman…
I agree, frisbee. However, we would be better at this game if we were in Jason’s office. It’s the secretiveness of it all that is so engaging.
Sounds normal to me. I’ve always got my hair in rags, sketching my children frolicking in the garden. Who doesn’t ?
What can we say about Kate’s complete lack of self-awareness, indifference to her role and absolute laziness that has not already been said before? I am starting to wonder if this is a diabolical plot to end the monarchy in the UK. If so, well played. No other scenario makes sense.
I think that’s William plan, on some level.
Ysohawt1 Yep. Wm is both testing the waters and biding his time. He’s testing to see how little royal work he can do whilst scooping up maximum taxpayer funded perks. He’s also biding his time by ensuring his inheritance from Diana is not being spent but rather staying invested and earning maximum returns.
Which taxpayer perks? The Queen gets taxpayer money but not Charles and William.
All of their security is from the taxpayers. The Crown Estates and the two Duchies do not belong to the Windsor family but to the people.
Puffin
On top of security being directly covered by taxes there’s also the money that comes from Charles and the Queen. It’s hardly their privte funds. It’s often public owned profits the BRF have access to or tax funds meant for a purpose. Then they can be converted into private funds and not used for thier intended purpose.
For example. The Queen took funds meant to keep BP upkeep. Instead BP is falling down with no funds to renovate it. Why and how did this happen? The queen took those funds from taxes and converted them to private to be gifted to Kate’s KP renovations twice over. At that point it’s “private”, but it directly came from “public”.
WK have private funds, but they never touch them. And have no income of their own. William has his part time job, but he promised to donate in full after taxes to charity. Still waiting on that too.
Let’s really talk about the important thing here:
Rugby world cup is happening. /slow nod
I can’t wait. Bring. it. on!!!
Yus. And while her nibs is at the Cup someone should take her aside and insist that young George be reared playing a proper English sport (i.e., rugby union). Enough with the bloody polo!
they’ll spite us and rear him playing rugby league!!!!
Not league! One assumes that Uncle Mike, he of the gnarled schnoz, would have a word with HM to ensure the tot plays rugby union. Isn’t league still seen as a lower-class sport in the UK? It was in my playing days.
Seriously, I see the makings of a solid front-rower in the boy. Although, being raised a toff, he’ll likely end up a back.
they’ve tried to pull up league, but i can’t honestly say whether it’s improved in the public’s standing.
with the parents he has, not to mention all that middleton influence, the boy [and girl] will be sporty, but only in things like Tennis and polo.
It’s the polo that boggles my mind. I’m an American, mind you, but it seems to me that every photo of the princes playing polo must stiffen republican sentiment by a good notch. Hobnobbing at Wimbledon and yachting regattas comes off as pretty toff, but even plebes play tennis and like the occasional sail. But polo? Nobody plays polo except for entitled aristos.
League v union is not only posh v pleb, it’s also north v south.
Rugby is huge where I live, but nobody plays league.
BTW: where was Kate for the women’s world cup last year?
there are no men in the women’s world cup [obviously] so of course Kate wasn’t going to show up. Infact, only Harry showed any support, so i’m censoring William too. Except for the occasional foray into women’s hockey, and that was only because of the olympics, Kate has never shown up for women’s sports. Despite her much publicised alleged affinity for the game, she’s not their patron. Sophie is.
going back to rugby, i grew up in an era where it was played only in public schools. further, very few public schools offered football. since football was also only played in state schools, there was a posh vs plebs thing going on there too.
Ha! As if her nibs would have anything to do with a sport as “butch” as women’s rugby. Which isn’t true but I’ve given up on trying to undo the “dykes on spikes” prejudice against women ruggers. Pity, because the women actually play the game better than the men, at least at the club level.
the girls/women on the rugby teams i played on were never butch. we were all aware of the stereotype, but for me personally, it never rang true.
now the netball teams…..yikes. those girls were butch!! LOL. it’s the reason i had to give that up. i was always getting squashed by these big girls.
in the end i settled for Hockey. that also has the butch girls stereotype, but honestly, you better get out of the way of a girl running at you with a lethal weapon and sharp elbows. LOL
the only sport that wasn’t hazardous for me was lacrosse. don’t really know why. everyone was always so well behaved and polite.
as you can tell, i was never one for dainty sports. and i have the bad joints to prove it.
