Here are some additional photos from Prince William and Kate’s big secret trip to Northern Ireland on Wednesday. Kate’s purple suit is Emilia Wickstead and she looked dreadfully hot in that turtleneck and blazer. I hope fifty headlines are devoted to how inappropriate it was for her to wear such a heavy, cold-weather outfit for a lovely early autumn day. During their day of events, they visited Ulster University, they visited the Magee Campus’s petting zoo, which is BONKERS. Y’all got petting zoos on university campuses?? Apparently, the petting zoo is part of a local initiative to help students’ mental health. Students can go and pet animals and that’s probably an enormous stress reliever. It was at the petting zoo where William and Kate revealed something very special: they too have got chickens.
During their visit, the couple also visited the campus’s petting zoo, organised by local mobile zoo company KidzFarm, which regularly comes to the campus to help students deal with mental health and anxiety issues. Looking at the chickens in cages, Kate told the pet handler: “We’ve had lots of animals during lockdown. During lockdown, animals are often like therapy.”
And William revealed they had acquired “lots of chickens”.
Spotting a tarantula in a cage, Kate asked: “Ooh, please can I hold the tarantula? What’s her name?” Told she was called Charlotte, Kate laughed: “Is she really?”
As Charlotte started moving up Kate’s hand, William joked that the spider was animated by Kate’s outfit, a purple trouser suit by Emilia Wickstead, saying: “Maybe she’s not so keen on purple, or she maybe thinks you’re a flower.”
William was also given a female snake to hold, describing it as “very cool” adding: “George is obsessed with snakes, he’s going to be so upset he missed this.”
First she was bragging about her beehives and her honey, and now Kate (and William) have chickens? Chickens they acquired during lockdown? Were the chickens acquired before or after the Sussexes revealed the existence of Archie’s Chick Inn, full of rescue hens? I would honestly love to know. I wonder what they’ve named their chicken coop? George’s Henhouse? Lou’s Chicken Express? Note: after I wrote all that, I did see that Kate has made references to her small coop at Anmer Hall for years. Before the pandemic, they only had like five chickens. But now they have “lots of chickens.”
Kate holding the tarantula is pretty awesome though. Surprised she didn’t “accidentally” drop the tarantula on William. She’s whispering “soon, my pretty, SOON.”
A surprise guest appearance from Charlotte the tarantula 🕷 pic.twitter.com/HXVTJalZk6
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) September 29, 2021
Photos courtesy of the Cambridges’ Instagram.
They’re so unoriginal. Note how George is obsessed with snakes because they’re at a petting zoo with snakes, like he was obsessed with ambulances when they were talking with ambulance drivers, and obsessed with helicopters when they were talking with helicopter pilots, and obsessed with dancing when they were talking with dancers. It’s so boring now. They’re boring. Lord, I wish they’d just cut ribbons, wave, and leave.
(And universities having petting zoos/support animals to help students’ mental health instead of… lowering tuition, having easier to access bursaries, more work experience opportunities etc is ridiculous.)
the cost of going to college in Europe is not the same as in America, its a small fraction of the cost so very few students would be stressed by the tution fees.
i actually think its a great idea
My cousins have been telling me that university costs in England at least have been going up and up, and aren’t as affordable as in the pre-Tory era. Just anecdotal so take it for what it’s worth.
i cant reply directly to Sid but im Irish so not as familiar with the UK system but as far as i know they are very similar. here the full fees are about 3,000 a year. if your family cant afford that then there is a government grant that is means tested, therefore you can be given a percentage of your fees or the whole lot. the fees here are not an issue, in ireland at the moment its the outrageous cost of accommodation thats the problem
In the US if one is lucky enough to live within commuting distance of a public college or university and has parents that will allow the student to live at home (big ifs, I know) higher ed is really that not expensive when compared to what is spent per student in K-12. In NY tuition is about $8000 a year, including fees. Less at community colleges. In NY the average spent on a K-12 student is $25,000 dollars. I do think higher ed should be tuition free, I’m just pointing out that it can be done relatively inexpensively if a state school close to home is chosen. The big price tag comes in when kids or parents insist on brand name schools or the “experience” of dorm living when commuting is a viable option. I will concede the price has gone up drastically. When I attended a public college in the 90’s tuition was $1400 a year for the first year. By the time I graduated four years later it had more than doubled.
Uk Uni fees are £9,000 a year and reported to going up to £9,500 shortly.
I work at an American Community College, and while we bust our behinds to provide access to work experiences, scrape up scholarship money wherever we can, and have the lowest tuition around, our mental health supports for students are non existent. We desperately need an on campus social worker, but I guess an on call bunny to snuggle would be a good start…
@TeamAwesome: reach out to a local animal rescue. Many of them make arrangements with schools & businesses to bring some adoptables around on a regular basis to help students & employees de-stress. You could probably get one to do that for your community college
No it is not ridiculous having animals for students to clap. A university my daughter went to brought in dogs for them to clap during exams. What about the dogs that go to old people’s homes, hospices etc etc? Money is important but health is more important.
Im focusing on how we didnt get a cringe photo where she xtra-grin-smiles for nothing. But i think that fresh injection job might not allow her to do so and I think she’s had a little bit of filler in the lips because they used to be paper thin and now it’s cardboard thin. I like that her work stays subtle on the lips. She looks good here.
It is because they have no conversation skills, they have no back story, no life experience, all they can refer to is their children to make them slightly interesting.
Have William ever mentioned his other children or is it only the Heir? It’s really sad.
