Over the weekend, the Sunday Times Magazine made “The Other Brother” their cover story. The piece was pure propaganda from Prince William and Kensington Palace. It was incredibly obvious and very unsettling. I enjoyed the fact that people were comparing it to the now-infamous “Catherine the Great” Tatler cover story last year, which was also keen propaganda and also quite obvious. It’s a good comparison and one which I wish I’d made, but there were differences. For one, Kate and William’s propaganda operations have diverged over the years. As Tatler revealed, Kate’s whole thing these days is that she’s the Top CEO and “the kingmaker” and William couldn’t do any of this without her. The Sunday Times piece was more like “yeah Catherine is fine, she raises the children” but it was very much a portrait of a man who lives inside his own ass. William doesn’t actually want to sound like a man who needs his wife to soothe his incandescent rage. But Kate *wants* to sound like she does all of that for him and more. So, check out this new chapter in the Middleton PR push:
The resilient royal! Duchess Kate has been a shoulder to lean on for Prince William amid his rift with Prince Harry.
“Kate is a natural leader who has a magnificent ability to remain composed, even during the most challenging situations,” a source says exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly.
A second insider adds, “Kate’s used to all eyes being on her. Being in a strong, solid marriage to William helps. They lean on each other for support during difficult times and will talk through their problems. She’s been her husband’s pillar of strength throughout this whole ordeal.”
I don’t think Kate is anyone’s pillar of strength? Being dull and vapid is not really a “strength,” but at least she’s consistent, and I’m sure that’s soothing to the Other Brother. Trying to paint Kate as a “natural leader” at this point in the game, when we’ve already had a good look at her actual (lazy af) energy, is a fool’s errand. But this is absolutely the PR push, and we should be talking more about how Kate and William’s PR is diverging and has been for a while. Kate’s whole persona is wrapped up in being William’s rock, the woman who ensures his ascent to the throne. But William doesn’t actually want to give Kate credit for anything like that.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
The Cambridges need to STAHP with this garbage or they are going to cause large swaths of their future future subjects to die of secondhand embarrassment.
It’s seriously embarrassing at this point, and completely sickening. NOBODY is as perfect as they’re constantly trying to make this empty-headed chick sound.
Genuine question: is there any other celebrity on the planet who is soooooo constantly being written up in these treacly ass-kissing embiggening articles?? I guess fan faves like Anniston and Garner get pretty good coverage, but this heavy??
“”“Natural leader”, “Tower of strength”… Ha! Pull the other one. First I guffawed, and then I wanted to vomit. Fremdschmen. The German word for when you feel embarrassment for/on behalf of someone else. Wow, the Palace PR machine is working overtime to quell any love generated by the positive stories about the Sussexes.
Petty tw@ts, the lot of them,
She’s more like a pillar of salt. A tiny bit of moisture blow back from her mean girl tears and she dissolves!
Like Sodom and Gomorrah pillar of salt? 😒
I was going to say doormat, but I like this analogy. Ha!
Mama Carole Goldsmith Middleton paid for Kate to attend a good university only to entrap Baldilox; she had been accepted to a different uni but changed to the same as Cain so she waited for a year when she knew that he was going there.
It was such a waste of money because aside from working on a yacht cleaning it she never did an honest day of hard work.
https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a26997929/kate-middleton-deckhand-job-low-pay/
Or to die laughing, as I did! Natural leader? Pillar of strength? Carole Middleton should know by now never to get high on her own supply!
@bearcatlawyer This is the best comment!! Rule #4!!! They need to follow #7 too.
Hah! Carole Middleton, who I’m 99% sure is the one pushing this story, should also know not to go to US Weekly with her fluff pieces. Nobody takes that rag seriously, it’s just a glossy-paper version of the National Enquirer.
What, the People magazine cover story wasn’t enough? I fear that Mama Middleton doth protest too much, the more she pushes this kind of pr for her daughter the more lame it all appears. Kate does NOT shine in that kind of a spotlight.
There is a small part of me that has some sympathy for Kate. With this kind of a mother, how was she ever allowed to just be herself, growing up?
Yes!, And thinking about Kaiser reading that, comedy gold. She is super funny and entertaining about this family.
I don’t get the Middletons. They’re also pushing poor Pippa forward, right before and directly after giving birth, sending her out in different outfits for the DM. Embarrassing.
The Cambridge faux fan base don’t care if it’s garbage. Whether Kate is being lauded as a shy, quiet, traditional wife who knows her place behind her man on Monday, and then praised for being a confident, king making, natural leader whose strength is her husband’s pillar on Tuesday, then back to being celebrated as the second coming of Betty Crocker by Wednesday, they will nod in agreement because no matter how much the puff pieces can never seem to agree on what Kate is, at least she isn’t a half-black, “Prince stealing American” like the other one. And that’s enough to make their racist, xenophobic Little Englander hearts happy. So they are perfectly fine to put up with the steady stream of hilariously contradictory PR releases as long as Kate remains the true English Rose.
@pearl grey its honestly so infuriating. Like do these people have a braincell?
No brain cells needed. Only mindless, sycophantic worship required. It’s stamped on the back of every wind-up Cambridge stanbot. Batteries included.
At this point I think they are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. Apparently nothing has stuck yet.
I actually guffawed when I read that Kate is a “natural leader.”
She absolutely is not — and that’s fine! Not everyone is going to be born with all of the characteristics that make a great leader. Most people are followers and Kate is the epitome of that. The fact that they lie to us week after week when we can see her with our own eyes and ears is insulting.
As for being able to stay “composed during even the most challenging situations”…she certainly didn’t exhibit that at her final appearance with the Sussexes last year. She couldn’t even maintain a veneer of civility for one hour, in a church, when she knew cameras were on her.
I don’t think this is the Cambridge’s (William and Kate) as much as it’s camp Middleton.
These articles make William look like an incapable little boy that needs his wife and mother in law to help him become king.
Kate’s position is likely in danger. She did her “duty” and is now expendable.
My guess is William has fully removed himself from their private lives and has taken up with someone else more steadily. Not rose.
