The Windsors often do very obvious photo-ops, but the appearance of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge alongside Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall this week was something altogether. Sure, technically, it was a photo-op for a good purpose, to draw attention to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre and the good work done for veterans and military peeps. But the fact that this was the first time in nine years that the two couples stepped out was notable for all kinds of reasons. And as the official photos from inside the DMRC came out, it became very clear: this joint appearance was merely done for the photos of William and Charles looking like they don’t hate each other. That’s all. Their offices coordinated and decided that they needed a “narrative-changing” photo-op between father and son, Future King and Future Future King. Sussexit really threw everything in disarray and now Poor William has to act like he doesn’t hate his father. And of course, all of the Cambridge and Wales-sycophantic media has to eat up the palace’s talking points about Will and Charles’s improved relationship. Some this Katie Nicholl piece at Vanity Fair:
The photo-op spoke volumes: The timing of the trip is significant and “spoke volumes” about their relationship according to Charles’s biographer Sally Bedell Smith. “One sensed a spontaneous warmth between them,” she told Vanity Fair. “Apart from the very visible bond, there’s plenty of evidence indicating a closer alignment between Charles and William. During the crisis over Prince Andrew’s scandals last year, both the Queen and Prince Charles ensured that Prince William played an active role in the decision-making. That cooperation was also apparent in hammering out an agreement with Harry and Meghan to leave their official duties with the royal family.”
Stepping up to the plate: With the departure of the Sussexes and Andrew from royal duties, the Cambridges are stepping up to the plate more than ever…Sources close to the couple say that the coming months will be “exceptionally busy” for the pair, with an official trip to Ireland on their travel agenda along with a rumored visit to the bushfire ravaged parts of Australia. “There’s a sense of the family pulling together and presenting a united front and being busier than ever. There has definitely been a shift in William’s relationship with his father,” a family friend said. “They are very much a team. With Harry and Meghan overseas, a lot rests on William and the word that keeps coming up is ‘sovereign.’ Charles is passionate about sovereignty and how he and his son will be the embodiment of that. I would say it is what drives him and what he is most committed to.”
William is ready to be Prince of Wales? As a young man there were times when William struggled with the notion of kingship but today, he is a respected statesman in the making and a vital and hard working ambassador for the Queen and the royal family. Sources who know him say he is ready for the next chapter in his life as he prepares to succeed his father as the next Prince of Wales. “There was a time when Charles was hurt when William turned down the chance to take over the Prince’s Trust and I think he worried about the future, but not now. He has every faith in William and respects and admires the work he and Catherine do with the Royal Foundation,” the family friend added.
Mentoring William: Bedell Smith pointed out that Charles has been mentoring his son and preparing him to become the next Prince of Wales in recent years: “Under the direction of Prince Charles and various advisers, William began more intensive training to be Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, and eventually King William V. He took courses in land management, attended the sustainability leadership institute at Cambridge, and began to immerse himself in his father’s Duchy of Cornwall.”
Charles & William working together? William has even adopted his father’s passion, sustainability. “As William has matured and taken on more public duties, he and his father have more naturally cooperated on various initiatives including William’s recently announced Earthshot Prize, which seeks to build on Charles’s decades of work on climate change,” she said. “It’s significant that the prize was designed to operate in parallel with Charles’s own Sustainable Markets Council—indicating that father and son are collaborating in new ways to find solutions for global environmental issues.”
“There was a time when Charles was hurt when William turned down the chance to take over the Prince’s Trust and I think he worried about the future, but not now. He has every faith in William and respects and admires the work he and Catherine do with the Royal Foundation…” Yeah, no? The Royal Foundation barely does sh-t, and the only time it had any tangible, effective projects was when Meghan was forced to run all of her charitable projects through it. Anyway, they’re really beating us over the head with this sugary bulls–t.
I honestly think Charles is quite concerned – secretly, of course – about Future King William. I also think that Charles is actually the only one who really grasps the beating the crown has taken in the past year. Charles knows that what happened to Harry and Meghan hurt the crown and hurt commonwealth relations. Charles knows that William and Kate are fundamentally too lazy to pick up his work. Charles knows that the Queen’s favoritism and caping for Andrew is a horrible look. This will go to hell very quickly, you know?
Photos courtesy of WENN and Backgrid.
Sure jan. It’s going to be hilarious when they start to turn on each other for the press. With sussexs gone eventually the British media will need something.
William has always been something but charles showed his true colors when he used Meghan for good press and then said nothing about his own grandson being compared to a chimp. So the uk deserves Charles and William
Julian Payne and Robert Jobson are both connected to Charles. Charles was an active part of the smear campaign.
Character-wise, he’s still that 32 year old guy who got engaged to a teenager, blamed his father for it and took his resentment out on his bride by emotionally cheating on her from day 1. He’s still the guy who used William to gain acceptance for Camilla. He’s the guy who uses his biographers to smear his dead wife instead of showing any character growth in respecting her memory and moving on.
So true Hope. It always gets me that — as far as I’m concerned — Charles emotionally betrayed his marriage from Day 1. When he started up physically again with Camilla has always been his own personal get out of jail card. But he and Camilla dragged their ongoing relationship into that marriage to a barely legal girl from the get go. I think Diana had some real behavioral issues, but that marriage only ever had a chance if she had stayed the naive, dim, silent brood mare that Camilla and Charles thought she was when THEY picked her.
