Ingrid Seward is a prominent royal writer, biographer and editor in the UK. She’s often called in by American publications to explain royal traditions or provide sugary quotes about the greatness of the Queen, the Prince of Wales or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Like, People Magazine interviews her all the time and often throws in some of her quotes in pieces about the Cambridges. She’s known as a more conservative and pro-monarchy royal writer. So this is sort of amazing – Ingrid Seward wrote a column in the Mail on Sunday about the Cambridges’ janky media strategy and just what a boneheaded idea it was for Kate to skip out on the Irish Guards on St. Patrick’s Day. If even Seward feels bold enough to issue a public smackdown, you know there are issues. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
Missing out on the Irish Guards ceremony on St. Patrick’s Day: “So unthinking were her advisers in Kensington Palace that when a row about her absence erupted they replied that she’d simply gone home to Norfolk to be with her children. For Kate to miss an opportunity to honour the Armed Forces with such a lame excuse shows a distinct lack of understanding. If she wants to be thought of as a modern princess who will go the extra mile for the brave soldiers she represents through her charities, she should have been there at their new barracks at Hounslow, not at home in Anmer Hall. It somehow made the covenant between Royals and the military look as if it didn’t matter.”
Seward blames bad advisors: “The Duchess’s advisers should have stopped to think how pitiful an excuse it looked to soldiers who have been divided from their families for months on operational tours since British Forces became engaged in the War on Terror in 2003. But they clearly did not. Sadly, for William and Kate, who could do no wrong at the time of their marriage in April 2011, it’s another unnecessary mistake.”
William gets slammed too: “Last month the Duke failed to show up at the Baftas for the second year running. He is the Academy’s president, so it’s as if the cream of British cinema and a clutch of Hollywood A-listers had been stood up by their host. Again….Prince William said recently that the growing criticism of himself and his wife ‘came with the territory’. But it doesn’t have to. If he did not appear to be chafing quite so much at his Royal responsibilities and was more accepting of the affection on offer from the millions who will one day be his subjects, he could be forgiven a lot.”
Instead of being friendly to British media, William is courting foreign media: “Prince William seems to be impervious to this idea. Instead he has begun to groom foreign media who give him the same platitudinous message that they give various celebrities. While holding the British press at arm’s length, the younger members of the Royal Family are giving cuddly, banal interviews to favoured publications and American TV networks.”
Surrounded by privilege: “When William and Kate first married they insisted they didn’t want to be hidden in the ivory tower of royalty. They wanted to be with the people doing what they did, not surrounded by riches and privilege. Now they are doing just that. Of course they will one day be anointed King and Queen, and they will need their people behind them. Courting favour overseas won’t work and nor will ignoring public opinion at home.”
The spoiled couple: “They may have been thrilled by their own cleverness at having a secret four-day ski break in Courchevel earlier this month but where they see an entitlement to privacy, the public see a rich, increasingly spoiled couple growing surprisingly distant.”
The rest of Seward’s piece is a comparison of the Cambridges to the older royals, with Seward even saying that the Duchess of Cornwall understands the royal role so much better than William and Kate. Charles gets compliments as well for always putting duty first, for working so hard, etc. As I said, if someone like Seward is throwing down some heavy criticism of William and Kate, you know it’s bad. You know what I’m starting to wonder? I’m quietly developing a theory that all of this criticism might work in William’s favor in one particular way – he’ll use this as an excuse to quit his part-time EAAA job, which clearly already bores him to tears. He’ll say he has to quit the EAAA because something something criticism and his royal role. Then he’ll be on to a new scheme to avoid royal work.
Oh, and the Sunday Express ran an interesting piece about Kate skipping out on the Irish Guards too – go here to read. Apparently, Kensington Palace is now claiming that they informed the Irish Guards “months” ago that Kate would not be handing out shamrocks this year. And somehow she knew months ago that she would need that day to prioritize her children? It’s a weird explanation.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
Clearly William and Catherine support Great Britain becoming a republic.
This is a watershed piece. Ingrid Seward would no sooner write an article that the Queen disapproved of than spit in the Queen’s face. If Seward is calling W and K out, the situation isn’t just bad, its catastrophic.
Exactly this..Seward is the Grand Dame of Monarchists in the Media,gushing at every opportunity and to point out these boys have children too and could die tomorrow puts her rightfully in the firing line…
Maybe the Queen is behind this as a way to shame them into working more?
Maybe Ingrid is seeing the logic and long-term beneficial nature of a King Harry.
I’m not British and have no strong feelings about these two. I thought they came across quite genuinely at the time of their wedding but always took Kate to be the type of rich girl who probably wouldn’t have worked even if she just married a regular rich guy. Given the recent uproar though, I can only come to the conclusion that they just don’t care about PR or public opinion. There is no rational explanation for not doing the St Patrick’s Day engagement in the face of such scrutiny. I mean if they are the lazy, workshy individuals they are coming off as, you would at least thing an effort would be made to stem the tide of public opinion even if it was fake. I heard some apologists saying George must have had an event at nursery. On the remote chance that this is true I can understand it not being announced in advance but would suggest the Palace release a photo of that nursery every quick smart.
That was about the fifth down the line in excuses, after the press had already been told it was because she didn’t want the annual expectation of showing up. Of course, a daycare filled with English 2-year-olds would be having a huge not-to-be-missed pageant about the patron saint of Ireland.
He’s said to be three days a week, likely MWF, so wouldn’t have been there Thursday anyway. If he was, I think he can eat his green cookie without mummy’s help while she was at work.
MWF is most commonly known as “Married White Female” – in what context are you referring to it as?
Pretty sure nota meant Monday-Wednesday-Friday. A common abbreviation, at least in education!
You’re 100% right!
I agree. It should be SO easy to spin any of this into good PR. She could have said one of the kids is sick, or that she wants to attend an event at the school to push the “hands-on mom bringing up normal kids” schtick. Then she (or PR Jason) should be posting tons of cute family “behind the scenes” pics to an instagram or Twitter to back it up. Easy. They just don’t care.
The thing is, they knew about the shamrock ceremony massively ahead of time, and it’s a small private Montessori that won’t be able to believe their own luck in having Prince George attend – they will be oversubscribed for years to come. If they were asked to postpone an event’s date, or even time, when any special deal at the nursery was mooted, then they would, almost certainly.
And working parents up and down the country miss most special things that aren’t on the level of a Nativity or main annual play or sports day. Because they work.
What? A royal couple that is spoiled, out of touch, and overly privileged? What a shock!
Seriously though what do people expect? Royalty is such bologna in the modern world. Just because he was born a royal he’s supposed to rise above the overwhelming privilege and spoiled lifestyle that is laid before him? People expect too much. It’s a continuation of the idea that this family is somehow special, to expect better from him. He’s just a man of average intelligence and temper who took a wife, he’s nothing special.
“What? A royal couple that is spoiled, out of touch, and overly privileged? What a shock! ”
No kidding. This is the norm for royalty. Though I do disagree with your comment in one way: I think William is below average intelligence and seriously below average temperament. A man of average intelligence would realize just how good he had it, and a man of average temperament wouldn’t be such a spoiled baby.
But of course, intelligence and temperament don’t matter in royalty any more than actually doing work does. All that matters is that a long time ago, you had ancestors who were nasty enough to get and keep a crown, and then that crown tumbled on your head through accidents of birth and death.
I think it’s incorrect to equate intelligence with compassion & gratitude. There are plenty of people who are highly intelligent & who are less than virtuous. This is a matter of character. Perhaps he has a chip on his shoulder about everything to do with his mother, & it drives him to behave with disdain. He was still not an adult when she was killed. Some part of him emotionally is probably stuck at that age. Horrendous trauma will do that.
@Azurea
William was 15 when his mom died. Not a child but a young adult. Harry was 12 and yet he turned out soooooo much more mature and not angsty.
William is Very passive aggressive just like his Mom.
I don’t agree, Lisa. 15 is not a young adult. The human brain continues to develop until age 25. 15 is not a child the way an 8 or even a 12-yr-old is, but there’s still a lot of growing & maturing to do. Development in various areas of personality & functioning is fluid, not a fixed rate, & varies from person to person. Losing a parent insuch a traumatic way, especially in the public eye, could be extremely damaging still at that age, & this could cause arrested development emotionally.
Yes, Azurea, if you review video footage of when William, Harry and Charles did a little walkabout when they arrived back from Balmoral before Diana’s funeral, a female from the crowd calls William over to accept flowers. William approaches and smiles quite a bit I thought. And the smile is sincere, genuine. The impact of his mother’s death hasn’t quite sunk in at that point.
As William grew older, I never saw such a genuine smile from him again. Not even on his wedding day. Sad.
It’s shocking in this day and age where everyone agrees that monarchy is an anachronism. Except for william who without irony thinks of himself as a prince before anything else.
And as Emily says, he is of below average intelligence despite the university education.
“Princess of the United Kingdom” on the birth certificate – my favourite thing Bill has ever said or written. The lack of self-reflection is… spectacular.
@Sixer, totally off-topic here, although maybe not, given “Princess of the United Kingdom,” but “Boaty McBoatface” is getting news coverage on local radio stations in Boston this morning.
Yay for Boaty McBoatface!
I do think there are some things that Britons excel at and taking joy in the ridiculous and in subverting pomposity is one of them!
Hmm really? Maybe below average for university educated? Do you think he didn’t have to actually learn anything and it was all for show? What about all those people who eat junk food and watch reality TV? There must be a lot of stupid people around based on how much junk food is in stores these days.. And who keeps in business those corner stores that sell smokes and lottery tickets and way overpriced everything else? Nit picking but no I doubt he’s below average
I <3 Boaty McBoatface, too! Although, I felt like a more British name would be Benedict Cumberboat…
I don’t know if William is below average intelligence, but I definitely think he’s dumber than his parents ever were. They obviously had other faults, which got played out in the media, but I don’t think either, once they got married, were foolish enough to come across as lazy to the public. Diana made fun of herself for being as “thick as plank” because of her lack of academic qualifications, but her ability to read a situation and people’s emotions were strong — I guess you might call that emotional intelligence. I don’t think William has any of that. I think Charles, as far as his charities goes, has a strong work ethic with respect to that, even if he has some kind assistant to put his toilet seat up for him. William didn’t get the work ethic with respect to charities either. I think Charles also seems to have multi-dimensional interests (i.e the environment, architecture, etc.) One might disagree with him on his personal views or whatever else, but I wouldn’t say he has no interests at all. Who knows what William is interested, besides maybe polo.