I think so too. William has completely checked out of this marriage now and that’s what scares Carole. Just look at the supply of PR fluff-pieces like these we’ve seen come out since Christmas (and even more so after the Oprah interview). It’s no coincidence that there were also rumours of Carole being keen to move over to Norfolk too.
Tinfoil theory: I think William has settled quite nicely with a new country girl over at Sandringham (Not Rose) and it’s causing a lot of anxiety for the Middletons. Kate is expendable now that she’s done her only duty and that’s having kids. Never have I ever seen this level of PR come out so rapidly before. Something ain’t right.
Now that Philip is at Windsor? William may be living free in Wood Farm at Sandringham, away from the staff at the main house too.
Seriously. Someone needs to tell the royal family it’s a problem when your PR comes across like an article from The Onion. It’s all unbelievable, at this point.
It’s straight up embarrassing at this point. They can’t get their stories straight. No one is communicating with the other team to see which like they are going to sell. They are such Covid Choo Choo Trainwrecks.
It’s sad because I liked Kate. I wasn’t one of these people who was upset about her waiting or social climbing. She did what she had to do. I seriously didn’t mind her not doing a lot of work since she was raising kids and everything. even if she was getting pregnant to partially get out of work or whatever. It wasn’t that serious for me. But the treatment of Meghan and Harry is really out of control. Like, what the hell is going on? How can one be so nasty and evil?
The Middletons need to get a clue that running to the US gossip press won’t cut it anymore.
If they want to safe their global image they have no choice
What is their global image? It’s a mixed bag. They should concentrate on the UK but they had to be jealous of HM. JUST STAY IN YOUR LANE!
They shouldn’t want or need a global image this badly. If they focus on the work at home than naturally that would be projected outside of it. Harry’s popularity internationally was organic, as was Meghan’s. They just did the work on top of being charismatic and attractive. W&K try way too hard and you can practically see the gears turning whenever they step out.
Global image??? The current climate does not like a wisteria family. The current climate does not like pick me, choose me women. The current climate demands a proven track record of actual work and impact. They have none, except for Carol Kardashian who made social climbing a full time job.
There’s no saving their global image, I’m afraid. The entire world has watched the monarchy’s slow-motion, self-revealing reactions.
The Mids don’t understand that the US gossip rags are a very different beast from the UK ones. But they are ALL desperate to get a profile in the US – does Carole think she can use the press to get a US buyer/investor for her tat.
My cat is a natural leader. Not this Kat.
Same. My cat knows how to get sh*t done. The only that hampers her mad skillz is the glass in the windows – she’d murder every bird if she got the chance.
Notice there are zero examples of her leadership.
The more these articles come out, the more weirded out I feel. Given what we’ve heard/known about Carole, it sounds more like she’s talking about herself, not her daughter.
The whole soothing William thing (and possibly fostering some kind of emotional dependence), which is why William needs her. Founder and Top CEO of Party Pieces. I can easily imagine Carole considering herself as the “pillar of strength” who is keeping the monarchy together, weathering out these storms and providing a bulwark of stability for what seems like an increasingly unstable William.
It’s meant to prop up Kate, but haven’t many people stated that Carole is the only person who can calm William down from his rages? I makes me uneasy because taking the speculation to its conclusions, it would mean that William won’t divorce Kate because he need Carole, the Kingmaker.
I’m not weirded out but they sure make me laugh. At this point (for me) they can continue writing this fiction to fool themselves and remain stuck. These 3 and their miserable ways deserve each other in their lives and they can pretend to be happy. Please Other Brother, don’t divorce the Middletons.
I’m sure Us Weekly meant to say that Kate is a “natural LIEder”
But she did make that questionnaire! LMAO
And it only took her 5 years!
1. HAHAHAHAHAAHHA
2. Have they stopped with trying to make baldy a thing and are now focusing on kate to make the both of them look good?
3. These people lie so much that im inclined to believe the exact opposite of what they are reporting. Strong marriage = marriage is in tatters.
It’s like every other celebrity — see them out “canoodling” (lord, that term is stupid) and acting lovey-dovey amid times of alleged strife…..put in your bets that you’ll see an announcement of a split due to “irreconcilable differences” within months. They doth protest too much.
Same vibes. If rumors are true and they are living in separate households, this reaks of Ma Middleton trying to remind Bill he can’t throw CEO Kate under the bus. Again, they lied right up until Betty instructed Chuck and Di to end it.
Seriously, the more they spin these ridiculous stories in the press, the less I believe them!
It is exactly like those people who post happy families snaps constantly on FB and then shockingly, 3 months later split.
This is so insane. …does it work?! It’s so demented to have to be told what someone’s work ethic and personality are, like we can’t see with our own eyes??? Is GB/the UK in the same boat the US is in with teaching critical thinking to students? Do people just swallow what the headline tells them?
“It’s so demented to have to be told what someone’s work ethic and personality are,”
When it comes to the Royals I think everyone knows what the individual work ethics and personalities are.
What is she leading?!!!!!!!
Not sure if she can even lead a conga line.
Heeheehee…I now have this mental image of her standing in front of a bouncy, excited conga line, little clutch in one hand, and waving keenly to everyone with the other, as she leads the line of dancers behind her by walking in an unexcited, robotic straight line. Look at me, I lead! 😀
Her “rock solid” marriage!
The karenton movement.
Stalker Karenton movement?
That’s a good question.
Button sales?
Laziest future consort in modern history?
Biggest identical coat-dress collection?
Most public flashes?
Come on, be fair. Kate takes the lead on many things.
She’s leading Chuck’s credit card to Peter Jones
Well, this is an obvious PR push from the Middletons, but like you said Kaiser the diverging PR strategies are interesting. According to these types of articles William needs Kate, Kate is absolutely his rock, he cant do anything without Kate, he could never have come through this crisis without Kate – and according to William’s PR, he’s strong, he’s resilient, he’s meant to be KING goddamnit and he’s embracing his destiny and he’s READY etc. Not a whole lot about how he’s ready bc he has Kate at his side.
