The Daily Beast’s royal gossip guy, Tom Sykes, has been doing some really interesting stories about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge over the past few months. Sykes was the one slamming the Cambridges and Poor Jason (Will and Kate’s long-suffering publicist) for their terrible open letter to the press, and Sykes has had some interesting exclusives/takes on stuff like Kate’s inability to make public speeches. While I don’t believe Poor Jason is leaking to the Daily Beast, it wouldn’t surprise me if Sykes had some royal-adjacent sources.
Anyway, Sykes’ latest piece is “What The Beckhams Can Teach Will & Kate.” The whole piece is interesting, of course. The main gist is that Posh and David Beckham do social media really well, and they’ve managed to raise well-adjusted kids in the spotlight without complaints or whines, and that the Cambridges should try to copy them. Here are some interesting highlights:
The Cambridges are paranoid: “The Beckhams’ accepting and positive attitude to social media is in stark contrast to the increasingly paranoid mentality displayed by the Royals, which is doing so much to limit their freedom, forcing them into a self-imposed gilded cage.”
David Beckham was an “advisor” to Prince Harry? “Two years ago, the British Royals roped in David Beckham as an informal mentor for Prince Harry, when it appeared his drinking was getting out of control after he was sick in a London nightclub toilet. Beckham is not teetotal, but he drinks in very strict moderation, and there was a hope that he might be able to show Harry that getting legless is not a prerequisite for a good night out.”
William does not comprehend this simple thing: “People will take pictures of the future King and his sister when they see them, indeed one could make a convincing argument that as taxpayers funding the royal lifestyle, we plebs are very much entitled to do so. Will and Kate may not like it, but pictures of the young royals will be taken whenever they are in a public or semi-public place.”
The royals don’t “get” social media: The Cambridges’ use of social media is described as “clunky” and the Palace-run Kensington Royal Twitter account has a tone that “has been utterly bewildering and completely non-uniform. It’s hard to avoid the impression that the social media account is being updated by an unpaid intern.”
The media strategy at play: “Yes, there has been a ‘social media strategy’ at Kensington Palace, but it’s been handled horribly. But how could any such strategy be a success when it’s all too clear that the principal actors in the drama—Will, Kate and Harry—have a deep-seated belief that social media is the work of the devil. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the Royal accounts come across as advertising, clearly managed by ‘their people’.
Sykes compares-and-contrasts the Beckhams and the Cambridges really well, and he’s right in that David and Victoria Beckham have always been savvy about pop culture and the media. I’d be willing to bet they have great a publicist too, of course, which is also a big difference. The Cambridges have burned through many high-profile staffers (just as their domestic staff quits all the time), so while I feel that Poor Jason is long-suffering, I also feel like he’s one of the few public relations professionals who will work with them at this point, and maybe they don’t inspire loyalty, you know? But yes, their PR is shambolic. Would it really help if Will and Kate understood social media? Or would it simply help if Will stopped believing that he’s some kind of brilliant press manipulator like his mother? He’s really not.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, WENN.
David only joined social media in recent months.
Give Brooklyn a few years. He is still under their thumb at home but wait until he goes out into the real world with all its temptations. I saw that he presented Victoria with her Glamour award … why? There are so many people who could have presented it to her instead she dragged her teenage son into the spotlight.
The Beckhams have long dragged their kids into the spotlight. it’s not coincidence that they appear at the front row of mummy’s fashion show. two are already trying their hand at modelling with mixed results. Brand Beckham definitely includes the kids now.
i also think its way too early to say the Beckhams managed to raise them properly. look at Tom Hanks, he never paraded his kids around like them and what is his one son doing?
i dont think you should have children if you are that rich and famous, Taylor Swift talked about it that she is too famous to have children and i think thats a great mindset. rather regret not having children than ruining their lives with your fame.
This isn’t true at all. it depends strongly on parents and the kids’ character. from your example, Tom Hanks has 4 kids in total, only one turned out badly. Many super famous people – whatever their level of fame – have kids that turned out OK as well as others that turned out badly.
I feel bad for these celeb kids who have parents that aid their delusions. The truth is, it’s very rare for an offspring of actors and musicians and athletes to reach those heights because they were born into everything. Their parents typically had the drive and hustle in them because they were poor and wanted more.
its not only about motivation, the top is tiny. its only a tiny fraction of people so the chance that it will happen to someone is very slim, no matter the hard work and talent. for every person that worked themselves to the top there are thousands who didnt make it. what most “how to become succesful” guides are is often you will need luck, like meeting the right person at the right time. or if you are an artist you’ll need to be lucky to write the right song at the right time that just hits a general feeling with the people.
i always have this thought every time i see Brooklynn Beckham’s modelling pictures. He has scored the cover of teen vogue purely on name recognition. As a model, he doesn’t cut the mustard at all. if not for his surname and parents, he wouldn’t warrant a look in the modelling world.
That said, I think the Burberry Beckham is a good looking kid and is very photogenic. Puberty hasn’t hit yet, but looks like he will grow up very handsome and might make something of a career in a looks based industry like modelling.
I’m not directing this at CB but at this Daily Beast – this is getting really boring. It’s like recycling the same thing over and over – paranoid, uncooperative, need to wise up…Got it.
It’s a bit like head and brick wall, ain’t it? If they don’t get it by now, they never will. Best way, I suppose, to point that out to them is to ignore them.
I love that picture with the veil she looks like a Mafia Widow.
She looks like her own grandmother.
I’m mad at you now for making me laugh.
LOL! She always give me a Theresa Russell (Black Widow) vibe when she does all-black.
She’s really not aging well – she looks like she’s in her late 40s. I’m a firm believer in you end up with the face you deserve, she looks old, haggard with a look in her eyes like the lights fused; he looks like a toddler about to have a tantrum most of the time (sulking and pouting).
I agree Silly Billy does not look in the same decade as Kate
I caught a glimpse of my mid-40s neck in sunlight the other day, and it was frightening. However, her neck in the photo shown here looks older than mine. Smoking, genetics, etc.?
I think tanning caused my neck and chest aging. My face would not tan, so I kept it covered as much as possible. And, it looks comparatively younger.
At least I can wear scarves or turtlenecks. Not sure what Kate can do, though.
It’s Remembrance Sunday for the war dead
The Beckhams must have an excellent PR person (or many) because whatever happened to the cheating scandals? People barely remember and Beckham has become this adorable/hot dad who carts around the kids all day while his wife has remade herself into a very successful businesswoman. Incredible if you think about how they started. I remember an interview from many years ago where they explained that hiding their kids is not their thing. This is the life they’re living and as long as they don’t go overboard, the kids won’t suffer. And they really haven’t, have they? As far as we can tell.
As for Harry, I think he simply grew up. The Cambridges – in my opinion – are completely advice-resistant.