@Rawiya You’re right, it’s become redundant. They’re vacuous and with not a single working brain cell between the two of them. I often wonder what Cain and Mumbles do on a daily basis. Don’t they get briefings before each outing and do they actually read it? No one should be comfortable being this useless.
did they try to match the animals to their personalities?
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What I wouldn’t give if their “spirit animals” could be perched atop their shoulders at all times.
Also: Kate’s delight at the tarantula sharing a name w her daughter/missing the children’s book reference
Some real Bond Villain energy to Kate with the tarantula.
What or who are they exactly helping with this visit? Did they donate anything? Did they point out any need in this community?
@Nina: Edward and Sophie had a visit in Northern Ireland last week. So who knows why the Keenbridges decided that Northern Ireland needed another visit from the Royals besides competition against the Sussex’s. Kate went as far as wearing a purple pantsuit with a turtleneck….I mean seriously Meghan wore turtlenecks for nearly every engagement in NYC (with coordinated pants and coats). We have seen this before from Kate. Showing up at an event hours later after Meghan wearing the same colors so she’s at it again….the competition vs another female (she just can’t help herself). So basically there really wasn’t a purpose for the trip other than the competition.
Meghan also wore dark purple with navy at the one young world summit opening ceremony in 2019.
I am super convinced this lady has hidden Pinterest moodboards of Meghans outfits. Or obsessively scours ‘WhatMeghanWore’ or the like.
On second thought, not Pinterest, more like pie charts and PowerPoint slides.
These two are the biggest SWF’s I’ve ever seen.
@Nina Most royal visits are to highlight the work of community organizations. They are doing the basic bread and butter work of royals.
Agreed @Mac….it should be on the behalf of TQ and not for self promotion, getting back at ones sister-in-law or for competition as the Keenbridges are now doing.
What I’m curious to know is if she has these outfits on hand, or orders them expedited as she’s tuning in to her latest Meghan Update that she’s pinged in her phone.
Kate wears only bespoke clothing, so the tailoring required leads me to believe that her inventory must be stupendously vast, and she simply shows a pic to her latest minder and said minder fetches clothing similar to what is on screen.
I’m convinced that even Kate doesn’t know how many clothes she has, she simply binges on Charles’ Amex, and then has staff file them away into a separate storage bedroom, to be pulled out when requested. We may never know how much money this woman is costing.
Yes, when we talk about “bread and butter” engagements, these are the kinds of events we mean. Kate and Will aren’t good at the big projects, so they need to focus on these basic royal visits. But they should still be highlighting the specific work, it feels like the focus is all on Kate holding a tarantula. I’m not sure how much of that is the fault of the press though and how much is the fault of the Cambridges.
And yet, William and Kate rarely do these bread and butter type engagements.
@Sid well right lol, that’s part of their issue. Well, not just these events – they just dont work, period.
Likely another opportunity to stress that NI is part of the U.K., given the Brexit bal*ls up and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the state of NI.
Meghan and Harry did a visit in New York last week.
So they needed to make a petty visit now too you see.
It’s like they think their job is just to go on a series of field trips to be shown things and be entertained for a day. Like they really are just going to survey their country and see what’s happening over here in Wales or Scotland or N. Ireland today. It reminds me of back in the 1500-1700s or so when the monarch would inform someone that they were coming to stay, and then the host would literally go into debt remodeling and redecorating their entire home, sometimes building entire new wings to their home or putting in a whole new gate and driveway that was just for the monarch to use for the 2 days they’d be there, and they would pack every day full of entertaining things to do, and showcase all the local food, drink, fabric, craftsmanship, talent, whatever else. The royals’ courtiers would send a list of what the royals would like to do and see and eat beforehand and the host would hire specific chefs and decorators and entertainers just to accommodate the royals for the week that they spent there. The royals obviously didn’t bring anything, or do anything, or contribute to paying their own expenses in any way. Sometimes they’d just take things that they liked right off your wall! They just showed up, looked at things, sometimes they’d leave an event early or just decide they don’t actually want to go this big party that you spent a year’s salary on and spent 6 months preparing for, and everyone had to just lump it and pretend that it was fine, and this was great, and this visit was the honor of their life and not an imposition at all, it’s totally fine if you explicitly told me you wanted to see a 400 piece ice sculpture exhibit in August before refrigeration was invented (which is just here in the other room!) but now you actually would rather take a nap!
Will and Kate do that. They tell a place that they’re coming, that place has to plan a full roster of fun, interesting, photogenic things for the royals to look at, along with some exciting entertainment and leisure activities, and Will and Kate come and decide to switch up the order of things or just not go to this thing or that, and everyone around them has to smile and nod and pose for pictures. The host very carefully plans meals, tea, snacks, local beer or delicacies to offer the royals and they take one sip, or push the food around a bit, or even just say “no thank you,” so the food that was prepared specifically for the royals with the best ingredients by the best chef goes to waste. And the host still have to smile and nod and act gracious. Oh and by the way, the country they’re visiting has to foot the bill for this visit. And they’re going to be expected to give gushing quotes to the press about how it was such an honor, how Kate looked so beautiful and mentioned that Charlotte also likes indoor plumbing, and William really listened and didn’t even spit out the local food even though we could tell it wasn’t to his taste, and they’re just down to earth and it was a great day!
@AmyToo I am SCREAMING! This is one of the best and funniest comments I have ever read on this website. And its description of William and Kate is extremely accurate that I was lol reading it. 👏👏👏
PS Did you read a book or something about those older royal visits? Because it was so interesting and now I want to learn more about them! Please tell me where you got all of this great historical info to give context to the BS we’re seeing with W&K today.