And that definitely is the vibe here , right? Yes yes yes he’s ready and he’s strong and he’s a statesman but ONLY BECAUSE of Kate. It’s like someone is trying desperately to remind William that he needs Kate.
I mention this in my own comment but i said that these people lie so much im inclined to believe the opposite. The us weekly piece said that they have a strong marriage, but it seems like their marriage is down the drain. It is also weird that KP and the middletons seem to be competing(?) with their pr fluff pieces. At least thats the vibe im getting from this.
Agreed. These are definitely competing fluff PR pieces, and I wonder what the point is. If you have to keep insisting that you’re a leader, and that your marriage is solid, and you are your husband’s rock – it does sound like you’re trying to overcompensate.
If you have to constantly put out how strong your marriage is, chances are it isn’t that strong.
I see this all the time on social media. They are always talking about how in love they are, etc and then a few years later they are divorced.
I too am inclined to believe the opposite and Becks, your analysis of the types of PR pieces being pushed for each of them is spot on, but I’m not so sure I would classify them as competing – I think they’re trying to elevate Kate over Meghan, William over Harry in their two most important markets. The UK piece on William doesn’t have the reach in the US (other than some jokes on twitter, which is not the same), and vice versa for the Kate piece. Instead, in this piece they’re trying to take Meghan’s strengths with Harry (him saying he saved her, her obvious leadership qualities) and ascribe them to Kate. It’s the same tactic they’ve had for a while – after the interview, some squaddies surfaced an article from early 2019 about Kate and the Queen sharing a blanket in the car, the same thing that had happened months earlier with Meghan. Same with the crying story – they either preemptively steal the story and make it their own to make any rebuttal or response (hey, that was me! etc) from Meghan seem petty or bandwagon-y, or they just straight up copy Meghan’s attributes and give them to Kate while ignoring Meghan, praising Kate for the same thing Meghan did. Of course, it always rings hollow (at least in the US) because there’s no there there with Kate, just adjectives and imagination.
The competing PR pieces confirms what we all know. There is trouble in paradise. This is Ma Middleton’s warning salvo to Willy the Wanderer.
@sunday SPOT ON
This is the vibe I get too. I just don’t see them stay married to be honest.
Tbh i don’t see them getting a divorce. Especially not now that the sussexes are out. It would be the final nail in the coffin for the royal family. So they have no choice but to be stuck with each other. I think william doesn’t mind as long as he can do his own thing and i think kate doesn’t mind as long as she gets all the royal perks while receiving glowing pr pieces.
Unless William finds someone he wants more, they’ll stay married. They might end up living completely separate lives (and may do already), but the united family image benefits them both too much, as well as the family as a whole.
I don’t seem them getting a divorce as @Cecilia said. The royals don’t need another heir getting divorced so will tell the Cambridges to stick at it even if they end up having different long-term partners in the background. The whole “middle class wannabe country loving college sweethearts who are raising their 3 kids” is quite frankly, the ONLY thing the Cambridges have (and Diana’s son for William) going for them.
The only thing I could see happening that “saves” William is if the palace says Kate cheated and they divorce and William plays up the whole “heartbroken that my first love and college sweetheart cheated on me and broke our beautiful family” and “single dad ready to rebuild his family and focus on being King” shtick. It could work because William’s affairs aren’t highly publicized in the public’s eyes (yet) but they could be so there’s a very, very limited window where that could work.
I don’t see them getting divorced. They deserve each other and they can rot together.
@sofia if the palace comes out swinging and says kate was the one cheating (which i would believe because i think she has a beau too) it would take kate exactly 0.1 millisecond to expose william.
@Cecilia: Oh I have 0 doubt about that but William and the establishment will just paint Kate as a liar and “crazy” which is what the BM are currently trying to do to Meghan right now. Unless she’s got photographic evidence.
Those kind of statements from the palace could put Kate’s life in danger. If it’s spread that she screwed around on the golden child, she’ll have to leave England, not to mention what those kind of lies would do to his own children.
If William decides he’s done, then Kate is done. It doesnt matter what she may have on the royal family or William. This family got rid of Diana, they got rid of a blood prince (Harry), they can get rid of Kate and it would be a lot easier.
I agree that the image of the loving country family is the only thing the Cambridges have going for them, but the palace could and would destroy Kate’s reputation with remarkable ease.
Now, despite all that, and despite the fact that I think their marriage is pretty much done, I dont think divorce is inevitable, but I dont think its that unlikely either. But I do think it will be William who decides either way – we all know Kate is never walking away.
@Belli – It’s not so much William finding someone he wants more…it’s William finding someone who actually wants to put up with him. Which is why he ended up with Kate anyway. She’s the only one who stuck around and was willing to deal with him and his family. If Kate continues to put up with his temper tantrums, sour moods, infidelities, etc., I doubt this marriage will ever end. They could be not living together but putting up a united front in public for image and the world would never know. She’s got her title, her kids, her mom, her big shopping budget and her big house. He’s got…whatever it is he does.
I agree that it feels unlikely they’ll divorce because their family image is literally all they’ve got. I could see it if William wanted to do a whole rehabbed image of going to therapy to deal with the trauma of his mother’s death, how he repressed it and it ultimately lead to his fractured relationship with his brother and lead him down an unhappy path, and now growing as a new person, he realizes he’s not happy in his marriage yadda yadda yadda. Could wipe away infidelities and bad behaviour – BUT that would require some work and personality change on his part, so I think that’s also unlikely.
To Becks’ point about how quickly they’d destroy Kate – I agree, and she’s made it incredibly easy for them. Little to no work, and the work she’s done has been shoddy. Behind the scenes behaviour we know isn’t good (Meghan). Exorbitant spending on bespoke clothes, botox and hair extensions. Even her family – Carole giving interviews to magazines etc. It can all be turned on them so so easily.
Honestly I used to be of the opinion that she’s too useful to Will as a doormat for him to divorce, but now I think that if that were the case we wouldn’t be seeing SO MANY of these articles.
