Here are some catch-up royal stories I didn’t get to in the past few days. We covered the Duchess of Cambridge’s appearance at an event for the 1851 Trust, a sailing/education charity associated with the America’s Cup race and Sir Ben Ainslie. We also covered the Cambridge family’s appearance at Trooping the Colour, the annual parade and flyover to mark the Queen’s official birthday. Surprisingly, William has been doing more work in the past week. Usually it’s Kate who organizes a bunch of stuff, all in a row, so she’ll do four events in three days and then take off for three weeks. It seems like William is trying to take advice from granny (possibly) and show some humanity. Which is nice, if wildly overdue. Some stories going around:
William’s visit with victims of the Grenfell Fire. William and the Queen visited victims, victims’ families and first responders last Wednesday. By most accounts, William and the Queen were very solicitous and empathetic. Now people are pointing out that William “broke protocol” with one devastated woman – he gave her a big hug in the middle of the makeshift receiving line. While I think William is still keen to be workshy, give him some credit when he does show some humanity: he seemed to do very well during this visit. More of this.
Kate’s one SUV. During the 1851 Trust event, Kate was interacting with kids during an environmental educational thing. One little boy decided to ask the hard question: How many cars do you have? Kate apparently laughed and said “oh my goodness” and said she had a Land Rover. William collects cars though, right? I think they probably have a dozen or more cars, not even including the fleet of Land Rovers used by their security.
Kate didn’t feel like sailing. Possibly because Sir Ben Ainsley wasn’t around to rub his rope seductively. Also a possibility: given all of the bad news in Britain, Kate thought (rightly) that it wouldn’t be a good time to have a bunch of silly sailing photos.
Kate dropped plans to go out on the water at the sailing club today. Frustrating for media looking for a lighter image but understandable.
— Richard Palmer (@RoyalReporter) June 16, 2017
Speaking of Sir Ben Ainsley. Kate and Sir Ben got to speak via video link during the event. Kate apparently told him that she and William had been “glued” to the television as they watched Team Britain crash out of the semifinals of the America’s Cup. SHE EVEN USED THE WORD “KEEN.” She said: “Commiserations, obviously, but really well done. We’ve been watching with really keen interest. Both William and I have been glued to the telly. Well done to you guys. I gather now you’re on to the next thing.”
Kensington Palace tweeted these side-by-side images for Father’s Day. Hm.
Happy Father's Day. Wishing all the fathers out there a very happy day pic.twitter.com/Lgm0ZnOCMT
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) June 18, 2017
Photos courtesy of WENN, Pacific Coast News.
Am not going to shade Willy for how he behaved at Grenfell Tower, I think we the public would like to see more of that side of him. I hope that the more time he spends with TQ the weaker the hold the Mids have on him.
LOL, now we know who’s behind the over use of the word ‘keen’ in KP press releases. Am agreed that she didn’t sail as Sir Ben wasn’t there for her to flirt with.
Is it necessary for her to sound so vacuous or is she really that vacuous?
She is that vacuous.
I am still appalled by the pink McQueen. Given what is going on in Britain, all she seems to care about is making herself the center of attention. We already know she will not go anywhere near the mosque attack victims. Such a waste of space and money!
That’s so sad. I was struck by that bright pink too, same tone-deaf attention-seeking as her wardrobe in visiting the 9/11 memorial in New York, yes?
It’s like she thinks, “All I have to do to cheer people up is wear happy colours and smile, smile, smile!” Shallow at worst, immature at best, yes?
+100
The more we look at the bright pictures confirm how clueless, waste of what HM the Monatchy history stands for – how the entitlement dont care attitude this and the rest of the selfish uncharitable – middletons existance is.
How is it different from blue white or green? Why is pink appalling? Lol thats really stretching it.
@Joannie It’s not pink per se that is the issue. All the other women are wearing more muted tones. Kate is the only one whose outfit is very bright.
@HannahF actually Autumn is wearing a bright green dress with a hot pink hat-so she didn’t get the muted tone memo either.
God – she is at Ascot for the Moment of Silence – in grandma frumpy white lace curtains!
All tbe other Royal women in simple beautiful dresses except kazy wIty kate. All the millions in the world cant buy classy style for middletons.
George’s “Is this over yet?” face in the last pic kills me, this kid is such a personality.
I saw the pic of her and thought another Caitlyn Jenner story. Oops, they do have similar looks….prom hair and bad makeup.
I really like pink McQueen… I am not proud of it but i would so wear it…
” Possibly because Sir Ben Ainsley wasn’t around to rub his rope seductively.”
MEGA LOL
I think my cube mates heard me spit out my coffee and laugh my arse off, good one!
Fair play to William, he has done a bit more over the last few weeks. It would be good for him to spend more time accompanying the Queen, as others have said, to hopefully get him away from the Middletons. Although he seems to have an aversion to royal duties, he does carry them out well when he actually does some.