Lorelei, it’s a lot of bbc tv shows and specials (I watch them on YouTube or Amazon) about old country houses, random historical shows about royals or aristos or even just historical fashion and design, and even archeology shows like Time Team where they do digs around some of these old Tudor houses and a historian fills in interesting details about the house like “I looked in the house’s records for any information about this driveway you found that dates to the mid 16th century and the records indicate £264 was spent in 1560 on a new Majesty Gate and Drive coinciding with the time Queen Elizabeth I stayed for 3 days on her way back to London,” or something like that.
@AmyToo I loved your take on the Royal Duo of Terror Who Come A’Visiting. I have a suspicion that for most people, there is quite a letdown after a much-anticipated royal visit by these two dullards.
Well it isn’t far from the truth. Kate and William refused to eat the food cooked for them by the hotel in Whitehorse they were staying at and ordered takeout pizza from elsewhere instead.
The obsession is real… I couldn’t imagine basing my entire life around my younger brother and his wife, who live on another continent. Just embrace the predicament you’ve created for yourself and start reaping what you’ve sown. The obvious plagiarism to feel the urge to relate to the peasants is just way too much.
It exposes how desperate and pathetic you are and just increases the giant black hole that has obviously emerged within your marriage. Oh dear.
Hey now, everyone is wearing a mask EXCEPT them, and they get….what are those? Guinness? Wear the damn masks inside!!! Argh!!!
I used to have 6 chickens (moved and can’t have chickens here) and they are a decent amount of work, but very worth it. I doubt Kate or William are the ones cleaning the coop, checking their feet for bumblefoot, and palpating their abdomens to check for blockages. My kids worked hard to take care of them, too. Aw, now I miss my chickens. 🙁🐣
I was gonna say, I take care of a large number of rescue chickens, ducks and roosters (at a sanctuary, not a petting zoo) and they are way more work than people think!! Everyone got chickens and ducks during the pandemic and we’ve been overrun by abandoned birds recently. It’s really sad.
I’m glad you are doing the work you are! Our lovely ladies lived to a ripe old age, and when they passed away one by one, it was tough. I think often about moving back to a large property where I can garden and have chickens and bees again. Someday!!
That really bugged me that they were the only ones not wearing masks in that picture when they’re the ones who are constantly traveling and they were just at a huge movie premiere the night before. It’s like everyone is trying to keep them safe when they should be trying to protect the people they’re there to HELP.
William was wearing a mask when they were sitting at the cafe and Kate wasn’t. Then they go to other places and either both are wearing a mask or they both aren’t. It’s really weird.
If they wear masks, then how will Kate be able to show off her new botox? She’ll just blend in like any other woman.
Ok, this has gone from funny to scary to racist. The Firm have clearly decided to co-opt everything that they conspired to mock and attack Meghan for and attribute it to Kate, making it all a-ok because she’s white. That’s what they’re doing.
If they could wear meghan’s skin, they would.
And nice to know that william thought she looked awful in that get up 😉
William is always humiliating her whenever he gets the chance to in public. They don’t call her doormat for nothing.
The man is so my details he’s now projecting his feelings onto a spider. He clearly wasn’t too keen on her wearing that bright eye catching suit. Willnot’s jealousy is going to get the best of him and he will soon nix this obvious plan to turn Doormat into Little Britain’s Meghan.
He treats her very badly.
He looks with more interested in the spider than his own wife. When was the last time he looked at her with affection, can anyone enlighten me?
@Pao: William’s just like his father. What an awful comment.
Except Charles dresses WAY better.
Willie’s choice of pants is …unfortunate. He either needs better fabrics or he should start wearing underwear. *Shudder*. NOT what I needed to see first thing in the morning! ESP. before coffee!!!
Seriously. Every single time one of his “jokes” is mentioned it’s cruel/passive aggressive/mocking. He used to do it to Harry all the time, he does it to Kate now, he does it to his “friends,” and random people that he’s visiting like when he managed to downplay covid and mock first responders at the same time by brushing off everyone’s covid concerns. He is such a bad person. I can’t imagine the things he probably said to Meghan that were “just jokes.”
@AmyToo – yup, and you know that was his response every time he made a jerk comment – “what, its a joke! You need to lighten up! God Harry you used to be so fun and now you’re just a stick in the mud and no one can even joke with you!”
You think that “Maybe she’s not so keen on purple, or she maybe thinks you’re a flower.” is an awful comment? What?
That’s what happens when you are trapped and don’t have the balls to create a life that’s meaningful to you. Burger King could have said maybe the tarantula likes purple but no, the tarantula doesn’t like it, probably because he didn’t like Kate’s purple. He reflects his inner negativity in his jokes. I do hope Kate is getting her own place in Windsor/Berkshire… who could stand to be around that constant negative energy?
@jjt, it’s weird on William’s part to be like “yeah, maybe the spider doesn’t like your outfit and that’s why it’s scurrying around”. Like, what? Just a strange comment for him to make in general, but it’s an easy, seemingly innocuous jab that might not be picked up by anyone besides Kate (who knows, maybe they got into it beforehand over something and that was his way of being an undercover jerk to her out in the open). He could’ve just as easily said, “oh, maybe the tarantula is mesmerized by your brightly colored jacket!” It’s very easy to sound complimentary but clearly he can’t or won’t do that for his wife.
@jjt – its part of William’s larger pattern. When he says to Kate that the spider doesn’t like purple, he means he doesn’t like purple. Remember when he told her she looked like a banana?