Fiorella, i don’t have to wonder if he is of below average intelligence, he demonstrates it with his actions and interviews.
Further, my dig about his degree is specific to him, not the population since he has often bragged about it when he is pointing out how unintelligent his own brother is.
And given his record, not to mention afew indiscreet professors and students, it’s been strongly suggested that his degree was a fait a accompli, no matter his actual grades or student effort.
Btw: he is not the first royal to attend university without having achieved the required grades nor is he the first to be granted a degree that is more about flattering his ego than his actual grades – see Charles and Edward.
Can someone explain the “Princess of the United Kingdom” incident?
@Touch Cookie In their children’s birth certificates, William filled out his profession as ‘Prince of the United Kingdom’ (not the pilot job!!) and for Kate he listed her “profession” (lol) as The Princess of the United Kingdom!!!
I think he’s as thick as two short planks.
Boaty McBoatface is on the CBC here in Canada – love it!
Most of the rest of the taxpayer-funded royals are smart enough to play the game. They know they have to try to earn the ridiculous lifestyle through service. If W&K aren’t going to play that game, but keep accepting the lifestyle, they and the kids need to be removed from the line.
William doesn’t get to decide to end the monarchy, it is the decision of the people. There are monarchists who value the impartial role the monarch is supposed to play BUT do not want William in that role. Just like with Uncle David, the government and the people can eventually decide to remove William and his line. Sooner rather than later would be best.
I agree with you, nota. William thinks he’s so important that his actions override the monarchy but with it’s long history it is far more important than him. William and line should be sacrificed to save the monarchy despite what Willnot (or Carole) thinks. The Doolittles are in for a very rude awakening if he doesn’t change his attitude and ways.
Charles and Diana were probably spoiled in their private lives, but they still did the charity work they were required to do. They laid a good example in that regard. Why none of that has rubbed of William I can’t figure out. That’s probably why Camilla has an understanding of her role — Charles probably let her know that doing nothing in public looks bad.
Honestly, Kate and Wills are pretty weird by modern day royal standards. Obviously, they’d be considered fine people if you compare them to Henry VIII, but we no longer live in that kind of age. The work Kate and Wills have to do isn’t even hard — it’s not like Kate or Wills is expected to walk through a land-mine like Diana did. All they have to do is hand out shamrocks or hang with Kate Winslet at the BAFTAs – I wouldn’t mind doing that.
I don’t know if I even necessarily care that Kate and Wills are lazy. Fine, if that’s the way you want to be, sure, have at it. BUT the expectation and entitlement from them that they must get great press for being lazy is definitely baffling to me.
Considering the low opinion the public had of Charles, and by extension Camilla, C&C had no option but to work hard from the get go. Also, their ages might have something to do with it. They were middle-aged and knew the power of the public sentiment and the press. William should have learned this as well by now but with a doormat wife refusing to question him, being coddled hos whole life and with the resulting stubborn entitlement issue, it never ingrained itself in the Doolittles.
I think Camilla definitely had to work hard once she married.
However, I think Charles had been a hard worker in terms of his charities even throughout his marriage to Diana. Diana got more press, but I really don’t think Charles was ever perceived as lazy. A cheater, yes. A crappy husband, yes. A dude who loved a rottweiller, yes. But not lazy. When he was married to Diana he was asked about doing charity work — the interview is somewhere up on Youtube and at that point I think he was in his mid-30s — and he noted that the Prince of Wales job doesn’t come up with pre-set criteria and that one could probably do nothing if one wanted, but he didn’t want to live that way and wanted to be of service to the people (or something to that effect). I don’t think it took decades and decades for Charles to figure out he had to do his charity work. With Youtube around to show old footage, interviews, and documentaries, I think it’s easier to see the differences between Charles and Diana and William and Kate, even if some of us were really small kids when Charles and Diana were an actual thing in the public’s eye.
In old interviews before their marriage went down the tubes, Charles and Diana also come across as more articulate. I’m not surprised Charles was since he’s always been described as perpetual senior citizen in a younger man’s body, but Diana was also way more articulate at 20 than her son is now at 34. She was supposed to be the dumb Spencer, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from looking at old footage. Her articulate manner of speaking surprised me. I think all of these memories would ordinarily fade from public view, but now that Youtube is around it’s probably easier to make comparisons.
Charles has always been a hard worker. Nothing changed with either marriage, he has always been a hard worker.
Yesterday, I listened to portions of the ‘secret’ audio tapes, which consist of Diana talking to a male friend. I agree that Diana seemed far more articulate than either W or K, and she was several years younger at the time.
Does anyone think young Wills took to heart his uncle’s speech at Diana’s funeral (which basically slammed the BRF)?
Well said! The idea that there is anything extraordinary about the Cambridges but their wealth is ridiculous. The idea that they will one day rule a modern nation (it’s still good to be King of England) is outrageous.
I doubt it will do any good, but I’m glad Seward was honest.
Still waiting for the other shoe to drop, wherever that may be. I’m still waiting to discover what happened or what is going to happen that made the gloves come off. I can’t believe that it was just one thing. Like “The Letter”. Or the HuffPo guest edit. I mean, I don’t think this criticism will stop anytime soon. If Seward’s going in on them! And she did go in, “A few hours of Kate’s time to present shamrocks is just a small one compared to the ultimate sacrifice which remains a reality for the military men she let down on St Patrick’s Day.” https://m.popkey.co/6bee24/6GJWk.gif It’s just too far gone and too widespread. Is this just accumulative? Because I feel like it should’ve accumulated a year or two ago. Is QEII abdicating in April, (gonna’ fly into the sunset off the B.P. balcony on a flying pig)? Did William and Kate do something that we don’t know about? Or, is it The Grey Men (and ostensibly HM and POW), who had enough and put up the bat signal. If they did, and I like that theory, *pats herself on the back*, it illustrates three things. 1) That dealing with The DoLittles bts must be IMMMM-possible. 2) How worried The Firm is about Bill and Bucket. And 3) That William and Kate still aren’t getting it! They really seem completely and utterly oblivious to all of this. Nothing has changed over the past few months. They’re not putting a toe better. In fact, though I was going to say they’re doing the same BS they do every year, they actually aren’t. They seem to be counting on racking up engagement numbers with their upcoming trips. So they’re really not giving a damn at the moment. They’re actually performing a little worse than usual. William blowing off the BAFTA’s and the K.P. palace party was just a bit different this time, because he didn’t even bother with excuses. Same goes for this Irish Guard episode. That’s a new “F”-up from Kate. Followed by her only staying 35 minutes at her next appearance. You’d think Kate (and her team) would know that all eyes would be on her at that engagement so she should’ve turned it out and Duchessed better than he usual less-than-mediocre Duchessing, (the best thing she did was not show up in another $4,000 ensemble). Year in, year out, The DoLittle’s keep acting like it’s 2011. Like we’re still honeymooning and the press is still covering for them. They’re not course correcting AT ALL, in any substantial way. I mean, I guess the ski photos were supposed to be a PR band-aid… LMFAO. Misguided, mishandled, cynical, trite, minimal effort=Typical. They either truly suck at this or genuinely don’t care. The BRF better hope for the latter. But I’ve always suspected that it’s a nasty combination of the two. Ignorance and insolence. There’s no cure for stupid. And no hope for stupid and stubborn. You can only aim to hide it. But that won’t work if they believe they’re entitled to do what they please, AND refuse help, AND don’t see that they need help because they’re so isolated, conceited and coddled! None of this should be surprising really, when Kate practically said that she didn’t care what others think in the engagement interview and William boasts about not taking advice from others… Whatta pair. Nothing will do any good here.
There are 3 simple reasons why Kate skipped Irish Guards this year. 1. She wanted to get her hair done and 2. Other than tours, Kate does not work more than 2 days in a row. 3. She also doesn’t do full work days i.e. Irish Guards + hair color + commute home to Anmer is too much ‘work’ in a single day.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
Some speculated she might go shopping, yet photos suggest one of her multi-hour hair sessions was on the agenda for that day.
I’m not sure that rescuing puppies and kittens from a roadside would help their image now.
LOL, rescuing puppies is a celebrity strategy that I’m certain they will do if they get that desperate.
But I politely disagree that their image is beyond rescue because majority of Brits love their royal family as evidenced by how well they do in regular polling and that their Republican movement has no traction. And that is why I think they can easily rescue their image by working just a little more.
I’m really shocked none of the press has pointed out the difference in her hair between Wednesday and Friday, even though it’s plainly obvious and many commenters on multiple websites are mentioning it.
You might be right with the excuse to stop the EAAA job. Really curious to see the kind of scheme he will come up next to avoid working.
And I chuckled at the “Kate being thought of as a modern princess” bit.
There is nothing even remotely modern about Kate. She should look to Victoria of Sweden for some lessons not only concerning work ethics, but also concerning preparation of your kid growing up in the public eye. Estelle seems like an absolute sweetheart and really well-adjusted and comfortable when confronted with the media.
i wonder where Charles and the BRF went wrong bringing up William. Harry seems fine.
the Swedish RF as you mentioned brought up three children who work hard and choose good spouses (Victoria’s Daniel who is a solid consort; Madeleine’s Chris the dependable and principled husband; Carl-Phillipe with a wife perhaps has a colorful past but has comported herself extremely well from the get-go; while Kate supposedly have all the right background stumbled at the starting block and has been stumbling ever since).
similarly the Norwegian Crown Prince Hakoon, whose wife seemed to be unsuitable at first has now blossomed into their public role.
similarly the Queen of Demark’s two sons married Very Hard Working Ladies, even Jokke managed to find Two such wives!
or Queen Beatrix’s three sons who work hard and found three successful hardworking wives.
these are all success stories of William’s contemporary. what happened to William?
every single spouse who has gotten married around the same time as William has found niches for themselves (even those married after William and Kate, like Carl Phillipe and Sofie). meanwhile we are still hearing Kate is Still Learning. how long a probation do you need? if this is an ordinary company, the boot and door will be shown much sooner than 5 years!!