What happened with the cheating scandal was that Rebecca Loos went on a load of reality TV shows and people ended up disliking her more than Victoria so the public sympathy changed a lot.
Advice resistant should be their motto.
William actually boasts about it in interviews.
“Advice resistant should be their motto.
William actually boasts about it in interviews.”
– and he doesn’t even realize how stupid that actually makes him look! He really does come across as a paranoid, entitled oaf.
He may think he looks like a rogue, modern, independent leader instead of a spoiled brat. A legend in his own mind.
Yes very dumb of Silly Billy
one of those was proven fake and Bauer Media had to pay Beckham a small sum in Germany, in the USA it was ruled that while the story was proven fake its ok to make up stories of a married father cheating.
only the ones when they moved to USA. that was the fake story. before that, he was known to dally. He really cleaned up his act when they moved to the states.
The ex-editor of Heat talks about how he once witnessed David and Victoria Beckham doing a staged “happy couple kissing and playing in the snow, completely unaware they are being papped” thing in the Alps somewhere, then going inside and Victoria immediately turning round and smacking David hard in the face. It’s insane the lengths they’ll go to for PR and fame.
Of course the press weren’t able to report it.
They need to stop lumping Harry in with the two losers. Harry is really doing everything right at this point in time, he comes across as genuine, interested in his causes, putting in real effort, representing the BRF and his nation with charm, tact and intelligence. Maybe he doesn’t use social media, which frankly I believe many celebs could do without, but his actions, just like his mother’s, speak loudly for him. ( and I was not a particular Diana fan – I always thought that her personal life was a mess and she had lots of issues, but I always gave her credit for her work ethic and the actual involvement in her charities.)
Every time I hear comments about Harry’s “offences” committed in his twenties I think that we are willing to cut everyone slack – why not him? He grew up without a mother, under extraordinary pressures as the spare, and did a few dumb things during drunken parties. He has totally cleaned up his act and I hope he stays the course, as he seems the only young royal to give a damn and actually do something (and I include his cousins, the work shy and vacation enthusiasts E and B in this comparison).
As Harry’s star continues to rise so will the Dolittles resentment, particularly with Normal Bill who is deeply insecure and doesn’t like being upstaged. The Cambridges will continue to throw him under the bus and jump on his bandwagon and Harry being the loyal and supportive brother he seems to be will let them BUT I think there will come a point when they part ways in terms of households. He needs to separate himself and that prob won’t happen until he gets married – he (and his future wife) will likely become part of Charles household when Chuck becomes King.
I think the thing that likely gets Normal Bills goat is that the great unwashed love Harry and his father (to a degree) – he’s starting to realize that ‘love’ doesn’t extend to him and Duchess Organics.
I think Harry has already separated from Kate – you never see them interacting anymore. I wonder if he’s got her number?
As he agreed with the friends who called her The Limpet all those years ago, I think he’d had her number all along.
On the matter of cutting Harry some slack….please, Harry has had nothing but slack. I couldnt care less about naked parties or smoking a little weed. Life is short, enjoy it! I have a major problem with his race issues. What decent human adult wears a Nazi costume to a party or refers to his squad mate by a racial derogative or rocks up to another party in colonial dress knowing the attrocities committed around the world by that lot in his familys name no less. I hate that Harry PR has been so rehabilitated that this never comes up. If people are going to bitch over something as meaningless as the absense of William at some ribbon cutting, how do you get so casually past Harrys documented bigotry. Or do you think racists just up and transform into saints?
Naya, I see where you’re coming from, but Harry was 20 when he wore that costume. It was said that William goaded him into wearing it (probably knowing he’d catch flack, and rightly so). Big brothers can be jerks 🙂 We’ve all done and said stupid things at that age, things we wish we could do over. I’m hoping that as Harry has aged and gone out into the world, he’s seen how his racist remarks were wrong. my 2 cents 🙂
Harry apologised and vowed to change. And he followed through. The change looks authentic rather than ordered or fake.People are responding and acknowledging it. to acknowledge that someone has authentically changed for good, isn’t to give them a pass or to say that past has been forgotten. If he had continued behaving badly, his past would be brought up. He is consistently giving us a public actions, not image, that is worth talking about, that is moving further and further away from past misdeeds and thus improving his image.
Good effort is what people are responding to, just as lack of effort is what people respond to in the case of WK.
Years ago I was reading those astrology magazines haha, there was an article about Harry (it was his birthday and they did his astrological profile). It said that he will probably become the king because William will be caught in some major scandal and will be forced to step down. As years have passed his douchiness became more obvious so who knows? If it was written in stairs it must be true 🙂
Most of the astrologers think Harry would be much better suited to be King. His chart resembles Elizabeth I.
Written in the stairs, eh? lol
Even Harry’s own mother said normal bill just didn’t have it to be king. Harry would be much more suitable. Diana was right of course.
@Aurelia, really? I had never heard about Diana saying that, and I find it fascinating. Do you happen to remember where you read it? I would love to see everything she said in context. She certainly called this one correctly decades ago!
It’s been mentioned in a few biographies. I can’t remember which ones.
i’ve long railed against their PR image and strategy, so at this point i can only nod in agreement with Tom Sykes.
on a different note, i’d be very surprised if Tom Sykes didn’t have any royal adjacent sources since the Sykes are very socially connected and being socially connected, he can criticise the royals without it coming across as politics of envy.
Much as I spit tacks at the thought of saying anything the least bit understanding of Twit and Twat, I do think they can’t go full-on celeb with a social media presence. There has to be some gravitas for anyone with a formal public role.
But it really isn’t hard, is it? From POTUS to the British PM, from embassies to other heads of state, you can, for example, find Twitter accounts that balance a limited personal glimpse, advocacy for causes, formal announcements and informal comments.
How they can’t manage it is beyond me.
+1
Agree, even TQ’s Social Media strategy is better than theirs (@BritishMonarchy). At least you can tell there is a strategy.
I would be surprised is #poorjason is personally running the account with Willy looking over his shoulder.
LOL @ Betti!
But you know. Why isn’t their Twitter currently seeking out young bullying advocates/success stories and complimenting them? That sort of thing interspersed between your formal announcements go a long way towards making it look as though you are for real. Or the odd extra photo from the EAAA? That sort of thing.
(Not that I believe Normal Bill has been to the EAAA in months.)
what was the prize for guessing when he would quit EAAA?
I think at this point, you win bragging rights Sixer.
Regarding social media, they could copy Victoria of Sweden – including how to show the kids and acclimatise them to the public without sacrificing their privacy.
or to take your suggestion of causes and some personal glimpses, they could copy Rania of Jordan who does a masterful job in that regard.
He’s not there any more, is he, LAK? I’m entirely sure of it.