@jjt Yes, speaking for my hetero married men, (and even non-hetero men know this too- everybody really does) you don’t talk about your significant other’s outfits in a down-putting way. Especially not in public and especially when not in the context of being directly asked feedback on the look.
This is relationship & male manners 101. You’re just being an ass to say something like this. Your job as the significant other/husband is never to insult but to support. You fill her sails you don’t deflate them.
And most especially on a subject women are so often critiqued on unfairly such as their appearance. That was just a flat out nasty to say about her.
@Amy Too . You are quite correct with the passive aggressive mocking towards Harry that went on for years. He had to pack it in when Meghan came along, he met more than his match with her. She saw immediately how badly Harry was being treated. She helped him speak up for himself and that infuriated William.
It’s a typical William comment, where he thinks he’s being funny and he really comes off as an ahole.
If he says those things in public believe me he says much worse in private.. I have decades of experience with these types of public comments that are laughed off. He has no respect for his wife. (I do not care for her either but she also is not my spouse who I made vows to and had children with)
If William was my husband and insulted me this much all the time I would probably smack the heck out of him and I am not a violent person at all but goodness he is so demeaning and insulting to her.
The look on his face while he’s watching her kick the ball too. It’s like he’s judging her form and is convinced she’s going to embarrass herself and him. And then the body language, too. Leaning away from her, arms crossed over his chest like he’s just so embarrassed to be associated with her.
Yeah, if l were Kate, I’d have put that tarantula on his shoulder for that comment and have him screaming like the cowardly wuss he is.
Amy too, I was thinking he was bitter with jealousy because she could actually kick the ball and he couldn’t. He is such a D
He’s always saying something derogatory about her clothing or hair or something. In public! What an a-hole!
Yeah, his constant negging of his own wife is notable.
I don’t think he is smart or clever enough to come up with something genuinely funny to say without mocking someone else. So he comes out with these passive-aggressive little jabs veiled as humor, like how he said Kate “looked like a banana” in a yellow dress once. Or holding up that little pink watering can with a clear look of derision on his face..
Some people just don’t have enough of a sense of humor to ever really be funny and have a quip for any situation — and that’s fine! The royals just need to be prepared and friendly. But William won’t accept that about himself, and keeps trying to be funny, but allllll of his jokes are low-key mean-spirited. He can’t think of anything actually witty to say because he’s such a small, dim man. And I also agree that he’s one of those assholes who uses his “humor” to say what he really thinks about someone, then claimed later it was “just a joke!” Those people are the WORST.
I can’t stand him. I didn’t think I would find a nickname better than Elegant Bill, but “Burger King” is becoming my new favorite.
Will the chickens be relocated to Berkshire too?
I don’t know who these visits help because they’re not covered properly. The only thing the press got out of it was that Kate held a tarantula. Their PR is terrible. As for whether the press will talk about Kate wearing a turtle neck in hot weather, from the headlines I’ve seen the press is still buzzing about her gold dress at the Bond premiere. She’s come into her own. It’s clear that the press and the Palace were rattled by Harry and Meghan’s working visit to NY and they’re eager for William and Kate to regain the spotlight.
Just want to add that I live in NI and it was 6C/wet / windy yesterday, ie really really cold!
@Mynameispearl: What that weather was like in NI wasn’t really the point of my comment. I was just picking up on what Kaiser wrote and discussing what the press is saying about Kate at the moment.
@maybe ah right sorry, I thought maybe people think NI could potentially be hot right now and just wanted to confirm that autumnal weather has arrived with a very cold bang. Its coat time here again.
@pearl isn’t that funny how that happens, here in Ontario too you just wake up one morning and it’s freezing!
But Will and Kate never had the spotlight in the United States. And they never will. They can keep their mess in the UK, isolated the way their Tory selves wanted.
There was pretty much zero interest here in Canada for their visits because they “do” nothing. They meet a few fusty government officials, the GG fawns all over them, maybe meet a few celebrities and have a rubber chicken dinner, and that’s it. Nothing meaningful gets done by these visits and it costs Canadians to host these boondoggles. Now if the Sussexes visited here THAT would be a whole other ball game because they would come prepared with a list of charitable organizations, veterans associations, and movers and shakers to meet with who support their initiatives.
The visits help William and Kate because they’re out and getting photographed.
Do the visits help the people and places getting visited? Well, they might get one mention buried in an article about Kate’s clothes. What more could they wish for?
The coverage of the petting zoo: I didn’t even know that it was a petting zoo at a university and the idea behind it was to help students’ mental health. And as for will and Kate visiting it, what is the point? What is their opinion? Do they think this is a good initiative? Does it work? Did they hear from students about how much it helps them? Do they think that other schools or work places should have petting zoos? Do they want to expand animal therapy in general? How are they going to make that happen? Even if the only thing they’re doing is raising awareness, they do it so poorly. Because they refuse to talk about anything other than themselves while they’re there. “I have chickens” “I think the spider doesn’t like my wife’s outfit” “our son likes snakes.” Okay? Can we get some quotes that are actually about the people and this initiative and the idea behind it? Can we get some actionable quotes about how this sort of thing should be expanded? Or how we need to raise money by donating to a specific animal therapy charity? They’ve basically just raised awareness about there being a tarantula and a snake at this specific petting zoo. They’re so bad at their jobs.
I just think that the Cambridges are completely unable to relate to any of the orgs and causes they visit without centering themselves. They seem to be people who are very insular and have a myopic outlook on the world, i.e. they relate everything to how they themselves feel. They are completely unable to put themselves in another person’s place. They are that lacking in empathy. So every visit they make to “raise awareness” become about themselves or their family.