Sometimes it just down to personality. William and Harry are very dissimilar and it appears Harry was able to find inspiration in his mother’s life to propel him into a successful philanthropic career where William has only used the excuse of his mother’s untimely death assumably by paparazzi to fuel every lazy tendency he has.
Whomever stated that Kate would have been lazy regardless of who she married is not wrong. I agree with everyone who says that William married her because she would be, not only compliant, but complicit in his schemes to be petulant and spoiled.
HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales really ought to start tightening the royal screws to these two. W+K seem intent on running the BRF into the ground with no understand that their high flying lifestyle won’t last long in the aftermath.
Kate’s only job in her life was to wait 9 years around to marry, did anyone expected that after snatching the prince she would actually work? And who are they advisors? Carole? Who would lick William’s feet if he asked?
Agree with Kate on the personality thing. Had a discussion with friends about people who couldn’t overcome their upbringings. The ones who succeeded had the personalities to do so. At least that was our conclusion. Must work in reverse!
Good point, Kate. My mother died suddenly when I was young. My sister (12 years older than I am) still uses it as a crutch, twenty five years later.
My mother didn’t raise us to wallow in our own misery. Some children get the message and live what they were taught, some just want to be coddled their whole lives.
I think William and Harry are very different personality-wise, but it’s still a little weird to me how William seems to have inherited zero of his parents’ strengths. You’d think he might have inherited a little of something. Charles and Diana had weaknesses too, but I don’t think their weaknesses were the same as William’s. Most of their weaknesses seemed to revolved around their incompatibility with each other and disdain for the other — since William got what he wanted in who he married, he should be thriving more! Even his face is starting to look worse than Charles’s at that same age…
I think even Andrea Casiraghi, even with the drugs and clubbing, is better at being a royal. A grad school classmate met him when he did a tour of the Philippines and said he was quite genuine with the children when they visited the government facilities that housed many street children. Admittedly, there hasn’t been much about any of his charitable work in recent years but back in the day, he was quite good at interacting with poor children from third world countries.
Lazy. Entitled. Short-sighted. Dull-witted. Poorly informed. Ill-advised. Narcissistic.
And that’s just off the top of my head.
Kate is really not aging well.
Probably could use another vacation.
yeah, the phrase ‘rough as a bear’s ar*e’ came to mind when i saw the last pic….
I read that she got Botox in her forehead and between her eyebrows since that appearance in the red gingham dress.
I’m stunned at how old she looks.
Me too. I don’t usually pay close attention to someone’s looks, but this is really visible. She looks 45 or more.
Isn’t she a smoker? That’ll do it. Ages you right up.
Remember when people were flipping out about that official portrait a few years back and the artist got a ton of flak for it?
She tanned, smoked, and partied a lot in her teens/20s and she’s lost a lot of weight in the past few years – that’s bound to accelerate the aging process.
@ohdear yes i remember that fuss- bet she wished she looked like that now…..how does someone who lives such a pampered life-on the taxpayers dime- look so haggard?!
I thought the same. I’ll be 50 next month and I look much younger than she. Yikes.
I don’t remember her exact age but she looks like a hard 45.
This. Smoking and dieting hard have aged her. If she quit the smokes and had a sandwich once in a while it would soften her looks quite a bit. As my dear hubby would say She looks like she been rode hard and put away …..
The Irish ceremony would have been several hours. Visiting the EACH charity shop was 35 minutes. I honestly think she doesn’t want to do any events that are over an hour. It didn’t matter she was snubbing soldiers, she doesn’t want to put a fake smile on anymore.
The average length of time Kate spends at an event is 45mins MAX. The EACH one was 35mins. Engagements that last over an hour are few and far between, however the closer she gets to the throne the more common these types of engagements are: i.e. regular medal ceremonies with the armed forces, trooping the colour, diplomatic reception, state visits etc… If she doesn’t like the very few long engagements now then how will she cope with the ones that a 90yr old does EVERY YEAR!
She spent over two hours visiting the Downton Abbey set, plus travel time on top of that.
Didn’t she extend her time meeting with A. Jolie as well?
Technically, I think that was a “private” event and not counted on the Court Circular.
You can actually feel the ‘tipping point’ happening with these two. They had overwhelming goodwill from the public internationally at the time of their engagement and wedding… but how dramatically that has changed in a few short years. I can only think they are Will(fully) stubborn, because they can’t really be so stupid and entitled to think they can ignore sinking public opinion? Because once they are sunk, they won’t be brought up again, no matter how many kids she pops out.
Yeah…this is a long string of bad publicity.
The part about courting foreign press and being more of a celebrity is interesting.
Maybe they simply do not care anymore and think they will be internationally famous, no matter what pans out with the BRF. I personally think they are dimwits, but maybe the end goal is to be lazy grifters?
Would it not be amazing to hold interviews for their positions (Duke on Duchess of Cambridge) – since they don’t appear to want the job? Like just invite the ‘common’ people of the UK to audition for their jobs? And then award their jobs (complete with lifestyle and perks) to whomever displays the most passion, compassion and dedication to the job. The person(s) who would best represent who the people of the UK actually are, with respect, dignity and hard work might look very different than Wills and Katie.
Someone with better satirical writing skills than me please do a mock-up of an ad to the effect of:
Maximum pay and perks for minimum hours worked, etc , etc. Perks include heli rides, ski and tropical vacations, front seats at Wimbledon, etc etc.
We need Liberty to write us a piece about this issue – she would kill it!
Oh man!!!! They are living my dream life, so it’s hard to see them just throw it all down the drain because they are lazy entitled assholes.
Can you imagine? Wearing beautiful clothes all the time? Servants to serve you? Living in legit castles? In the bucolic and beautiful English countryside? And all you have to do is pick a charity cause that thrills you and show up for public engagements? I would do as many charity events as they wanted me to, a full 40, 50 , 60+ hour week, and then some, just to have that life.
JOB POSTINGS:
Position: Duke of Cambridge, Knight of the Garter (KG), Counsellor of State, Knight of the Order of the Thistle (KT)
Position: Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn (Scotland), Lady Carrickfergus (Ireland)
JOB DESCRIPTIONS:
(Note: As both positions are similar, the two job descriptions will be combined into one)
• Do as little work as possible in order to 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 to helping strengthen national unity and stability.
• Bail on any event which recognizes and supports the work of the Armed Services despite the fact you have official relationships with many units of the Forces and should be paying regular visits to soldiers, sailors and airmen serving at home and abroad.
• Pay lip service only to the important role you have in supporting and encouraging the public and charity sectors, even though you are patrons or presidents of said charities.
• Repeatedly take on “work” like normal people such as helicopter rescue pilot, releasing inordinate amounts of detail to the media, then quietly go back to faffing around the English countryside with like-minded rich twits or taking extended holidays to loll around in the sun or kill animals.
• Spend inordinate amounts of time in personal maintenance – work-outs, blow-outs, shop-outs – in order to present a fresh, Photoshopped and airbrushed appearance for the 35 minutes a week that you actually work (specific to Ms. Bucket).
• Regularly brush off media, senior representatives of organizations you represent and scheduled appearances to….ummm….do something. Children, yes – to look after your children.
• Regularly piss off your PR people by totally ignoring advice, direction and media planning that would actually build, maintain and manage the reputation of the incumbent(s) and create a positive reputation in the British Royal Family.
She is SURELY going to get pregnant again now. Babies fix everything. It will be soon, this year. I am only unsure of the timing.
I’m thinking they start trying while they are in India? Because it may take a month or so, which is time they don’t have to change the tide of opinion. They will make sure the fact of her pregnancy gets out to press and the sugars early on.
– So, I say announcement early June because of Morning Sickness.
Place your bets!!!!!
The world may have been captivated with Kate when she first became engaged to William, but people like us who follow celebrity and royal gossip saw right through Kate long before the wedding. She waited around for a decade without any real career or desire to do more with her life such as get an advanced degree or volunteer long-term with a charity. All she did during those years of waiting for a ring was play around with photography, work short-term for her parents’ company, and vacation practically non-stop. It is no wonder that she is now unable to work for a few hours for several consecutive days. As for William, let’s just say that his choice of spouse says a lot about himself, especially for a man who was in the position to marry a woman with more intelligence, ambition, and interest in social issues. He has now shown the world that he really did marry his equal. If he were more intelligent or interested in using his role as a Royal to make a difference in the world, he would have married a woman of substance with at least a modicum of interest in a charitable cause.
+1. The proof was in the pudding with this one from the beginning. I agree it says a lot about both Kate and William. Kate was willing to be a do-nothing doormat for several years. And that suited William just fine. Kate faffed about with hazy notions of “starting a children’s clothing line” or “photography” for over 5 years after graduating St. Andrews. So no big surprise that she’s not a real go-getter now either.
Part of the reason I am such a stan for Queen Maxima is that she comes across as a grown-ass woman who can handle solo tours to tough places (like Pakistan), raise her kids, and do justice to her role. Sure sometimes her hair is a little unkempt and flat but she isn’t the type who is afraid to face the world without an elaborate blow out. Plus she does all this speaking a language she didn’t know for the first ~ 30 years of her life!
@Tourmaline, to be fair, Kate is speaking a language she didn’t speak for her first 30 years – that posh English, or whatever the heck it is supposed to be. 🙂
I’m really glad the papers are calling her out on her laziness and complete lack of caring. She’s a disgrace and should be told to get to work or get lost. That idiot husband of her’s too.
they have reached the tipping point. If they continue to ignore public sentiment and even their own advisors, there will be no more goodwill for these two at all. It’s extremely arrogant for Kate to constantly use her children as an excuse when there are working partners all over that would love to be able to tell their bosses to stuff it and be home with their kids! and to complain about the workload and needing rest when there are actual working people who have to pick up their slack!! I could go on but I won’t. We all get the picture.