Exactly. There are many examples of diplomatic and/or head-of-state Twitters that do a marvellous job of combining maintaining the gravitas of the role and personalising it a bit. Half the commenters on here could do it successfully for these lame brains. Since it’s hard to believe their entire staff, including #poorjason, is quite this incompetent, you have to think Normal Bill is the one putting the kybosh on it all.
Twit and Twat? Are these two the new TNTs of the royal world?
Taking a moment to image what it would have been like if Gloria Thurn and Taxis had hit the scene during an era of social media.
Pre-widowhood Gloria TNT could have taken shots with Max. These 2 wear the heck out of family jewels. Too bad the equally-great Londonderry jewels don’t get an airing out as they deserve*in an AU they are royals & Maxima is the Queen*.
Sweden’s Silvia is my favorite bejeweled royal. I would love for there to be a Sweden-Netherlands state dinner and have Silvia and Maxima go at it.
What would we call it? A Royal Jewel Off?
Elizabeth the FIRST???
Social Media It Like Beckham!
LOL
Tweet it like Beckham?
The Duke and Duchess need to realize that yes, they public does fund you and you and the future heir will be of interest to the public. Hell, I am interested in the places my money goes why should they be any different. The more they push the greater the loss of respect from the public.
Yes as a British taxpayer I am very interested in how they spend my tax’s, something that he’s so very desperate to hide. I really really want the press to expose them both for the freeloading hypocrites we all know they are (the Buckets not Harry).
And since she and #normalbill are partly funded by the public, perhaps a bespoke Alexander McQueen coat that looks like five of her other coats isn’t wise?
how could someone know if the Beckham kids are well adjusted? we will see in the next years.
It’s interesting to me that he compares them to celebrities, rather than other young royals. Shouldn’t they being taking their strategy from Vikkan in Sweden? Or Max and W-A?
Obviously W&K think they are celebrities (and seem to think they’ve earned everything they have and therefore should be able to hide away from the public or not work or take half the year as vacation), but they really aren’t. They are public servants. This is the fact I think someone on their staff needs to get through to them.
There is another big difference between the Beckams and the Cambridges, one family is a soccer player and popstar/fashion designer and the other are ROYALTY! There is a should be a different standard of behavior for the two. Im not saying will, Kate and Harry couldn’t be better at this, they could but they should look at other heads of states and public figures in similar roles. To compare them to celebrities makes no sense.
They need to be different, they aren’t pop stars.
I agree. Have we gotten to the point where it’s a given that there must be something desperately wrong with you if you simply don’t want to participate in all things “social media”? That is deeply weird.
I don’t keep up on their twitter account, but based on this article, I think the problem is that they’re doing things half-assed, as usual.
If they’re going to open up an account on social media, then use it like a pro or don’t use it at all.
Agree with that, but I still think it should be do it like this royal person or this head of state not a pop star and soccer player. They live by different rules. I am fine with the royal family saying we don’t want to do this, but if they participate they need to figure out the appropriate way for them in their roles.
I honestly think this is all the result of Will’s deep seated hatred of the paparazzi, tied as they were to his mother’s death. Unless he gets real help for it, I don’t see them warming up to social media at any time in the near future.
Its more than that – he’s sneaky and secretive and wants to force the press to only print positive things about him and his wife, while throwing his brother to the press wolves to make them look good.
To be fair, hasn’t the British royal family been playing that game for about a thousand or so years now? 😉
^ very true but unlike then, we are wise to it and are no afraid to call them out.
It has to be difficult to live your life with a bunch of senior citizens screaming “royalty still matters!” in one ear, while everyone else is shouting “NO IT DOESN’T!” in the other.
I have a feeling that it isn’t primarily about the Diana/paparazzi situation, because if that was so, then William would have ordered Kate not to be showy and she would have obeyed. He wouldn’t have had his family do that very odd, ultra-long pap stroll down up to the church for Charlotte’s christening, not have Mario T. do a personal photo shoot, not do the pap shoot with both babies in front of the hospital, not allow his kids and his wife to invoke the memory of Diana by having his kids be seen dressed the way Diana dressed himself and Harry, not given Kate Diana’s engagement ring, etc.
I agree with you that he does need therapy, but not just about Diana, but a whole lot of things.
I think his real motivation is to control his media image, because he’s hiding how he’s living his life.
Billy needs a shrink ASAP. He truly appears paranoid.
A bit off topic: That thing on her hat looks like Catwoman’s mask. Very witchy look, for some reason. Don’t love.
The problem is that they have a lot to hide. The advance and retreat game they have going with the media comes off as paranoid because the Duke and Duchess may or may not be up to no good. And as such they can’t be as open and genuine in their relationship with the public. It is not just about William’s need to be circumspect owing to his mother’s media-love-hate-relationship.
I agree. The British public have a right to see the Royals and also where their money is going. Until recently, Will and Kate were off the radar for weeks on end. While we often see her shopping, where is Will? Does he still fly for the EAAA or has he become bored with that? I’m not sure sure he’s at home weeding his organic garden. I think he’s spending time locked away with a mistress somewhere while Kate takes the kids and Lupo and high tails it to Buckleberry whenever she can. I also think something smells and it isn’t Kate’s compost heap. They are definitely hiding something. Maybe something to do with Uncle Gary and his shady deals?
I agree they are hiding something – not sure its to do with the Middletons (thou they have a whole load of skeletons they are desperate to hide). He’s the one pushing this and has been for years – there are clearly things that he does away from home and the spotlight that he’s desperate to hide. He doesn’t want people to know that he isn’t actually working at his precious ‘normal job’ and there is something fishy about where his salary for the job is going.
He’s leading some sort of double life and it will come crashing round his ears at some point. I personally feel he will never see the throne – he’ll be forced out of the succession. He’s a walking scandal waiting to happen and considering how tight he is with money and loves taking freebies, my money is on him being involved in some sort of financial scandal.
+1
Like his Uncle Andrew…
Tax subsidies for royals do not convey ownership, nor do they give “plebs” the right to demand that a public figure willfully put their children in danger.
This isn’t 20, or ten years ago (hell…even FIVE), when that day’s pap shots hit the morning rags or popped up on a tabloid website.
Professional-quality equipment is more cheaply available than ever, but that’s irrelevant when you consider that pretty much e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e has a camera on their person. Gone are the days of paps dangling from trees and then shopping the photos. John Q. Public can snap a cellphone picture, or 100, and immediately upload them onto social media.
Immediately, and in real time. That is a very real, very serious security threat. Those kids are destined to become a couple of the most photographed people on the planet, and MILLIONS of Twitter, Instagram, etc. followers will, at any given time, know EXACTLY where they are.
I think I’d be freaking out a little bit too, as a parent.