Nobody should ever be put into that position. Yet the Queen stood back and allowed it. The clan knew that Camilla was not going to go away but watched as Charles got engaged to the teenager. Charles later revealed he never loved Diana. What sort of man does that! I think he had the behavioral issues and the problem also was that he felt himself the Center of the Universe and did not think of the other person. I don’t think that the marriage would have had a chance even if Diana put up and shut up. Camilla I think had her own ambitions and wanted what Diana had. I think Diana would have been put aside even if she did not complain by Charles and given a settlement and dismissed once Charles got “approval” to marry Camilla after he divorced Diana.
How will William play the Diana card now if he’s making nice with his stepmother?
“…Charles is actually the only one who really grasps the beating the crown has taken in the past year. Charles knows that what happened to Harry and Meghan hurt the crown and hurt commonwealth relations”.
And yet… he (and William, and TQ) still participated in smearing his DIL, his grandson, and his son. He (They) did not raise ONE FINGER to defend them in public. Not one word to RRs, not one joint public event, nothing. HIS biographer went public with things that didn’t make it into Charles’ biography, and that would NOT have happened w/out tacit approval.
Charles’ (and William’s) stunted emotional jealousy struck again, and his younger son’s family said ENOUGH…and Charles doesn’t understand why.
Charles wanted heirs, but seems to be rather removed or clueless about his children. And Harry would be thrown under a bus since he was a young teen. It is atrocious that Charles allowed this to happen.
A friend of mine said it perfectly: “I wanted to see Charles & Will & Kate punished for the way they treated Harry & Meghan, but then I saw this and realized that Chaz & Will & Kate will all have to pretend to play nice together and work harder now… and that, for them, is the punishment.”
The desperation in trying to sell these two duds is so keenly obvious…and sad!!
They are trying too hard. William and Charles iMO look goofy and the wheelchair stunt seems so fake.
Not only that, it is gross and tacky. Being in a wheelchair is no joke. It is not theirs to poke fun at. Vile.
It is gross and vile. It also shows the stupidity and cluelessness and insensitivity of both of them.
agree…even if it was just a moment of levity for other reasons it comes off really bad, v insensitive to anyone actually needing a wheelchair. And they’re both just seeming more and more unattractive inside and out…
“In alignment”!! Heh!!! They only thing those 2 are “in alignment” about is their fondness for throwing family members under the bus to serve their own petty and jealous egos! This won’t end well, they’ll turn on each other sooner or later.
Are they both still incandescent with rage? That alignment?
That was a little nauseating.
I laughed so hard at that article. My favorite part was the bit about “sovereign.” that was just a reminder – WILLIAM is the future future king, not harry!! Stop paying attention to him!
My goodness. the CH/KP press machine isn’t even subtle.
It’s amazing how Charles claimed he never saw his grandchildren. Yet now it will be that only the Cambridge Grandchildren “count”. Shameless.
This is all very try hard. 🙄🙄🙄
So Meghan did everyone a favor: Katie keen is keener than ever, willy and Chuck are closer than ever and everything is just so shiny. Until the tabloids get bored. That’s when the true carnage begins.
Next the syrupy spin will have William calling Camilla “Mom.”
OMG TESSA-I laughed each time I read your comment (& almost choked on my fast-food tostada). You TOTALLY nailed it, thx for the much-needed laughs this morning AND afternoon 🤗😘
And it will begin, and they will implode. Especially when Andrew & Fergie get back together as their presence is always a precursor to new scandal. They will turn on each other and implode for the whole world to see. It might take a while, but it will be epic.
This is all so fake. I hope William has a long wait before he is Prince of Wales.
I hope not. The world is waiting for an authorized biography of the Sussexes. That bio won’t be published until after TQ passes.
I agree with you Ana 😱. Once this honeymoon phase is over, the true carnage will begin. I also agree with Kaiser’s assessment that Charles is the only one left who truly sees the big picture on this. I think all this bonding PR is coming at the direction of his team.
If Charles truly saw the big picture, why didn’t he support his second son and wife? Yeah, I don’t believe ChaRLIE SEEs anything other than what he wants to..remember he is still surrounded by sycophants and pretenders
I think Charles sees MORE than the other RF members, but I don’t think he sees it all and really gets it. He walked with Andrew to the early Xmas service, he really doesn’t seem to be stepping in enough to keep Andrew and the York girls out of any official capacity, he didn’t protect Harry and Meghan, he lets will and Kate do whatever they want leak and media wise. I think he, more than the queen or William, actually realizes that there is a problem—they’re not likeable, they’re not infallible, they seem corrupt and distant—but I don’t think he sees the true extent of the problem and that it can’t just be solved with a couple of articles shaming Andrew and engagements playing happy fun wheelchair play times with William. I don’t think Charles understand how to do PR in the times of social media at all. I don’t think he realizes that people are paying as much attention to blogs like celebitchy and the comments here as they are to the “official” royal reporters. I don’t think he gets that’s he can’t just control the narrative anymore by strategic chats and leaks to royal reporters, because people are paying attention to and talking about everything, not just the “official engagements” or “official announcement” from the palaces.
