On the same day that the Duchess of Sussex launched her SmartWorks capsule collection (Smart Set), we learned that the Duchess of Cambridge had taken a meeting with director Richard Curtis at Kensington Palace. Many said that the reporters just got the story from the Court Circular, but I continue to find the timing suspicious. But here we are – the Sussexes and Cambridges step on each other’s newscycles all the time now and some of it is a real effort and some of it is just coincidence. In retrospect, what I find interesting about the Richard Curtis meeting is that initially, everyone made it sound like it was just a “Cambridge project,” and that William and Kate were so keen and clever to work with a beloved director on some kind of mental health initiative. Turns out, the Curtis project was a joint Sussex-Cambridge thing. And it was just voiceover work for a commercial. Here’s the commercial:
Public Health England, in partnership with the NHS, have launched #EveryMindMatters to help people take simple steps to look after their mental health, improve their mental wellbeing and support others. pic.twitter.com/eAirA6pIpB
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 7, 2019
Every Mind Matters is the new program from the NHS, and you can see the site here. It’s about taking those first steps when you want to improve your mental health, get better sleep, decrease your anxiety, all of that. It looks like a good resource and I have no shade for it. Every Mind Matters is definitely being promoted by House Sussex AND House Cambridge though. The Cambridges put this commercial on their Twitter & Instagram. The Sussexes only put it on their Instagram Stories though. Hm.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid and Avalon Red.
It’s a good PSA and initiative. It’s needed. A friend has experienced a lot of loss in the last 2 years and is going through counseling. She admitted to not being able to relax and shut off her brain. She’s using meditation apps off the AppStore. Something like this would be of great help to her.
Now, for a little snark…all of them participated in this project, but Kate was the only one who had her meeting promoted as singular initiative with the film maker. More embigging of Kate.
Kate didn’t have her meeting “announced” or whatever. It appeared on the CC and the media picked it up. William met with the director2 or 3 days later too.
Kate and William seem to need to count anything on the CC because they don’t do that many engagements. Meghan and Harry must have met the director at some point too, but their visit/s aren’t added to the CC.
I’m here. This is a really good PSA and initiative. Commercial was well done. Hopefully this program helps a lot of people.
But….basically your last sentence is exactly how I feel.
Given the timing of the SW launch and this video, maybe Meghan was still officially on maternity leave? Wasn’t the launch her first official engagement back? Then they had the tour to prep for.
Maternity leave doesn’t mean that things don’t get put on the CC. Kate’s attendances to Wimbledon always get included in the CC and last year she was still on maternity leave.
Meghan just doesn’t include everything there because it’s obvious there are SmartWorks meetings and cookbook meetings that were never included.
Also there are gross comments on the KP tweet, stuff like “well done Catherine,” “Catherine is an inspiration”. Um.. unless Cathy Cambridge has developed mimicry skills, I think I might hear 3 other people in the advert /s
Kate is held up as a saint in this country and I do not understand why.
It’s because people find her to be kind and humble. Being likeable as a person goes a long long way. Nothing like being full-of-yourself to turn off people and induce eyerolls.
LOL at the idea that Kate is well-liked by the masses and is considered kind and humble. Don’t believe everything you read on tumblr. She’s been known as one of the Middleton Wisteria Sisters for two decades and the Middletons are not well-liked.
“Kate is held up as a saint in this country and I do not understand why.”
Because the Brits have so much to thank her for, such as Meghan’s successes.
I know this is mean, but when I read stories about how Kate is responsible for Meghan’s success, I think of “The Simpsons” quote by Homer, “Smithers probably selected me because of my ability to motivate people. Everyone says they have to work a lot harder when I’m around.”
by the media, perhaps, but I don’t think there is genuine deep affection for Kate (or William).
Wow! A few of the royal reporters hyped this project up as some big secret Will and Kate initiative. Little did we know that both couples were involved.
What is Glenn Close doing there???
Does anyone else find Kate’s voice REALLY nasal? It’s all I can hear whenever I hear her speak!
I find it grating. First time I understood a little of what she said. I really wish she would stop with the fake accent and embrace her middle class roots
Was this the meeting Kate had??? It was counted as an engagement so I hope this meeting entailed more than her just reading 1 line for a PSA. Also, H&M don’t have a Twitter account which is why they haven’t posted it there.