Seward is the editor of Majesty mag so she is a major royal kiss ass and for her to come out and slam them like this is BIG and means she has the support of the ‘men in grey’ (as there is no way she would do it without a nod). I would take her piece as a public warning shot from the Palace to the Cambridges.
It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds as its becoming obvious that Willy just does not care about what the press write about him or his family. He so arrogant in his privilege that he thinks he can brush it off and continue to do whatever he likes without having to deal with the consequences. It will blowup in their faces.
I agree. The one group I kind of feel a bit sorry for in this article, is the PR team. Seward seems to be insinuating that the PR team is not doing their jobs when this might not be the case. I bet the PR people are doing their jobs but the Doolittles don’t care and don’t follow along with the PR program. I get the feeling that William wanted Jason/ PR team to take the hit for his lousy decisions and by ignoring their advice. William likes throwing people under the bus:Harry, the Queen, the POW etc. Jason is just another one to take a hit for William. He never takes the blame for anything. I hope this article is a signal of major things to come. William and family should be removed from the Line of Succession if the Monarchy is to continue IMO.
I’m with you. It’s not the PR team’s fault if William completely ignores their advice and does what he wants. They sound like a complete nightmare to work for.
@HappyMom
I’m actually surprised that Jason hasn’t resigned yet. The longer this goes on, the worse it will look on his CV.
Jason needs to get out while he still can.
You can have the best PR team in the world… and if the client doesn’t follow the advice, or if the product was terrible to begin with, you’ll still end up with a terrible result.
It is not the fault of the PR team. William and Kate really do not seem to care at all what people say. It must be such a disappointment to The Queen for her oldest grandson to be so useless. She instilled a very good work ethic in all of her children, Anne and Charles, in particular. If William really despises royal life so much, then he should remove himself and his children from the line of succession. I am sure there have been many closed door conversations among the family about what to do about this and if The Queen is allowing such negative press from her loyal reporters, the things really are that bad.
At her age, she should not have to worry about the future of everything she’s spent her life working for.
So, Seward likely had permission from the Queen to write this?
I wouldn’t say she had permission from TQ but from the courtiers (aka the men in grey that Diana nicknamed).
1. I want the royal reporters or someone to call them out on their lies like CAA did. That engagement was in the public diary until the week she cancelled. Seeing it suddenly disappear prompted an enquiry to the palace giving us the glorious tweet from Richard Palmer that the palace had told him that she did not wish to create an expectation that she would attend this event every year.
That was march 11. A friday. The engagement was on the thursday of the following week.
The media covered up for her by saying she needed to be with her kids.
When that didn’t work, they added the tour bit…..GRRL you are on tour in another 3wks. No engagements between now and then.
Ps: have you noticed how this tour is now being sold like some gruelling endurance test in light of the refusal to accept her feeble excuses? I’ve read some fan blogs that are talking it up as a month long tour!!!
And when that didn’t work, they are now saying the regiment was informed months ago…………The palace can organise anything given at short notice with meticulous attention to detail, yet is incompetent enough to add an annual appointment to her public diary and only remove it a week prior to it’s execution?!
As my american friends say, B!tch please!!
2. It says more than you know that not only is Ingrid Seward bitchslapping them, BUT that she called their excuses lame. Language is very important to someone of her illk. She’d sooner gnaw off her own hand than use that kind of language. She’s taken on a kind of grandeur that makes her polite barbs really cutting, so for her to go with ‘lame’, she is saying they are completely hopeless.
The press are playing a game with the Cambridges at the moment – i think they are biding their time and choosing their battles. The Irish Guards ceremony wasn’t big enough for the press to call them out on their lying, i think they are waiting for them to eff up on one of the big birthday celebrations etc.. and use that to go to town. There is an epic take down coming.
they’re compiling a Lying Retrospective, starting with the Paralympics snub.
i can’t wait to see how thick the booklet is, and what free gift comes with it.
Don’t forget lying to the Art Room that she was sick with HG, but was caught on a plane to Scotland the day before heading off on vacation.
They really are earning the Lambridge moniker.
Anderson Cooper’s American cable TV news show had (maybe still has) a fact-checking segment called Keeping Them Honest. The Lamebridges could fill a segment every week, if not daily at this point.
What is your opinion of Richard Palmer? He said the Cambridge’s reputation has taken a hit in recent weeks, but he thinks Kate is getting better at the job. And then goes on to say that Kate faces a big problem after squandering public good will, and that she and William need to take radical action.
A palace stooge.
He wants to keep his gig, so he will say whatever the palace tells him.
Twitter is probably the only way he can express his true opinions or differ from the palace line.
He is self aware enough to realise that we all see the game, and doesn’t hide that it is a game.
To him it’s a job, and i don’t get the sense that he wants to be besties with the royals like other reporters. If the palace gives him what he needs/wants to do yhe job, he’ll toe the palace line. If they don’t, he’ll threaten until they do.
Ps: if he ever decides to write a tell all, i would read it, because i think he will spill. He isn’t invested in this beyond keeping his job.
That’s funny, LAK, because the uberfants think he’s a lying liar who works for a lying rag, and they both lie their faces off because they want to keep their jobs and revenue coming in.
The uberfans will never accept any less.
I wonder if people were this invested in charles and diana’s marriage and how they dealt with finding out the reality.
Speaking of uberfants bluhare – I am greatly enjoying the sh*** storm on the duchess kate blog ! All except one very very loyal fan has lost it with them ! They are even acknowledging that she puts on a fake accent for the cameras and that it keeps changing.
Which brings me to my next point: I watched Harry’s interview on Invictus and did you notice his slight pause and bite of his lips when speaking about Charlotte and George ? What was that about? Did you ladies already talk about that here ? I have been buried under work the past few days and only managed to check my usual rota of sites yesterday after a break.
Speaking of blogs. There is one where all peace and quiet.: fromberkshiretobuck.
Those fans are truly dedicated, they defend the Cambridges with their last breath:-)) I enjoy when sometimes an Anon drops a bomb down there. And it is not even me:-))
Berkshire to Buck is one of the more problematic blogs out there. I commented once pointing out that the owner is happily monetizing Kate by making commissions out of thousands of people clicking on Kate’s clothes, but she would not print the comment. I don’t visit there often but I’ll pop by once in a while. The owner really moderates every single thing and so it makes for very boring reading. It annoys me that her and the owner of the duchess kate blog, both of them don’t declare that they are making commissions off of shopstye and rewardstyle. So these older ladies have no idea that every single time they click on one of Kate’s numerous coats the blog owner makes 10 cents or something.
Personally, I pop in sometimes but I think the blogger and the commenters are living in a different world. She hardly let pass through any negative comments, she has even topics like Kate’s work ethic which is out of question. hahaha
I do not see any problem with earning money by clicking, I tell you why, first Charlotte puts tremendous amount of time and energy into her posts. I respect that. Also pictures cost money, a lot actually. Food for thought:-)
I have NO problem whatsoever with them making money by clicking but my point is that they need to reveal that they are doing that on their blogs because the majority of Charlotte’s readership consists of older ladies who are not aware.
Well, I must say, maybe they are not in their thirties, but they are well informed, educated, up to date ladies!! So they are well aware of how it works:-)
Well I certainly hope so. Good to know that, you’re probably right 🙂
Me too, Maia:-))) Nice talking to you!
Somebody brought that up at Duchess Kate (I don’t darken FBTB’s doors), and Charlotte was pretty up front about licensing fees for the photos she uses. And she does use quite a few in her posts. I’ve been around long enough to remember when she first started she had to shut down for a week because of photo licensing issues. From what she said, the ads pay for the photos she uses. I don’t think she’s living high on the hog off it, that’s for sure.
And you should post more over there, Maia!
I remember that too bluhare. If you go back to like 2011, lots of posts are empty, no pics.
Well that’s interesting about the history of the blog – I didn’t know that. I would post over there bluhare but you, Anett and the other regulars do a really good job of getting all perspectives out there so I don’t often find I have anything to add. If I do have an original thought I don’t mind jumping in actually.
Having an original thought is certainly not a prerequisite for me, Maia!
Bluhare is one of the greatest commenters there so it is not easy to jump in,:-)) I don’t have many original thoughts, I am lagging behind the natives:-)) But they are so nice and welcoming, ok not everybody but come and share anything with us!!!:-))
I think the turning point was the courting and favoring of foreign press. That’s just a slap in the face to the UK press. How could Will and Kate expect the press to be on their side after such an insult? There’s squandering goodwill and then there’s dumping it overboard into the ocean to never be seen again. Will and Kate are in the latter column.
Also, I can’t wait until this turns into a freefall of bad press because there are some issues that the press clearly hasn’t touched due needing exclusives. However, if Will and Kate aren’t giving the UK press preference, then they’ll have to write other stories. The issues I want to see detailed are:
1) The Middleton finances
2) Kate’s lack of friends
3) James’s sexuality (however, I don’t want him to be “outed” or forced to come out so I will note it here as something I’m curious about but that’s all)
4) Will and Jecca
5) Confirmation that Will does throw Harry under the bus when in need of good press
6) The full extent of his laziness with jobs (past and present)
7) How bad Will was at school and how much he called in favors due to status
8) The extent of Kate’s plastic surgery and hair extensions. Kate hasn’t done anything extensive, but it’s clear she’s made quite a few tweaks
Am I missing anything?
9) How often Kate spends her time shopping and getting her hair done.
Love no.7 😀
Adding on…
10)Details of their staff
11) Details of Kate’s shopping – things paid by Charles and the mock use of ‘recycle-friendly thrifty’ princess (lol)
12) Kate’s relationships with the Windsors – sure she is close to her mother, but is she close to say Sophie, Camilla etc?