LAK – growing up in London, only the poshies played rugby around my way, too. Everyone played football. Completely different here in the south west. Everyone plays rugby and cricket (and watches motor sport). Not that many people interested in football.
We’ve actually got enough teams for a youth rugby league in the SF Bay Area, mainly due to the Polynesian immigrant influence (lots of Samoans and Tongans in the East Bay). A couple of high schools even have women’s sides. I tried hooking my older daughter up with one but we couldn’t make the practice schedule work. She’s playing now for her mom’s old college team–the first second-generation rugger, male or female, in school history!
that makes me really happy @ruckhappy. Huzzah.
speaking of sprogging, if i ever get round to it, my worst nightmare is having children who aren’t into sports. and darts/snooker don’t count!!!!! i want proper roling in the mud type sports!! LOL
You say that, LAK, but you may underestimate the negative power of the grass stain…
… either that, or you’ll need to be happy to have chavvy-looking kids.
(Guess which option goes chez Sixer?!)
The idea of ruggers procreating seems rather dubious in Darwinian terms, but ours have turned out well. I’m a little worried that our younger girl, who always has to do everything her big sister does, will want to play also. Big sis is, well, big. Very feminine, but she inherited her dad’s shoulders. Our youngest is a pixie, though. Oh well, she’s no smaller than some of the women on my ex’s college side.
Speaking of which, have I told you about the time I saw Princess Di play rugby? One of my ex’s college teammates was English and really did look like Diana: blonde wedge cut, blue eyes, etc. Except quite petite. Couldn’t have weighed a hundred pounds. Well, like my ex, she decided that if her boyfriend was playing rugby, so would she. And on her first touch of the ball, in her first match, she got slammed into the pitch by three women, including one giant Samoan lock. I swear, I thought they’d killed her. Nope, she picked herself up and played on, dazed but determined. Now that’s British pluck!
Ruckhappy: she’ll probably be more fierce given her size.
Sixer: LOL.
No slackers in my (future) house. it will be the ‘drop em off at the deep end of a swimming pool and see if they swim or sink’ method of getting them started. It worked wonders for me. Of course it wasn’t so much a swimming pool as the local pond, but my dad really hated us sitting around doing sod all.
He stared into her soul and saw a 50 year-old, constipated, housewife who hasn’t had sex since the last century? Because that is what that portrait looks like.
Pick a cause, any cause. There are a lot to choose from at the moment that could certainly use a little royal shine to get some money rolling in.
He stared into her Soul and saw Carol, years of scheming.
🙂
I think they are trying to make her look as if she had some substance at all or some talent at all. Or character for that respect. After all she does have so much staff that nobody believes she had to be there for her children 24/7 and that leads to the question what does Kate do with her time? And as “shopping, renovating, hair appointments, beauty appointments and fitness” isn’t a satisfiying answer the try to come up with her “hobbies”.
Seriously Kate, do try to have some interest in the world outside your gilded home and do some Royal Duties.
Listen, I feel like the fact that the DM and other outlets feel the need to supply us with info to convince us that she has worthwhile pursuits is a big red flag!!! The pitchforks are being sharpened by the British people or what? All of Europe is a simmering cauldron of dissatisfaction. Duchess, I would visibly start to hall a$$ if I were you….
Haul a$$ – preach it! That’s excellent advice. But her portrait says to me that she has other plans.
Yep, European population is very dissatisfied with political decisions and increasing inequality and decreasing quality of life despite increasing economic profits (for the few, that is the problem).
Currently there is no sign of a turnaround. In such a climate many kings lost their heads – history has shown that.
How does this information get into the rags? Of course she can sketch and photograph and scuba dive and play tennis and in general do any activity she wants. It’s probably not a good idea to publicize that those are the only things she does. Gets the masses blood up.
Kate and Pippa see themselves as 21st century Renaissance women which by definition means they believe in and pursue their endless capabilities for development.