Yet all other royals manage it. complete with social media presence and in the case of Victoria of Sweden bringing the toddler future Queen to engagements. In the case of Victoria of Sweden, the public has responded by not taking pictures of her children in private time and the frequent use of social media has resulted in a less rapacious need for paps to stalk her family.
The press will back off if you play nice. They won’t photograph or at least use flash photography on one of the Beckham kids because of a health condition. Same with one of the Weesex kids. I also remember the press agreeing go leave William and Harry alone while they were in school.
Still waiting for William to sue for the Museum photos and the latest set from a park (showing a glimpse of the baby’s hat).
True, though I think one could make the argument that worldwide public interest in the Swedish royal family pales significantly in comparison.
It’s happened so many times that, despite all the training and conditioning some people undergo to acclimate them to this lifestyle, they WAY overestimate their actual abilities to handle it.
I’m a big supporter of the “suck it up, buttercup, you get to be a f***ing prince for God’s sake” school of thought. But what trips me up here is the “we OWN you, so you must do what we want RIGHT NOW” argument.
Just like some people struggle with social norms when they’re out and about in the real world (with actual humans….like, actually THERE, roaming around outdoors and stuff) they end up being just as awkward on social media. It seems like you’re either good at it, or you’re not.
Something tells me Diana would have been reeeeeeally good at it.
And this will NEVER work for William and Kate . How many American tabloids even know of Estelle’s existence or care enough to put her on the front page with a made up story . They don’t impregnate Victoria every other week until she’s finally pregnant to claim their magazine got the exclusive .
They willfully walk their children in a giant public park, which cannot possibly secured in any way, and then complain when people take legal photographs of those children in the park.
If it was about security, they would be keeping the kids in secured locations. Ergo is about privacy and secrecy, not security.
It’s isn’t the photos. Of course people have the right to take pictures in obviously public places.
It’s the “OMG OMG the prince and princess are totally in this park, right now, I’M GOING TO FIND THEM!!” nature of how we communicate. If you’re famous “enough,” the immediacy of social media is creating a situation where basically NO location is secure.
The way I look at it, it’s easier from them to come from a place of over caution from the get-go and then relent if/as the situation warrants, than it is to be an open book, invite trouble, and THEN clamp down.
The royal strategy of periodically releasing photos to quell the inevitable interest people have in their “heir and spare” (which we’ve seen can beget obsession disturbingly fast) isn’t really an option anymore. They don’t know what to do because no one’s ever had to do it quite like this before.
I do see your point, KB, but y’know – the BRF uses as good a risk-management service as the world can offer. It judges the Cambridge children are perfectly safe in a public park accompanied by only a nanny and two RPOs. If it wasn’t safe, they wouldn’t be there. You know?
I hear you, and agree it’s a changed world, but I have to agree with NOTA. The prime motivation here just isn’t security.
@ KB
If W&K insist on keeping their royal status as the heirs, then they shouldn’t be making the sighting of their kids as rare as seeing the Easter Bunny. Their overly strict ban on having the kids seen makes seeing them in person even that much more desirable. They’re making themselves more tempting to see.
They should do what Queen Victoria, her husband, and Estelle have been doing. Do things in moderation, instead of being so radical about it.
Also, if, as you say, people are desperately running around in public parks to see G&C, then their security team would have already advised W&K of any security concerns for similar future outings.
Willy’s concern is not security. He knows the statistical risk of harm during non pre-publicized parts of their lives is extremely low. It’s as low as it can go and even lower than the risk of harm coming to you or me taking a kid to the science museum or for a walk in Kensington Park.
Sixer mentioned their security. I’ll fill in some details about that. The taxypayers spending about £100 million per year on 24X7 protection along with division SO14 which has 100 or so full-timers working behind the scenes who are devoted just to the royals. So when Kate takes George to a museum or the farm park, in addition to the 4+ armed RPOs within 10 feet of them, they were driven there by a professional driver in an armored/high speed vehicle, before they arrived a few RPOs were at the site doing a pre-visit security sweep, SO14 was monitoring and analyzing terrorist communications and when they are in the neighborhood local police are on alert.
This is why they have multiple bodyguards and we don’t. It is the price you pay for living in a free society. I bet Russians can’t take pics of Putin, but do you want to be like Russia?
Funny, I took a pic of Putin (or the back of his head). I happened to be in the Kremlin area waiting to get inside the armory (to look at Fabrege Eggs among other things), when he and McCartney came walking by with their bodyguards to get into a car.
Random Thoughts:
I separate pap pictures from pictures taken by a non-pap who sees a royal out and about. Royals should suck it up when it comes to the latter unless the person gets too close or are harassing the royal, and in that case presumably a RPO will intervene.
The paps are not inherently evil but they should operated within boundaries. Prince William is not the first royal to complain about intrusions on his privacy by the media. The Queen, Princess Diana and others have complained and in many of those cases the media has pushed back and pointed out ways that the royals were being unreasonable and/or hypocritical.
Prince William comes about his negativity towards the media honestly, in addition to what happened to his mother, Kate, William (or one of his staffers) and Harry’s voicemails were hacked. It wasn’t just a few voicemails, almost 200 voicemails were intercepted. I think William has “issues” and certainly don’t agree with everything he does but I don’t think he is mentally unbalanced – controlling, indulged, cocksure, self-serving, somewhat manipulative, headstrong but not unbalanced.
The PR misstep that I find the most maddening is the “just you wait” proclamations where we are told to expect great and wonderful things from the Cambridges that at some future point in time.
Prince George has been exposed to the public and vice versa, he is not being unreasonably kept out of public view IMO.
If they’re actually paranoid about security issues for their kids, then why are they allowing Nanny Marie to take the kids out to public parks when they live on a 1,000 acre estate? If they want interaction for their kids, there’d no doubt be parents eager to have their own kids be playmates to G&C.
There’s a photo out by an alleged ‘pleb’ recently of the nanny and the kids with George helping to push the carriage in what seems to be a public park. How is that a sign of paranoia by W&K if they make the situation so easy for anybody to be that close to the kids?
Also, there are other recent photos taken by a pleb of Kate and George outside of a public museum, with Kate looking directly at the photo-taker with a slight smile on her face. Is she not worried about George’s security?
Along with other photos of the kids in public places, like the ones with Carole at the beach and zoo, there seems to be no actual signs of William’s concerns that his kids being in public places is a no-no. I just think it’s about his trying to exert control over the media in order to hide how much of a slacker life he’s living.
…….
Imo, so long as William keeps taking taxpayers’ subsidies to fund his and his immediate family’s ultra-wealthy lifestyle, the taxpayers have a right to know how William is spending the money, especially as he held a very public press conference telling the taxpayers that he isn’t beholden to them in terms of doing full-time royal work.