People are seeing through them, are looking to see if their actions match their words, are noticing the hypocrisies between what they say/do in public and what they say/do in private or when they’re hiding behind “sources say….” People are paying closer attention than ever, they can tell which royal is leaking to which reporter, they can piece things about affairs and media cover ups together. I think Charles is still working from the old school mindset that he can fix things just by controlling the narrative, assuming that people will respect what he has to say and believe it because he’s “royal,” and therefore no one will notice that their actions contradict their official narrative.
@amyToo – I agree completely. I think Charles is more aware of how the family comes off, and more aware of how bad some things actually are (i.e. Andrew’s interview) but I don’t think he’s completely aware. I think he is still suck in the press games of 20, 30 years ago. Now a negative story gets pushed back on almost immediately on social media. Now the “receipts” so to speak are everywhere. The palace still has a lot of say in controlling the narrative when it really wants to, but even then that control has diminished greatly. (look at Sussexit.)
I was watching a documentary on Netflix last weekend about Diana’s funeral (called Diana – 7 days that shocked the world or something) and I think it was a BBC venture (it’s older.) it definitely made the queen look out of touch, made Charles seem less so (saying that Charles was the one who insisted on going to PAris to get Diana’s body and the queen didn’t understand why that was necessary), etc.
The part that stood out to me though was discussing the funeral itself, and one of the people talking was actually part of the funeral planning “committee” so to speak, and she said there was a fear they wouldn’t be able to fill Westminster Abbey, so they were unsure about having it there. They didn’t know who would come.
They didn’t think they could fill WA for Diana’s funeral. To me that said everything right there about how out of touch they can be.
And my guess is that its only gotten worse with social media etc.
Becks, and even when they can control the narrative or shut something down in the press, the difference now is that people know that the royals are controlling and shutting a story down. And it can still get out on social media.
And Wow about the not thinking they could fill Westminster abbey. That is ridiculous. How can they be so out of touch? Do they not follow the media? Read the papers? I mean I guess if they were all reading just the Daily Fail right now they might get the idea that everyone loves William and Kate and thought they were amazing and that the whole world was mad at Harry and Meghan and wanted them out. Are they only reading the stories by the official royal reporters? How are they so out of touch? And how do they expect to control the narrative or curate their image if they’re not aware of what people think? I think it all comes down to an inflated sense of importance. They think that because they are the royal family, everyone automatically believes the things they say, respects them, and assumes that they are acting with the best of intentions all of the time. I don’t know how they could change that world view of theirs. Reading more stories about themselves and reading the comments would probably help, though.
This is so horrible and petty…. They are just hoping that Harry reads all these coverages and feels shitty. It’s really low as he is trying to start a new path and he now has to see this sugary father and son bonding.
Bedell Smith adores Charles and Camilla and would run down Diana.
They may hope for that, but there’s no way this will affect harry in the way they hope! Dude has been trying to get out for over a decade! He is finally FREE! And he got to take everyone/thing he adores with him!!
he said he wanted to get out over ten years ago. Do you not think at some point he may have changed his mind especially when Meghan Cam along and he saw what they came do. I want to quit my job every few months.
He has also spent a few years in therapy. He probably has the tools to deal with this crap by now. That’s not to say it won’t affect him, but it probably won’t damage him (much) either.
I’m sure they are somewhat closer after screwing their brother/son. Now that their common enemy is gone we’ll see how long this little love fest lasts.
I don’t predict that it will last long because it’s simply not based on genuine, deep feelings but rather on the knee-jerk reaction of showing the public all is fine.
For some people acting against sth or someone is a HUGE driving force. If it’s true that there is a major rift between W & H, then I can totally see W making long-term efforts to be closer to C as a payback towards H. I have seen this in my family and this can go on forever.
Does any one around he remember why William resented, disliked his father Prince Charles, or do we only invoke Diana when it comes to Harry’s singular trauma?
Yes, we remember why he disliked his father, and no we do not only invoke Diana when it comes to Harry. Why do you ask a variation of this daily when you get the same response? Just re-read what people told you yesterday.
Right?? Didn’t we just go over this yesterday?
And, if anything, the question supports the idea that this visit was just PR and this is a power move to show how “close” they are – because if William resented and disliked his father over issues relating to his mother, did those issues just go away in the past month?
I remember the stories of Diana using William as a confident & him stuffing tissues under the door when he heard her crying. Both boys went through the wringer & I try to remember that when horrible posts are out about either. They lived/live in a Fish bowl & that isn’t easy. It possible that William would have liked to chuck the whole thing years ago but I’m sure the specter of Uncle David is quite apparent & I’m sure both boys held great resentment towards their dad over his treatment of their mother. I do remember that C&D were in a fairly good place before her tragic death.It’s possible the pressure to be the good sons of Diana & live up to obligations became stronger once she was gone . (My intent here is to state those in direct line don’t really have a choice at least while QE2 is still alive added to that the want to live up to your mother’s expectations.) I remember the story when Diana lost her HRH and William told her “don’t worry Mummy when I’m king you’ll get it back.” Which is why being Harry was a blessing. He was able to leave once Louis arrived & have the life he wants w/the woman he loves & give his son a different choice & chance to carve out a life directed by his passions & not the duty forced upon him by others & traditions
Thanks for this. I always thought William’s issues was the worse of the two brothers, and compounded with the RF’s fear of dealing with his anger issues, they indulged him which was detrimental, and this has led to this current state of affairs.
