British prime minister Boris Johnson announced a new slate of lockdown measures for the UK over the weekend, but I don’t understand the “tier” system honestly. I feel like the differences in tiers complicates what should be a simple message of “stay home, don’t socialize, don’t leave the house unless it’s for necessities or work.” From what I’m seeing of British Twitter, there’s a lot of confusion and angst about it too, especially since the government was basically insisting just a few weeks ago that people could celebrate Christmas with people outside of their immediate bubble. Anyway, the tier rules are apparently super-confusing for the Windsors as well, no surprise, especially given that all of the Windsors cannot comprehend “mask wearing” as a necessity as public figures. There’s something called the “rule of six,” which is basically that only six people from different households can meet outdoors. The Cambridge family and the Wessex family flouted that rule.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been accused of inadvertently flouting the ‘rule of six’ after meeting Prince Edward and his family at Sandringham. William and Kate, along with their children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, are said to have ‘mingled’ with the prince’s uncle, his wife Sophie, and their children Lady Louise Windsor, 17, and 13-year-old James Viscount Severn at a public attraction.
The two groups were visiting Luminate, a Christmas-themed woodland walk at the Queen’s Norfolk residence, along with members of the public on Sunday evening. Both arrived separately, with royal sources stressing there was no intention of meeting up as a party of nine. But as they made their way around the mile-long, one-way illuminated trail, the two families were seen and photographed mixing and chatting on several occasions, albeit sticking to social distancing.
The Queen’s Norfolk residence is covered by Tier Two rules meaning that only six people – including children – can meet up outdoors if they are not from the same household or support bubble. The regulations clearly state: ‘You can see friends and family you do not live with (or do not have a support bubble with) outdoors, in a group of no more than six. This limit of six includes children of any age.’ They also say that police can take action against those who meet in larger groups – a fixed penalty notice of £200 for the first offence, doubling for each further offence up to £6,400.
One astonished member of the public, who snapped the families on their phone, told the Mail they had seen the families ‘mingling’ several times. One of those photographs clearly shows the party of nine, followed by bodyguards, walking in a group together. William is at at the front carrying Louis on his shoulders with George at his side, Kate is with Charlotte and Sophie, who has James following behind her, with the Earl of Wessex and his daughter Louise bringing up the rear. Another picture shows William, holding hands with George and Charlotte, walking alongside Sophie, James and Louise.
A visitor who saw the group said: ‘They were clearly breaking Covid rules, in my opinion, because there were nine of them from two separate households. They were obviously all having a fun evening out. You could tell that the royal youngsters were having a great time. But I couldn’t help thinking that it was one rule for them and another for the rest of us. It was really quite blatant.’
Last night, royal sources suggested that any contact was inadvertent. They said: ‘The two families were given separate consecutive slots to visit the trail just before it opened to the general public. They arrived and departed in their own family groups. As anyone with young children will know, there were moments on the 90-minute walk where it was difficult to keep the two family groups apart, particularly at bottlenecks on the trail.’
“…There were moments on the 90-minute walk where it was difficult to keep the two family groups apart, particularly at bottlenecks on the trail…” Yeah, do not go anywhere where there are “bottlenecks”…??? Jesus Christ, THIS IS NOT HARD. Especially for f–king royals! I mean, yes, this does not offend me as much as William and Kate’s completely asinine Covid Choo-Choo Tour, which honestly qualifies as a superspreader tour. But this kind of outing is completely preventable! We literally just have to stay at home for one f–king Christmas. Just one Christmas where you shouldn’t go out to crowded Christmas events – so crowded, there are “bottlenecks” – and if you do go out, WEAR A F–KING MASK. The Cambridges and Wessexes were not even wearing masks as they mingled and attended this crowded f–king event. My God, how f–king stupid are these people?
DAILY MAIL: We’re all heading for Tier 4 #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/5FlsXZR9jw
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) December 21, 2020
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and WENN.
Idiots, does Wally-iam want covid again?
London was in tier 4 last week, a bit before the schools finished for Christmas and Bagshot is in tier 4 as well. If you are in a tier 4 area, you are not allowed to leave!
‘But its for WOOOOOOORK!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nah it is to protect Andrew, and deflect from the arrest of a pal of his. What does it feel like to be the ones under the bus now that Harry and Meghan are no longer around?
Literally all they have to do is what they ALWAYS DO – stay home and do jack shit and they can’t even do that properly.
Tier 4 started this weekend, so they could have missed that if they left soon after the schools finished.
But if the Cambridges went from London to Norfolk and the Wessexes went from Surrey to Norfolk that does mean that they travelled from Tier 3 to Tier 2, which wasn’t allowed or necessary and was hugely irresponsibly.
“the Wessexes went from Surrey to Norfolk that does mean that they travelled from Tier 3 to Tier 2” The Wessexes’ bit of Surrey is in tier 4, isn’t it?
The government begged those in upcoming tier 4 areas not to leave, Matt Hancock made the point several times.
It is, but I’m being very kind to them and assuming they travelled before the weekend. Even in that case they travelled when they weren’t supposed to.
If they didn’t, then yes they breached the Tier 4 restrictions.
The Wessexes live in Bagshot which is in Tier 3 Surrey Heath, so they travelled to a Tier 2 area. The Luminate attraction is on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate near the Cambridges’ home. Groups have to book in advance and are given a 15 minute time slot for arrival. This ensures that crowds didn’t build up and that each group has a few minutes clearance from the next. These two families just ‘happened’ to have consecutive tickets. It seems the RPO’s were minding them as one group.
Another factor is that the Wessexes live about 140 miles from Sandringham. This can’t have been a day-trip. They are probably spending Christmas at Sandringham. Another question is when the Cambridges left London. Was it before or after the Tier 4 lockdown?
In England the ‘Rule of 6’ includes children of all ages, in Scotland children under 12 are not included and in Wales it’s children under 11. Confusing for some but there’s no excuse for the royals being confused. They were knowingly breaking the rules.
Lol, they’re probably all so puzzled at being required to follow rules. “But we’re royals. Senior royals. We’re better than you people.”
They think people being able to gaze upon their presence counts as essential work. You can’t get through to people who think like that.