13) Inappropriate medical excuses – did she or did she not have HG?
14) Maybe not relevant but still – How much jewellery has Kate gotten so far from the royal family?
@MV – The HG would be interesting given that the diagnosis was never official, but they “let” the press run with it (i.e. never releasing a statement to contrary, at least not to my knowledge).
And #12?! YES!!! She doesn’t hang out with ANY of the Windsor women near her age. Not Zara, Autumn Beatrice or Eugenie. Although with Eug and Bea there have been rumors. In fact, Harry hangs out the most with the other Windsors. It seems that even family members find Harry to be more preferable in terms of temperament
It looks like bailing on the St Patrick’s Day parade was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Good, and rightly so.
As for the Irish Guards knowing about this months ago, this is a clear lie since, if it were the case, it wouldn’t have required the ridiculously lame ‘damage-control’ excuses made for her absence by KP in the days leading up to the event.
I read the original article. Bravo. Finally they are being shown for how they appear and perception is reality. And as long as the parents (HRH and the the public) allows them to act this way, they will.
This header pic of KM always makes me think of Whos from Whoville.
How I wish the Irish Guards would call them out on their lies. Just be straight up honest that Kensington Palace is lying to cover the Lazy Duchess’ butt.
It is so very telling that Seward said something negative. They are in trouble, but I’m sure William thinks he has everything under control. Dunce.
I think they might. This is adding outrageous insult to injury as it’s essentially accusing the Irish Guards of lying. That’s a dangerous road and one I can’t see the Irish Guards being prepared to travel down to save KP’s face.
She’s counting on the Irish guards sticking to the military code of silence and not calling out her lies, unlike the CAA which had no trouble calling out William’s lies.
I see a divorce at some point. You know the BRF doesn’t like Carole and the Middleton’s. If he divorces her, then he has the kids and he can redeem his image by saying he was looking for a family when he married Kate but controlling Carole was too much. Everyone will blame the Middleton’s for his lack of work, since their three kids have no work ethic.
That’s possible, I suppose. Ultimately though, William will always blame someone else for his own shortcomings.
He’s made excuses into an art form.
I have always thought their marriage is doomed to repeat his parents ones – end in tears. Kate will never walk away unless he and the kids are out of the succession (she and her family have ALWAYS been about the titles and lifestyle). Kate will put up with whatever he throws at her as the titles and lifestyle is what she spend 10 years chasing after.
If the marriage does end it will be him pulling the plug and he will keep the kids as at the moment, while he is still the heir’s heir, the Monarch is their legal guardian.
In the Tominey article, W&K take the opportunity to attack working parents and use the kids as excuses.
‘A royal insider said the couple would not stop prioritising parenthood even though it sometimes attracts negative headlines. The have taken the decision to put their children first. Not everyone will agree with it and they completely understand that, but that’s not going to change the way they run their lives.
They know they are in the very fortunate position of being able to employ a full-time nanny but Kate is a very hands-on mother. She drives George to nursery herself – they are very modern parents. Family is a non-negotiable to them. There’s some stubbornness about it but that’s the way it is.’
“Modern parents” with housekeepers, two nannies, and a 4 million a year allowance from the Duchy because they don’t work to support themselves.
This also feed in to Kate’s understanding of childhood mental health issues – in that parents who have to work (and too poor to have hired help) cause ‘unresolved childhood issues’ with their children as they are far too busy and selfish working to provide for their family. She said so in her speech, you know the one she wrote herself.
More than anything else about them, this offends me the most.
Asshats.
Yes this excuse is so tone deaf and craven. As if going to the Irish Guards event for a few hours interfered materially with being a hands on mom. This is a woman who often has over a month “off” at a time (see for example, this January) and her ballyhooed “work” often consists of an hour here and there every few weeks. Pathetic.
What with it being World Poetry Day an’ all, I think I will give you guys some Shelley. From England in 1819:
“Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who flow
Through public scorn – mud from a muddy spring”
I think that about sums it up!
Ooh. There’s a Byron that would fit, too. *googles feverishly*
“Each royal Vampire wakes to life again.
Ah, what can tombs avail!–since these disgorge
The blood and dust of both–to mould a George”
There. That’s me happy for the day!
Shall I do my own doggerel before actually getting some work done today? Um… um… um…
The Cambridges are imploding
It is quite plain to see
Celebitchy can’t contain itself
Much existential glee
You’re welcome! I’ll er… go now!
There once was a prince from Norfolk
Who didn’t give a flying “folk”
His wife didn’t work
It started to irk
The taxpayers cried, “You’re a schmuck!”
A workshy girl from Bucklebury
Marries a lazy prince let’s worry
They married, why not?
The kingdom can rot
These two never will care no sir-ree
(Gives up and hopes Liberty gets in here soon)
Normal Bill is falling down, falling down, falling down
Normal Bill is falling down
My #poorjason
Build him up with EAAA, EAAA, EAAA
Build him up with EAAA
My #poorjason
EAAA will not stay, will not stay, will not stay
EAAA will not stay
My #poorjason
More verses later, cos I. Really. Must. Work!
EAAA staff told the truth, told the truth, told the truth
EAA staff told the
Billy never works
Sixer, I didn’t know you had such a talent for verse!! Moar, Moar!
I personally like the sing-songy London Bridges one the best!
Sixer! if only there’s a like button!
Bravo Nota!
again! again!
here’s another nursery rhyme! in homage of you!
Ol’ Bill Normal flies for fun
E A E A A (A)
When he bothers,
he will fly
E A E A A (A)
with a whirr whirr here
with a whee whee there
here a whir there a whee
E A E A A (A)
Ol’ Bill Normal has a snit
E A E A A (A)
When he’s mad
he sulks and fuss
E A E A A (A)
with a neigh neigh here
and a hurr durr there
here a neigh there a hurr durr
Ol’ Bill Normal has a farm
rearing flying pigs.
“Ol’ Bill Normal has a farm
rearing flying pigs. ”
🙂
Wee Willy Windsor, has no time to fly,
but when he must, his RPO nicks a seat up in the sky.
You guys are awesome!! I wish I had more time. . . I’d compose a limerical ode to the Cambridges!!!
ETA: I found the time. 🙂
Waity Katie, she is no Di
Kissed her prince now he’s work-shy.
You guys are awesome! 🙂
I am thinking of another one right now to Humpty Dumpty
“House of Windsor, ready to fall”
Carole’s controlling and Kate’s at the Mall”
all the Queen’s horses and all the Queen’s (grey) men, couldn’t put Windsor back together again
Sixer, you’re killing me! XD
OMG I am laughing away real tears here! You guys are just too funny!! Standing ovations to you all! Brava!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I have one about Pippa that I wrote – it’s really fun to rhyme with Pippa!
I have to wait for a Pippa thread. Please remind me!
Meets and greets in the hot sun
I fought the press and the press won
I fought the press and the press won
I needed Granny cos shiny crown
I fought the press and the press won
Ok, wrong sort of punk and a dodgy rhyme but it’s nearly my bed time!
you ladies rock and always bring it on the Bucket…scratch that.. DoLittle threads.. thanks so much for making me laugh.. I’ve been having a shit week and really needed this.. yes, it’s Monday but I’ve got a funeral tomorrow and the last few weeks have been sewn together and this has kept me distracted from reality and helped make me laugh.. for that I will always be grateful 🙂
Love the ode to the Clash!
On the plus side, this princeling’s devotion to lazy-itis and workshy-itis, not to mention sticking it to the press, is the most devotion and passion he has ever shown for anything outside of himself.
yes! Normal Bill has passion -passion for vengeance! He should have gone into Human rights Law.
Do you do limericks too, Sixer? This calls for one!!
The royals were all full throttle
When William lost his bottle
What a farce
He came off as an arse
Dutiful? Not a lot-tle.
Haha!!
There was a Duchess named Kate
Who never liked to be late
She said, “Oh bloody hell
Will anyone tell
If I always have a blank slate?”
LOL
Omg you guys are awesome!
Love it!
Lovely — thank you!
Serious question: Could Kate be (perhaps seriously) ill? She doesn’t look particularly healthy in some of these photos. I’m not attempting to invent excuses, but what about ppd? That could be a reason that she doesn’t seem motivated to work. Although that wouldn’t explain lack of work prior…
She’s a smoker. Smoking wrecks your health, and it’s terrible for skin. Smokers age prematurely as it destroys the collagen in the skin, so smokers have skin that sags, wrinkles, and generally has a more sallow look than a non-smoker.
Healthy enough to get new scuba certs probably 2 months after the second baby was born. Healthy enough to spend 4 days on the slopes a few weeks ago. Healthy enough to buy thousands worth of new clothes for her few work engagements this year. Healthy enough to go shopping for hundreds of pound of new workout gear so she could get a public tennis lesson, oops I mean attend an event about kids and tennis.
Yeah, I’m with Belle here. She probably liked (still likes) to tan and that, coupled with smoking and unfortunate genetics, will kick your a** once you pass 30. I’m 3 years younger than she is, don’t smoke, and have never tanned in my life. Plus, looking at my family, genetics are in my favor skin-wise. But boy, if I’m stressed for a while, don’t eat/sleep right and don’t excercise enough, it shows. I look grey, spotty, and sallow. My god, how it shows at this point. 30 is really the time to take care of your skin.
But her whole life’s work is about bringing attention to mental health, so why would she be shy about bringing up PPD? If she has it, then does she think it’s OK to put a spotlight onto other people’s issues, but not her own?
You mean like her taking on HG as a cause because she personally had it, oh, right, never happened. The lies about it would come back to haunt her.
If Royal duties are too much, these two should resign their titles, become commoners, and live in the real world with the rest of us. I really can’t believe the Queen is letting them away with this, but maybe after this article a much needed Royal bitch-slapping will finally happen.
Ha, I love this!
I wonder if Harry also gets lumped in with Cannot and WillNot when it comes to the criticism? I noticed the phrase “younger royals”, and he did give an interview to Good Morning America just last week ie foreign press.