I’m sure Kate is fine being a doormat and living a separate life as long as she gets the perks. The perks and the status must be in some type of danger if these puff pieces keep appearing.
I see no problem with William finding a suitable second wife if he chose. He already has done the “young newlywed” thing, they’ve already had their Lindo presentation babies. The second wife would have far less pressure on her for many reasons. I can understand why so many women would turn him down before, but now I can easily picture a very specific kind of woman being quite happy to be his second wife.
With William’s past cheating and it getting out, he will slip up and make a mistake that cannot be covered up. Kate will never leave but she’d be dragged by the press for staying. I think this is why rumours about Kate straying are starting to be floated. It’s not like they’ve never thrown anyone under the bus before…
It was *unthinkable* at the time that Charles and Diana would get divorced, or that a Prince would marry a Black woman, or that he would bounce and quit…but here we are.
The only reason he is more popular than Charkes is because of Diana. If William divorced her, she would be doing the doe eyed ‘ I did everything right and he left me for that wh**e’ thing and his popularity would plummet. He can do what he likes now, shag whoever he wants, live in a different house and she will put up with it. He made sure of that when he dangled her on a string for her whole 20’s, making sure she would sit silently by waiting while he shagged around. Why would he want to risk a divorce when he has what he wants? More importantly the press will not say a thing, because they are the Monarchys great white hope ( pun intended)
All William would have to do is come out with talk of his mental health, how he was vulnerable after his mother’s death, how the Middletons moved in and manipulated him emotionally (and sexually). No one likes the Middletons, Kate has done next to no work and nothing to endear herself to the public. If Wiliam wants her gone, she’s gone, and he can tar and feather the Middletons easily in the public sphere.
Yes, behind the idea of Kate leading anything being absolutely hilarious, someone is definitely trying to remind William that he’s dependent on Kate. Their PR is NOT unified, they’re very much tackling it separately.
Yeah, the diverging pr tacks are eyebrow raising. Maybe in addition to the warring palaces (KP vs BP vs CH), there is a mini rivalry between the Cambridges?
These stories about Catherine the Kingmaker and William the Gatekeeper are bad enough on their own, but pitted against each other they are laughably, transparently inept.
I’m reminded of a desperate marketing firm coming up with new slogans every week, trying to sell a product that nobody wants.
I don’t know how much of this particular drivel comes from Kate’s Ma, but it ain’t helping.
Divorce could be possible if William’s affairs hit the mainstream media. Staying together only really works if the happy family image is intact, without it, everything is fair game. Kate could do a stand by your man routine, but it would be really damaged by all of their obvious PR over the years incidentally. And if the affairs came to light in a major way, the explanations from William and Kate’s diverging PR would get messy. William’s PR would go for Kate and the Middletons hard, as well as her unwillingness to do the job.Kate would or should go for the incandescent rage. Going by how sloppily they’ve handled the fallout from Oprah, the cleanup from the affairs would be absolutely shambolic, and they’d probably have to get divorced.
The press might not be so protective of William’s affairs (and whatever else the press is holding back on) once the Queen dies. The tabloids can probably pull back the curtain on the Cambridges’ marriage whenever they want to but until Will or Kate starts obviously flaunting the discord between them, the tabs aren’t going to go after them and stress out the Queen at her advanced age. No one wants to force another annus horribilis on her at 94. But once she’s gone, I can’t imagine Kate and Will being able to continue to fake it, or to be able to evade being revealed by anyone — a reporter, a maid, a hotel clerk —- who has something to sell on the state of their union. Meanwhile, we can see with our own eyes the distance between them, the recoiling, the being left out from under the umbrella. Carole can not have forgotten how uncontrollable the press was when Chuck and Di split, and I think now she still puts pressure on Will to protect Kate. I think that if Kate or Will wants out, they will blame Meghan for the implosion of their marriage.
The thing is that had they just put their stupid heads down and done the work, plenttttty of people would want the product.
I think the real top-level “executives” of the firm have been discussing Kate’s future, and it probably does not look that great since all of these fluff pieces are coming out. I think William is doing a lot of threatening to file for divorce like he had threatened to abdicate, but he’s too lazy and invested in both to do anything.
They won’t blame Meghan for the implosion of the marriage, not with affairs in the picture. But I do think they would blame Kate for H&M leaving. The Other Brother already threw Kate under the bus last week with his Meg was suspicious of everyone except Will nonsense. He could pull a Chuck and say he was pressured to marry her, on top of being scammed by the middletons. Throw in her obvious laziness and unfitness to the job of consort, and you’ve got yourself a very nice explanation for divorce.
Exactly! He’s about to leave her. Seriously, he blames her for them not being popular, POB can’t take the blame himself, so he’s going to throw stalker out on her butt and say she caused all the issues with H&M because she was jealous. Her actions show this and he will use it against her. Ma is trying to make him think kate is great.
It does have the stench of desperation from the direction of Bucklebury. Kate and Carole trying to convince the public (and William) that Kate is indispensible, when she is anything but.
Most people probably have no idea what Leader Kate’s voice sounds like. I literally had never heard her speak until recently. How can someone who rarely speaks up about anything be a leader?
How can she be seen a leader when she can’t string three words together, no one can understand her fake speaking voice and she can’t answer a question without the answer being written on cue cards? She has no credibility re: mental health issues and no gravitas on any topic. Besides all this pushy PR by Carole, her mean girl lazy daughter has exposed herself to the world with her actions toward Meghan and we won’t unsee that reality about Kate.
She could not even read cue cards that had one word per card! Oh dear, top ceo today, top leader tomorrow. Please make it stop.
Sure Unable is a natural leader, that’s why Cain is keeping the umbrella to himself and this is not the only time he did it.
She is such a leader that when ever she is speaking next to her husband the look on his face is full of love, just kidding, it is a look of will you just hurry up.
When can us weekly shut down?
They have been spreading the most stupid shits for years and years.
US Weekly = poorly written fan fiction
Does anyone ever message them that this Middleton or fluff is very obvious?
Nah don’t engage these tabloids. They will take your response as interest. We react here.