As for Kate’s portrait, I disagree with Kaiser’s interpretation that the artist looked into her soul and saw her depravity because Kate chose a photograph for the painter to use as a basis for the portrait and she approved the finished piece. So that’s why I am totally convinced the portrait is Kate making a statement to the world and her intended message is up for debate.
LOL
That’s an interesting take, MinnFinn.
I think it’s more likely that she doesn’t have enough forethought to even begin to think of sending a message in the first place. And crappy taste. In . . . well, everything, really.
As far as the protrait goes, there probably just wasn’t enough time to commission another protrait. She’d more than likely left it to the last minute and then not followed up, especially since it was painted from a picture she sent. That’s what staff is for, right?
I think she was so use to being retouched and written up as a great beauty that she Thought the artist would paint the fantasy and not the reality. The reality is what he put on the canvass, the real KATE.
I agree, Ysohawt1. I think she thought of him as someone hired to carry out a task rather than an artist with his own point of view. He’s a photo realist -Kate has confidence in her photographed image -What could go wrong, right?
Ooh. Tut tut!
“If she’s so bored she’s taken up drawing and cooking classes…”
Really? I draw and cook because I love to draw and cook. They are both creative pursuits that give me a lot of joy. And I’m rarely bored. I know she needs to step up her game in the working department by a million percent, but I don’t think being creative is a sign of boredom, nor do I think it’s something to criticize. I see how they go hand in hand – if you have time to do x why can’t you do y, but I’m happy to know she’s interested in something besides bad eyeliner and wedges.
Someone upthread gave the example of your govt representatives. if you found out that they had all the time in the world for their extra curriculum passions, to extent that they were so bored as to look up more things to fill their time whilst never working despite being elected to office [ignoring the royals aren’t elected issue for now] and drawing a salary from that office, you’d be infuriated. That’s the issue here. not the cooking or painting or diving or flying or drawing etc that she’s doing to fill up her days.
It is fact that Congressmen spend at least half their day working on re-election.
And therein lies the problem. The other royals realise that they have to keep up a public face in order to continue the racket. WK have realised that they don’t have to do anything beyond invoking Diana and hope that will help them continue the racket.
They lack the foresight to see that the generation that adores royalty is dying off and the Diana generation won’t be last much longer after that. They have to engage the young people who will allow them to continue the racket.
What LAK said. And I’d add – no offence to Celebitchy or any royal-following Celebitches – the people they engage can’t include American bloggers, who won’t do them any good at all when the inevitable shite hits the fan.
Right, I get that and agree with you, I just objected to the characterization of drawing as something you do simply because you’re bored. I guess it wasn’t really a point worth making, but I think some people draw because they love to, not because they’re bored…tiptoes away to have “shallow” and “misses the point” tattooed on her forehead…
By the way, do not love being characterized as “dying off…”
Lol
charles paints and sketches. duh.
Charles also works…..
Since founding The Prince’s Trust in 1976, Charles has established 16 more charitable organisations, and now serves as president of all of those. Together, these form a loose alliance called The Prince’s Charities, which describes itself as “the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the United Kingdom, raising over £100 million annually … and is active across a broad range of areas including education and young people, environmental sustainability, the built environment, responsible business and enterprise and international.”
Charles is also patron of over 350 other charities and organisations, and carries out duties related to these throughout the Commonwealth realms.
William and Kate….*CRICKETS*
The DM ran an article yesterday that accussed Charles of making it bad for the next POW by doing so much. The article said that in doing so much Charles is making it bad for William, whose only interests are his family, flying and conservation. It truly isn’t fair to blame an overachiever for an underachiever’s failures but Charles is the Windsor family scapegoat. That’s one his roles too.
Dena: as you always put it, Charles is the unloved child who will be blamed for everyone’s shortcomings and never praised for any positives in the family even if they come from him. especially if they come from him.
Seriously? Blaming Charles for making William look bad? I don’t think we need Charles for that.
Charles does deserve a lot of praise. And Wm doesn’t need to hide his mother’s money – he will get so much more from Charles.
And the Prince’s Trust is an EXCELLENT charity. Sensible models. First, do no harm. It really, really isn’t a vanity project. It doesn’t replicate work done by others for kudos. It doesn’t waste money. It sets – and achieves – realistic goals. I have a lot of admiration for it.