@ Kalana, I agree with you that there are people who will flatly refuse to believe the devastation that the coronavirus actually is. To make matters worse, none of them wore a f#cking MASK!! How ignorant and insensitive are you when the UK is fighting a variant of the virus that you publicly thumb your nose at it! They should be displaying the efforts of fighting the coronavirus, not conducting themselves as above the rest of the countrymen.
I see this as arrogant behavior. Not a great example.
Also – where are the Wessexes staying? at Sandringham? Or did they go back to Bagshot last night? It seems like the trip involves some unnecessary travel for them.
I’m guessing Sandrigham. Unless the Cambridges let them stay at Anmer?
Do wonder why they’re there in Norfolk though. Sandrigham Christmas isn’t happening so why are the Wessexes there? Maybe after the CW day, they’ve all decided to be besties with the Cambridges
Unless the royals have their sandringham Christmas after all. I wouldn’t be surprised if the RF were trying to keep this on the low. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve lied to the public about their plans.
@JT – wouldn’t it be interesting if this little spectacle ruins the secret and they all are at Sandringham anyway? (maybe minus the queen?)
Very interesting indeed. And if they are here for Christmas, then the queen is too. She tried so hard to make her staff quarantine that she wouldn’t allow them to be there without her. They all think that the rules don’t apply to them. And so far they haven’t. The press continues to make excuses for them. But the UK is going through a hard time right now and it’s only going to get worse with brexit. People have long memories and when there are food shortages and price hikes, these type of deliberate flouting of the rules will get brought up.
Maybe there were all first in line for the vaccine which is why the train tour happened. And they decided to go ahead with Sandringham Christmas but that seems unlikely though because how can they hide where the Queen spends Christmas?
I for one am shocked, shocked I tell you, that for once, a member of the public actually took pictures with their handy camera phone to go along with their story. Usually we get the obligatory cheerful comments from a “local” who just so happened to witness Kate shopping with the children, or William taking his wife on an oh-so-normal pub date night, or them having a super modest staycation just like everyone else, but curiously there are aren’t always any pictures to go along with all these Low Key King and Queen of Keen sightings we hear so much about. They must be fuming that they were photographed breaking the rules, but not to worry, because they have the press to try to scramble to downplay it and make excuses for them. Bill and Cathy are just as confused as the rest of the country, you see. My favourite reaction so far is from good ol’ Dan Rotten, who could only muster a simple “Nice for some!” tweet and when called out on how he would have crucified Harry and Meghan if it was them, tried to claim he “criticises equally.” Ha!
@ PEARL GREY, Dan Wooten couldn’t criticize equally if his life depended on it!!
Chris Ship is trying to insist the same thing – that this is being criticized the same as if it had been the Sussexes. Thankfully people don’t seem to be agreeing with him, but its still ridiculous. Yes, the DM covered this story – yes, its on the front page – but the article itself is full of “well they didn’t MEAN to do anything wrong!!!”
@Pearl I love that this lady actually took and released photos! That never happens! She’s a rockstar imo.
ETA: I just saw speculation further down that they released these themselves and made it look like it was a civilian, so who knows. If they did, they’re even stupider than we thought.
I don’t know how the Royal protection officers force people to delete pictures they’ve taken of the royals from their phones…it’s not as if they’re police officers on duty? Does the public have to do whatever they command, and be forced to delete a picture that was taken in a public place from their own device? If it ever happened to me, I’d email it to myself so quickly if an RPO was heading over to scold me.
We all know that if this were Meghan and Harry, Dan Wotten would order them to be beheaded. With the Cambridge’s it’s “Oh well! That happens”
And Chris Ship is saying how fair he is when he did a whole special on why Harry and Meghan flying private was so awful. He spoke to experts and everything. None of that will happen to the Cambridge’s. Just a slap on the wrist and that’s it.
I loved Omids tweet on this. It was spot on.
@Ginger it’s fun to watch them all try to claim they’re so “fair and balanced” — nothing that any of these idiots say ever again has a shred of credibility. I mean FGS they tried to blame droughts on Meghan for eating an avocado, so they would have had a field day with this event.
Pearl
I haven’t thought about it, but you’re right. Whenever k and w go out together we get either blurry photos people post to Twitter or a story of the RPOs attacking private citizens and destroying or taking their phones from them.
Now we only get a PR plant telling us these things that no one ever sees do happen.
The rules are contradictory and confusing, yes, but why are the royals, particularly the Cambridges, so desperate to be seen right now when usually they’re quite happy to hide away from the public?
(We know why)
Also interestingly the children are in these pictures and we know images of them don’t appear in the press unless sanctioned by the palace.
It reeks of desperation. Now we know what they are willing to do to regain the limelight. Tone deaf and not smart PR moves that’s riling up their base against them.
The thing is it won’t seize the limelight. It will just be one barely-remembered distasteful detail rounding out people’s vague impressions of vague and irrelevant people (and those impressions are getting vaguely worse with every obnoxious stunt like this).
As far as I know, the rule is that paps can’t take photos of off duty Royals in the U.K. without permission. So, the press can’t print them without getting them sued. There are no restrictions on other people taking photos of the Royals. So, the press are free to print them without the photographer receiving any backlash.
No off duty pap photos? So, every time we do see a decent picture of Kate off-duty (like shopping at Waterstones or wherever), then it was definitely approved by KP?
It doesn’t seem to be a rule so much as an informal understanding. Kate got papped coming out of Lululemon when she pretended to edit the Huff Post and she definitely didn’t agree to those pictures.
KP has made the press take down pictures taken by the public, e.g. of Kate in the supermarket, in the past and the press usually doesn’t publish pictures of the children unless they have permission from the Palace.
@Kalana okay so “understanding” seems to be a better way to put it. I think the press doesn’t usually publish pictures of the kids partially to be nice but also because KP attacks over those, so its probably just easier to avoid it.
I don’t know how staged these photos were, bc the quality is so poor. They really do look like they were taken by an iPhone and someone was trying to be very subtle about it.
@Kalana- She might not have agreed, but someone would have had to. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was set up. It’s not like the family isn’t known for it.
The photos don’t look great so it does look like someone took photos from an iPhone. But the fact that they are published by the DM does make me wonder because there have been several supermarket outings with the kids where locals have taken photos and they were not printed or they were printed once and then removed online.
Maybe they think this outing makes them look good?
So those photos of kate doing motherly duties and buying bags of books for her kids were set up? How dare you suggest that!