Good point. I read some of the phrases printed out on those large cards on the table & I’d be really interested to know what the discussion topic was, how it relates to those phrases, and how it addresses whatever issue they’re meant to address. You know, something in addition to W & K’s thoughts on snakes, spiders, and chickens.
@AmyToo, ditto to all of your questions about follow-through (I also didn’t know the purpose of the petting zoo until Kaiser explained it), but I genuinely don’t believe that any of this ever even crosses their minds, because in their view, it’s one day of “work” for them, not part of any larger initiative.
Their main goals are: to be seen so people don’t forget they exist, for Kate to get to wear new clothes, to up their numbers in the CC, and most importantly, to participate in the types of activities which generate tons of photo ops. They’re not thinking about how they could help these people, because in their minds, they already did, merely by showing up and gracing them with their royal presence. They will never think about them ever again.
More and more it seems like their aides are specifically picking places for the Cambridges to go based on the opportunities for new and interesting photos, exactly like Instagram influencers. They’re always “doing” something “fun” like playing a sport, playing with animals, whatever that beach-yacht-racing thing (??) was, one engagement a few months ago where Kate climbed up into some sort of, idk, little simulator or something? — it looked kind of like a cockpit?— hopefully someone here will remember what I’m talking about! The press coverage is mainly focused on the expressions Kate makes as she has all of these fun, new experiences. 🙄
The Sussexes’ visit to NYC was so clearly a working trip. They posed for one group photo with the governor and mayor their first morning there (a courtesy I think anyone would do), and there were a handful of Meghan reading her book to schoolchildren and the amazing video of them with the kids after that. But then we really didn’t see them again until they were onstage on Saturday, right? Other than that, we only saw them getting in or out of cars or walking into or out of buildings because they were going to meetings, and a handful of blurry, covert ones taken at the restaurant. One popped up of them with an ambassador because SHE was so excited about meeting them that she posted it.
William and especially Kate are always actively doing or trying something out at their engagements, because we’ve seen what it’s like when they are simply sitting still, with other adults, needing to utilize their brains instead of constantly being on the go with this sporty, outdoor fluff (see the round table with poor Jill Biden). I get that this is the kind of thing they should be doing more often, but is as if everything is planned based on *William and Kate* having the maximum of fun possible. It is ridiculous. They’re treated like small children.
I agree, Lorelei. It’s like they’re students attending a very expensive, full day, 5 day a week pre-school for 2 and 3 year olds. They’re not old enough to actually have a lot of structured lessons, but the parents are paying a ton of money, so they expect that their children will be doing a lot of new, engaging things and not just coloring or playing blocks all day. So the pre-school is constantly booking field trips to the zoo, children’s museum, the apple farm, the kiddie water park, a puppet show, and doing things like picnic near the river day, fall fun day, dress up as your favorite character day, just so they can send out a newsletter that has a lot of exciting pictures in it of the children doing many interesting things. That’s what Will and Kate’s people are doing for them: scheduling them as if they’re 2 year olds at a prestigious day care whose parents expect to see cute pictures of their kids and hear fun stories about what they did at school today.
@ Amy Bee, spot on, as usual!! I have this picture in my head that TOBB, and KKWeen willingly, decide to make an impromptu visit that places them in an arena that involves sports, young adults and massive exposure. It must be limited by a few hours of attendance, no organization in need of funding, exposure or mental involvement that would require a speech or public statement. It must be, preferably, while KKWeens touch ups are fresh and an opportunity to utilize their facility for promoting how great, modern, down-to-earth and approachable W&K are to the peasants. If there is the slightest option of traveling by private in our helicopter, then we must attend to show our “support”!!! Most importantly, it MUST be an opportunity for them to be seen as the future of England and the Commonwealth as they are THE actual royals, not Harry and Meghan.
Once their lackeys find a perfect location/opportunity to showcase their greatness and steady work of working for the peasants, KKWeen starts planning her wardrobe once she has amassed a thorough history of Meghans style, they are off on their campaign of the FFk/FFQ To Be!!! And if TOBB has the opportunity to publicly insult and degrade KKWeen, while he is waiting to escape, icing on the cake for FFk.
He doesn’t deserve the upper case K as he doesn’t deserve or is fit to be king, as he will destroy the Monarchy.
And FFS, wear a fcuking mask 😠
@BothSidesNow I didn’t see this comment until after I posted mine, and we said a lot of the same things, but you worded yours in a way that is much funnier than mine! lmao
They remind me of the movie Soapdish. Every time Sally Field was upset the staff took her to a mall where she would be recognized and surrounded by fans. I think that’s what KP does when TOB has another fit of rage over Harry’s popularity, they get sent out for a photo op.
God, they desperately need to be the center of attention. Imagine being such a show off that you have to be photographed kicking the soccer ball while the team are firmly in the background.
We have so many pictures like the ones of William and Kate kicking a football. What is the point? To demonstrate how down to earth they are because they kicked a soccer ball again?
And its always so weird to me bc they completely change their outfits. Well william changed his shoes at least. Kate had to put on different pants and a windbreaker. I know part of that is for the illusion of doing more work than they are actually doing, but still. Surely they can find some type of outfit for her that works between these two engagements – the petting zoo and then the soccer?
I also think the outfit change = different event which = greater number of events reported in the annual count.
@Beanie and Simone – oh for sure, its about the coverage and making sure that it gets counted as two engagements, but it still is stupid to me lol. At least here she prob had an extra set of clothes anyway, but when she goes to these kinds of things in England and changes multiple times in a day I’m just like, why? Just dress appropriately from the get-go!