I honestly don’t think C and D were in a good place before she died. Diana was said to have still been wary of Charles. And was fearful her home was bugged. Charles showed his true colors by cooperating with Penny Junor (and she said he and Camilla did cooperate) in the posthumous Diana bashing excercise: Charles Victim or Villain. Junor has continued to do the Diana bashing and made Camilla a Saint and Diana “mad” in The Duchess, aka St. Camilla’s LIfe. Charles threw Diana under a bus posthumously to try to get Camilla accepted and Diana was “diagnosed” by Junor as having BPD. It was not “bought” by all to put it mildly. The weird thing was Charles thinking it “OK” to escort Camilla to Diana’s 2007 Memorial Service (not that Charles should have gone either). Camilla had to back out at the last minute. I guess William and Harry’s promised Diana statue will not come to be since William is now making nice with his father and Camilla.
wrong spot
It has been discussed here for literally years that William dislikes his father because of how Charles treated his mother and how William was placed in the middle very often. Someone who wasn’t a new name from tumblr land would know this.
1) Anyone who has been around royal watching for decades knows not to believe everything Diana told Morton. William and Harry were away at boarding school all but a few weeks a year during the Wars of the Waleses
2) William has no problem with infidelity. He cheating with Kate, he cheats on Kate. He chooses to raise his family in the same house where Charles and Camilla conducted their relationship.
3) William dislikes Charles because he resents anyone who a) emphasizes doing royal duty and b) makes him look bad. For all his faults, Charles has been the most accomplished POW in history. William will never live up to it and he knows it.
Charles did indeed confirm a lot of what Diana had to say via Morton. In fact, he confessed he preferred the mistress to Diana when he married Diana–Morton’s book includes this based on his interviews with Charles. Charles also confirmed adultery. And he was the one who essentially forced the Parker Bowles divorce. Andrew Parker Bowles was OK as long as it did not get out publicly that Camilla and Charles were lovers. Once the cat was out of the bag so to speak, the PBs divorced. William was not at boarding school all the time and would see things going on. William plays the Diana card for sympathy, it will be difficult if he is pictured with Camilla.
Charles didn’t confirm the lies about the tissues and door. Yes, they were away at boarding school all but a few weeks a year. Those few weeks were shared between time with Diana and time with Charles. After Diana’s abusive, inappropriate Panorama interview, the Queen ordered the divorce.
APB was proud of the fact that Charles and Camilla were having an affair. Of course the rumor is, he was then and is still now Anne’s sidepiece. BOTH Charles and Diana admitted to adultery, or have you forgotten that? Diana targeted married men for her affairs at least three times. Her choice of riding instructor for one of her affairs has haunted Harry his entire life, because people use it to claim he isn’t Charles’s son. That’s because Diana had an affair with a man who looked just like her father, because she had serious issues.
William chooses to raise his family in the house where Charles and Camilla had their affair. If he had a problem with it, the royals would have found a different house for him. He has no problem with infidelity, his or Diana’s or Charles’s. He only cares when he thinks he isn’t the centre of everyone’s attention. Just like his father.
I don’t think Diana lied about the tissues. They were not at boarding school all the time. Charles interview was abusive and inappropriate. He admitted adultery with Camilla. The Dimbleby book was all Charles, based on Dimbleby’s interviews with Charles his friends and he had access to letters. Charles interview confessing adultery caused the PBs to divorce. And Charles through Dimbleby’s book said he never loved Diana but married her anyway. Quite damning to him. Diana was not “abusive”. She had to deal with the emotional distance of Charles and his contacting Camilla even wearing gifts from her on his honeymoon with Diana. Diana fought back after stories were leaked about her in the eighties by Charles friends including Nicholas Soames to trashed Diana on a TV program.. Stuart Higgins editor of the Sun said Camilla would ring him up to give her side, And biographers Bedell Smith, Bradford and others wrote about it. Charles was not squeaky clean himself. Hewitt did not look “just like” Diana’s father. But there were side by side photos of Charles nanny Mabel and Camilla Parker Bowles and the resemblance was striking. APB’s behavior did not excuse Camilla, who could have divorced him but their “arrangement” suited them both until Charles had to blab that he was involved with married Camilla. Diana’s affair with “married men” was this: Carling Denied he had an affair with Diana; Hoare nor Diana never confessed to it in their lifetimes and they are both dead now–though Hoare was notorious for going for unhappily married women. One of them spoke to People Magazine. The Hoares marriage did not break up. Diana flat out denied the relationshipwith Mannakee was “sexual.” OTOH, Camilla helped break up two homes with small children by not backing off when her lover got engaged. Diana did not have serious issues.
Diana lied constantly in the Morton book, just as she lied through her own mouthpieces. She deliberately targeted Charles as a husband because she thought he was the one man who couldn’t divorce her. Lied about who she was, what she liked in order to look like the perfect princess.