That photo of a blurry William in the foreground and Kate in the background wearing the red gingham…..did anyone else see the distress on her face when Wiliam, without waiting for her, quickly exited the car, leaving her to trail after him. He exited on the near side of the sidewalk, and she exited on the far side. By the time she was out of the car, she was left looking over the roof of the car, at the back of his head as he strides away. The way he left the car and did not even spare a glance for her came across as very rude and uncaring. You can see she feels the slight as she bites her lips and is slow to flash her customary wide smile.
In April 2008, Kate was invited to Wiliam’s RAF graduation. Kate was in a white Trench coat, and William was in his RAF uniform. There is video showing William striding very, very quickly down the halls, leaving Kate practically jogging after him, trying desperately to remain within the same frame. Never once did he look back to see if she was keeping up. I felt embarrassed for her, because here was the entire dynamic of their years together, captured on video, writ large for the world to see: William striding away, trying to distance himself, Kate refusing to be left behind, literally running to keep herself in his sphere, looking pathetically desperate.
When you are with someone who does not perform even the little courtesies, it can feel very humiliating. There are so many speculations of why Kate cancelled the Irish Guard gig, and one is that she herself made that cancellation. She could have been passive-aggressively hitting back at William.
My assumptions about the behavior you describe are very different than yours. In the gingham dress, I assumed their RPOs (always) treat Willy as a higher security priority which is why he hurries towards the venue without waiting for Kate. They are more vulnerable when entering/exiting cars on a public street.
In the video of Kate in the white coat, it looked to me like Kate was late in arriving which is why Willy charged ahead as fast as he could.
Charles and Edward always wait for their wives, even though the wives stride a few paces behind due to protocol.
Please look again at those videos from the RAF graduation day. She was not late in arriving. She was jogging to keep up with him as he strides down the hallway. She picks up her heels and actually JOGS after him, struggling to hold onto her purse and tuck her flying hair behind her ears. And all the time, she could not get to within a few feet of him as he never slows, never looks back.
Id like to think a stronger, more confident woman would stop and start walking the other way.
I think it is simply a case of bad manners.
This has always been their dynamic. He always strides ahead without so much as a backward glance. He is better when Harry is part of the group because usually he chats to Harry as they enter which means he doesn’t stride ahead unlike every single time he is with Kate without Harry.
In the past, Harry was more solicitous of Kate and tried to cover for William’s bad manners, but now he is barely polite in that he isn’t as rude as William, but he ignores her as they stride in. Unless she talks to him specifically.
Meanwhile, Kate, being aware of resulting photography, always arranges her face and body to appear that the two brothers are including her in their chat and or whatever they are talking about is hysterically funny.
Harry IS more solicitous. There is video of William having to be called back by Harry, because William had strided ahead WITH the umbrella, leaving Kate standing in the doorway, hesitant to step into the drizzle without protection. William had to turn back with the umbrella and Kate tries to laugh it off. This was on the Barge, during the Jubillee celebration.
And LAK’s last paragraph is spot-on. With Kate, it’s more flash than substance- how it LOOKS is more important to her than how it really is, hence all the gurning.
Harry and Charles are always more gentlemanly in public, towards any female really. Charles always makes sure Camilla is protected by an umbrella. Harry gave his umbrella up for Lady Sarah at Christmas. William doesn’t act like a gentleman towards anyone, no surprises here.
I always enjoy your posts LAK.
I wonder about Harry’s current behaviour towards Kate as well. It looks like he hardly can tolerate her anymore. What could have happened behind the closed doors for Harry’s behaviour to change that dramatically! This is a man who is very polite in towards women of all ages! What has she or her family done for Harry
Mick Jagger’s children and their moms atteneded Jerry Hall’s wedding. That is a true testament how nice Jerry is. If after five years the Windors spend even less time with Kate than before the wedding and she is photographed even less with oher people than her actual family, what does it say about Kate? Are all those rumours that she is very unpleasant and a genuine b***h true?
Thank you Larissa. Ps: what a lovely name. 🙂
i always wonder about Harry’s changed demenour too. At first i thought he was trying not to indulge the media fabrication that he was flirting with her, BUT if you notice, Sophie and Camilla aren’t as welcoming or warm to Kate anymore too. Those 3 were the most welcoming members to Kate, at least in public. Now, not so much.
It’s curiouser and curiouser as you mention.
I’ve noticed in the last year or so, Harry barely looks at her. He also didn’t go to Charlotte’s christening. So Kate talked about a special time with the Queen in the video, but it was 4 years ago, she never seems to hang with any of the other royals, Sophie gave her a horrible look several years ago on the balcony, Harry barely looks at her, I think the Royals can’t stand her. We all know how families work and the Queen and family aren’t going to blame Wills for his workshy ways – I’m sure they blame Kate. For everything. And seeing as how she’s never worked and still doesn’t want to work (can you imagine Princess Anne’s reaction when she heard about the Irish Guard?!?!) the lazy label fits Kate.
That is the nature of the man she married. It isn’t new, he has never played the gentleman towards women publicly like his father and brother. They were barely back together again in 2008. He had danced on a table screaming, “Free at last!” about finally getting rid of the clingy girlfriend in 2007. Having her attend that event was very anti-William’s privacy obsession.
She went after him, got back into his life, and continued to have a relationship with him for years. She did whatever it took to get what she wanted, The Prince. These are the choices she made for the title and lifestyle she wanted. She knew the man she married, she pursued him for 10 years.
I’ve read about this behavior quite a bit and I agree with all hose above, she married him. She was so desperate for the title and him in general she was willing to put up with all these apparent slights to her. She clearly has very little self respect for herself and appeared clingy and desperate to Will which is why he was so grateful to be “free”.
I know that Ingrid has issue with the young one doing American media, but Harry’s Invictus games are in Tampa. Why would he not do one.
Her critique wasn’t of Harry, but William & Kate.
I think Ingrid WAS taking a little slam at Harry with the american media comment tho– and I agree that makes no sense especially with the Invictus games coming up of course Harry is doing media here.
Agree, Tiffany and Tourmaline. He was promoting them here so they get attendance and interest in the US.
William’s hatred of the press has obscured all rational thought. He’s clearly underestimated the power of the press and over estimated his grasp of PR. You can’t make it hard for royal reporters (it’s their livelihood after all) and expect good press. It also doesn’t help that he and his wife are clearly workshy. He needs to grow up, give the press what they want so the next time they go on vacation for the 700th time, they’ll cover his ass instead of kicking it.
Will always plays the Diana card so my theory is that he will go on the offensive and berate the press for hounding and criticizing his dear wife like they hounded his mother and killed her. I’m not sure anyone will buy that because the people LOVED Princess Diana and she worked hard for the causes that were near to her heart. Kate hasn’t endeared herself to anyone. She’s only shown that she’s lazy and entitled–and a waity doormat.
I think this is the fundamental difference between Will and Harry. Will was old enough to be truly traumatised by his mother’s untimely death – it has made him bitter and retrenched. He was old enough at the time to see (from a child’s view anyway) the context of her demise, and hasn’t really revised himself from the stance that Diana died at the hand of the public, specifically the media. You can see the world weariness Will has in the recent interview he gave for the wildlife trust, when the interviewer asked what he thought of claims that he wasn’t busy enough. “It’s part of the job, Mark” – delivered with a weary smile that showed just how heavy a burden it is that he thinks he carries. Harry was just that bit younger at the time of Dian’s death, and so while of course he was devastated by his mother’s passing, he didn’t get that bitter world view that William has, his world was much smaller. His mother was simply gone and that was tragedy enough. He takes inspiration from his Mother’s life, instead of bitterness from her death.
LadyJane: Your last sentence is perhaps the best summary I’ve ever read describing the differences between the brothers. Excellent and to the point. And Harry’s interviews on GMA promoting Invictus and speaking about his mother illustrate it further.
LadyJane – Its a beautiful post. But I do think that while one can be bitter about a tragedy and still be committed to their work..or infact be committed INSPITE of it. If William was so respectful of his mother’s memory he would not disrespect the charities he is tied to by providing so little support and time. And he is over 30, a father of 2 and born as a heir…he has had a lifetime of knowing what and who is he is supposed to be and actively acts in an irresponsible manner. He has no qualms is using the benefits of his position but all the complaints in fulfilling obligations. That shows his true personality. (and also filling his job title as ‘Prince of UK :O )
Then he needs a good therapist. He is one of the most privileged people on the planet, and many people with far fewer resources have pulled themselves together after the tragic loss of a parent. Or he doesn’t pull himself together, but then he will never be king.
“Increasingly”? What kind of people with any understanding that the monarchy actually stands on the knife-edge of public favour take four million pounds of public money to renovate their 21 room palace apartments in a city where middle-class people can no longer afford to live – a sum, by the way, that William’s father and grannie could have afforded in a heartbeat. It would have been a gesture of understanding. Instead, the renovation was paid for with public monies in the Sovereign Grant, under the excuse that Kensington Palace is a historic building that really belongs to the State.
Only the “State” doesn’t get to live in it: the royals do, and when the palace was being used by pleb office workers, no one was concerned with the asbestos in the roof.
Also lets not forget how the taxpayer paid for £1m worth of ‘security’ renovations at MIddleton Manor soon after it was bought. Its not just W&K who are on the make with taxpayers monies – her family have had their hand in the pot as well.
Let us also remember that the funds for the KP renos was actually money put aside to repair and modernize Buckingham Palace. It was the Queen who redirected to funds for Kensington Palace renos. Buckingham Palace is still in dire need of repair while the Kensington Palace apartment sits empty most of the time. This should get more attention IMO since the Queen is always mentioning BP repair issues.
The funds W&K got to rip apart App 1 at KP were initially to repair the leaking roof at Buckingham Palace. And the KP app was redecorate twice, before and after George as Waity didn’t like the purple colour that she originally picked for the walls.
Their KP apartment is the perfect symbol of them. Its completely vacant on the inside and spruced up on the outside to look modern, and pretty. All farce and no substance.