I think they do set up these camera phone shots on purpose to make it look like it was taken by a random member of the public, when it was probably their assistant taking them. Just like the Flybe stunt was a camera phone pic. Kate has done that a few times, she was camera phone papped taking Louis for a walk and going to the supermarket several times. I think she does this along to make it seem more real and less staged. But it’s still clearly staged, especially if they are seen exclusively in the DM.
A lot of twitter talk say it was definitely them sending this out, Maria the nanny taking the photos? If so, they just wanted publicity and didn’t realize how bad of an idea it was. Not surprising, but still, how dumb can they be?
Publicity for the New Firm? Since when do Sophie and Kate hang out and get papped doing it? Also, the story said the Royals got timeslots before the exhibit opened to the general public. Wouldn’t be too hard to narrow down who was even there to take the pic if it wasn’t sanctioned.
If this was a deliberate leak and the picture was taken by Nanny Maria (which it could have been, because there are some shots where you don’t see any RPOs and the picture is from behind, i.e. the photographer seems to have been between the royals and their RPOs, same even if the RPOs were in front, bc there are also pics from the front) – then what on earth was the point? To show how happy the family is without H&M? To parade the kids yet again?
Even Washington Post is covering this (AND tying it back to the pandemic express), so to the extent this was meant as a positive PR move – it seems to have failed.
Another reason for why these pics are so clearly staged because the nanny is out of shot. They always make Marie and the rest of the help get out of the shot so the Keens can pretend they are hands on parents. Good to see Sophie and Edward are kissing their asses as per usual. I think the Keens were trying to look like they are best of friends with the Wessexs so peasants think they are ‘so loved’ by everyone in the royal family, unlike harry and Meghan who ‘everyone hates’. Will the Keens ever stop trying to ruin them?
Just catching up on this and I’m dying. The Washington Post is covering it?!
I know we’ve asked this so many times recently that it sounds like I’m beating a dead horse, but HOW could anyone at KP think this was a good idea — especially coming on the heels of the Pandemic Express then the maskless panto event?
If they were going to stage this, why not have it be a course correction with them all wearing masks?! To show that they DO actually take this seriously, model good behavior, etc. This stunt on its own, if it’s meant to generate good PR, is absolutely insane.
I’m genuinely starting to think that Charles is having their staff sabotage them from inside because there’s just no way that this many people could be so clueless and stupid.
ETA: Could it have been an employee of the light show who took the photo? That makes the most sense if the royals were let in early, and explains how someone got so close; employees wouldn’t be viewed as a threat and are probably stationed all along the pathway.
If I worked there and saw these grossly entitled people sauntering around not wearing masks at the height of the pandemic, I’d be angry enough to leak these photos, too.
I think the options are employee of light show or nanny Maria. If these trails were booked apart, as the story states, then no one else should have been around. Also it is remarkable that none of the RPOs or Nanny Maria are in any of the photos, so I am more inclined to say it was Nanny Maria told to make it look casual.
@Nic I feel like this is one time that Maria (or whichever nanny) might not have been there? I mean, they have to give the poor woman some time off, and since the kids are older now and they were essentially just going for a quick stroll, I can see them going alone. But who knows.
@February Pisces: Never. The Cambridges are never going to stop trying to ruin the Sussexes. Luckily for them, the Cambridges are total morons whose every action backfires spectacularly and the Sussexes are doing so well that nothing the BRF does could even make a dent in their success at this point.
I’m guessing it was Carole taking the photo. It seems like she would be at Anmer on the Sunday before Christmas, especially if Nanny Maria had a night off. Carole knows how to frame the shot to exclude the RPOs. Also, she would have a motive for the Sussexes to see that Kate and Will have new friends and aren’t missing H&M at all. Too bad it backfired on her and she forgot about covid.
It isn’t illegal to photograph them in public places while living their private 1 % lives. The Palace (or W&K) lean on the press when they don’t want the photos taken or published, but it isn’t illegal to publish those photos without permission.
You’re not alone Kaiser, no one in gvt can explain the tier system. 3 months ago, tier 3 was the highest and most extreme measure they could take, then, as a Christmas miracle, they just pulled tier 4 out of their ar$es
What shocks me about this story are the many knots and twists the RR are bending themselves into to defend this nonsense from the RF. Also… press printing paparazzi photos? Maybe they allowed these photos to be printed in the press, if the story was clearly to stress how they “inadvertently ran into each other” seeing as they are citizen photos and were likely to end up on social media
It was taken by a member of the public
Allegedly. The Flybe pictures were supposedly taken by a member of the public too.
Yeah, and I noted that, thanks… that’s why I said they probably allowed the photos to be published because they knew the photos would be leaked onto SM, so they said yes to the front page, because the story was ran with the biggest of disclaimers…
Yeah and her name is Carole.
Flybe was a video of them though, not really photos so there was media aware and ready to film them. These photos seem grainy and out of focus. I can’t see a pap being that bad even surreptitiously. But the fact they are published…. yeah that’s interesting. Suggests they permitted it.
I wonder if it’s the same “member of the public” who captured the budget flight stunt last year.
The grainy camera phone pics and video are just a tactic to make it seem like a member of the public took them and not a pap. And if it was a member of the public wouldn’t have that been leaked on socials first and thus name checking the member of the public a long with a caption of what happened? Also I’m not too sure how close a random member of the public can just linger around airport runways, I’m sure there’s like a 200 meter distance rule, which will be too far for a camera phone. So I think the person taking the photo would have had to be boarding the flight.
According to the story the Wessexes and Cambridges booked the trail back to back and presumably no one else could be there at the same time, so it has to be either someone like nanny Maria, or a light show employee who just happened to not capture any RPOs or nanny Maria.
No matter who took these particular photos, the Cambridges have been totally inconsistent over the years with which ones they make a fuss over and which ones they don’t.
I agree that some of the “taken by a passerby” photos are definitely professionally taken because of the quality, like the one of Kate buying books in the blue coat. So it makes sense that they’d have an agreement with the paps that some were okay and they’d all agree to pretend some rando took it.
The one I don’t understand though is the day Kate was supposed to be guest-editing HuffPo but left early to go shopping. She looks a little surprised in that one and I can’t imagine it was planned because they’d been promoting the HuffPo thing so much.