None of them were saints here, certainly not Diana. Like when she publicly accused Tiggy of aborting Charles’s baby. Yeah, Diana was a real prize.
Diana had affairs with at least three married men, physical ones as well as emotional ones. Snuck all her lovers into KP in the trunk of a car. The whitewashing of her reputation and behavior after her untimely death has not gone unnoticed by those of us who pay attention.
Whitewashing done by those who were guilty of those affairs with her in many cases.
She was, at the time of her death, not a very nice person. A pretty nasty, manipulative, destructive one in fact.
How do you know she lied? Diana was countering what Charles pals and spinners were saying about her through leaks to the media. I disagree with you totally. If Diana did not want a divorce she could have put up and shut up. And played nice with Camilla. She made waves. Diana was not a saint. How can you state as fact nosugar that she “had affairs with at least three married men.” Hoare never confirmed or denied publicly that there was an affair in his lifetime and neither did Diana. The nature of the relationship went with them to their graves. Diana did not break up the marriage and that is a fact since the Hoares stayed married until his death. Khan would meet Diana at KP during the separation from Charles and continued to see her after the divorce from Charles. He was not a Married Man. Carling denied any affair took place. Diana said to Settelen there was no sexual affair with Mannakee. Mannakee’s widow never accused Diana of having an affair with her late husband. You think she was not a nice person. I think Camilla was the most manipulative one of all. I don’t think all people think of Diana in such a terrible way. I saw no whitewashing being done. But I see plenty of it done with Charles and Camilla whose pals keep trashing Diana even 20 years after she died! Camilla and Charles were no saints but have the upper hand since Diana can’t defend herself. I totally disagree with you. I am wondering why it was OK for Charles to be with Camilla and after Diana was dumped it was “bad” that she got involved with Hewitt. Your “many married men” is the same old spin from Charles camp. IMO.
Tessa, I get you are an extremist Diana fan. You are one of only a handful because most people just don’t care. I get it, I was swept up in her at the beginning. Then I grew up and saw reality.
Majority doesn’t care what happened thirty years ago, they have far more important things to do in their daily lives. Some people who should never have gotten married got divorced. One died in a tragic accident because she chose not to wear a seatbelt in a car driven by a drunk. Her widower got remarried. Two decades later, it doesn’t matter.
Diana lied constantly through her mouthpieces, Morton being one of them. She colluded with Edwards and Whittaker to try to force Charles’s hand and get him to propose. She befriended Charles’s other main mistress, Kanga, and helped support her clothing line. She repeatedly targeted married men for her affairs, that isn’t Charles spin, it is fact. She chose to do that Panorama interview, with the tapes coming out recently of her 17 takes to get her PoorDiana look just right. Seventeen takes!
Whitewashing doesn’t change it. Her abuse of Tiggy. Her using her kids for PR. The hundreds of malicious phone calls to married men. Facts Diana fans don’t like, but fact it is. They were all deeply flawed, Diana too. No saints here. Charles didn’t cheat on you, he cheated on his wife. None of this was done to you, it isn’t personal, don’t take it personally.
About Diana being manipulative and lying about who she was and what she liked, etc. She was really young, a teenager. She probably didn’t know exactly who she was or what she could or couldn’t live with. Maybe she thought she could enjoy the country if she was there with her loving husband. When I was that age, I honestly would have believed that I could be perfectly happy living in a tent in the backyard of a shack in Florida as long as I was with my beloved boyfriend of the time. Now, as a person in my 30s, I know that I wouldn’t and that you can’t plan your entire life and happiness around your partner. But when I was Diana’s age when she was dating Charles, I absolutely built my life around my boyfriend and assumed that he would fulfill all of my needs and make me happy. And I think diana was probably feeling similarly. Especially when you take into account her need/hope that someone would come along and rescue her. And it was Prince Charles, heir to the Queen. A lot of hopes and dreams and fantasies can be built around that.
They married the idea of each other – complacent royal wife and Barbara Cartland hero – not the reality. That marriage would never have lasted, with or without outside influences.
One HUGE difference between the two: Diana’s affairs didn’t start until the marriage broke down over Charles’ continued affair with Camilla. Diana knew about the others too, but Charles’ EMOTIONAL affair with Camilla NEVER ended. He may say he stopped being physical with Cam the first few years with Diana, but he was ALWAYS *EMOTIONALLY* involved, (including on his honeymoon!) which in some ways, is even worse. He also got Cam to “befriend” a young, naive girl, practically gaslighting her.
Sorry, Charles comes out worse here. He’s an abusive POS. Period.
As was Diana. Camilla never wanted to marry Charles. I’m convinced she only caved in 2005 because the Archbishop of Canterbury was publicly urging them to marry. She might have wanted Charles the man (why I don’t know), but she never wanted this royal life.
What’s that oder? Oh yeah, it’s the word ‘sovereign’ which keeps wafting up.
(to make the above excerpt reek less, just replace the word ‘sovereign’ or ‘sovereignty’ with ‘bu!!sh!t’. Ah, the smell of honesty. )
oops. odor. sp.
But DOES Charles truly fully grasp the beating the crown took due to his participation in throwing his son and daughter-in-law under the bus repeatedly?