He used the excuse that he’ll be too busy doing EAAA work, but more and more, it looks like he’s not working that job much either or at all. And how do we know that? Through the media, news and social, the very thing he wants to control and censor.
I’m with you KB. I think they have every right to feel concerned, although I also think they wield that concern like a hammer over us. The public taking photographs aren’t a security concern, nor are pros whose livelihood depends on getting paid for photos; however, I can certainly understand that some situations look fishy. Hiding out to take photographs of small children is creepy at best, and criminal at worst. But by continuing to hide, those scenarios become more likely.
Personally I think they need to decide what they want. Total privacy? They can have it. Come out for engagements and stay behind the (many!) gated estates they have at their disposal the rest of the time. Want to come out and be public? No problem there either, but be prepared for it. They cannot expect that the public who takes photos of every bloody thing, including their dinners, will not take their photographs. That’s ridiculous. (Taking pictures of your dinner AND the expectation of no photography!)
They are who they are and all the moaning and complaining in the world isn’t going to change that.
That’s not actually very fair. You cannot expect children to live their lives behind gates. They also need to interact at times with ordinary people.
A few months after Diana married Charles she was not coping well with the press and the Queen called representatives from various newspapers to Buckingham Palace to ask them to give her some privacy when going about her normal life. She cited the case of Diana not even being able to to go into a shop to buy sweets without being photographed. One of the press there – could have been James Whittaker – said why didn’t she send her detective in for the sweets and the Queen replied it was the most snobbish remark she had ever heard.
William actually does have a right to hate the press. They were partly responsible for the death of his mother and they did hack into his telephone and the telephones of lots of people in the public eye. They even hacked into the phone of a little girl who had been murdered – Millie Dowler – and put the police investigation all wrong.
Everybody, even the glitziest of stars, is entitled to privacy. It is a human right. Remember, too, that whilst Kate to some extent chose her life George and Charlotte, and even William, did not. Also, all talk about the fact that William in the future could abdicate is just sheer rubbish. In more than a thousand years only one British monarch has ever given up the throne. It is his duty to stay there and even if he did give it up he would still be chased.
I saw the words Cambridge and clunky and thought Kate’s worn new shoes on the Mustique express!
“…getting legless is not a prerequisite to a good night out.” Not the best euphemism for ‘shitfaced’, given Harry’s work with people who literally do not have legs.
Though I agree with virtually everything else Sykes wrote.
I wonder why she’s so attached to long hair and wearing it in that particular style. She could really benefit from a more youthful haircut that would flatter her face.
maybe she likes it that way . Ever thought about that ?
William likes it that way. Much like Michelle and Jim Bob. He likes it. And maybe she likes it. That doesn’t mean it’s flattering or at all pretty.
I try to steer away from superficial/vainty based comments, but this is an exception. Her long brown inflated hair only makes her overall look harsh.
I believe she has, given the use of “I wonder” in her comment.
Remember the article, which appeared on this very website, that told us the Queen tells Kate wht shoes she can and cannot wear?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people less suited to the roles they occupy. While William is undoubtedly intelligent and could put on a charm offensive at the drop of a hat, he continues to be an unfocused, self-pitying, angry martyr who does little to hide his sneering disdain of the media and public, and seems downright proud of being grouchy and petulant.
Kate is an empty shell who has floated through life on a moneyed family, a fatuous education and a one-track minded obsession with bagging William to the point where she’s lost any objectivity about what her role should entail. The two of them are so obvious in their unsuitability for, and deliberate rejection of, a meaningful and fully engaged role of giving back that unless they start plugging a whole bunch of holes their ship will sink. I can completely see William abdicating at some point like Edward VIII – not because of “the woman I love” but because neither he nor she can be arsed to do any real work.
Their emotional ages seem much younger than their chronological ages. The longer it goes without any change on their part, the more likely they will be lazy, spoiled and lacking empathy into old age.
If change never comes, you end up with an eighty year-old who is as petulant and difficult as they were at 40 — if not more so, as age sometimes magnifies personality characteristics.
I think William is so full of his own self-importance that there’s little else in him.
I think Kate is a major snob too, just like her mother and grandmother, as well as William.
I think W&K both truly believe their positions mean that they’re here to be served and if made to serve others, such actions should be considered a huge favor by them. I think their laziness and self-indulgence are due to a grandiose sense of entitlement and conceit.
I think they believe the public should consider it a privilege to see them and their kids.
Willnot, unfortunately, will not step aside because he can not WAIT to become Prince of Wales and heir. For once that happens, he gets unlimited access and control of the millions and millions a year from that Duchy money. Then NO one will be able to tell him what to do or how. He will simply act like Willnot + Kannot don’t want to upstage his father the King. Then when Will is King he will claim to “focus on other important Kingly issues” rather than “wasting his time with the daily PR fluff appearances.”
I get the feeling that Will is waiting for the Duchy of Cornwall money to become all his before he drops the other foot. I wish there were some way that that could be stopped but as the eldest son it will be his when his Gramma passes. I also wish that Charles would take a stand and confront these two slackers of their obligations to the public. and cuts them off financially. But I doubt it will ever happen. He could still declare Harry Prince of Wales though which would be fantastic.
@chrissy that’s exactly what I was thinking. There just waiting for that duchy money to kick in, but does need to be change he doesn’t deserve it.
I thought if he resigns, takes himself out of the line or however you want to phrase it, he’d lose all that. He’d no longer be heir to the throne, so no more Prince of Wales. Maybe that’s the Anmer Organics thinking; a hedge against no income! 😉
He could not declare Harry Prince of Wales. It is not in his power.
@ Hudson Girl
@ Chrissy
I think you two are right about William (and Kate, Carole, Pippa, James) waiting very eagerly to get the Duchy money. It’ll be clear sailing after that. I think their spending is going to go through the roof and the Middletons are going to be beneficiaries of that too.
Willy has to be in some part funding the Mids lifestyle – there were rumours that it was him that gave them the money to buy Buckleberry cash down when they initially applied for a mortgage. Either that or Uncle Gary coughed up a few mill. Party Pieces isn’t making them that kind of money.
And as for Kate’s shopping spree’s – i think she’s buying clothes and sharing/giving them to her mother and sister, they were known for sharing clothes with each other during the GF years. She’s out shopping on a weekly basis it seems and we can see it as every time she steps out in public its in a whole new outfit costing thousands of pounds. And yes when they get their hands on the money that comes with the PoW titles – her spending will skyrocket. William not really – he’s known to be tight with money.
This Amner Organics thing could be related to the Duchy – commandeer some of the Duchy farm lands for the new Mid family business, in effect grabbing some of the Duchy Organics business. That way the business chain is already there and working – direct route into Waitrose.