All of their private meetings count as “work”, from the Queen, to the Kents, to Charles, to William and Harry. Unlike the Swedes they don’t post a picture of every private meeting. They have no accountability except the Queen “oks” what’s counted in the court circular which is run daily in 1 or 2 newspapers. Even their website is not as correct as the papers. They really need a new site manager.
No, many royal behind the scenes meetings aren’t recorded and don’t count. Meghan had many meetings and planning events with people for Hubb and Vogue, but none of them were touted, put in the CC, or counted. It was only after Kate’s numbers were so pathetically low that they started counting Kate’s meetings.
Great PSA, it is needed
Anything to boost Kate’s engagement numbers, I guess. I just think of all the private meetings Meghan has had for Vogue and her Smart Set and none of them were in the CC.
Sounds like a great initiative but choosing royals as spokespeople? From what I’ve read here & elsewhere, people in the UK don’t really care about the royals so why would they listen to or be influenced by them?
Love to be the fly on the wall at KP. The Cambridges have to be shook for the dual Sussex lawsuits especially Meghan’s. William has to be sweating because the Times alleged he encourages the distorters on the Toxic Tom stories. Otherwise, a good initiate.
The Times alleged that? I hadn’t heard that one, can you link to the article?
@Wowsers – same! Unfortunately, the Times has everything behind a paywall.
I hear this a lot on this website, that Kate and Wills engagement numbers aren’t great but everyone seems to want to ignore the numbers. If you look at the numbers from last year Will worked more than Harry, it’s like revisionist history to fit a narrative. Let’s get the facts straight, none of the young Royals work hard. Charles, Anne, camilla and the 93 year old Queen works way more Will, Harry and Kate. There numbers are pathetic, in the first 3 months of this year they didnt even clock in 60 engagements. I’m interested to see what Meghans numbers are when she isn’t on mat leave but let’s hope she works way harder then her husband.
However, Harry’s work with Invictus and Sentebale are not usually counted in the court circular, so William is able to look as though he’s working more than Harry. But I do agree that all 4 of the “younger” royals could be doing more, being outworked by senior citizens is never a good look.
I’m pretty sure Invictus and Sentebale are now counted for his numbers. I think that changed a year or two ago.
But that doesn’t mean that every single meeting he has for those organizations is on the CC (it could be, I honestly don’t know, I never check it, lol).
What more do you want Meghan to do?
Harla… You do realize that Meghan was on Maternity Leave for about 6 months this year, yes?
Nah, Harry works on long-term projects like Sentebale and Invictus which still have work to be done through the year – what has William done that is comparable?
Look, I get it, Harry is far more charming but that doesnt mean he works hard. Will has been involved in the National Aids Trust and UNICEF for years but people want to ignore that bc he isn’t as fun as Harry. Numbers dont lie and the numbers show the young Royals are lazy.
I’m asking what are the specific projects that William has done that would not exist without him. Not what he’s contributed to.
As usual, there is no answer Maria, because William hasn’t done much of anything. He doesn’t put in the work on big projects like Harry does. Most of what Wm does is take credit for things other people have done.
Sorry Maria but I dont see the connection, Harry may have started these charities (which is great) but why does that mean he gets to work minimally? All of Harry’s contributions to those charities are counted on the court circular and yet he still doesnt do more than 200 engagements a year. I don’t know about you but I work 50 hours a week and I dont get go live in a palace just bc I happened to be born into the royal family. I’m not saying Harry is a bad guy or that the work he does isn’t great, what I am saying is that I would like too Will, Kate and Harry put in more hours. I mean is it really okay that Charles and Anne are putting Will and Harry to shame? These men are in the prime of their lives getting out worked by people in their 70s.
No, all of Harry’s contributions to those charities are not on the court circular. They weren’t counted for years and even now they aren’t fully counted. Just as the majority of Meghan’s behind the scenes meetings aren’t counted.
William has picked up the numbers recently, that’s true, but only VERY recently (past two years maybe?) and I think for this year Harry is outpacing him (I read that a few weeks ago, not sure if that has since changed). but yeah last year William did work more than Harry (although I don’t think it was a significant difference.)
its also worth pointing out that William SHOULD be outworking Harry. He’s the future king, Kate is future queen. they should be working circles around Harry. They don’t.
But I do agree in general that ALL the younger royals should be working more. I do think Meghan seems to have a good work ethic, and I feel like she is rubbing off on Harry, so time will tell.