Sadly, I think he does. This family is it’s own worst enemy. I think his ego got in the way of doing right by his son and Meghan. Now he’s having to clean up his own mess, while trying to corral William, and keep Andrew stepped down. He’s certainly got his work cut out for him.
He’ll inherit a mess of monarchy from his mother and I have no sympathy for him. I hope he lives to see it go down in flames.
IMO Charles doesn’t grasp the impact of what happened over the past months. Also, I predict more photo ops of these 4 (+ the Cambs kids) in the future.
I think a lot of people remember Camilla’s role in Diana’s life. It will backfire if the little children are seen playing with Camilla in photo ops. Especially since they are Diana’s grandchildren.
Charles and Camilla used a picture of themselves, with one of Camilla’s granddaughters, as a Christmas pic in 2011 or 2012. It was from the royal wedding of W&K where she was a bridesmaid and they were on the balcony. No backlash. Most people don’t care about Charles vs. Diana vs. Camilla. They just don’t.
I think the number of people who care about Diana vs Camilla and whether or not Camilla can play with Diana’s grandchildren is shrinking. I get that you are very pro-Diana @Tessa but honestly, I think even people who hate Camilla would want to know that she treats Diana’s grandchildren well. Its not going to backfire. If it was, it would have happened by now.
Not necessarily. I see some rather scathing comments about this in the media comments sections and on social media when Camilla is pictured with the chiildren. Nobody “hates” Camilla but OTOH I think some get annoyed that Diana gets thrown under a bus posthumously to try to elevate Camilla. I don’t think Camilla sees much of her step grandchildren. Archie is tucked away in Canada and I think the Middletons spend the most time with the Cambridge children. I think Camilla’s number one concerns are her own grandchildren from her first marriage. I think Camilla’s PR hopes people have short memories. But people indeed have long memories and she will never be loved by all. to say the least. In retrospect it looks even more sordid today that Charles dated a teenager and appointed his lover as his date’s Mentor. Twisted. IMO.
notasugarhere, maybe most people do. It is all speculation here. Camilla is not the mother of Charles children and grandchildren and people who pick up books and magazines know Diana is the mother and grandmother. So she won’t be airbrushed out .
The obsessed Diana fans on the Fail don’t like her, and they make up a tiny subset of the UK population. Most don’t care about royals, and a few extra-marital affairs decades ago don’t matter to them. Forty percent of marriages in the UK end in divorce, remarriage is common.
Otherwise? Camilla is well-liked by the people she meets during her engagements. They say she’s funny, intelligent, engaged. The staff at Clarence House are also said to love her, because she knows how to handle Charles.
They DID put out a family pic of them all (Cambs, kids, and Harry and Meghan-she was about 2-3 mos. pregnant, though it wasn’t public yet) for Charles’ 70th. Cam had Charlotte on her lap.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46202198
notsugar, has it occurred to you that people who don’t like Camilla will stay away from her appearances entirely? I think Camilla is not funny or amusing not intelligent but manipulative. Calling Diana fans “obsessed” does not make other people’s opinions any less valid. There are “extreme” Camilla fans like Junor who raise the woman to sainthood. Forty percent marriages ending in divorce does not lessen the horrible behavior of Charles and Camilla or make it right. Charles bringing in a woman to have his babies and knowing he does not love her, but marries her anyway is cruel behavior.
It if fine if you don’t like her, you aren’t required to. Plenty of people do like, including the ones who show up at her appearances and meet her personally. They interact with her and find her intelligent and engaged. She is his wife now, she will be Queen Consort even if not in name. The past just doesn’t matter to most people.
@nota: I just checked the daily mail and they had an Article only a year Ago that Charles and camilla were trying to brand Diana (since her death when she cannot defend herself) as hysterical. The article had 5.2 thousand comments when most dm articles get less than a hundred. This proves that a lot of people are still interested in Diana and remember Camilla and Charles’ campaign against Diana. The many thousands of comments were overwhelmingly pro Diana and anti Camilla. These are facts that prove your view is not correct.
He seems to be working from the idea that people still respect the monarchy and that the members of the RF’s voices are somehow more believable and carry more weight just because they’re royal. A pretty old school type of way of thinking where the nobility are just considered more honorable, more respectable, their words carry more weight, their opinions matter more, they get the last word on things. He seems to be hoping that he can just announce that Andrew is done and they’re all disappointed and hopes that people will ignore that Andrew is still being protected by the family. Or he thinks he can just say that he loves his kids and wants the best for them and hopes they’ll be happy and people will just ignore the smear campaign and leaks. People just do not respect these people anymore because they’ve shown that there not special. They’re not good people. They’re not better or nobler.
Well said.
It worked with the tiara story in the Times. The story doesn’t make any sense but the write just kept saying it came from a high placed royal source.
Charles also thought he could get that pedophile priest cleared so who knows how he throws his weight around behind the scenes.
The tiara story was likely from Andrew, not Charles. He was angry about the attention Harry and Meghan were getting over Eugenie and Jack.
Diana fans are not obsessed but have a right to their opinion and to counter stories about her.