I guess we need to remember that the rules were different, pre-Meghan. The press was a lot tougher on Kate. (Nowhere NEAR the abuse they gave Meghan, but an example like this one.) And before William and Kate had the Sussexes to throw under the bus in exchange for good treatment by the media, they wouldn’t have had any bargaining power to stop them from running the shopping photo.
@lorelei I remember when she “guest edited” huff post, she was supposed to be there for the day but only stayed an hour. Hence why some of the huff post team on twitter are more team Meghan, they know kate ain’t shit. Anyway my theory is that even though most pap shoots are staged, it can be easier for a pap to track someone if they have been somewhere public and been promoting it. I think it’s plausible that a pap may have been lurking around the building and followed her exiting the building and seen where she was heading.
I’m sure she was also twitter papped shopping during the st Patrick’s day service she bailed on to ‘spend time with her kids’.
So much for that spotlight huh William and Kate? 😂 it’s only going to get worse because that media isn’t going to keep kissing their behinds for long and Sophie should know she is going to be thrown under the bus as well.
For the moment, Piers Morgan is (for once) not furious and hasn’t written about this. Rebecca English was positively brown-nosing in looking for every which way to excuse this. The ‘inadvertently’ in the article is disgusting enough, ‘oh they just made a little mistake, it wasn’t their fault, the bottlenecks, you know’. and random commentators are also saying how confusing it is, how the kids don’t count in the number 6 (they DO!), or simply to leave them alone, they’ve done nothing wrong. The double standard is beyond appalling! The only good news is that despite all this, it seems to me that more and more people come forward to say it isn’t right.
They are REALLY learning “be careful what you wish for” the hard way. And it’s delightful to witness!
Despite blatantly breaking COVID rules, the language used to describe what the trainbridges did by breaking the rule of six in the British press is so mild as to make you wonder what they have to do to be called to account. The pandemic express was one of the most tone deaf things they have ever done and it does not appear that they’ve learnt from that. Now they feel they have the impunity to behave as they please. They have just signed their own doom.
And they keep pretending that the RPOs aren’t there either which further adds to the adults and breaks rule. This virus doesn’t care about security.
I realize the “if it were Harry and Meghan…” is getting tired, but truly, in this situation, they would have been painted as assassins who could have killed everyone at the light show with their grossly arrogant behavior.
I screamed when I saw the pictures last night. Front page of the DM!
I am rolling my eyes at some of the language in the article – “inadvertently” flouted the rule. Nothing was inadvertent about it. They were flouting the rules and didn’t care and didn’t expect anyone to notice.
Also – with the royals – it sounds like people keep forgetting to count the bodyguards, like they’re not counted in the “rule of 6.” but you didn’t have 9 people mingling, you had 9 people PLUS their bodyguards, so presumably closer to 11 or 12 people mingling. With no masks. If there were “bottlenecks” as such that you couldn’t escape contact, then you need to wear a mask.
Also I saw the pictures last night on twitter. Those weren’t bottlenecks.
And the comments by the Fail readers that they were picking on the nice Cambridge’s. And stirring trouble. Etc.
I saw these comments and really was taken aback. For one, they have taken to redefining what a “Karen” is. Now, in their minds, a Karen is the person who took the photos and commented to the DM. No…Karen behavior is arriving with your extended family to an outdoor event and walking about together w/o a care in the world for your holiday get-together during a pandemic. They could have gone for a walk in the woods in their own backyards, but they HAD to travel to this event.
The likelihood of both families being photographed together with their children is just so slim.
The commenters are just sad…and the reason why we’re still dealing with this today.
I have a theory the comments are no longer real. The DM staff and bots use the comments section to drive a certain narrative.
So the Fail get to say they covered a story and held people aka the Royals accountable like journalists should, but the people spoke.
This is how they drove the whole scourge against migrants during the Arab spring and then Brexit. The whole thing has been a shit show for the last 10 years.
Becky English wrote this and was trying so hard to not blame the royals. She is KP’s mouth piece and doesn’t want to get in trouble haha.
I kind of considered it a “win” that she wrote this at all, considering how pro-Cambridge she is, lol.
@Becks1 Gasp! Counting the security detail (“the help”) alongside members of the royal family? That wouldn’t do, it might give them ideas above their station in life🤣.
Seriously, though, if they were able to secure a special time slot, why did they still all go together? If the site is not open to the general public yet, why the clumping? Why not have one group wait and follow?
This is exactly the kind of careless behaviour that has helped the fast spreading variant take hold in the UK. Because wearing masks outside would have addressed a lot of this issue and yes the RPOs count as adults. There is no exception here.
Agreed @ Mignionette! Can you imagine if this story was about “another” royal couple?
I went to one of these events last week in the US and even though it was exclusively outside everyone was required to wear a mask the entire time for exactly the bottleneck reason. Even if they got a secret vaccination (which I expect to be used to excuse their behavior any day now…), it’s so irresponsible to be setting this example when your country not only has increasing infections, but also a new strain!
@Becks you need to message me when something like this happens and I’m offline!!! 😂 (Also, that’s a really good point about neglecting to count the RPOs; I didn’t even think of that but you’re right.)
Also, if this was a setup in order to promote the “New Firm” (lol), it’s hilarious to me how juvenile it is. Truly some nonsense I would have pulled in middle school if I wanted a friend I was in a fight with to see me with another friend and get jealous. Except these are grown ass adults, one a future head of state!
It’s also hysterical if they thought Harry and Meghan would see these photos of the “New Fab Four” hanging out together and get all sad and jealous about it. My god there are no words for how petty and ridiculous these people are.
And before anyone says “kids don’t count in the rule of 6”. They do. Copied and pasted from the government’s own website: “This limit of 6 includes children of any age.”
Exactly!
Masks and social distancing are for the plebs. Am betting a years salary that they have ALL been given the vaccine already, which is why they have this DGAF about others attitude.
The Fail running this story means that they are p!ssed that they Cambridges/Middletons are not giving them exclusive gossip. How long before they start dropping hints about wandering Willilkeaks.
Should have gotten Platinum level advice.
Underrated comment!
Yep. They are pissed that Harry and Meghan aren’t coming back, making money and ignoring them. The leaks have stopped and the money train is done at least until the trial approaches next year. Kate and William are getting warnings because the media screwed themselves over because they backed the wrong horse.
I definitely think they have all gotten the vaccine. I already figured they would have at this point anyway, but this just confirms it for me.