She’s good at making babies and that was the one thing everyone around her was really interested in, so… She did her part.
Yes, at this point I’d be surprised to see Kate really embrace any sort of serious charity work. It’s not going to happen.
Pretty much a repeat of my thoughts on the last post about Kate… her PR people are having to work very hard to not make her sound like a total layabout, and yet they ultimately fail to do so because people reading these reports are not stupid. The British public want to see something for their money, and the palace are going to have to start inventing stories about Kate, because the reality is she does eff all. She does absolutely nothing, most of the time. I think she is surrounded by people who enable her to do as little as possible, giving the excuse that she is spending time with the children. Like I always say: Kate should have had a career, it’s completely inexcusable that she does nothing even resembling work when the average mother in 2015 has to juggle a job as well as housework and childcare. 1950s Stepford Wife isn’t something that the public can admire or feel is value for their taxes.
Being a U.S. Citizen with mostly UK ancestry, I am now beyond belief at how poorly these PR efforts are going to ‘defend’ (or perhaps define?) her and how she spends her time.
Others have mentioned she might have been better suited as an aristo’s wife., but if she cannot even manage household staff, could she even handle that role?
She makes those 1950s TV housewives in pearls look like workhorses.
Is this for real? SMH the way the monarchy infantilizes this woman…I can’t even imagine what her life must be like.
She does this to herself. Infantizing is the best way they can sell her apathy to her position without calling it what it is. Lazy.
Amen to that, FLORC. Kate did do this to herself.
During the engagement and the first year or so of marriage, she did get out there and do some things, but mostly it was just ridiculous fluff – probably not unlike a lot of royal performances. Kate has certainly retreated since then, though. She isn’t a woman of passion for any causes, she just isn’t into it and it shows. I’m an introvert myself, but I’d figure out a way to comfortably do something worthwhile and not be so self-serving. I’d ramp up my public appearances; I’d use The Princess Royal as my template for behavior. Anne may not be glamorous, but she does have my admiration.
What I wonder about her is which Will did she want? Did she love Will the person and just wanted to marry him and have his babies? Because then I can kinda see her just thinking fuck it I just want my family he can deal with the royal stuff. Or, did she want Will the Prince? If she wanted the title then she should really do some work.
@Snap Happy,
I think this is an intriguing question. I think it started with Kate having an intense crush on William from afar, Kate, with the encouragement and guidance of her mother, in turn, put herself in a position to meet William, specifically choosing to go to the same university and choosing the same major. I see her as initially wanting to be snag a handsome prince, become a princess and do things like live in castles, ride in a coach and wave from a balcony.
I think as Kate got to know William, she probably liked William himself, and he liked her, so it did become about William the person. This is where I think it gets interesting, William himself doesn’t seem all that keen on being a prince, and Kate probably realized that for every nice thing about being a princess/royal there are several things about being a princess/royal that aren’t so swell. The thing about it is that Kate not liking and/or not being suitable for being a modern-day royal was/is not an impediment in her relationship with William.
Thanks!
I agree that in the beginning there seemed to be genuine love there. It must have been a very heady time for Kate to be in some remote college, young and in love and loved by a real Prince. I have to agree (with nota sugar) she prob. Wouldn’t have waited all that time for a regular guy, although you never know.
“uck it I just want my family he can deal with the royal stuff. ” – very possible! She does have a family and now made a little one of her own. Most importantly, her children are set for life and not just set, but spectacularly so and she doesn’t ever have to worry about anything.
I am in the camp of she wanted the prince and the status that came with it. A poor man who treated her the way William did wouldn’t have made the cut, either for her or her mother.
Whether she wanted the man or the prince doesn’t matter. He was born into it and she signed on to do a job. Either they do the job or they return all the perks that come with it.
I’m somewhat more where Nota is on this one. I think Kate & family were too far in to pull back at a certain point. I think it started as a fantasy-crush. Then it went to I’m with a Prince. Then to I like him as a man. I can do this. Then it got too complicated with his demands & his temper tantrums (and abuse in some ways). I’m thinking of ceaseless demands, his being an ass, and the stuff that likely lead to the breakup. However, by that time she probably felt that she was too far in–time-wise, the emotional investment, not developing herself or meeting other people (men), and would be too open & subject to ridicule by both of their peer bases (if she has any) to turn around. The only way out for her was to probably go forward into the night & to suck up the perks & to build a family (something she probably would have done anyway like most women). And here we have it.