Things are better now between them Im sure. They dont really have a choice they’re stuck with each other without Harry functioning as their buffer as he did all those years. William is even letting Charles see his grandkids!
They have no choice but to make nice now to advertise a united front while they desperately try to get the RF back on track. Once the dust settle things should get interesting.
Exactly. And I cant wait to watch the shenanigans when they get tired of each other and the regular back-stabbing starts again. I personally think Charles is going to remind Will that he isn’t the Prince of Wales yet and pull some kind of power move to put him in his place. And I can’t wait. These two are both too jealous and petty for the united front to last very long.
I think Camilla will start to leak stories about Kate.
…and Carole will probably return the favour for Camilla.
For the record, I don’t think Camilla would go that route, but you never know.
It is all spin and seems fake to me. I don’t think it can possibly last. Probably sooner rather than later there will be some bad PR about the Middletons and Charles not seeing his grandchildren.
Chuck appointed Katy Perry as an ambassador to his British Asian Trust. He doesn’t grasp anything and is as clueless as the rest.
@Lowrider, oh didn’t you hear? Scarlett Johansson wasn’t available!
I can agree with Charlie having some secret concern, but does he ever have a glimpse of reality? When Queenie and Chuckie are dead, Andy living in Switzerland safe from extradition, the benevolent, thoughtful, (saving my anatomy), William speaks before the citizens, “It’s time to retire the monarchy, celebrate a new UK and disperse xyz funds to our British subjects.”
Alignment or collusion? Heh, the bigger they are.
I really do hope that Charles has spoken to Harry and said that once he’s actually in charge, things will be handled differently (because honestly, could you see Charles caping for Andrew? No way in hades), and that when given the opportunity to prove his word, he does.
Not that I think Harry and Meghan should rejoin in the total previous capacity. But allowing them some extra wiggle room would be huge. I’m sure they feel like they aren’t even welcome at family things now, much less anything “Royal.” I’d hate to see either of them, Harry in particular, feel isolated from family members and the country he was raised in, if he wants to see them in some capacity.
Harry should never go back without Meghan along. The tabs would then “rejoice” that they are “separated.” They need to be a team, all the way.
@Angelesque, Harry’s family and country isolated him. Why should he go back to the people and the place that treated his family so savagely? It’s not like they’ve started acting decently since he left.
Charles will cape for Andrew because to throw him to the wolves sets a precedent for other royals. They will never allow themselves or anyone connected by blood to be actively investigated, nor will they make it look like they believe he is guilty of anything more than poor judgment in being friends with a rapist/trafficker – never as a rapist himself. Just like they will never let his shady, shady business dealings be investigated. Opens the flood gates. They all have too much shady business to hide to do that. Charles didn’t have to accompany Andrew to church on Christmas morning, but he did.
If Harry feels isolated from his family, it is because his family isolated him. I hope he never comes back in any meaningful way. I REALLY hope they don’t go to Bea’s wedding. The humiliations heaped on them by their “loving family” will be massive. They are awful, awful people.
Laying it on thick, aren’t they?
There’s a kind of desperate energy to Keeny and Wills these days too.
What’s sad is that Charles did seem to be closer to Harry when he was young….
That’s exactly it. They seem desperate. Like they’re spinning out in all directions, frantically trying to show the world that they’re okay, they’re happy, they’re enough, they can do this all without Harry and Meghan. Frantically trying to convince themselves of the same things. They are stuck now in this position. When Harry was still around as the spare, William probably always had it in the back of his mind that he could leave if he wanted to, if it got bad enough or he wasn’t enjoying it. Now he can’t. Now it is all on them. For the rest of their lives and they’re trying to look happy and relaxed and confident about it. When it seems obvious by looking at them that they’re actually quite stressed, anxious, worried, and swinging wildly between anger and petulance.
As if we didn’t all just see Charles tearing up in the recent Duchy doc that William showed up to pretend to care. They’re putting on a show that is destined to fail – because they’ll turn on each other tomorrow.
Yep. Charles and William should’ve been “in closer alignment” for years as the 1st and 2nd in line. The fact that this was their first joint engagement in years should indicate how they really feel about each other. I doubt this PR show of unity will last long because these two men are so reputation-focused and easily angered when they feel they’re not getting enough attention. Something’s going to give eventually. And yes, Will and Kate are definitely projecting a note of desperation: the awkward attempts at PDA, the extra efforts to smile at each other (well, HERS at least), and the constantly shifting narrative about their feelings on Sussexit.
They don’t have any other choice; they’re stuck with each other. Even if Charles and Normal Bill hate each other, they have to PRETEND to be ‘in closer alignment’ to save face and to save their jobs. The image of the monarchy is that of a bunch of monsters who will cover for a sex offender but toss a pregnant bi-racial woman to the wolves. William probably doesn’t care but Charles does, so he’s going to hold his nose and work with William, hoping to ride out this shitstorm. That might mean that Charles is praying that dear Mummy kicks it so he can take over, but when the job you’re born to do depends on the death of one of your parents, you’re used to that.