@ Betti
I think you’re onto something there regarding the Middletons, Amner/Duchy Originals, and Waitrose. Whether the perks will be lifelong set jobs or their own products (books/marshmallows/whatever) put under the umbrella of the Duchy brand and forced to be put on the Waitrose shelves or else face the Duchy/William’s wrath, it’s all going to be good for the Middletons.
Iirc, Carole and maybe Pippa too, have shared clothes with Kate even after her marriage. So I wonder what’s happening with all those expensive clothes just sitting in the Amner closet(s) that she’s worn only once or twice?
This thread has some astute insights about the workings of the Cambridges/Midds! I agree with all of you!
Betti, I think you’re on to something with the Anmer Organics — it smells of Carole Middleton. If this is in any way for real, you would need someone driving the effort. Kate, Pippa or James clearly do not have that kind of experience or drive, but their mother does. A way to build a brand and tag it onto the Duchy Originals existing infrastructure and distribution, while waiting for Normal Bill to assume the title and control the enterprise. Ugh.
Agree with the comment except for the statement, “William is undoubtedly intelligent, and could put on a charm offensive at the drop of a hat”.. , The President and the White House staffers didn’t experience that when he came last year..HRH seemed to be making an ass out of himself lecturing Mr. Obama about wildlife conservation which, when HRH was probed deeper for more details, he basically just parroted back what he had been told to memorize.
The media strategy is all William’s ego. He’s been coddled and propped for so long that he actually believes he’s smarter than everyone. He truly believes he’s slick Willie and that he’s pulled the wool over the public’s eye. He’s an idiot. People aren’t stupid. They know what he & Kate are doing with this rash of events. It’s all primer for their vacations and Christmas break. It’s obvious he’s not working anymore with EAAA (and what a relief that probably is for them) because there are no twitter sightings. People know Kate isn’t stuck at home all day every day with the kiddies because she’s seen out shopping or the kids are seen with Maria. It’s a smoke screen that is so very transparent, but William in his great wisdom seems to think is a cloak on their activities.
I don’t begrudge them wanting to protect their kids, but give me a break. When pics are taken and Willie doesn’t say anything or are released when they are having a particularly bad month of press, people will take notice and say…ah ha…it’s the Cambridges using their kids for good press. No one is buying the bull, except those who want to.
If your entire PR strategy consists of how to avoid doing work and still get praise for not doing it, then whatever you do from a publicity standpoint is going to stink.
For all their faults, Charles and Diana still had substance to back up their PR. And apparently it seems Harry does do.
I think of the Beckhams as commodities and brands (which is quite different from Kate and William who are part of an institution), but they also have some kind of substance to back up what they’re doing (who can bend a ball like Beckham?)
Because they’re royal, I don’t think Kate and William really need social media. Even I find the idea of royals on social media a little strange. What they do need to do is start doing something more substantial though — and I don’t think they even need to do THAT much like their parents did. The Cambridges have a certain amount of good-will in their favour, but they keep blowing it.
I think if they were smart about their use of social media, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. They don’t need to use social media for self promotion.
As an example, it was stupid of KP social media to inform the public that WK spent the night at a hotel in Scotland, went on a date night whilst there, and met at St Andrews as a prelude to whatever the day spent in Dundee.
That bit of personal information was irrelevant AND overshadowed whatever it was they were doing in Dundee. There was no follow up highlighting the organisations they met and all the papers talked about was Kate new blue coat.
i think they fundamentally don’t understand how social media can work for them from a professional stand point.
Even the disliked Andrew does a better job with his twitter account than these two.
That story makes me wonder if there is some trouble there. For all their bad press, marital rumours never abound(Celeb Dirty Laundry & Grazia can’t be called press). Why spit that anyways? Usually couples that try-hard the most are the ones most likely heading to Splitsville.*side-eyes Jason*
I think Poor Jason has checked out. He’s put in the time for his exit package and is packing up. And I’m sure William thinks it better to highlight when he’s spending his time with his wife than a charity. In reality he needs to do both more and only highlight 1 publicly.
William, it’s the charity. Highlight a charity.
I agree, LAK. It’s not good when Andrew makes you look bad.
Agree. Their use of media in general and social media in particular is terrible. They could do so much better, make it much more professional feeling with a focus on their charities and then the occasional personal information.
But this kind of personal detail — without any corresponding, more serious content — is ridiculous and just smacks of an amateurish effort. So is Poor Jason not very good at his job, or is he over-ruled by Normal, Know-it-all Bill? Or FLORC, do you think he’s on his way out already? That door spins fast!
These two couples cannot even be compared . The Beckhams work hard to engage fans and to be popular. If they stopped social media and photo ops they would be forgotten rapidly. They must work with the press to ensure that they continue to make money. One wrong move and no one would care about them any more. Royalty on the other hand has a history of people groveling to them not the other way around. Royalty are not celebrities they are born into privilege and feel no need to make you like them. Even if you hate them which subjects have done for thousands of years they don’t care. They are royalty after all and have always felt their subjects are beneath them. Regardless of what Kate and William do they will always be top news – it’s just how it is. The press doesn’t like that as they are used to controlling celebrities with you rub my back I’ll rub yours. Kate and William not so much. So all the bad press to make them behave with articles that they hope will change their behaviour and give the press access to their children etc. But it’s not working because after they are royalty and don’t really care what you think of them
The past 100yrs have given power to the people, so your entire comment doesn’t hold anymore.
100yrs ago royal houses were toppling all over Europe and those that remained realised they had to engage with the people in order to survive. In Britain’s case, George V instituted a very public programme of visible royals doing charity. Some of the more visible annual events involving royals eg Trooping the Colour, The Garter ceremony were made more public and or started to involve Royals to dazzle the public so they forget to remove them.
Every single one of the Queen’s children has stated that the royals depend on public goodwill.
All these very public weddings, births, funerals and whatnot are also another way to dazzle the public such that they forget to remove the royals. A century ago, these events were not public events.
As Diana’s funeral starkly demonstrated, the public holds the power.
Right now, WK have some public goodwill, but it is eroding fast, and if they don’t figure out a way to dazzle the public, the public will remember that the monarchy is an anachronism and will remove them.
The public is way to invested in them to ever remove them. The money alone that comes to the UK because if this family is massive. Even celebrities consider it a huge honor to be invited to see them. They are born thinking they are better then others and royalty in no way believes they owe anyone. If they say that they are just doing it to make the commoners happy. They no longer need their subjects to support them they are massively wealthy in their own right. They really no longer need the people but the people need them. In reality they still hold all the power. That is why the world and press continue to follow after them when Kate and will could not care less. Pretty much makes the press look like fools.
@LAK,
I agree. George V carried out the philosophy espoused by his father Edward VII which served the British Royal Family well during the upheaval that happened in the early 20th century. It mystifies me that this was not actively drummed in William’s head, although I can also believe that his father and grandmother tried subtler measures and William either couldn’t take the hints or felt he knew better.