But their numbers so low and coverage so poor that I guess she has to do whatever she can to make up for it (besides working.)
This made me laugh.. the mall scenes were hilarious. 😂🤣😂
I love that movie! Now I know what I’ll be watching this weekend 😁
@ Lizzie, that is the epitome of KKWeen and TOBB!!! I love, love, love that movie and I watched it recently, as it has stood the test of time for comedy!!!!
I am actually surprised that she isn’t head to toe in GREEN
, actually!!!
Soapdish was a hoot. A great cast–and Kline, Field, Goldberg, and Downey were hilarious. 🤣🤣 And as a Jersey Girl, I loved the mall visits. 🤪🤪
I don’t know why my fellow city folk romanticize chicken coops. Chicken coops smell so bad, even if you have them cleaned very often. And the whole lice situation. Gross. I can get behind having bees and a lamb, but that’s the extent of my farm adventure lol
Any kind of coop or barn or stable or pen will have to be cleaned regularly if animals are kept in there. Farm/country life, you just get used to that. I am sure Kate and Will are not mucking out personally. For our chickens, we also have a larger enclosed yard. The chicken coop is not that bad to me, YMMV. At least they’re small lol.
In that top photo it appears that William is trying to explain how big his personality is.
But what about the fuel. . . . shortage? 😳
Happy to say that there is no fuel shortage in NI (thank you NI Protocol!).
I think she’s referring to the fuel shortage in Britain – where William and Kate came from and reside in.
Well his helicopter flies on fairy wings and good wishes…
Saw a pic of Will holding a snake too. Glad to see him reconnect with family members after a long lockdown <3
😂😂😂
I wish it had bitten him.
So yeah the chickens aren’t a new thing at Anmer, I just don’t think the Cambridges are involved at all in their care. Like I’m not sure Kate could tell you where the coop was on the property. Staff do 100% of their care and Will and Kate probably have an egg for breakfast each morning and that’s the extent they think of their chickens.
I can’t tell if their visits are just devoid of substance or if that’s just how their visits are covered.
She probably didn’t even know they had chickens until someone on her PR team saw that at Amner and said “OOO good PR – be just like Meghan!”
You know who has had gorgeous chickens for a long time? Rose, over at Houghton Hall. Except I don’t think hers are rescues.
They’re so embarassing. Zero personality
Just because there’s a blue sky does not mean it was a nice day. There has been a real turn in the weather this week here and it’s definitely coat and jumper weather now.
But wasn’t the same the case in NYC when Harry and Meghan visited? It depended on what wether was in what part of the city you were in; it’s not necessarily hot or cold everywhere especially in a place as big as NYC. But did that stop the BM (and/or the Cambridge sycophants) from getting up so high Meg’s arse about her coats? And in all Kate’s pictures, everyone else is dressed for summer except Kate. So, based on how others in the picture are dressed, it’s safe to say that it was not necessarily “cold” where she was, non? So lack of articles about how “Kate must be dying from feeling hot” are another confirmation that the BM coverage of Meghan is deeply rooted in racism, period.
I like that Kate is actually drinking the guiness. They usually have just a sip or push around the food at these type of events.
She won’t be consuming any more calories for the next 72 hours.
I mean you need to have a little something just to get through with these with William I’m sure.
Much as I hate spiders and pictures of spiders (I had to scroll past that VERY fast and it will take a few minutes for the UGH IS IT ON ME feelings to subside), the fact that Kate is comfortable holding one is one of the few interesting things I know about her.
As for the suit, I assumed it was Zara and didn’t like it but was somewhat willing to give it a pass on that basis (parking the SWF element). The fact that it cost £££ just pains me.
So no “Kate has looked the best she has in years” comments? Is she not as “refreshed” as the Bond premier? Just wanting know where all the stans are.
They’re all over Twitter and IG creating long ass threads and IG stories about what Meghan thought of Kate’s dress, thinking about how jealous Meghan must be, speculating on what Meghan’s response will be, posting photos of dresses Meghan might wear in order to compete with Kate,and complaining because they haven’t seen Meghan since last week. I’m not joking. This is literally what Kate stans are doing.
Once you realise that Kate stans are mostly ww who are petrified that their historical position on the hierarchy of desirability and value is being threatened by Meghan’s existence, continued success, adoration by her husband, you begin to realise it’s not Kate they’re fighting for but themselves.
It was interesting to see that after the movie premiere, they weren’t glad to see Kate (as Meghan’s fans are genuinely just thrilled to see her) but gleefully waiting for the post on this and several other blogs so that Meghan’s fans can ‘eat it’. It’s that personal to them because it validates that women like Kate (like them) still matter.
That sounds so delusional and crazy. They’re not really Kate fans. They’re all a bunch of Megan stalkers.
Based on what we know of Meg’s taste and style, I can totally picture the face she made when she saw the Dolly Parton Jamboree gown. I’m betting there was a massive head tilt combined with a look of “what in the actual hell?”
L84Tea, you have me cackling. I liked the gown, just not on Kate, as that sort of flashy sequined style can look incredible on someone who can actually carry it off. But yeah, it definitely would not be Meghan’s style at all from what we’ve seen.
@L84Tea – my actual thought when I first saw Kate’s outfit was 1970s “Miss Universe Pageant” and Kate fumbling over the usual silly question like “What is the biggest challenge to young people today?” She’d say something like “Well…we need to create education better…” *manic grin and jazz hands*
No L84TEA! Don’t even mention Dolly and Kate in the same breath lol. Now Dolly could carry that dress.