It definitely would make sense for the Queen and Phillip to get it first, given her role as monarch and their advanced ages, and maybe then even Charles (even though I think that would be cutting the line for him, right?) but William “its just a cough” Cambridge getting it over other people is enraging – kind of like Marco Rubio getting it here.
My mum was born on the same day as Charles and has underlying health conditions. She wont get hers until at least January.
We will be told in the summer that they have been vaccinated with vague comments about when it took place. That said I don’t believe young kids are being vaccinated yet so I don’t know if the effectiveness has been confirmed for them.
Is the vaccine in the UK one jab or two? In US we have two and your not protected until weeks later.
@lizzy it’s two, but I do believe the Keens have had both vaccines and got them before their train wreck tour. Also I think they probably get tested everyday as well as the people around them.
I believe the Pfizer vaccine is two and Moderna is only one.
Even if they got the first round, enough time hasn’t passed for them to have gotten the second so they’re crazy to go around acting as if they’re fully protected. Was the Moderna even available in the UK before the train tour?
Not to mention they could still unwittingly pass it along to all of the non-VIP, non-vaccinated people at this event, but we know they don’t care.
Agree, Becks1. They’ve ALL had the vaccine and live accordingly. However, they are stuck with the bad press when they flaunt their behavior because we peasants are not supposed to figure out that they were the first ones vaccinated. It infuriates me as following the guidelines when you’re this wealthy with huge houses, acres of land, and tons of staff would seem to be so much easier than it is for front line workers and the most vulnerable in the population. And that B****S*** excuse of slots together and bottlenecks on the trail. How they must sit around and laugh about the behavior they get away with compared to the peasants.
They really do think we’re all idiots and will believe anything they spin out there. They are entitled pigs. They could at least pretend to care about trying to model appropriate behavior for the peasants they have supposedly dedicated their lives to serving. 👎🏽
They have all had the vaccine as they’ve all had COVID so have antibodies. Also the timing is so suspicious that it’s clear they all caught it from each other. They have access to the best specialists so I doubt they ever took it seriously.
These guys are increasingly out of touch.
I don’t think the children had COVID but perhaps that was not disclosed if it happened at all.
I wonder where the Wessexes were staying in Norfolk. Maybe with the Cambridges? They wouldn’t open up Sandringham. But then are they staying through Christmas? And right, Windsor is Tier 4 so when did they leave?
And who is spending Christmas with the Queen? Charles is at Highgrove, the Wessexes are not quarantining. Neither is Eugenie unless she’ll be away from the other Yorks. Is the Queen only going to have Philip with her?
This is sort of off topic, but when I clicked through to the article Kaiser linked here, there’s a photo of Sandringham and it reminded me of this.
Can someone please explain to me like I’m five years old how they claim every year at Christmas that Sandringham is “too full” and couldn’t possibly fit anyone else…give me a break. Look at that photo in the article— even if every single family member and their entire extended families stayed there, it wouldn’t even fill up a quarter of that place. It’s fcking ENORMOUS.
Just wondering why everyone buys this excuse every year with no more than a shrug when it can’t possibly be true. It’s so obvious that it’s a lie the Queen uses to exclude as many people as possible from her precious Christmas celebrations.
Hmm…I’m suspicious of these pictures. As some have mentioned on twitter, I’m getting a flybe vibe, especially given that there were supposedly bodyguards around. Plus, KP usually gets pictures taken down before they’re published especially when the children are photographed. There’s a picture of them taken from the front. How was the person able to get away with that picture without the bodyguards noticing?
Another thing, there’s absolutely no outrage from the press about this. We know if it were Harry and Meghan people would be raging.
Exactly. This is just like the flybe stunt and like that stunt, it is backfiring. The photo angles are a dead giveaway.
I agree. The photos are very suspicious. I don’t know what they are trying to prove with these photos. I do love how they are being dragged. The RR’s and Kate stans are twisting themselves into pretzels trying to twist this as nothing but people are not buying it.
I don’t know why the UK has a tier system.
It should just be one simple message of stay home and if you HAVE to go out wear a mask and social distance. This is why the virus is not going away. Every country has an odd set of rules when it should be one rule. Especially regarding kids. The Kate stans say the kids don’t count in the rules but they do (and they should). Kids are carriers. My parents are more afraid of my kids than me or my husband. Kids don’t wash their hands as they should and are not great at covering their mouths when they sneeze or cough.
One rule for peasants and another for the royals. Thank God Harry and Meghan are in CA. And thank God they always wear a mask when they are out.
Kate’s fans are always twisting themselves in pretzels, then need to stan someone less basic.
The media is starting to get restless. A year ago, they never would’ve printed this story (or one with this negative of a take). Watch this space.
Yep. Montecito, Netflix, investments were bad enough for the media but the Spotify deal pushed them over the edge. The media are too entitled and arrogant to say they screwed up but I think they’re realizing that they backed the wrong horse because they have screwed themselves backing a charismatic challenged couple who make them nothing. The media is not benefiting at all from that relationship. Only the Cambridges, at least in the U.K.
And don’t forget the announcement about the World Central Kitchen, which I think may have been the final straw. Not only are Harry and Meghan making big deals with entertainment companies, they’re making big deals with well-known philanthropic organizations.
Exactly. And every one of these stories is breaking in US media outlets. The British press’ ability to monetize the narrative has been severely curtailed.
It is truly grand to think about the fury the press must feel each time a new Sussex announcement is made. It makes me smile to think how angry and hateful those racist reporters must feel with every new success from the Sussex’s.
What’s strange is that after a year, not one of these papers has done or printed anything that would make them want to go back to the UK. You’d think at least one would realize they’re not coming back and would be trying to open a line of communication but there’s no reaching out of any kind, if anything they’ve doubled down. Could it be the RR’s honestly think H&M will come crawling back, defeated?
Everything you said @Britt, particularly about backing the wrong horse.
Did the gold standard advisors approve this?
They asked for it, got to give the newspapers some crumbs… so that they don’t write bad things about us.
I’m going say yes they did.
Should have gotten Platinum level advice.
LOL, much better comment than mine!
And THIS is how COVID spreads so easily, from innocent little gatherings that break the rules put in place that society should adhere to. And THIS is why Sturgeon did not want them in Scotland, because obviously Wills and Kate do not understand any of this or they don’t care or they think they are above the “rules”. And shame on the Wessex’s because they know Wills and Kate have been traveling and do not wear masks. What a bunch of selfish and idiotic behavior,
What’s WRONG with these people?