Charles sucks and William is better but Kate is best because William couldn’t do it without her. Rinse and repeat, Cambridge pr.
Has Charles even gone after Will or Kate recently? He seems to promote himself more.
I think Charles is letting William implode; incandescently. He no longer needs to punch down.
Eating Popcorn, I agree that Charles is letting William implode, but he needs to shut it down sooner rather than later. And, if I was Ma Middleton, I would worry about Charles coming for me. Life could get quite interesting.
CHarles should never have let William push Harry out.
Kate lacks charisma and has zero interest in anything outside of herself and now her children and that is precisely why Bill likes her. This is what makes all this nonsense about her being reliable and a natural leader ridiculous. The Kate we have known for years is lazy and dull, the only new thing about her is the confirmation that she is also a thin-skinned mean girl.
“very much a portrait of a man who lives inside his own ass”
LMAO nailed it!
Carole, Carole,Carole, aren’t you exhausted yet with your PR pump? I think this marriage is over . Everything we see of them when they are together is to keep up appearances for the sake of the monarchy. Carole is scared for her queendom coming to an end. James has to be the second source. These two need Willy to stay in this marriage badly. Kate couldn’t lead a fish to swim in a pond so let’s just cut the bs.
I’ve said it before but articles where it’s “Kate is great! Kingmaker! The Midds are wonderful!” are Kate/Midds PR and the ones where it’s “William is a statesman. Ready to be King. Catherine is there ready to support him but behind him.” is more William/KP
That cover photo of Willileaks – my God!! He looks like one of the animated characters from The Polar Express 🤦🏻♀️
Will is a prat, but I don’t blame him for pushing back against the line that he relies on Kate to get to the throne. He’s the heir. No help is needed. Unless she’s actively leaping over the dinner table to rescue him from choking on his vichyssoise, what exactly is she doing to be a “kingmaker”?
Opening her legs, basically.
As if he still wants that from her.
😀 You said it!
My comment wasn’t meant to be crass at all but states fact. How else can you “make a king.” It’s her only talent: broodmare.
Ah Duchess Catty, bless her soul. So clueless. You’d expect that a couple pushing 40 with three children would be slightly more discerning.
Their need to tell us constantly about how great they are, really says a lot.
But can you imagine to live like THIS?? to PR compete with your own f..g husband! The stress of it all..all of them backstabbing, competing,throwing under the bus. Wondering what is dynamic there to even sit for a dinner as a family 🤣🤣🤣
What? No good? 🤣
Kate is a natural leader who won’t own up to her shit and apologize to her sister-in-law for remaining silent while she was tormented for years. Especially because Kate was a contributor to and beneficiary of the torment. Yeah, right. We see you Kate and you too, Carole.
Kaiser PLEASE write an unauthorized bio of William called “Portrait of a Man Who Lives Inside His Own Ass.” I will buy every copy.
Kate as a leader is beyond laughable. The main thing she was chosen for was she’ll follow Will and be inoffensive for the most part. The idea that she leads anything or anyone is bonkers.
Poor muffin couldn’t even handle the press while approaching the Mentally Healthy Schools engagement. Will had to deflect them.
All these Kate the great articles continues to confirm my suspicions that there is something wrong with Bill. His recent profile propaganda piece was just recycled quotes that didn’t say anything of substance about Bill.
Do tell, what do you think is wrong – do you think he wants a divorce, is ill, is having an affair?
Can I share my fever dream? I’d love it if Kate had a mid life epiphany (they happen, trust) and got some fire, confidence, started dressing her age (as opposed to dressing as an 80 yr old), maybe had herself a rose bush type affair and did an interview in which she praised Meghan and Harry. Clarified the age old wedding tears drama, owned that she was postpartum and messy. Told William to shape up or she’s out. Became a real force to be reckoned with by the palaces. And they’d *have* to indulge her or she could worsen the situation and they cannot afford another departure. Le sigh. I can dream.
Susan, I too would love this for her! Unfortunately she’s been in this type of sheltered life from her childhood to now, I imagine with no or little access or desire to seek advice, she’s not a person who could readily find encouragement online to work on herself and her happiness. Would she even want to? Probably not.
Carole, coming from a normal background, is SO much more rounded than her, and unfortunately it’s not in her interests to have a happy free Kate. It’s in her interests to have a sad, frustrated Duchess of Cambridge.
Kate herself by now probably prioritises title and rank over having to start again or admit she’s wrong. She’s not like that. She’s competitive to the hilt. Even if she occasionally wonders about being free and fun, she knows in the uncritical eyes of the world she is the “winner” and that means more to her.
Kate is a human example of sunk cost fallacy.
Florence, that’s why I really pity Kate. Nobody around her cares if she’s happy, there are only expectations that she keeps up appearances and competition.
I can’t imagine who she would confide in that she’s done. Can she go to Pippa and say that? What would Pippa do? She doesn’t really strike as „take the kids, leave his bald ass, you can live here and we will think how to handle this” type of sister. And Carol … well, I think she would tell her to suck it up even if Kate was suicidal.
Kate is no good but a lot of this is related to a people she is surrounded with.
Yes spot on Ania. And on top of that, it’s not like she’s Cathy Middleton going to stay with her sister and brother-in-law. She can’t just call time out and move in for a bit.
I imagine Kate has had some conversations with Carole along the lines of “I don’t want to do this” but they fell on deaf ears. Carole wants it all, forgetting she had a life and job before and Kate never has. Range Rovers and freebies aren’t memories, neither are tours where you have cameras on you all the time. Partying until you pass out isn’t a life either, again due to the cameras, the performance and all.
Yes Kate chose it but I truly don’t think she ACTUALLY thought it through. Not all of us are wise at 29, she absolutely wasn’t.
Ania, I understand your perspective, but I think you’re underestimating Keen’s participation in the smear campaign against Meghan. Those are choices she made which shows the type of person she is. So, no, I’m not going to feel sorry for Keen. What is it that the bm is always going on about regarding Meghan? Oh yeah. She knew what she was getting into–only with Keen, they’re actually right.