Who knows? She’s probably on the brink of exhaustion & breakdown. She seems real brittle. I wonder if she looks back & says to herself “I think I was a little looney there. Straight up off the rails. What happened?” But, of course, that requires reflection & independent thought. Just too off-script.
I’m on my phone so I hit the only reply button I saw. This is to Dena – She def. was in far. She had a lot more to loose of the relationship didn’t work out than he did. I wonder about him asking her to marry him. Did he just feel grateful to her for hanging in with him all the years? It seems like people are sorta side-eyeing the marriage from his side. Like he will prob take a mistress and he’s not all in. Kate couldn’t have been the only woman that was willing to marry him?
I’m with (notsugarhere) too, I think she wanted the Prince, the titles, the life, the castles, the money, etc. If this was a regular Dude he would not have made it past the Middleton’s front gate after the 2007 dumping,
As one tumblr once pointed out:”William and Kate love the IDEA of each other”.
W: loves the idea of “normal” family life sans royal duties.
K:title& social upward mobility, WAG-type luxury lifestyle.
Snap
Kate was the girl who passed all of William’s admitted tests. Which means she made her world revolve around him and forgave him what he did as long as he returned to her. Then with the last break up the press turned on William. He was attacked for taking Kate’s 20’s and dumping her rather than marry.
That and all the girls HE pursued wouldn’t have him. Sure there were boat loads of girls that would have married William, but could they pass all the tests? Did he feel he could marry them? Would marrying them remove the lashing he was getting in the press? Only Kate could answer those.
@Florc – interesting. He does sound like a demanding man-child. Do you think one of those girls he pursued was Isabella AGCalthorpe? Or, do you think that was planted in the press by the Branson folks? I’m really intrigued by that whole AGC/Bonas family.
Snap
We know he pursued her, but she shot him down at 1st attempt at a party.
The story goes Charles favored a girl like Isabella for William. William though strikes me as a guy with no “game”. A trait from guys who’ve had girls toss themselves at them and never had to learn the art of getting a girls heart.
And for what it’s worth Isabella’s husband was not invited to the Cambridge wedding.
I know, which is doubly strange because he is Rochard Branson’s son and the Bransons seem very into buddying up to the royals.
all the Bransons barring Sam were invited to the wedding. very strange indeed.
there is a quote somewhere attributed to Isabella where she describes William as being boorish in his chat up technique…..will see if i can find it again.
Allegedly,….William’s approach going after Isabella was boorish, bordering on a crude ,clumsy almost juvenile approach , she was said to be really Turned Off by how he came at her, she let him down gently but reports were she was bothered by something he said when he attempted to ask her out. The rumoured implication was he basically let her know he wanted to…. ….her
……I also read William also liked to send out a scout party first, so as to see if a girl was willing…William asked a friend to inquire about Kate,(some say to her boyfriend b4 PW) the drill was basically , find out If We have sex will she talk, can I trust her to keep what happens quiet….the friend got back to William and basically said, Kate’s cool, don’t worry she won’t talk.
William then told the friend , He’d like to have a go……
Isabella made a better choice. Sam Branson seems like a interesting guy and he adores her.
Mom of a 21 month old and 35 weeks pregnant over here … this article title made me laugh / sob. What is this free time you speak of, Duchess Kate?!
She speaks of the free time you get when you get plenty of help and very little real-life stress.
@tessd exactly. At least Marie Antoinette was by many accounts a very involved mother. Even if I had a daily cook and housekeeper, parenting would still take up too much time to allow for such idle and time-intensive hobbies as sketching. Ridiculous. I just don’t understand how she doesn’t care. At all. She has the power and opportunity to truly change things in this world and she just….doesn’t.
@Steph O exactly!
Sep 18, striped top, jeggings and wedges day.
You forgot the several tubes of eyeliner. And crotch-grabbing. With a sprinkle of saucy sausage Wiglet curls, of course.