And yet Anne who will never be Queen outworks everyone but Charles. I dont buy the excuse that bc Will is future King he should be working circles around Harry. They all get the incredible perks of being part of the royal family than the least they could do was work, last year Harry and Will did less then 215 events……is that even enough work to be considered part time work??
Anne outworks Charles but I wouldn’t say she works circles around him. But that’s a matter of semantics.
I don’t think any of the younger royals really work that hard, IMO, although Meghan seems to be off to an impressive start.
I feel like you keep bringing up this point of the numbers in repeated posts as a way to bring Harry down and I’m not sure what you want people to say, to be honest. Harry could and should work more. But so should William, and Kate needs to get her butt in gear.
@becks1 I think you may have misinterpreted what I said, Charles is the Royal that works the most followed by Anne.
I’m not trying to bring Harry down I’m just trying to point out that while everyone on this website is critical of Kate and Wills work ethic (rightfully so) we ignore the fact that Harry works just as little and seems to get a pass. In my world people dont get a pass bc they are handsome and charming. We agree that they ALL need to work a heck of a lot more.
Anne may do more engagements per year than Charles sometimes, but she isn’t overall doing more work for the people. Charles does those 500 engagements plus The Duchy, Duchy Originals, all the building projects with the Duchy, The Prince’s Trust, Dumfries House, etc. Anne does her engagements and goes home to her private estate secured with taxpayer funds.
I think with Meghan behind him, Harry is going to want to up his game, maybe. I’m hoping that this is the year Harry finally takes the job seriously in the same way Charles does. Can you imagine all three of them being outworked by Meghan?
William always works harder towards the end of the year to boost his numbers. Harry and Meghan seem to want to launch projects more than doing engagements. They seem to have a lot of private meetings that don’t get counted. I would rather they launch projects that have an impact. But yes, Will and Kate should work WAY more than the older royals.
@Marie where did you get this information that H&M do ” a lot of private meetings that dont hey counted”???
Just as an example, Edward Enninful said during his interviews that he and Meghan met almost weekly while creating the Vogue issue. This was during her pregnancy, while she was on maternity leave and almost daily the weeks leading up to the release of the issue. None of these meetings were added to the CC.
One could argue that she was on maternity leave for some of these meetings and technically not “working” and yet Kate’s Wimbledon appearance while on maternity leave last year was counted on the CC.
Other examples would be all the work and meetings behind the scenes that Meghan did for the cookbook and for the capsule collection. Even the private coachings that Meghan did for Smart Works never made it in the CC.
@Mae I didnt include Meghan in my comments bc she is on mat leave, I hope that her work ethic is better than her husband’s. I am tired of hearing statements like “meg and Harry’s private meetings arent counted” without any evidence. How do you know Megs meetings about Vogue weren’t counted? You
Point out that Kate’s appearance at Wimbledon while on mat leave counted, why wouldn’t Megs Vogue meetings? Like I said, I get it, Harry is far more charming then his brother but that doesnt give him a pass. None of the young Royals are working as hard as us regular people but get the benefits of private planes, front row seats at Wimbledon and the use of palaces. Sorry but until the young Royals start doing a lot more work they all get to be scrutinized equally.
Were the meetings on the court circular? That’s what people mean when they say something was counted or not. the end of the year numbers are just based off the court circular. That’s why its so interesting that this meeting Kate had with the director made it into the CC, but presumably H&M met with him as well at some point (do we think Meghan put her voice to this without meeting some of the people involved?) but if they did its not on the CC. Kate met with Jason Knauf, the head of their foundation, and that made it into the CC. That’s the kind of stuff that makes people roll their eyes at Kate.
We know Meghan has been involved in lots of behind the scene meetings (since the organizations she is working for come out and say that ) and at this point I don’t think those meetings are on the CC for her. Maybe they will be added on now.
It is easy to find the evidence that many of Meghan and Harry’s meetings aren’t counted. Meghan’s meetings with Vogue, all the work with Hubb, the meetings with Smart Works, the phone calls and meetings with designers for Smart Works capsule collection, all of that? None of it was put in the CC so none of it is counted in end of year numbers.
@Jadedone
You are asking for evidence on why we say the meetings aren’t counted?
Check the COURT CIRCULAR.