Especially if the RF wants to keep going with their “the heirs” PR focus that they’ve been shoving down our throats, Will and Charles are going to have to see each other and work together more often. With Harry and Meghan gone, Andrew and his kids supposedly (hopefully!) being sidelined, the older working royals dying out and retiring, they’re basically just going to be left with William and his family and Charles. If you only have two main senior royals, they can’t hate each other publicly. It’s not as easy to hide petty family squabbles when the family consists of only 4 main people than when it consisted of 20+ various people all with their own different relationships.
Kerwood you need your own gossip blog – or better yet, write for celebitchy. Love your piss & vinegar and no bs approach. My keyboard can attest to it (due to a lot of spilt beverages).
‘Vital and hard working’. Please STOP with these jokes, you’re killing me.
I think it’s sad that neither son is interested in helping with Prince’s Trust etc because Charles’ charities do a lot of good and George won’t be old enough to potentially take it up in time. Then again, with the Keens in charge, it’d go to hell in a hand-basket pretty damn quick, so maybe it’s a blessing William prefers to be bored?
The Prince’s Trust should be William’s job …not Harry’s. And if Harry had taken it over and made it even more successful, William would’ve happily sabotaged the Trust to make Harry look bad. Charles should be happy Harry is nowhere near the Trust and that his cousin will take over running it.
This. It is the Prince (of Wales) Trust. Neither the Trust nor the Duchy have ever been Harry’s responsibility. William is the potential future king, he is responsible for the job responsibilities of the POW and future Duke of Cornwall.
‘…he is a respected statesman in the making and a vital and hard working ambassador for the Queen and the royal family’.
Such as his public good luck wishes to his brother with whom he imagined being should to shoulder? Fail.
Yeah, whenever I see the word “statesman,” the last name I associate with it is William Cambridge. Statesmen are those who have gravitas, who are well-versed in collaboration and diplomacy to achieve goals. Who are deep thinkers and intellectuals. Who see around corners and work towards long-range goals. William is so far removed from being a statesman, that I can’t believe his name and that word are even used in the same sentence.
What choice do they have? HAHAHAHA!
They just thought H and M would be the “whipping boys” forever, never thought that they would leave. But they pushed it too far, and now they are stuck with each other making nice in public! hahahahaha! Karma is just getting started.
It would be interesting what the answer to the question below would be today?
The question being – “Would you prefer that the monarchy skipped Prince Charles and anoint Prince William instead?”
This was decided in Prince William’s favour via polling after his mother’s death although he was untested.
Chucky is a DOUCHE… always has been and will NEVER CHANGE. If he and Wills are similar – that’s NOT a compliment.
Another way of looking at the situation , beyond public relations will be looking at the circumstances leading to the Sussexes becoming plain royals.
The second heir and his mother-in-law sicced the tattletale tabloids on the Sussexes because of jealousy and status induced insecurity creating a toxic work environment fueled by constant leaks and harassment.
Being the only truly functioning member between the two brothers Prince Harry asked to review the terms and conditions of said working environment.
As per usual more leaking ensued leading to the situation being publicized , slander and lies by tabloid press followed while a summit was convened. The present employer issued a statement of support for her grandson and his family, then assigned the heir to resolve the problem
The indecisive Charles allowed the other son who ignored him to be a part of the solution of a problem that said son helped created.
As the future employer of his other son he should have understood the value of the Sussexes as employees and made an independent assessment instead of dithering and leaking. He failed to make an independent and informed decision.
Instead armed with nonmanagerial skills the bully used his hammer er power to hit nails/his brotherand family.
Now the father has the respect of the heir?
He has realized that the decision is seen as unfair, unjust and plain stupid. While it seems like he has his heir’s attention he once more disappointed his other son – the valuable one.
Presentlt both heirs are leaning on political advice by appointing members of one political party to perform duties for their future apolitical role and now leans in on sovereign. The irony.
Trade agreements and sovereignty?
Meanwhile noone has the heart to tell insecure junior how much of his bullying, blaming, blackmailing and gloating is transparent and destructive.
It is timely to remember what makes the reigning monarch so significant: it is her dedication to honour, integrity and loyalty. Her dependability.
There is no evidence of this in this instance when she delegated her heir apparent to simply resolve a conflict created by toxic press environment.
It is needed but sorely lacking.
.
Obvious PR is obvious. Sheez.
I didn’t fully look at these photos the other day. So obvious and embarrassing. They’re really fumbling. I do appreciate the laugh, though, a stressful few weeks for me. The “spontaneous warmth” drivel gave me a nice guffaw. #youtrieditChuckandCo
Oh look, there’s the patented Kate Hyena Laugh again.
Girl is insane.
Whole of this family is insane, in fact, and I can’t wait til the monarchy is finally gotten rid of.
Well, i would call it what it is..They are pulling the wagons together in a last ditch effort to keep The Firm open. It is not a case of growing closer. IRL, Liz, Charles, Wills are in seriously deep PR trouble and it is gonna fall on Chuck and Will to keep their jobs. Turns out the BRF is quite an ugly bunch of relatives.
Nothing new under the sun..Everybody wants to rule .. None are qualified.
See also..Trump, and every other candidate also.
None of the above could sweep the Nov Elections!
Hey so can someone breakdown the Harry thing for me quick? Are all the royals really that racist? They left because everyone was mad racist to his new wife and none of the royals cared to do anything about it?