Crotch grabbing?
Kate’s To Do List: Must tell the servants to shine up Big Blue. Practice exaggerated hand gestures in the run-up to the event. 6 hour hair “blowout” scheduled. Must think of/make up some cute anecdote about how George is terrorizing the household and Charlotte is a perfect princess.
As you can see, she has no time to be bored!
Something else on the to do list: please advise the communications staff to can the new social media name for Kate known as K Middy. It’s going over like a lead balloon.
Isn’t this rugby thingy being counted as ‘work’? You know, sitting and watching the game and maybe meeting a few players?
Good question. And probably. 🙂
Harry’s the pres of the rugby union but the Work-shys tag along at a Harry event(again) & then making it count in their final numbers. This is the beginning of their year-end flurry of engagements to boost their numbers. They’ll hit North Wales in October, IIRC.
As much I am excited about TRWC, I’m doubting the Springboks(South Africa) will win. They were beaten by Wales, FFS. Anyways, Delicate Duchesses only do Delicate things. Don’t you know work is for the peasants?
your comment reminds me of our collective WTH???? whenever Italy do well in the six nations. LOL. sorry Italy.
I’m sure her sketches are just as stunning as her amazing photography. Remember the black and white she did of an orangutan’s arm sticking out through the leaves of a tree? One had to be told that is what it was because it blended into the leaves but still – a truly stunning masterpiece!
Oh and remember the stick figures she added on to the painting of a boat? She’s such a talented little snowflake! 😀
PS: I’m sure her “friends” are her mummy and sister since they seem to be the only “friends” Kate has had since she bagged Diana’s ring. The only other “friends” I can think of are the ones she used to keep tabs on William (aka they are actually William’s friends) during the waiting/stalking years but whom she doesn’t really to have anything to do with anymore since she no longer needs them (hence why she doesn’t bother to show for their weddings).
http://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/323527/photos-taken-by-kate-middleton.jpg
Kate’s eye for a photo wasn’t there. Expensive camera in untouched location makes for neat vacation shots, but nothing more. It’s takes more ffor a great photo. Placement and where you want to the eye drawn to. Surroundings. Silhouettes not being cut off. contrast. Her photos at time were pretty, but all very basic lacking in any style. Novice work, but they raised her up as being stellar and the reality fell short.
The snowflake is talented, duh. She is a PIONEER in photography & Her Royal Highness graces the plebian world of sketching(although ATM Chuck is, in HRH’s opinion, bland) with the sheer force of talent, industrious & artistic beauty. Amazing.
She’s sketchy, period.
True dat. Lol
I am almost to the point where I am wondering if she doesn’t suffer from some sort f social anxiety that actually prevents her from successfully participating in work. I could see it. She has been groomed and prepped by her family….schemed her way into getting this “position” (again very Jane Austen), but along the way they forgot to instill in her some actual skills that would come in handy….public speaking, good stewardship, a sense of ambition….or failing that….just a sense of duty.
But let’s talk about THAT PORTRAIT. I haven’t seen it in a while, but I remember being totally horrified by it initially. Does it look like her? Yes. But THOSE EYES. Such dead eyes. Serial killer dead. When I look at it, I cannot help but feel that she may be plotting my death.
she’s had dead eyes since she married in.
it’s sad really. that’s why it”s so startling when she’s around Ben Ainslie. And before that Harry before he stopped indulging her.
LAK
Any theories on why Harry stopped?
Florc
It could be that she’s too hard work, maybe she thought the attention was flirting (Willy clearly doesn’t treat her well) or it could be the way she allegedly treated Chelsea. I’d read reports that she ‘allegedly’ told Chelsea that putting up with the cheating was part of dating a royal. I don’t recall reading about Harry cheating on her but could have. Chelsea is too classy to put up with it.
Betti
I remember that article. And it’s no secret William got around on maybe every gf.
I kind of doubt Harry did that to Chelsea, but it’s possible.
And HC had a different relationship than WK. There was each person doing their own path. Not bowing to another.
@Shambles – get your hands on calcium supplement. Excellent for cramps!