I agree, Florence. I don’t think Kate thought it through at all. I think she pitched herself correctly as the opposite to Diana, ie meek and mild, but I don’t think she ever thought she’d have to do public speaking or proper work. I imagine for most women her age there would be a great deal of consideration re the pros and cons, one of which would be having to stop your current work and realign your projects, such as charity ventures, to run alongside your new work as a royal. For Kate, who had done nothing before getting married, it seems to have come as a great shock that being royal is a lifelong career. She is simply no good at it. Sometimes I think Carole Middleton is the most irresponsible mother in the land for pushing her daughter towards this goal, knowing full well she doesn’t meet the job spec. And sometimes I wonder whether the Middleton family genuinely thought Kate was charismatic, great with people and with a voice in her head. I can’t see it, but perhaps at home with her family she is this wonderfully able person with guts and work ethic. Hmmm. Someone should tell Kate it’s not enough to just ‘be’ in this position, she has to ‘do’ something with it.
SAUCY&SASSY I totally believe that Kate was willing and active participant in smear campain and was a total bitch for Meg at the end. I think she really is a mean woman and doesn’t really care much about others but at the same time I guess that she was conditioned by Carol to behave and think in a certain way. She is an adult and I’m not excusing her in any way. But she probably was under carol’s influence and then went strainght to institution that wanted to mould her even more into the stepford wife and nobody would support her even if she had miraculous awakening.
So I feel for her in a way. I have a young daughter and I realize now how much influence I have on her future life and the way she sees the world. I think Carol is a horrible horrible mother, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I realized what I got my daughter into. I always wonder if Carol is in fact unhappy in her marriage and if she wishes she didn’t have to work so hard herself. She talks about how she loves to be a business woman but why then push her daughter to marry rich and sit on their asses? I love being independent, I love the feeling of being capable to take care of myself and I want my daughter to see how valuable that is. So there is a huge dissonance in Carol for me.
Don’t pity Katy. She is where she wants to be, surrounded by people she wants to be around.
@Ania… I agree with you about Carole and Mike. They are shitty parents and it is sick how the media tries to act as though they are a decent family because they aren’t the Windsors. No they are in fact awful because they sold their daughters for a high position in society. They chose to have their daughters chase after rich men as if money and status makes a great marriage. Kate has no power and if William wants to dump her he will.
Even Kris Jenner didn’t put her children in such weak positions. Her kids have their own money and don’t rely on who they married.
@Nic919 ITA with you. I don’t think the comparison of Carole Middleton to Kris Jenner is apt because, while they are both hugely manipulative people who pushed their daughters into public positions for their own benefit, Jenner at least made sure her daughters went out there to get their *own* money and power and status (however one might regard their status, they do have some). Whereas Middleton pushed her daughter into the limelight but only to live in the shadow of a prominent man. It’s really quite different. The Kardashians can jettison any man they bring into the family at any time, and still hold onto 100% of their money (or fairly close to it) and power and status, and they have done so repeatedly. Kate definitely cannot make that same move. She would not even know where to begin or what rock to cling to if she tried to leave her marriage, or if William jetisoned her.
No pity here. Kate chose William from the time she was in her mid-teens, with the posters on the wall. Trying to befriend *only women who were in his circle*. Does she have a stagemother, sure. But the stagemother is there to make sure her daughter’s ambitions are fulfilled. Kate and Carole, the whole Goldsmith/Middleton clan, have been in this together from the beginning.
Being post-menopausal myself and having several yrs of “what the f$ck am I doing for these people, what do I want to do” I’ve long wondered how this is going to play out for Kate. She’s spent her entire adult life doing for others and doing what is expected of her but peri-menopause can be a huge kick in the pants, physically and emotionally, so in the next 10+ years things are going to get real interesting in the House of Cambridge.
You know Kate will be mainlining HRT to get her through peri- and full-on menopause. She’s got all the financial freedom, opportunities galore and in 10 years her kids will be basically independent – but I doubt you’ll see her leading the charge and thinking “well, I have no more f*cks to give, I’m going to go out and change the world”. No, her whole life will be involved with maintaining at all costs her figure, hair, buckets of botox and injectibles and relying on mommy to keep coming up with these ludicrous fan fiction articles.
At some point after the Queen dies, I predict Kate will take her unhappiness out on those around her and become as cranky as Princess Ann but without the work ethic. Right now, she has to hide her true self but she’ll start flexing her power when she rises in rank to Princess of Wales.
Clinging to youth is a fruitless endeavour but Kate will focus all her energy on that. She’s not even 40 and she’s already working very hard to cling to it.
Holding on to her youth, that comment had me looking up ages (guess I never paid much attention) I assumed Kate was older than Meghan by at least 5-7 years..
I’m in the peri-menopausal phase, and for a lot of us in our 40s something definitely happens. (Besides the physical, which UGH why did my mother not tell me about this?) The truly important things you’ve got power over become the focus, pointless shit gets relegated to its proper place, and both heart and spine strengthen. But that doesn’t always happen, unfortunately. Some people just keep stewing in their mess, and Kate’s parents built her to be that. If she fell in love, or had a really good friend to help her, or even started taking classes in something that takes work, like history or biology, on her own, she might break free. But I don’t think any of that’s going to happen.
Yes, we saw Kate’s “magnificent composure” at the Commonwealth service: roll tape. It’s the use of the word “resilient” that is the tell; it’s a Middleton favorite lately, as if Meghan just wasn’t resilient enough. The idea that Kate is a natural leader is such a contrast to reality, it really makes her the butt of the joke, rather than elevating her.
Kate’s personality is a sow’s ear, and it doesn’t matter what she wears, or how posh she tries to make her accent, she is never going to be able to buy or learn charisma or become that silk purse. Sorry, Middlingtons.