I think that another factor at play is that William (and Kate) do not like doing bread and butter royal work on an ongoing basis and is taking advantage of being the heir to the heir to pursue other interests.
“Even celebrities consider it a huge honor to be invited to see them. ”
I think celebrities felt impressed to meet Princess Diana, but it doesn’t seem like celebrities really care either way whether they meet Wills and Kate (except for maybe Taylor Swift, who loves all famous people, and Reese Witherspoon, who likes to appear classy).
Susan: the public right now has no appetite for change and that’s what keeps them in place.
I keep referring back to Diana’s death because that is an example of how swiftly the public mood changed from indifference to hostility. And they gave into the public’s desires.
As for money into the UK, i’d really love to see statistics for this often repeated statement because according to all the tourists boards of the UK, people visit Britain for reasons that have nothing to do with the royals. And if they do visit for the royals, it’s royal history they are looking to see, not actual royals. And we can’t boast that we are no 1 at Royal History since Versailles is the most visited royal palace in the world and followed by other European palaces.
That said, you’ve touched upon a point that we, including George V and Prince Charles, can agree upon. Namely, that the people need to be invested in the royals. Not materially, but emotionally.
WK are not playing the investment game, which is their right, but as George V saw, without the public’s emotional investment, royals topple over easily. He saw it in his lifetime, and he tried to instill it in his descendants and it’s kept them on the throne until now.
Going by his PR game of invoking Diana at every turn, nevermind his real, personal feelings about her, William understands the public’s emotional investment in Diana and he is trying to cover his family and himself with it whilst not investing anything of himself or his family for future generations.
The generations that are invested in Diana are getting on and then what will he do?
I don’t know if this would “dazzle” the public?, but is it asking too much from William to have an updated family portrait of the Cambridges? It would be lovely to see George and Charlotte.
@susan, the people certainly don’t need royals – not for tourism or any other reason. France cut the heads off of their royalty and they are doing quite nicely tourism wise. If Britain got rid of royalty, people would still go visit the castles and the Tower of London, etc. Who goes to England and actually expects to see the Queen?? No one, except the deluded few.
I know some folks on this sight think I feel sorry for the Willy and Waity, and I do. That said, don’t you remember how badly Diana wanted to look the other for years with Camilla waiting in the wings,the non- stop cheating, you want to be Queen you put up and shut up,that charade ain’t easy! Camilla has made her bed, she must know the majority of the public are ready to puke when they see her with those huge tiaras, and she definitely knows the crowds are not there. How would it be to stand next to an elderly woman HM almost 90 years, who actually looks younger than you, she has so trashed her skin with to much “sac”, sun,alcohol,ciggys! That said, Willy and Waity’s marriage is on the rocks,this charade of we care so deeply for all of humanity,and see how happy we are won’t last a decade if it last a couple more years,and it has got to be hard as hell!
Why are you making this about Camilla?
And by majority you mean minority? Because she’s beyond accepted with exception to few americans that carry the torch Diana didn’t hold before her passing. She made peace with it and CC and D were on good terms. All 3 were cheaters and broke up marriages of both their own and others. They all put that aside and made peace. Give it up.
And now back to the WK and their PR… It’s a disaster. All involved with exception to WK know this. They’d have to. William needs to laccept he’s terrible at this and take advice from people that make this their profession. Would it be so awful if that means he must work more consistenly for his charities?
He needs to accept his lot in life or step aside. And by lot I mean extremely fortunate and can actually help others with simply a few words. This man is a child.
I’m also wondering WTF Camilla has to do with this post. I swear even Bill is probably more over Camilla than some Dianaloonies railing about her. Jeez.
Ummm….the majority of the public have come to admire Camilla because she WORKS HARD….for a number of worthy charities. She does many public speaking events and charity promotions on her own, she doesn’t need Charles by her side as does Kate who can’t seem to fart without William’s permission.
Camilla has earned her place in the affections of most of the country (there are the minority who cling to the Diana fairytale) and TBH no one would bad an eyelid when she becomes Queen Consort as that would be her right as The Kings wife.
Both Chuck and Cams have turned their image around but it took hard work, a thick skin and putting themselves out there. People responded positively to that.
When did this become an anti-Camilla thread? The only people who dislike Camilla are Diana fanatics. Most people have moved far beyond worrying about things like that. She will be Queen Consort, even if she chooses to go by a lesser title, and for the most part no one will care.
“she has so trashed her skin with to much “sac”, sun,alcohol,ciggys!” Were you writing of Kate Middleton here?
For what it’s worth regarding Camilla…
She spent years being hated with real threats of harm. Not being able to go in public without mobs saying they’d do terrible things to her and her family, kids, and grandchildren. And think what you want of Camilla, but her family had nothing to do with those reasons. More so of her grandchildren.
She laid low, did not use her proper title of PoW, and worked deeply with all her of charities that she was no stranger to.
She’s dedicated and honors her post to her charities. You don’t hae to like her to respect that.
It seems to me people are pissed the Cambridge’s aren’t making themselves and their private life more accessible to the public. Why should they? They aren’t celebrities like the Beckhams.
True. Unlike the Beckhams who support themselves financially, KW are taxpayer supported public property which makes an even stronger argument for transparency and accountability. If they don’t like it, they are more than welcome to decline public funding.
Just because they are funded by the taxpayer(at very little cost per person) doesn’t mean their private life should be open to the public. They make up for that by doing charity work and promoting/representing Britain overseas. Everyone deserves their privacy.
Maggie
The numbers and how it breaks down has been explained here to the point of exhaustion. It’s hardly very little and that number only accounts for a fraction of their true expenses. And “per person” is literally an average. Babies, elderly, homeless that do not pay in are tallied in anyways to make it look less of a burden.
Links stated from official sites both republican and royal state these things.
And no one is saying they can’t have privacy. To claim that’s the foundation is to deflect.
They want blanket privacy no matter where they are unless they choose to be covered. And they can easily find a balance. It’s very much all or nothing from William’s reactions.
Maggie — I don’t think you understand how monarchy works. The monarch’s very body is public property. Births, weddings, and deaths are state events.
I actually agree with maggie on this one. They do deserve a private life. However, they need to get out and earn that taxpayer subsidy too.
Maggie the cost per head figure that is tossed around by royalists is a lie. The correct figure annually is more along the lines of $600 million. Divide that by the number of people who pay taxes and it gets much more expensive.
If they only cost a penny a year per person it wouldn’t matter as the argument remains the same. They live lives of extreme wealth and privilege off the taxpayers in exchange for playing a role and playing it well. They refuse to play the role and mess up the few times they do show up. They are welcome to leave at any time, but they have to leave the wealth and privilege behind. If they stay, they have to do the work.