Not to mention the additional £1.5M for Anmer Hall, and whatever the cost of repaying and kicking out historical royal palces from the apartment.
Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.
Fighting with the press is never a good idea, you never win, never ever.
Good quote!
Oh, Ingrid again. She’s very pro Charles and Camilla. So I wonder if Charles is showing his jealous side again or nah?
It will be funny to read how quickly the press will revert back to kissing the arse of Court Cambridge once their tour starts.
And just as I thought, most of this uproar from the press is because Will & Kate aren’t letting them dictate thei actions. He’s giving foreign press more access and the UK press is pissed which explains the more recent negative stories. And Will & Kate are indifferent to it because like he said all of comes with the territory. You can’t please everyone. People will love them one minute and hate them the next. Any royal has to know and accept that.
That’s not how monarchy works. No monarchy has withstood negative press. We’ve removed 3 Kings in the last 300yrs who were completely entitled and tone deaf. One of them was a very popular Prince and a popualr King right upto the moment he was forced to abdicate.
And i’m sure i don’t need to tell you about the french and the Russians whose attitude to unpopularity was the same as William.
Most monarchs course correct as soon as the negative press starts. William seems to be doubling down, and we all know the end of that particular road.
And btw, it’s not the foreign press that will keep him on the throne. The uk press can help him off it if he continues this game. And no foreign press love in will help him.
Prince George, later King George IV, survived bad press (and his was worse than William’s, for good reasons.) But he also had real political clout, and therefore some of the press was willing to be his propaganda arm. Though if Victoria hadn’t been the next monarch, the monarchy itself still might not have survived long after his death.
I don’t understand these Jealous Charles comments that pop up here sometimes, but I doubt he’s trying to taint PW’s public image. IMO, the Cam’s poor work ethic reflects on the entire monarchy as we’ve seen with people questioning TQ’s reason’s for letting this happen. Besides, Willie’s doing a pretty good job on his own of destroying his goodwill with the masses. And, to quote, “He’s giving foreign press more access”, that’s really not saying much since he and Katie “work” so few events and those ski trip pictures were a PR disaster. But, I do agree that the press will be right back to kissing their butts for photo ops during the India tour.
I understand the jealousy comment all too well- Charles is just a hater, too, like the rest of us who dare criticise anything about these gods. I bet Kate thinks we’re all jealous of her as well, and anyone who doesn’t care for her.
There is one determined poster on the DM who is convinced Camilla would murder Kate Middleton if KM worked harder and was more popular than Camilla. Yes, that poster is convinced Camilla killed Diana.
I don’t think Charles is jealous of William. I think he’s expressed that he wants William to take over The Prince’s Trust, which he created, but William doesn’t want to do it.
Even if it is true that Charles is jealous, I doubt he’s the one that advised Kate to not hand out the shamrocks.
I don’t think William even has to do nearly the amount of work that Charles and Diana did to remain popular. All he has to do is say a few good words to some movie stars at some awards show, and that would count as charity work for him, and people would be okay with that. But even that he doesn’t want to do…He’s weird.
Carole! We were wondering when you would show up!
Being called work shy and not busy enough doesn’t come with the territory. If it did, then the public and the press would be asking that of the Queen, Charles, and Anne. Can you imagine Anne’s retort if a reporter asked her, ‘How come you’re not busier?!?’
The problem with W&K’s bad press is based on their own lack of actions. I doubt there are phone calls from Clarence House to KP ordering Kate to spend more time shopping and less time working and telling William to blame the CAA for not doing royal duties.
If their lazy-ass ways were Charles’ fault, then the KP PR team would have been leaking this excuse long ago in order to save some face for W&K.
Why piss off the press in your own country by purposely favoring the foreign press over them? What country does William think he’ll be King of?
Other European royals around the same age and status as William and Kate do far more work than those two. I do believe in those other european countries the royal families understand the need to seem more relatable and down to earth than William does.
The constant excuse from fans is, “But he’s the heir-to-the-heir, they shouldn’t have to work now!” When you point out the massive perks W&K take the response is, “But he’s the heir-to-the-heir, they NEED to have all those houses and staff.” SMH
They married at roughly the same age as most of the young European heirs. When you compare that simple fact, and how little these two accomplished by the same ages as the others, the fans attack. Truth hurts them don’t you know?
Estelle is heir-of-an-heir and still in playschool and works more than them, and always showed interest in what she does.
Louis of Luxembourg was 3rd in line before he was removed from succession altogether and still works more than them. Tessa, Louis’s wife, is a wife of a mere prince of zero succession chances and still works more than them.
The Duchess of Brabant is still in grade school but gave speeches in three languages without one grin or hair flipping. likewise the Princess of Asturias and the Princess of Orange.
The 4 Danish Children, and even the four children of the spare prince, made numerous public appearances with more decorum than this thirty-something couple.
Gabriel of Monaco showed more interest in the goings on at his public outings than these two.
there is something very wrong with William and Kate when toddlers and grade schoolers are miles more professional and better behaved than grown-up adults with higher education.
@lower-case deb – “there is something very wrong with William and Kate when toddlers and grade schoolers are miles more professional and better behaved than grown-up adults with higher education.”
HAHAHHAHA! I think the Queen’s corgis do more work then these two.
But please dont even compare the cutie Estelle with the Will-Nots! Estelle deserves better. She is awesome 🙂
To be honest the hair twirling that year on Remembrance Day when Kate was on the balcony just said it all really. Carole chewing gum in the early days on Wills passing out ceremony. I am not going to mention the faux pas skirt days or the holiday snaps that caused a stir. Infact in a way we had forgotten about these raised eyebrow occurrences.
So not showing up at a ceremony that was a tradition and an important one at that has now raised eyebrows in the Royal media circles.
So moving on swiftly, as Whittaker said Kate doesn’t come from the background of “stuffy, make do and mend therefore spendthrift, stiff upper lip, you will do your duty for your country over everything, aristocracy. What has happened to their modern reinvention smacks of very rich and spoilt. They seem to the public to have turned into a couple who would be better suited on the red carpet of Hollywood sparkle.
The DOC has done three things to set my teeth on edge:
1. Being confirmed in the COE March 2011. She had many years to realize this step might be important, but it clearly had little meaning for her.
2. Charlotte’s christening photos — Harry could not be there, but Kate’s siblings were still both in the official photos. A tactful princess would have realized this would be a good time to have her siblings step back a bit. Kate’s family is not “religious” – see #1 above, so it was simply a photo opportunity for the Midds.
3. Turning her back on the 115 year Irish Guard shamrock tradition.
Their press team sounds like a real life version of the Vice President’s team on Veep.
I think William wants to be upper middle class. He wants money and a close family but no other obligations. That’s why he likes the Middleton family so much; he wishes he had been brought up that way.
How come it never seems to occur to anyone that this is a deliberate strategy. Most of Britain has been saying for years that they’d like to skip over Charles and go straight to William.
Not saying that anymore, are they….
It is not some nefarious plot, although I find it amusing that people keep clinging to this idea. There are plenty of people out there who still hate Camilla and that will never change, no matter how lazy Bill and Kate MiddleClass are. Charles will be the next king unless he dies before his mother. Nothing is going to change that. Even if W&K were popular and beloved, Charles would be king first.
Charles NEEDS W&K to be popular. He needs His Line being seen as wonderful, which helps in his plan to get rid of everyone else. If he was worried about other people being more popular, Harry would be locked in the basement at Highgrove.
George & Charlotte won’t learn to work either. Who’ll teach them?
Good teachers would be Charles and Harry, but unfortunately it sounds like they don’t get to visit as much as they would like.
The “caring for their children” excuse doesn’t work when you consider the fact W&K showed up for Wimbledon while at the same time snubbed the vets. Especially since Charlotte was a newborn during Wimbledon, so if it didn’t matter then, it doesn’t matter now.
As far as the engagements, Diana did shop openings, but the real ones which mattered to her were the hospices and hospital visits. It seems those are last on the list for W&K. When did we last see W&K visit a hospice?
Good reminder! There were three memorial events that week and Kate Middleton didn’t show up to any of them. She had no problem spending all day at Wimbleton away from the kids though.
Excactly! There was the 07/07 memorial event the day before Wimbledon. The memorial event was 1-1,5 h, Kate couldn’t attend because she was on maternity leave. The next day she was for 5-6 hours at Wimbledon. The day after that was the WWII Fly over Britain event, Kate couldn’t attend because she was on maturnity leave…. There is certain pattern here.
Jeez!
Yeah, in the past William wanted only two children, but I’m starting to believe he’ll want a third to get more time off under the pretense of an extended and selective maternity leave.
Their circle of friends reveals a good bit too. For the most part it’s a bunch of wealthy snobs who party, hold nominal positions in ‘business’ and don’t always attract the most flattering press. But they’re loyal which seems to be the main thing. Some have connections to the royal family going back generations but there was at least a sense of duty prior–military service, overseeing estates, philanthropy, something. Now it’s just nothing. And the same goes for Beatrice and Eugenie’s crowds–though if they had a royal job I think they’d shine. But for now….it’s the same ole same ole. The Windsors should take heed before the end up as just another jet setting wealthy family.
When I was younger, I always rooted for William. But after he married, I started to see what he is: a spoiled kid. What the eff happened to this guy?
William got “Middletonised.”
I hate blaming her family for his faults.
He’s always hated being royal and hated having to perform for the cameras. Now the Golden Child is no longer being as protected by the press. It isn’t that William has changed, but the press coverage of him has.
Notasugarhere, this is 100% on point. The press isn’t protecting the golden haired prince that reminds everyone (or used to) of his beloved mother (and no matter how crazy or manipulative Diana was- she had that emotional touch that no one else had).
And I agree this is my dream job as well!!!!
GET A MAKEUP ARTIST KATE!!!!!! Stop doing your own damn makeup. YOU DON’T KNOW HOW!!!!
BOOM.
Kate should copy Beatrice and Eugenie–in close up photos you can see that their eye makeup is usually pretty and understated.