@Jais, don’t worry, that wasn’t an insult to Dolly. I love and adore Dolly and she could absolutely pull off that dress. But that was my point, Kate can’t. 🙂
@SunRae I 100% agree with you that Kate’s fan base is white women who feel threatened by Black woman (and other WOC) who are any combination of gorgeous, talented, successful, beloved, respected, high-achieving, etc., b/c they sense at a deep maybe subconscious level that the top of the hierarchy of women used to be reserved only for white women, and now (finally!) some WOC are climbing into the upper echelons. Meghan shows she can be every bit as beautiful as Kate, better dressed, more loved by her husband, more respected by global leaders, and she doesn’t have to “dim her light,” say nothing or speak poorly in public, never “outshine” or outperform her male relatives, etc. White women don’t realize how white patriarchy wants them to be pretty sheep — attractive but docile and obedient — while many WOC who climb to the to top of any social or cultural or financial or political ladder have to do so b/c of their abilities and hard work, which comes across to white women as “aggressive” or “masculine” (even though it is just being assertive and fighting for yourself when the odds are against you).
However, on the Meghan fan front, I would say we are interested in Meghan similarly b/c she stands and represents many of our (WOC’s) struggles and accomplishments. I think both Kate and Meghan are powerful, powerful symbols right now for what is happening with shifting definitions and categories of successful womanhood. So I think both fandoms are so passionate first of all b/c of what Kate and Meghan represent for them very personally, and only secondly because of what they feel about Kate and Meghan as specific individuals (after all, we don’t know either of them, we judge them based on the limited amount they do in public).
Calling her refreshed unironically was certainly a weird way to try to praise her.
Calling her refreshed when it was just photoshop is also weird. Kate doesn’t look as nearly as good in these photos at all. Everything her “stans” do is in the context of Meghan, which actually makes them Meghan fans in my opinion. Psychotic Meg fans, but fans nonetheless. Kate’s derangers don’t support her projects, they can’t make her trend, and sure as hell don’t love the “real Kate” without the photoshop and filters. Funny how Kate’s fans didn’t even miss her when she disappeared for months but are salty the Meg hasn’t been seen in a week.
Before Meghan, did Kate have ACTUAL fans? The ones she has now don’t care for her at all and use her against Meghan.
Few of the Twitter accounts that praise her non stop existed until Meghan came around. It was more general royalists who praised her and even there many would admit she wasn’t doing many engagements because they were familiar with the other members of the family and how much more they did. There were blogs monitoring the fashion, but the stan culture only ramped up as a reaction to Meghan. Some of the major Royal forums were very critical of Kate and then did a 180 once Meghan became an easier target.
@JT since not hating her every breath = Stan around here , I’ll go. She looks nice , I like the cut of the suit but think I would have preferred the opposite , perhaps a navy suit with a bright blouse.
I don’t think she looks old and I don’t see the obvious work she gets done every third post.
There ya go from one Stan to another
ETA: I agree that Willy needs a new look, or at least new pants , overall kinda shabby.
I don’t hate her but I don’t respect her either (based on her actions with her charities and that awful crying lie she let get so far). I am glad they are finally doing more work.
I do like her suit and am so glad that she has finally ditched the dowdy clothes to look more professional, whatever the reason for it.
What drives me crazy is that her pictures in newspapers and on her instagram are extremely photoshopped when compared to live or unedited photos. And people who comment like it isn’t keep perpetuating the myth that its attainable – influencers are hugely problematic with their filters and we call them out. This is no different. I call out the instagram/influencers as well.
I really see how it affects people and their relationships. Men thinking women should look like that. Women feeling bad they don’t look like that. When it’s all fake.
@Same – yep you’re clearly a Kate stan. I’m only joking. People get way too heavily invested either way. One positive comment about Kate on here seems to mean you’re a Kate stan, and then SunRae goes on to imply that if you’re a Kate stan then you’re essentially a bad person. So, just to make sure you don’t go to the dark side, remember to not look for the good, ok? Keep it negative at all times.
@goodpuff I agree. Social media has a lot to answer for.I don’t know of any celebs, royals or influencers who don’t edit their photo’s at least some of the time. Some are just more obvious that others. Even the men do it. At this point I don’t even know who is to blame. They’re all only human and it would take a huge amount of courage to step outside of that, when everyone else on SM looks perfect.
@Same – nah, that’s not true that “not hating her every breath” = a Stan around here.
Here is the difference that many of us noticed yesterday:
I like that suit, its a good color on her.
vs
OMG that suit is amazing!!! It may be the best thing she’s ever worn. I can’t believe we are so lucky to have someone like this as the future queen!!! She is STUNNING!!! I wonder what her secret to eternal youth is?!?!?! Can you believe she is wearing a SUIT! She’s so trendy and fashion forward. THIS is the future of the monarchy.
Those are the comments JT is talking about.
Interesting. I got called a “stan” and accused other various other terrible things yesterday for simply noticing nitpicking, despite clearly stating her behaviour sucks.
Anyway…Love the purple colour in general. She seems to enjoy sporty things, so maybe she would “work” more if she really leaned into that. Nah, probably not.
The stans were really something yesterday. No worries, they’ll return when she has another gown on. Not when she’s doing anything of substance though- because she never does!
I just wanted to say that I find the last picture of Baldemort hilarious!! he is so awkward
IKR? He’s such a gormless twit.
I love this British phrase “gormless twit.” Poetry.