I can take a beating from Aus & All Blacks those are the only teams I’d consider rivals. The Brits(seperately as nations)? Overrated as in cricket & football. Blergh. But the RWC gives me a chance to ogle some built hunks to join my list of baes. And watch the kiwis do the ha-kah thingy!
England had it’s moment back in the 90s which was when i came of age, and it saddens me to see what shambles they are these days. Scotland and Wales tend to have good individual players, but not as a collective.
During the RWC i am always a traitor to my own because i always support the All blacks. If England do well, i don’t feel so bad about it.
I dunno, supporting the All-Blacks feels like rooting for the Yankees. You know they’re going to win.
Supporting the US team is an exercise in futility. A nation of 300 million and our rugby team can’t beat Wales. Wales isn’t even a country! (Not that I would tell a Welshman that to his face.)
At least the US women’s team is a top-tier rugby power.
i know, but they play consistently well. England used to play very well. not any more. it’s too frustrating. especially since their coaches are former members of the all conquering squads of the 90s.
i go back to supporting England in other tournaments.
USA *should* be beaten by Wales. y”all can’t play at all. and yes, it’s amazing that you can’t produce a decent team between you.
Ahh, so that’s why she announced a charity visit on September 17th … because she wanted to go to another sporting event.
At least she’s learning a lesson from the bad press after Wimbledon?
Bingo!!! The majority of this “work” that she does involves entertainment, recreation &/or being dined, wined and fussed over. Seriously, other royals – especially Harry – seem to be the ones actually doing the heavy lifting/meaningful work. Pathetic. Diana was never afraid to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty.
I LOL when the Brit press drum up excitement over the 3 teams as if they’re gonna win. None of them will ever win the SWC nor the RWC. England & 66 was a first & last. Sorry Brits.
yes with the football. not so much with the rugby. England was consistently world class in the 90s/early 00s, starting with runner up at the 1991 games, culminating in winning the cup in 2003.
unfortunately since our glory days, we’ve been consistently playing badly despite being runner up in 2007.
They have tried so hard to not let her be plagued like Diana that she has come off as a lazy good for nothing. I am disgusted by her and feel that i wish whoever marries harry is more into charity work. UGH.
they went from one extreme to the other. perhaps the next in-law will be just right. like Sophie.
It’s interesting that Kate needed a photograph from which to draw a picture of George, because as her apologists say, she spends 24/7 looking at him.
It’s good that Kate spends long afternoons drawing pictures. That’s good Kate, real good.
“Royal portraits” is a good label for her drawings, because they’re different from pictures drawn by any other mother of any other children.
And I’m so glad for her that she’s “keen” to doing “limited engagements” and “many more beyond” as the palace sources said. That’s not contradictory, is it.
And look folks. She HAS to go to all those upcoming rugby ceremony and games. If she didn’t, then she’d be a rugby widow. And it’s part of her life’s job as a woman and as a man’s wife to make sure her interests are whatever her husband’s interests are. That and being pregnant as many times as she can.
I agree with the people upthread who’ve said that she shouldn’t have to show appreciation and gratitude for the government checks she and her family live off of. If the Dole Office, I mean the Sovereign Grant, isn’t going to cut off their checks, then why should Kate have to do anything? if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Anne_000 you’re delightful snarky 🙂
If she is really interested in Art, she could easily do something good in this field, for the artists, the appreciation of “working Artists”, esp. Woman in the Arts.
The society is not very nice with Artists (disregarding the poshos with rich parents and connections, or overrated hyped Art-Hipster) let alone Woman in the Arts, thats a Fact.
She could do a lot, but it would be about other people, and not about her, and it would mean, sort of real Work, well who am i kidding……
Reports are beginning to come out in the UK that the reason she’s laying low is because she’s pregnant again and suffering from severe morning sickness once again …
She has previous for laying low even before becoming pregnant. These are excuses being fed to keep the peasants form the palace gate.
A week after she gave birth those rumors start. They never stop. It’s a justiication to excuse the lack of work.
That portrait always makes me laugh. Its like something out of Ghostbusters 2. You can just imagine it shooting lightning and Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd destroying it to protect the city. Lol
I’m starting to wonder if she might suffer from agoraphobia.