Just wondering, did William and Kate sign a pre-nup or is that not allowed in the Royal Family?
Good question! That would be crappy for Kate if she did!
It was said that there was no prenup. None of what they have now is ‘theirs’ which is a smart course of action on the part of the BRF. KP belongs to the State they just live there rent free. Anmer Hall they live in rent free but it belongs personally to HM. Any payout would be based on William’s salary and his personal inheritance, not the Duchy or HM or Charles’s private funds.
^^^ and this why I believe when things really start to deteriorate Kate will get the short end. She absolutely has nothing without him, not even her children. The “investment” that would benefit her is her parents upgraded home which William contributed to. She will go back to her family and take whatever she is given.
Now that is a very interesting question! Prior to 2010, it was generally considered that prenuptial agreements were unenforceable in the UK. However, there was a Supreme Court case in 2010, Radmacher v Granatino, which opened the door. So it’s possible.
Considering how much effort Kate went to, to land this awful Prince, I should hope there isn’t any sort of pre-nup! She hasn’t worked for any sort of professional work related esteem, but personally I think she put her life on hold to get William – and so she should get compensated for that (if it gets to that stage).
I’ve wondered about the longevity of this relationship, but I think that both Kate and her mother want to see her anointed as the Queen Consort. It will happen someday, folks.
They need a Princess Diana desperately in order to remain revelant. Hopefully Prince Harry will marry one.
He can marry me—American born who can stir things up. 😛 I have a much stronger work ethic than tweedle dee and tweedle dumb.
Very true !
I was recently reading The Romanov’s sisters and I couldn’t avoid to find so many coincidences between the comments from the Russians at the time regarding the Royal Family. Many of them complained that they were living a life way too isolated from the world and seemed to inaccessible to their people in their obsession of privacy.
Funny that almost 100 years after, seems that Kate and Bill have forgotten that important part of the history so fast.
These two dolts have probably never heard of the Romanovs never mind what happened to them. Remember Kate’s comment about the Faberge eggs? I believe she said, “Do they still produce these?” And this from an Art History major. I doubt Willnot is much wiser given how he operates.
Lol! I completely forgot that! It’s such a shame that they had access to the best privileged education money can buy and they turn out to be a pair of empty heads.
When she first married, I thought that with her Art History background she would be a patron of the arts. I was sooo wrong !
What I don’t understand about their work-shy ways is that the work they do, while definitely tiring, seems like it would be extremely fulfilling and enjoyable. If I was as rich as they, I’d be spending my time working for charities and just going around offering support in whatever way I could. I mean, whenever I see Interviews with other, harder working members of the Royal Family, they always go on about how much they love what they do. And it’s definitely genuine expressions.
So what exactly do they hate about this work? Talking to the average John Bull? Getting flowers from little kids? Meeting people from all over the world? Learning about different cultures? Making an impact for the better? What is it?
Rosiek, she was only an art history major because that was Willy’s major, she probably had little or no interest in it. This was in her stalking phase, it would have been a little over the top if she had changed it to geography the way he did, so she stuck it out. But I seriously doubt she has any interest in it!!!
No kidding! I’m an introvert and would normally say that a public life filled with events would be too exhausting for me, but I would happily do their job. Most of the pain points are taken away. Getting there? Someone will send a car. Learning about the cause? Info is at your disposal. Finding a babysitter? Here are a few nannies. Nice clothes? You can afford anything. Finding someone to talk to? Everyone wants to meet you so you don’t have to hide by the buffet.
It would be wonderful just to make someone’s day with your presence. People will remember the day they saw or perhaps received a smile or word from you. I think that would motivate anyone.
I’m on the introvert side as well, but would enjoy the opportunities they have to make a difference. I would research and write my own talking points (whereas they don’t have to do that).
Normal Bill reminds me so much of his great-uncle David ( Edward VIII) with neither the temperament nor the work ethic to be a monarch. How this all plays out will be quite fascinating.
I agree with you. He reminds me of Edward VIII too.
I agree!
This to me is the the press having a hissy fit because William is basically giving them the middle finger when it comes to his privacy. He’s controlling the monologue and they’re losing money. Follow the money and it will lead you to the truth. That applies to most things in life. The British press are scum for the most part and have little or no respect for anyone’s privacy. Look what happened to his mother!
his mother played the press game as well, don’t forget that
I think you are missing the point – this is not about the press being mad. Ingrid is not press. She is a mouth piece for the firm. This is a very, very big deal what she did – this was essentially written directly by the Palace, make no mistake, sh$t is about to hit the fan in jolly old England
I’d like to think that is true, but somehow I suspect that the BRF will intervene and do some sort of protection for the Prickly Princess and Workshy Will. I don’t think they’ll be taken down just yet, unfortunate as that may be.
the BRF are behind this story
ingrid would have never, ever written this w/o their stamp of approval
I also think the BRF are behind this story as Seward is their loyal mouthpiece. What gets me though is that this family is so dysfunctional that the Queen and Prince Charles cannot sit the Doolittles down and tell them the facts of life: Shape up or ship out. The perks stop flowing their way until they get their acts together – start by taking away the credit cards, the helicopter and Amner Hall. Force them to live on his EAAA salary and see how they like living like a “normal” family. If nothing changes and William digs in his heels even more, cut him loose. They have enough proof of his and her shenanigans to keep them quiet. Enough is enough!
I agree. Times have changed with social media. The traditional papers are in decline. Not only do they not have a Diana/superstar, they have a couple that do not want even to engage.
Who likes these people?
The folks at WhatKateWore.com, and HRHDuchessKate.com……………………..for starters. Oh yes, and People Magazine.
Don’t go to WhatKateWore, but HRHDuchessKate is shocked overall. There’s the couple of diehards who think it’s Charles’ fault and that opening the store on Friday was a much sweeter gesture (the children!!) than handing out shamrocks in a stodgy ceremony, but most people are not particularly happy and a couple are actually quite angry.
People scrapes the bottom these days. Being a frequent cover celebrity for them is not what it was 30 years ago.
I recently watched Reinventing the Royals on Youtube. As I was watching it, I began to think perhaps we have Onslow and Daisy all wrong. Maybe Onslow aka NormalBill isn’t having a pissing match with the press, maybe this is about his relationship with his father. It’s payback time for Charles for using William to mold his PR and forgiveness for Diana’s pain and also .. more importantly .. using William to bring Camilla into the mix as acceptable. That show clearly states that Charles’s PR Bolland used William as a tool to have the country accept Camilla and allow Charles to move forward and bring his mistress into the royal fold. It also gave credible examples of how Charles also used Harry to further his positive PR and father of the year status.
If I was William and had the temperament of his mom, THIS would be what truly pissed me off. How dare my father use me, his heir, to manipulate the narrative and lead everyone in the world to believe that I accepted this woman – whom my mother dubbed the Rottweiler – into my family because now ‘daddy is happy’. We could all be looking at this from the wrong perspective and maybe that is why no one can control William. William is seeking vengeance for his mum but the target is Charles not the media.
William isn’t seeking vengeance for his mum, or still recovering from her death, or whatever. He’s a spoiled brat, as is his wife.
If he was seeking ‘justice’ for Diana this isn’t the way to do it, by being passive/aggressive, lazy and uninterested. Do what Harry is doing, go out and remind people of her by being engaged and involved in something other than yourself.
Except he lives in Anmer Hall, scene of many a claudestine tryst for Charles and Camilla. He is besties with the Van Cutsems who supported and facilitated the charles-camilla relationship AND provided Anmer Hall, which they rented, for the aforementioned trysts.
William maintains firm friendships or acquaintences with all the people who supported Charles and or who sided with Charles throughout the marriage and the divorce.
He hasn’t kept up with his mother’s friends or their children. And for all that gaff about wanting his mother at the wedding, a creepy re-enactment BTW, he didn’t invite her friends. Friends who knew her as opposed to his father’s friends who tormented her.
And you can’t say this was Charles’s decision since William himself told an interviewer that he tore up the initial wedding guest list put together by BP and put together his own.
I don’t think that William and Harry are trying to pay back Charles for using them to redeem his image and sell Camilla but I do think that is why William, Kate and Harry have their own staff, often referred to as “Kensington Palace” or “KP,” as opposed to their work coming under Prince Charles’ umbrella, aka Clarence House. The interesting thing about it is that Charles funds a set up that IMO came about because Charles’ sons feel that he and/or his staff can’t be trusted.
Is it possible she was on her period that day?? The red checkered dress is the ugliest thing Kate has ever worn, and she looks haggard, something is physically wrong.
Does anyone else feel like William is headed for some sort of break down? I can’t place my finger specifically on anything that makes me feel that way but their behavior is so inexplicable and erratic that it just seems that he is on the brink of boiling over.
He’s not erratic though. Inexplicable, perhaps, because it seems so out of touch. But not erratic. I’d say it’s actually been rather consistently tone deaf and selfish.
Could it be a meltdown with the press a la Britney Spears circa 2007?
They both seem pretty stressed to me. It can’t be easy living in the public eye, no matter who you are. I was going to write “I hope they can improve things”, but they’ve had a very long time to master their public image. Something is up.
I am truly sick of these two leeches. Will and Kate are spoiled and narcissistic. We know Kate and Will accomplished nothing in their twenties, a decade that most twentysomethings work to establish themselves. Their arrogance is appalling. Even the short visit to the resale shop was all about her life and primping for the cameras–a middle aged adolescent. So now they want another decade of extreme self indulgence.
I agree Kate’s excuse that she wanted time with the family was so insulting–those soldiers left their families for months as they risked their lives for world freedom. She is small minded and not very bright, like her husband.
I hope that they don’t try to recreate Diana’s iconic photo at the Taj Mahal when they visit India. Neither will measure up to Diana’s courage, humility, and compassion. I hope Kate shows a proper respect for the King and beautiful Queen of Bhutan, a truly dynamic, accomplished royal couple. Please Waity, don’t wear your six inch heels–they smack of insecurity and one upmanship–showing your shallowness through and through.