The thing is outdoors is safer but. ..rules, role models for the public and their own kids, and wear masks for those choke points. And again, rules.
They clearly booked adjacent time slots to coordinate and could have known this would happen. Those photos, that spread! Poor examples a far cry from Will’s great grandparents in WWII.
They are lucky they are protected by the establishment. If this was Harry& Meghan.. Media reporting ‘inadvertently’ or ‘technically’ broke the rule. Stans trying to find excuses and in absent of that saying there’s a crisis and better things to focus on lol. Priti Patel wouldn’t even answer question about their rule breaking when asked. She had a lot to say about no racism in media coverage of Meghan though.
After the train tour you’d think they would know better but throughout this pandemic the royals have shown such poor leadership & acted like typical elites where rules don’t apply to them. So then don’t do the whole ‘thanking frontline workers‘ thing then when you can’t set better example or respect rules.
The whole thing is suspect though- who took the pictures? I presume bodyguards would have been around but they aren’t in the pictures?I thought pap pics of the kids couldn’t be published?
And why are the Wessexes in Sandringham if Queens usual Christmas isn’t happening? Will they travel back to Windsor (thus break more rules)? Nice little publicity for the Sandringham event though. Wonder how many knew of this event previously 😉
They have a gentleman’s agreement about the kids but there’s no rule about it. Will and Kate already showed they’ll make exceptions because of the Flybe stunt so how they can they be upset now?
If this was before the trail opened, I wonder who took the pictures and who gave the quotes. Did the staff rat them out?
And the agreement is about the kids going about their usual business and pap shots. This is (allegedly) a member of the general public and the papers can argue the public interest applies because they are breaking COVID rules.
I know an American former fan of theirs greatly turned off by what she terms “low-key COVID denier behavior”
It’s written mildly because they have to gauge the reaction of their right wing nuts first. Are they going to go the route of “one rule for the royals, one rule for us plebes?” Or applaud the Cambridge’s and Sussexes for floating “nonsensical” lockdown rules. We’ll know by midday.
Say what you want about Charles but he spent his last few days masked up indoors greeting postal workers while the Queen in Training and Future King took their spoiled children (god forbid the Cambridge children not get a Christmas play, god forbid the Cambridge children wear a mask) to a second event in which they received special treatment. (“The families received slots before it opened to the general public.” Not exactly “now I can look the east end in the face”
The kids are completely innocent and blameless in all this. It also makes sense to let the royals go through before the trail opens for security reasons.
Edit: I’m just not comfortable with characterizing children in a negative way unless they’ve actually done something.
Spoiled children are not a reflection on their children, they’re a reflection on their parents. The Cambridges brought them to a Christmas play that absolutely no one else in their position could attend. Now they get to see Aunt Sophie and Uncle Edward and our cousins and how fun. There are children the same ages writing to Santa for COVID cutes and hoping he doesn’t get sick. It does not appear that William or the Future Queen wants to sully their children’s days with such things.
While I agree the children are blameless in this BUT they are raising children who do notice and hear what is being said. My children are having birthdays moved to spring (and that is a maybe), my children cannot se their friends and have not seen their friends but are stuck inside. I agree with Shoo fly and children do notice.
That’s why I’m questioning who took the pictures if this was a preview event before it was opened up to the public? (Def makes sense for them to enjoy trail before the public). Was it stuff running the event who sold pics to the press to hype it?
like some have said how did they get pics without bodyguards etc and a picture at the front without bodyguard detecting? And if it was a preview how big were the crowds that the families ended up not distancing as much as should have?
Maybe intent was to show some of the magnificent seven in an informal setting lol and the press screwed them over.
Anyway it will blow over as it isn’t the Sussexes so the press won’t make it a controversy but despite the press hype about how the royals had a ‘great covid’ I am surprised how much they have fumbled it especially as was so easy to get things right.
They are teaching the children they are entitled. The kids saw families pushed out of of the way at the panto theater so they could walk by. Will they all be spoiled and entitled? Judging by Harry they just might not be.
They are teaching their children that following rules is not something they need to worry about; rules are for the peasants.
So much for the whole “Kate wants the kids to be normal!” narrative they’ve been pushing for seven years.
@Lizzie- The only reason Harry is not that way is Diana.
The Cambridge children do not have a Diana in any way shape or form in their lives at all. Obviously neither parent is Diana-esq in her dedication to normalcy and fairness, there are no secondary relatives who can play that role either both sets of grandparents are quite self-centered and dedicated to this type of snobbery.
About the closest thing to a Diana like positive influence would have been Harry and Meghan, but of course their parents helped chuck those two to another continent.
Both sets? Really just Michael and Carole and Charles and the late Diana. Technically, Camilla is the stepgrandmother and did not have any part in raising William and Harry. Perhaps Sarah Spencer could also talk to them about their mother. Harry and Meghan pointedly invited the Spencer sisters to Archie’s baptism.
All I know is that my friends in London, and other parts of the UK had to cancel all their plans. Will not be seeing their parents. Will not be seeing their siblings. Are basically in lockdown. And these clowns parade. What a way to see how the training for FFQ has paid off and why someone should never be a FFK… horrible.
I was supposed to stay in London with family, but I can’t now.
My choice is to stay at home in Northamptonshire (no family or relatives here, apart from Mr Keen and our baby) or to see family in Birmingham, Warwickshire or Shropshire.
Really annoyed that stans believe William can’t get covid again!!
They’ve displayed a clear pattern of behavior now that shows they both do not care about the risks posed by this virus and do not think government restrictions apply to them. They act like they’re untouchable, and tbh, it seems that they are.
I hope they’re not predictable enough to release another family picture.
The Cambridges seem determined to put an end to the monarchy before they have a chance to rule. Smh.
^^ This. Bill is so focused on what Harry is doing that he is not focused on his own future. Gteed recipe for disaster.
Thank you, Royals.
The UK is a mess and during these last 2 days around 50 000 people from my (and theirs) home country came back for Christmas and maybe they’ll bring us a new mutated covid.
The UK has literally been put to an international quarantine – I know that traffic from the UK has been suspended in France and Denmark (and probably other countries as well).