I don’t care if Billy wants cheese on toast every night. I do care if his mother-in-law has moved into the house (on the Queen’s estate) and is making it for him every night. I do care if we continue to be fed the full-time stay-at-home-mom routine when it is clearly a lie. I do care if we’re told he can’t do royal work because he’s at EAAA, when it looks like he’s left EAAA. I do care if the taxpayers are paying massive extra amounts in security because 1) these two don’t spend much time together and 2) she’s at her mother’s so much the taxpayers funded $1+ million in security upgrades at Middleton Manor.
William had 15 minutes to talk to the President of the United States about animal trafficking. Instead, William CHOSE to make ridiculous small talk about babies. It is possible to be both a public figure AND have a private life. You do your job in public, say a few vanilla platitudes about the kids/house/pets IF ASKED, and move on. Neither Bill nor Kate understands this.
Maggie, no one is suggesting they live with a camera crew in their home (a la the Kardashians). What people expect of William and Kate is completely different than a typical celebrity. They are, as someone else in this thread said, public servants to their country and they do owe some measure of themselves to their subjects.
The Beckhams also did something to become rich and famous. People who know what work is — even if it’s as removed from average life as sports and pop stardom — are going to approach things in a different way from people who have had everything in life handed to them on a platter since the day they were born. Of course Will’s a clueless, entitled, lazy snob. And Kate was raised to catch him.
Kate was raised to catch William? I gotta chuckle at that one. She must love him otherwise why would anyone want that life? She’s taken on a lifelong obligation to be a servant of the British people. I think people should at the very least allow William and Kate time to raise their children before taking on more responsibility.
They are welcome to both be full-time stay-at-home-parents — if they pay their own way. As long as they keep accepting full-time royal perks, including massive security for every time they get a whim to go shopping AND a massive PR staff to cover their bums, they have to do the full-time royal work.
I’ve explained it before. They are the junior partners of a Family Firm. All the other members of the FF have worked hard and put in their time while raising children. Now the majority of employees at the FF are long past retirement age. They cannot retire, however, because the Junior Partners are too busy being spendthrift with the money and “emotional capital” of the FF.
W&K have the lifestyle they have because a dozen other members of the Firm have worked hard for decades. Now it is time for the youngest members of the Family Firm to do their fair share and let the others take a rest. And gee, that will involve these mid-thirties parents working, oh, 10 hours a week each while the two nannies are at home with the kids.
Cry me the river Thames.
Maggie, what do you think she was doing throughout her entire 20s? She certainly wasn’t working. She and her mother were planning on how she would “get” him. Makes me kind of sick, to see such manipulation.
Nota
Stop that with your reason and logic! It’s tough to argue against that over extremes like they are not entitled to privacy. Who’s saying they can’t have privacy? They though are acting like there’s no balance. And cannot be seen until they are the focus. Not promoting a cause.
The Beckhams do have privacy for private things. And then they work a lot and are pictured a lot.
William wants privacy + no pictures forever and always. That is not how it goes.
The Queen was 26 when she took the throne. Will is well past 30 and hasn’t done a fraction of what Elizabeth had done even in her teens. And I don’t buy this need to spend time with the kids crap. The Wessexes have two young children yet they both do 3 times as many appearances as the Camridges Even though they are essentially minor royals.
It’s pretty hard to have a stellar PR program, when the person in charge of that has to somehow compose a story around two idiots.
He has a full plate, that is for sure. I find it both humorous and surprising that they were ever self-aware enough to approve hiring a PR person known for crisis handling.
Kate likes taking pictures, right? Here, very simple yet effective strategy- get a Twitter.
Mostly: pictures of stuff to support your charities (That EACH bracelet and mug, pictures from inside the National Portrait Gallery, her scouts scarf, etc. ) and maybe candid ‘personal snapshots’ from when they do events. Aw, she’s fixing his bow tie, etc. Work stuff.
Sometimes: Lupo, and maybe some shots of cool stuff around KP/BP? Cute and interesting stuff. There’s so much in those museums and gardens that the average person (me) has no idea what exists in there, and will probably never see any of it.
Rarely, but tastefully, shots of the kids. What people really want to see and are waiting for. Tiara selfies? too much? Regardless, something that would humanize her a bit, allow her to show some personality/interests, and showcase her charities in a modern, social-media friendly context. If anything she touches sells out, use that power for some good.
I’d follow it. Just sayin.
That’s a great idea.
I like it. I’d follow that. But it requires a bit of effort on Kate’s part.
Really good idea. And it doesn’t require speeches or appearances, so hopefully she would feel more comfortable with it.
Agree 10000 percent. They act like this privacy issue is all or nothing. If they just put out say, ten hours a week of effort, as previously noted…I think the majority of the public would be satisfied.
As someone that is aging prematurely in their mid-30’s, I emphasize. However, JH christ! Maybe a little fat could aid that transition. It almost appears as though any excess facial fat adds to the aging effect.
Ugh, the Beckhams and their relentless fakery and child exploitation are the absolute last people anyone should be taking PR tips from.
“[M]aybe they don’t inspire loyalty, you know?” Oh, I very definitely do know. They don’t believe it’s *their* problem, that much is clear. It’s everyone else that’s the problem. They’re incredibly boring as celebrity-royals, to boot.
I’ve really had enough of these people and would give anything if they went away for good. They seem truly awful.
In other royal news, Their Majesties King Jigme Khesar and Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan are expecting their first child, a son, in early 2016.
To be completely shallow, that will be one gorgeous baby.
I don’t know if anyone will see this since it’s so late, but I just finished reading all of the comments and have a question. I realize that no one has a crystal ball but there are so many intelligent and knowledgeable commenters here that I would like to hear your educated guesses!
So let’s say the majority here is right, and WK are biding their time for the Duchy $$$. And for argument’s sake, the Queen and Charles and everyone else involved knows it and are very worried and upset but nobody wants to alienate petulant William, especially now that he has children. Do we think that anything can be done?
I know that HM loves her grandson, but this must absolutely eat away at her, thinking about what could happen after she passes. What I wonder is if she or Charles will risk angering him, because at this point it seems that issuing an ultimatum might be the only way to get William to budge or lift a finger. The Queen might need to risk being estranged from him and his family when she passes away, but on the other hand, she would go knowing that she tried to do everything she possibly could to sustain her legacy and keep the BRF relevant and intact for decades to come.
Charles is in a tougher spot since he (ostensibly) has many more years left in which to have a relationship with his son and grandchildren. But could he watch William trash everything he’s worked his entire life for over it? I guess I’m just curious if you (NOTA, Anne, FLORC, and I know I’m forgetting a few!) think anything will or could actually be done before it’s too late.