Also you made a point about younger royals and their low numbers and how they are scrutinized equally, but I’m sorry to disagree. They are not scrutinized equally in my opinion.
@Mae yes the court circular where the Christening of their own children is counted as “work”. Can we agree that’s kinda ridiculous?
Ridiculous or not, that is where the official count is kept. And the majority of the work Meghan has done in the last year hasn’t been counted in there. But keep ignoring the facts presented to you several times in this thread.
Whether counting a christening is ridiculous or not is beside the point. You’re pivoting. Your question was whether there was proof that H&M’s private meetings were or were not counted. Several people have properly cited the Court Circular as the register in which royal engagements are logged and counted for the official count. Most of M’s private meetings for Vogue, Hubb, Smart Set, and All Minds Matter are not counted in the Court Circular, ergo, they are not counted. Ditto for many of Harry’s meetings. Your question has been answered. Multiple times. Move along.
I read the word “promo” wrong and it all went downhill from there…
LOL I don’t think a lot of people got this, but I cracked up.
@NUZZY 😯😂😂😂🤣🤣
I didn’t even realize it was the royals speaking until I heard Kate.
Just some observations:
The first woman that pops-up in that ad really look Like Ghislaine Maxwell. It took me out of it for a moment.
In the USA we have a movement called Black Lives Matter. When people want to dismiss Or belittle the movement they say “All Lives Matter.” The name of this program reminds me of that. I’ve always appreciate how the young royals have taken on this taboo subject, but it always came access so broad when there are many different types of mental health. I thought that in the video Kate, Will and Harry did discussing Heads together where they talked about postpartum and soldier’s PTSD. Both are serious issues but different. But, maybe I’m being too picky.
Yeah that’s what I thought of too when they used “every mind matters” – the name is too close in similarity to “black lives matter”
it is unbelievable the lengths people will go to criticize.
@Mae, thank you.
Plus, people that have worked with Harry on various projects mention meetings that never get counted. I don’t think engagement numbers matter much to Harry and Meghan.
I agree that engagement numbers don’t matter as much with HnM. They have projects that have quantifiable impact instead. Isn’t this why they said the younger royals don’t do as much ribbon cutting engagements? Because they said they wanted to focus on impactful projects they are passionate about? Well HnM seems to be doing just that. It’s only the other couple who seems to be desperate to up their numbers because they don’t have anything else to show.
The Court Circular only lists a limited type of engagements (according to Wikipedia) and only measures the number of engagements the royals visited. It doesn’t report the results of the engagements in terms of quality or financial gains. A competition solely based on CC is therefore unfair. A solution for the young royals to look less lazy than the older royals is to list their project engagements and their CC engagement totals in their own annual report. They can publish it on their social media. I’m sure the press will pick it up.
I checked the linked website. I like it. Took the quiz, found some helpful info, will be looking at it more later.
Meghan and Harry just want to get the job done because it’s the right thing to do. William has more mixed motives, I think, but whatever the motives, it’s good to do good.
Just seen the advert on TV and it was good! Meghan has a lovely warm voice and Kate is speaking normally – no fake accent LOL (just as well otherwise subtitles would have been needed)!
From my working life experience I would not count appearances on the Court Circular as a measure of how hard somebody works. For example – Kate attends a military event lasting 5 hrs, meanwhile Princess Anne is visiting …shire where she opens a brewery, visits a school , goes to see the work of a women`s group, goes on a walk about in the new shopping mall , each event lasting 30 minutes. The Queen on the other hand has spent the last 3 days in meetings with the Privy council. Number of engagements in the CC – kate had 1, Princess Anne 4, the Queen none. Who is the most hardworking in this group ?
Other questions – is Kate only there to cut a ribbon ? Is Princess Anne`s visit to the women`s group a highpoint after months of fundraising for this group, work and time that will not be appearing on the CC ? Again who is the most hardworking of all 3?
Awesome comment Celia!!! Thanks for pointing out that it’s not just number of “engagements” where Kate is lagging. It’s the quality & depth of the work. She’s all about ribbon cutting & attending events, being entertained etc., whereas other royals such as Anne & Meghan really seem to put in the effort & devote themselves to their causes…
Harry and Meghan voices were riveting. Beautifully done. I’m afraid that Kate failed short. It’s her accent and unfortunately for her she had to follow Harry and Meghan. Maybe she should’ve gone first or second.
Apparently this promo was so popular it crashed the website.