A self-starter William is not. There is no Plan B for him – and he knows it so he’s pushing the
“I’m kinda sorta the only strong one here I should be King” narrative for all he’s worth. Seriously – he has everything to lose if he’s not King, and if he thinks Charles might blow that up or be seen as so weak that the RF system is dismantled, he’ll do whatever he has to in order to keep the $ and power waiting in exchange for little to no work. They will never divorce – there’s really no reason to if Kate is content to be the William Fluffer in exchange for doing a little here and there and haven’t we learned that it’s the royal rota that keeps the monarchy alive anyway? Hasn’t basically EVERY royal family member had a side piece in the last thousand years? It’s probably far more acceptable than say…getting an actual job or doing actual work (because THAT is controversial LOL). To make William more popular I *could* see a bereaved widow story – {{shiver}} as he ascends to the throne or fights to be “beloved” though. Twice heartbroken and bereft William is resilient and strong…{{shiver}}
The bereaved widower story is exactly what I was thinking. It’s not like this family cares about the women who marry in. And Kate keeps getting skinnier all the time. I don’t think they’d do anything to actively get rid of her, but they can sure passively watch and wait.
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Oh Carole, you know we have eyes right?
The more these stories come out, the more I am convinced those two do not live together.
I’m convinced of that as well. When they meet up they look like they haven’t seen each other for weeks. It’s awkward. They looked especially awkward approaching the Mentally Healthy Schools engagement, not “together” at all. Or maybe it was embarrassment at being lying bullies while participating in such an engagement. All kinds of messy. Some pillar of strength she is when she can’t even face the press on her own because of her own shitty actions. Sure. Will had to be there to shield her from the press, in case of “Did you really make Meghan cry?” and of course, “We’re NOT a racist family.” Farcical.
Kate doesn’t have the power to push the monarchy in any direction other than where they allow her to go. Charles And Will have the power
I just don’t see any good reason why they did all those zoom engagements from Sandringham. They have all of Anmer Hall to themselves yet they needed to go a few miles to Sandringham to set up an office and zoom space? That makes zero sense. Unless they were doing renovations at Anmer and wanted to hide that from the public, the only other plausible reason I can see is that they don’t live together full time.
I think during lockdown they had to look like they were isolating together, but they most likely weren’t. I think kate stayed at Amner hall whilst Willie was holed up at Sandringham, when he wasn’t visiting his mistress down the road. Using the excuse they use a whole Sandringham estate just to make zoom calls? Nah. Isn’t their 10 bedroom manor big enough?
The divergence in their PR began simultaneously with the smear campaign against Meghan after Kate came back from maternity leave. I think there are two things going on. First and foremost, in order to try to get her to look as competent as Meghan they had to prop her up separate from William prior to that her coverage was definitely “wife of” even on solo engagements. They stayed away from taking about her skills because well quite frankly she never came across as particularly skilled and there was no reason to pretend. After Meghan, they had to go with a more “independent” PR approach. Secondly, the new Kate is great approach was a way to appease her post the alleged affair. Remember it was reportedly the summer of 2018 that she was throwing her weight around trying to get the other woman banned from the social circle in Norfolk. My theory Is that part of the deal of keeping her happy and in line was sending the message of how valuable and needed see was through the press. The problem for William though is of course he is pathological and doesn’t like the appearance of “dependence” on anyone hence the push back in his independent PR. The problem that William has is not only did he give leverage to the press by colluding with them against Harry and Meghan in order to cover up his affair and because of his jealousy. But he also gave leverage to Kate and more significantly he gave leverage to her Media source Mom. They know that his image is dependent on his “happy” marriage and Carole was clearly given permission to leak to the press previously so it’s impossible to the reign that in now. Remember Carole started doing several puff piece interviews essentially celebrating herself during the height of the smears after years of not talking. That IMO was allowed in order to appease her. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out long term. Also, I agree with the above commenters who said that the people who buy the Cambridge PR don’t care about or just ignore the contradictions. The narratives that they attach to W&K all serve to push certain propaganda about them specifically and the BRF specifically. Look at how they portray The Queen and Philip. One minute the Queen is the no nonsense monarch who rules without emotion. The next minute she’s the poor overwrought ruler who is distracted because Archie is in America. Philip is either the bumbling oaf whose affairs and gaffes the Queen has had to overcome or he is the iron support the Queen couldn’t rule without. Whatever stereotype serves the purpose at the moment is the one they trot out. The same is true for W&K.
The problem I see ahead for W&K is they don’t have a generation of their own to relate to. Same with Charles. The queen and Phillip had the WWII generation and their kids to sell the image to. Charles will forever be linked to Diana and that mess no matter how he hard he tries to run from it. He tried to remake himself into “the good dad” but Harry blew that up. And now W&K who are millennials can’t connect with that generation either. Their attempts to look like the modern couple fall flat, they come off as a couple of throwbacks. So all this relentless spin by Carole, the palace or whomever is doomed to fail.
Such a great point you make here. I always thought the other brother had a big following because, you know, he was some hot back in the day. But he and the Mrs. are just so boring! I adored his mom. Her vibrancy and presence on the world stage was totally lost on him.
Carole’s PR reps are better at this than William’s PR reps. Not that the bar is set very high anyway. I said what I said.
Just because she played sports once upon a time and tends to be competitive doesn’t make her a leader. I think those are the only credentials that they point to when they want to talk about her being a leader.
When you have to rely on playing sports in high school as something that defines you , yeah that’s not much, especially not for someone who is going to be 40 next year. That’s how empty her life has been.
They’re doing a lot of talking for people who can only change the narrative by doing something. Put your head down, do some meaningful work, call your brother and sister-in-law, plan a visit, etc.
No amount of keen-ness, or royal reports is going to make you look better than your actual actions.
Very true.. the longer they let it go on the he worse it will be. In a year or two imagine H&M and what they will accomplish.. their press will all come from their work. While W&K will have their sea of “nameless sources close to them”.. Pettiness and jealousy look good on no one especially on the faces W&K..