More than 40 countries have banned flights from the UK, according to the BBC.
It’s being called, er, Plague Island.
Canada stopped passenger flights from the UK Sunday night. And Cuomo has gotten passengers flying in from the UK to be tested when they land. Of course if the US didn’t still have a buffoon then we can be sure that Biden would be halting flights from the UK as well.
Prince William the manly man with very cold hands. No gloves nor pockets for him.
thanks for flagging the lack of masks – even if they did meet up, they’re walking among members of the public also there for the art display thing – why are they note wearing masks?! how did actually having covid (and apparently it was bad?) not teach William anything?!
Probably not a big risk for them. The royalists will find excuses for them and their right-wing fans are probably anti-maskers who think the virus is a hoax.
I live about an hour from this and booked it as a new years treat. You have to book in 30 minute time slots and there is a warning on the website that you can only go in groups of 6. There is no way they ‘inadvertently’ did this. Why are they even friend now? Weve never seen them together before apart from this month. I get that theyve realised Sophie is popular so want them associated together but they could easily have booked and gone separately. Or the Wessexes not gone at all, since they have travelled from Surrey into one of the few areas in England who have low covid levels.
I admit this does look like a really lovely Christmas/winter type of activity, and if I lived anywhere close to Norfolk (instead of in the US lololol) I would want to do it. so maybe this was intended as some sort of ill-conceived promotion for the attraction?
False!
Ten of Surrey’s boroughs and districts are under Tier 4 restrictions following a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.
All others are in tier 3 (apart from Waverley).
I think that’s what she was saying, though. They’re coming from Surrey where there are high levels of Covid and traveling into Norfolk where there are comparatively much lower levels of covid. That’s why it’s particularly stupid. They could be bringing covid to a place that’s doing relatively well.
I agree it does look like a lovely event. I just find it so funny that they’re trying to convince us that Kate and Sophie are super good friends now, Harry has been effectively replaced by Edward as William’s closest family member, and that this is the “new Fab Four” 😂
I think the Cambridges and Wessexes are using each other. I think Edward And Sophie are wary though. I remember some years ago how William was “incandescent” over his Uncle Edward leaving Cameras at St. Andrew’s.
@Tessa ITA. It’s so clearly not a genuine relationship— did we ever see these four hang out together even *once* before H&M left? I guess they think it’s mutually beneficial, but to me it just seems awkward that they’re just now being thrown together with relatives they never socialized with before.
We have similar botanical gardens lit for Christmas to walk through after dark. Tickets for time slots required and everyone wears masks. Yes there were bottlenecks and everyone spread apart to social distance. This refusal to wear masks seems very trump like.
The path seems really wide here though!
I really dont understand why masks aren’t used outside when there is a large enough group of people to have a bottleneck. It makes no sense and explains why the UK is having its Covid issues.
I don’t understand why an event like this is happening at all, honestly, especially in a country with surging cases. I’m in British Columbia, Canada, and even though there are relatively low cases here compared to Alberta and Ontario, all events such as this have been ordered cancelled this year. The only light displays that are allowed are drive-thru ones where people stay in their cars. Allowing people to congregate in any numbers without masks, even if outside, seems stupid. Even with assigned time slots, groups are not going to stay separated—especially if the path is prone to “bottlenecks.” Why would normal folk take the risks seriously when it’s clear that the government and senior public figures are not?
Also, just a quick point about the vaccine—it does not protect you from getting covid. It protects you from the more serious symptoms. So it’s going to become more likely for more people to have it and be asymptomatic and therefore pass it on to even more people. That’s why wearing masks isn’t going away anytime soon. Finally, in Canada the vaccine is not approved for use in children 16 and under. Is that the case anywhere else?
“ Why would normal folk take the risks seriously when it’s clear that the government and senior public figures are not?” I’m wondering if there were even people waiting in line who had their masks on and then took them off because they saw that the Princes and Princesses weren’t wearing them or worried about it. Like if you were unsure if this was an activity that really required a mask but you wore one anyways to be safe and then you saw the royal family “role models for England” not wearing theirs? Or how do you get your kid to keep wearing his mask when the royal kids aren’t even wearing theirs? Could there have been die-hard royalists there who removed their masks so they could either smile at the royals, or as a “sign of respect” like removing your hat, or in order to not make the royals feel embarrassed for “forgetting” theirs? It’s just such a bad idea for them to be out and about at a normal people event, seen by all kinds of regular people, not wearing masks. Because people will want to emulate them. Or will be influenced by them.
Norfolk has really low cases compared to the rest of the country and have done since March. However, anecdotally it seems most of London has decamped here to their holiday cottages, so we will be in covid central come January
Look out for Kate and Sophie doing engagements together in 2021!
That will be interesting not least because Sophie is older, wiser, smarter and has a better work ethic. Will be interesting to see if the relationships survives after they’ve thrown the soon to be Duchess of Edinburgh under the bus a few times.
Maybe she’ll give the papers some stories in return!
Poor Sophie.
Yes, poor Sophie.
I’m legit wondering if the Windsors are anti-lockdown wingnuts. Although the simpler explanation is that they’re run-of-the-mill privileged assholes who think the rules are just for peasants.
@Emily I think it’s a bit of both. Remember, William was joking about Covid and he only stopped because there was public backlash. I think the Windsors are more like the Trumps than many of us realized. Imo!
William, aka Penis with Teeth, aka the Constant Gardener: ‘do you know who one is?’
Covid: Yes. Here’s your cough.
H&M:
Netflix deal
Spotify deal
World Kitchen partnership
Invest in coffee start up that donate 1% to food charities
Baking charity with full covid rules followed and surge in donations
Match fans amazing fundraising
Time 100
New home
etc
Keens:
Panto that had to pack up
Breathing over children with terminal illness
Not planting a sunflower properly
Internet shopping and makeup tutorials
‘Survey’ ‘results’
Non charity bakery and no gloves/hand washing, hair worn down
Visit food bank without bringing any food or donations
‘Shit’ bingo (according to one person taking part)
Covid train
Covid trail
Joking about covid
Getting covid
You forgot New York times op ed that was circulated around the world!
There’s too many good things to remember!!
Also her speech to the class of 2020 that went viral.
Harry and Meghan should make a million dollar donation to UK food banks with a public note to the Cambridges, something like “We noticed you weren’t able to bring anything to the food banks that you visited, hope this helps!”