Kate comes across as clueless. Burying herself in Norfolk making chutney seems to have cut her off from the reality of life in Britain at the moment. She is in a position to raise awareness of so many good causes. Other Royal women with young children seem to have a good balance of duty and family time so why can’t she? I’m sure she watches Ben Ainslie “with interest”. Events involving him are the only thing she is “keen” on.
Katie keeps confusing me when she changes the definition of Keen. Ugh. I guess when applied to work it means not into it and when applied to good looking men it means: I will chase you down and make you mine no matter how long it takes!
Read the quote. She sounds boring or is that how she’s supposed to make small talk!?!?
‘Kate didn’t feel like sailing. Possibly because Sir Ben Ainsley wasn’t around to rub his rope seductively.’
I laughed because I can’t help but think “rope” must be a metaphor for something of the same general shape.
Poor Sir Ben (and his wife) to have this eaity the useless waste of and her masculine Wisteria sister (who went sailing with Sir Ben re whiny bill connections), hanging ‘on his rope’ …
I don’t want to read the word “keen” again coming from the royals. Aren’t there enough words in the dictionary? Is “keen” a word that the riches use? Really use?
Is there a class affiliation associated with the word?
It sounds like a word any British person would use. Just sounds like the kind of word that would flow out of their mouths easily. I can picture it being used in a British person’s cover letter when applying for a job too.
Cover letter maybe.
Spoken would only be used by someone who’s just binge-watched Downton Abbey.
Seriously it’s the kind of expression only someone of Prince Charles’ class and generation would use in every day conversation.
Never heard a person my age use it (and I went to the same school as Kate).
Keen is a really common word in English I think, we use it all the time. And ‘keen interest’ is sort of a stock phrase. On you might think your friend is ‘keen’ on someone (older usage). Could be a class thing though, I’ve only ever lived in various parts of south of England.
Thanks, Perplexed and Maum!
In my high school, the word “Keener” was used to dub students who cared to do well academically. It was used somewhat derisively, such as, “Man, you are SUCH a keener!”
This is in Canada @ the mid-1980’s.
another outfit for Ascot on Wednesday or will she recycle -her wardrobe must be positively bulging
Do you think Kate and Ben will ever hook up?
I hope so. Since she wants to cosplay Lady Di she should just go all the way and have an affair. And I wouldn’t blame her. Ben is hot.
LOL! I was thinking the same thing. Since she’s trying to be Diana maybe Ben will be her married lover.
Oh FFS!
On this we agree. Ben is happily married and would not get involved with Kate.
Those are kind of odd pictures to put out for Father’s Day. No one looks happy and William is not interacting with the children. Of all the pictures of the Cambridge family, those are the pictures that get shared?
Sure she did. While taking secret notes in her pink notebook. The one with the heart shaped lock, cutouts from interior magazines and mom’s tips on how to please a rich man.
Ha ha! 😻
If anyone is reading the Diana tapes in the DM, what comes through is a complex, often conniving, sometimes cruel, but a thinking and intelligent person capable of great empathy as well.
In contrast Kate comes off as “uncomplicated” and, for lack of a better term, not a great thinker. I mean, she was thrown off by a kid asking her about how many cars she had. Geez.
Even though he loved his mother dearly, maybe William is attracted to the lack of drama.
I’m not surprised that Kate couldn’t easily answer that question. How many cars in her name? That she paid for and maintains? That she can drive whenever she wants? That she’s driven around in?
But I agree with you in that she’s no intellectual heavyweight. But neither is William. And, yes, the lack of drama was likely as much an attraction as her willingness to drop everything for him whenever he calls.
Kate’s not the cheating type and she has too much to lose if she’s ever tempted. I don’t see her acting on her attraction to Sir Ben, and I don’t see him responding if she did.
Totally agree with you on this. She has too much to lose. She was waiting for 10 years for the position no way she would give all this up for an afair.
My Ben/Kate affair post above was tongue in cheek, BUT you can never tell if someone is going to cheat or not. I never thought Diana would have affairs until the scandal hit. The more Kate stays out of the public eye, the better she can get away with it, if she were inclined. You never know what goes on behind closed doors, or what marriage arrangements have been made until there’s a scandal.
It appears that she’s “uncomplicated” but you never know. If we had tapes of her-who knows what her inner thoughts are?
Re: the Diana tapes – what comes across to me is the completely non-normal life Diana had, the screwed up Spencer family relationships, her inability to do well academically, her naivity, her use of the press, her immaturity, her desire to be loved…
She wanted to create a life for her sons like she never experienced but really, there must have been so much drama and emotional, needy behaviour. And I think she probably leaned on a young William far too much.
I wonder if the reason that Kate was in a room watching him on screen is because they couldn’t trust her to not press herself against him and fondle him like she did to Harry during the 2012 Olympics.