There is something about the press (english press???) that always wants to have their men working and doing something good because their wives are making them. Harry left because that’s what meghan wanted, Meghan is making Harry work, Kate is a kingmaker, she is the pilar, she is the one who makes it happen for william, william relies on her, she is the pillar, etc. Harry is not in a position to snapback at those comments because they need to be united and strong as a team, but I can feel that william, wants to break that perception and make sure people dont have the impression that the future king is getting pushed by his wife. Kate is the star between the couple, and William is going to be incandescent when he finds out that he is being dragged as the loser between them 2.
Interesting how Meghan being a rock and a comfort for Harry means she is emasculating him and warping his mind to be against his family, but for Kate it means she’s regal.
I read the Pillar is a smoker, can’t imagine that would be good press. Why if she is a long time smoker are there no photos?
They’ve been scrubbed?
Photos of her at the airport on the way to the France vacation, and photos on the deck, showed her smoking. That plus lying to the Paralympians were scrubbed in the outrage over the topless photo scandal.
Ok, so all that was “scrubbed”. Amazing how that happens for some.
Show us, don’t tell us.
What does a natural leader do during a crisis? What does a pillar of strength do? Leak to tabloids or….
Arrange to have her short skirt blow up and show her backside.
” A man who lives inside his own ass ” That is just beautiful. Can we get a Pulitzer Prize here? Thank you.
Kate is a natural born what???? Somebody come get their PR team because this has to be a set up
The answer is bitch. That’s the only thing she’s been natural at for most of her life.
Wasn’t she just finding her voice recently?
Yea, sure she is.
I think kate is obsessed with being a superstar but she’s a joke. She’s done nothing, stands for nothing, and is nothing. She doesn’t bring one f*cking thing to the table. She basically a human cardboard cut out. She wants to be seen as this incredible woman who is a leader,top ceo, king maker, who dazzles , has a new found confidence whilst being the worlds greatest mother. She’s none of those things. Instead of actually trying to be great but doing great things, she just pays for advertorials to say she’s great whist she sits back and does nothing. Actions speak louder than words kate.
Informed attributes always demonstrate a lack of said traits. How laughable!
I really don’t understand the constant use of this kingmaker term in relation to her, it’s not like it’s the war of the roses again where there are battles for the throne or times when princes or kings are dying of random fevers leaving the line in question literally they just sit there and wait til they inherit…doing nothing the keen brand.
The media has to keep up this false mystique about royalty for the dumb dumbs and fantasists.
And the kingmakers of the time were the absolute opposite of the kind of people you’d want in charge these days (or ever, really.) People with no compunctions about betrayal, murder both personal and mass, and treating everyone, including themselves, like things. I guess they’re trying to make Kate sound somehow exciting, but it’s not gonna work.
TWO WORDS:
Sure, Jan.
This made me laugh. I mean does anyone truly believe that Kate has leadership skills or qualities. She’s been a member of the Firm for ten years. What has she done? The reporting about over the last ten years does not give me the impression that she’s some kind of leader. The impression I get is that she’s pretty mediocre, dull, competitive, a bit insecure and as tough as old boots.
God, she and the rest of the pap-calling, puppy-farming, story-leaking Boleyn-Kardashian-Middletons are absolutely foul, aren’t they.
If William had been a decent, kind, hardworking shopkeeper, would Middleton have given him “the look of love”, let alone a second glance? This seasoned PR girl is always trying for that “so in love” front page money shot. That William doesn’t play, is just embarrassing
This. Kate was in it for the title and position. She would never put up with a ‘normal’ man cheating on her for twenty years.
No she isn’t and bah ha ha ha ha gtfo.
The Kate and William show is about image. He plays the image of the “strong King-to-be-to-be” and she plays the image of the “perfect silent woman who remains thin and attractive.” The problem is, this is an image that would have played better in 1981 or even 1991. This image is bigger than either of them can fulfil, and it’s a house of cards that they are furiously propping up. It’s an image that can only play to a conservative, white, backward-thinking constituency. It’s an image based on entitlement–they are OWED everyone’s love and support, they don’t think they have to EARN them. I’m continually surprised (though I shouldn’t be) that THIS is the image that they have chosen. Even if Kate and William’s publicity is going on different tracks, it’s just so…dated and sad.
Duplicate
Dear God, the more they push this narrative, the more I’m convinced that they are in a totally loveless marriage leading separate lives. I would feel sorry for them if their current predicament wasn’t all of their own making. Those poor children are growing up with very dysfunctional examples of what family, love, friendship and romance are supposed to look like. The cycle just keeps on repeating itself. Abolish the Monarchy.
If I were her PR person, here is the messaging I would put out there (Carole, if you’ re reading, please take note and call me, I am available for hire):
Kate is a good person, like Meghan said. she’s quiet, she’s not the wittiest person in the room, she isn’t a brainiac. She’s awkward and shy and not good at public speaking or leadership. But you know what? she loves her kids and she loves William, based on the way she puts up with all his garbage. She has stuck around through all the drama and even Harry likes her. She’s not a workhorse, but can you really find a workhorse that would also put up with William’s behavior? She hasn’t and won’t pull a Diana and the monarchy should be thanking their lucky stars that she’s passive and NOT a talker. Because if she were….oh the stories she could tell…”
That will shut old Baldie up. Wicked laugh.
Trouble is … Kate is not a good person. At all. We saw it at the CW ceremony and we found out in the interview. Sure, she apologized, but probably only because “it was the right thing to do.” She still allow that juvenile and shitty lie to perpetuate, didn’t she?
Middleton baggage is not worth it.
Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahaha! (deep breath, sigh, wipes tear of laughter from eye) …and that’s all I got to say about this latest act of desperation from that corner.
Has William set up house with someone else away from Kate or something, so Mommy Middleton is planting these Great Kate stories in some attempt to keep him bound to her in the public eye?
It just reeks of, “You NEED her!” defensiveness with absolutely no substance whatsoever. They’re all so insufferable.
That was my thought too.. he’s already moved on. Let’s be real, she stalked him and chased him because she wanted to be a princess. The more mommy midds puts these ridiculous stories out the more it angers PWBT and makes him view Kate as an adversary and liability. She doesn’t add much.
Decided not to comment
I can’t help wonder where that comment came from. Nobody mentioned that beforehand