‘Survey’ ‘results’
Dead 😂☠️
And this is why covid goes on and on-everyone thinks the rules are for other people. Unfortunately, the virus disagrees. I just unfollowed a few people on IG who are currently in Hawaii and the USVI. It pisses me off that my family is following the stay at home order (we’re in So Cal), but other people are not. The selfishness and blatant disregard for other people is so frustrating and disheartening.
These grifters probably got the vaccine on day one. Their smugness and complete disregard for rules is telling. Wouldn’t be surprised if both cocktails have already been administered on the backs of those who truly need it.
It is the way Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI would have behaved if they had a pandemic back in the day.
In an of itself, maybe this wouldn’t be a big deal IF the UK wasn’t the epicenter of a new strain of virus that is panicking the world. and IF the adults and older kids were wearing masks. Edwards kids are teenagers now and they spread and catch Covid almost as easily as adults. The royals are starting to give the impression they are MAGA- level mask deniers. They don’t like wearing them and don’t give the impression they think it’s necessary.They just got off this ridiculous train tour where they were flouting travel rules, came across as self- serving ,and again flouting consistent mask wearing. Now UK has gone into another lockdown that discourages internal travel and wrecked Christmas for so many people and they are both traveling from other counties to do this and just don’t care. The borders are closed and freight is backing up at the ports, and people bound into and out of the UK are stranded, so yeah this little jaunt does not look good. Who took the photo? Was it a whistleblower or was it by a “ friend” who thought it would make them look festive or something? Barely a squeak from the press and so much forgiveness and excuses. We know if this was another couple this would be major headlines and screeds for days. But then again, they wear their masks consistently whenever they are spotted out and don’t look like they consider wearing masks an issue.
Bending over backwards with excuses, Harry and Meghan would have been crucified if they did this, a tour or the bakery/pub visits.
All this and it was the current working royals who actually caught covid and not H&M. Has the Queen even worn a mask so far?
Some have tried to criticize them for going to an office building in Beverley Hills, despite the fact they were masked outdoors.
I need Covid to start thinning the natural order of things. When royal dumb nuts offer themselves up on a platter by not taking any steps to prevent the spread of it, then Covid must take royal prisoners as a lesson to all other royal asses to inbred to think logically
I’m in the US and the two vaccines that have been given emergency approval by the FDA are not effective until after the 2nd shot: 7 days after the second shot for Pfizer’s and 14 days after the second shot for Moderna’s. Also, Pfizer’s is only approved for 16 years and older and Maderna’s is only approved for 18 years and older. I think both companies are doing trials for children younger than 16 and 18, respectively, but I haven’t kept up on that info. So, with 21 days between shots for Pfizer and 28 days between shots for Moderna, it doesn’t matter if any of them have had the first shot–non of them are immune. Also, they don’t know if someone who is vaccinated and then later gets the virus will still transmit the virus to others. So we may still be able to expose someone else even if we’ve been vaccinated. Masks are going to be in our future for (my guess) another year. And, since 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity and there’s a pretty big population that refuse to get it–well, get used to your masks. I hope these idiots get Covid NOW. Maybe they will learn something the second time around,
I didn’t realize Moderna was two shots as well, but good to know.
It seems idiotic on the surface, but maybe they know something we don’t know. I’m starting to wonder if all these rich and privileged higher ups might have access to treatment? Think of Trump and all the people in his administration who tested positive. None of them suffered complications or deaths. Ditto for Boris Johnson and Prince William. Even our own true blue Deborah Birks flouted the rules over Thanksgiving. I know it sounds tin hatty. But why aren’t they worried?
Boris did suffer. He was on a ventilator at one point I think but he definitely reached the ICU. William apparently got a really bad case of it too but no word of hospitalisation.
Oh gosh, Okay I did not know/remember that about Boris. I was expecting at least some of the Trump cluster to be badly affected—remember we were calling it the Rose Garden Massacre? Maybe they kept it on the down low?
They actually broke the guidelines going to Norfolk at all:
When London was still in tier 3 they should have stayed there – “Avoid travelling outside your area, including for overnight stays, other than where necessary”… So they deliberately breached tier 3 rules.
So where are all the “but the government guidelines” defenders? 😂
The addition of tier 4 might be confusing. And the Tory dream of giving time off for Christmas was laughable to anyone paying attention to the pandemic. It wasn’t like the virus was gonna call truce and play a game of football just cause it’s Christmas. But the rule of 6 has been around months. The keens have broken the rule many times. And medical authorities have advocated wearing masks outdoors in the UK.
It’s clear as day that they don’t respect the virus or frontline workers. They probably already got the jab and think they’re mistakenly think they’re immune. Or they think they are rich enough not to suffer the consequences.
Yes I agree. All the “guidelines” people are really quiet today.
Anyway this is now a story in the Washington Post, so that is some US media attention for them. The article isn’t as flattering as the pablum Becky English wrote in the DM though.
@Nic it’s great that WAPO covered it because KP will know the backlash is serious.
I have no idea what they’ll plan next to try to make people forget this stunt which was supposed to be drawing attention away from the Panto event backlash which was supposed to be pulling attention away from the Pandemic Express backlash, but it will be fun to see what they come up with. They did photos of the kids last week, so that won’t work.
It will be a video of the kids on Christmas saying cute things.
A real bunch of geniuses there especially in light of this new highly contagious mutated version of the virus. They are just asking to get it – again.
Kate the one with the tight pants. Sophie is like a faithful servant, she even gained weight and dims her light so Kate can shine…Hmm I wonder if she’d throw her kids under for the monarchy…probably.
TEAMMEG, Trump’s head of the security office, creed Bailey, got it early and has had to have both legs amputated, etc. but his family wants to keep it quiet because he’s a big trump
Supporter. Chris Christie was also hospitalized. But generally especially people who got it recently, among the rich and connected are getting the therapeutics which really do work and are not available for us plebes. So no, they aren’t scared, and to them it’s fair and they fee entitled to be taken care of at a higher degree than us.
Look i can give them the six people rule is kind of confusing bit but why the hell do they keep going out in public without masks or ar all around lots of people when not necessary? Like how can they argue that the monarchy matters and that these people are fit to lead a countty when a year into a pandemic that has killed so many people they still cant get their whole family to wear masks? A bunch of useless idiots.