They did it to themselves. Kate’s own fans couldn’t even praise her disco ball red carpet moment without bringing Meghan up.
White person wanting to be just like the black person, look like the black person and have what the black person has. Where have we seen this before. Ah yes, the movie Get Out. Happy that Harry and Meghan got the message.
Bwa ha ha, the jealousy and single white female-ing is real.
I might be confused about what SWF is, but how is Kate doing that here?
Once again William makes a “joke” that is just snide. He has such an unpleasant sense of humour.
He is a mean, unpleasant, vindictive little man.
That’s exactly what they’re doing, but they are just confirming that Meghan and Harry are the Royal Stars and they are just trying to catch up. They make a terrible boring COPY.
Has anyone noticed how pissed william looks in that picture where Kate can actually kick the ball and he was trying so hard to do the same in another picture?
The Mail used the headline “Duchess Doolittle.”
haha, came here to comment the same thing! The Fail is definitely turning on them, it was the headline and a wicked jibe.
Me three – Kate can’t be happy about seeing that particular nickname rematerialize!
Yes, the Fail is running out of horrible things to write about Meghan. The press will eventually turn on the Cambridges because they can make money from it.
That makes my day!
About the “Duchess Doolittle” headline— I had that same reaction for a second right after I saw it, but then remembered that Dr. Doolittle is about his amazing gift connecting with animals (something like that), so I think they were just trying to be clever, matching that headline with the photos of her with the tarantula.
Ordinarily I would think that it was *definitely* an underhanded swipe at Kate, but the BM and the Fail in particular are still seething at how successful the Sussexes’ trip to NY was, and they’ve been over-praising Kate in response. This one time, I don’t think it was a veiled comment on her laziness.
Right now, that have to pretend that Kate is the perfect English rose, white as the driven snow.
It’s still funny because they used to call her that in the pre-Meghan days, when they actually did take swipes at W+K. I can’t quite believe they didn’t completely realize what they were doing when they wrote that headline, but it still pleases me either way.
@Swirlmamad ITA, it was definitely meant as a criticism of her laziness and it was very funny when they used the term back in…it was 2014 — 2015-ish, I think? And remember, one headline called William “throne idle.” Then Harry started seeing Meghan and all of that was forgotten overnight; all of a sudden the Cambridges were the ideal “young, modern, stable British family,” committed to duty (lol), etc.
I wonder what things would have looked like for Burger King and Kate if Harry had never met Meghan? Because the press and the family were definitely starting to lose their patience with the fact that W&K worked so infrequently. But a Black woman came along, so all energy went toward trashing her in any way possible. The Cambridges still didn’t work more, but it was wasn’t reported on anymore because tearing Meghan down took precedence over anything else.
How difficult would it have been to announce a donation from their foundation (or their own money, god forbid) to the upkeep of the petting zoo or for more animals or to their mental health counseling department? They can’t just show up and look happy. Why does their PR fail them constantly?
As Kate held the tarantula and started to move up her hand, William told her “Maybe she’s not so keen on purple, or she maybe thinks you’re a flower.” Why did this comment come across like William insulted and shamed her? That’s rude.
Because he did. He does that all the time, William is a mean spirited and spiteful man.
I really don’t see the insult here.
He’s saying that he is not so keen on purple and that he thinks Kate looks like a flower (not in a good way.) He’s saying the spider hates her outfit, he means he hates it.
@Canadian – Willnot is good at the smartassy, passive-aggressive comments and looks. I know if I were to hold a tarantula Mr. Jaded would have said something like “You’re admirably brave, I don’t think I could do that!”
Agreed, but not every comment is a horrible insult. So he doesn’t like the purple?
I actually think my husband would easily say that. Commenters are acting like it was verbal abuse.
If he doesnt like purple he should keep his mouth shut in public and in front of cameras about it.
if we were at a neighborhood party and my husband was like “ha, the color of your sweater is ugly” I would be MORTIFIED. And furious.
She also told us that he called her a banana when she wore a yellow dress on their Australia tour. He’s also the same man who joked about Daisy Ridley’s fake head looking more attractive than her real face at the outing he and Harry made to the Star Wars set (many years ago). He’s joked about his brother being stupid. He’s joked about George being annoying and loud (on nearly every outing for about three consecutive years).
His sense of humor is to belittle others.
Though never to be self depreciating, which is telling. He has little else to say…
He’s just a rude, self absorbed man-child who thinks his jokes are funny when they’re actually mean spirited.
It’s not an uncommon type, is it? Crass, arrogant, boorish middle-aged white men who think humour has to have a victim, but who whine and throw tantrums if they get a taste of their own medicine.
I’m impressed Kate wanted to hold the Tarantula. Spiders get a lot of hate so I think it’s cool to see someone respond positively to them. I’m not brave enough to hold a Tarantula but I do rescue spiders (and all insects) whenever I find them in the house to spare them from my husband (I also rescue bugs out of our pool if I see them in time, it’s become a bit of a strange hobby of mine). I think insects are incredibly interesting and important but are unfortunately very misunderstood. Same goes for snakes.
This isn’t an endorsement of these two at all, just glad to see spiders and snakes being acknowledged as living creatures and in a positive light for a change, as opposed to “EW.”
Very true. Both have their place in the natural environment.
I can tell you that I would not have held that tarantula, lol. I respect spiders and snakes and insects for their role in the environment and food chain and all that. But I still don’t like them lol.
Were the team lined up behind them so they could each be photographed kicking the ball the ‘youth they engaged with’? They got the crazy big grins in the pic’s though so A+ on job done. Cause that was all they came to do.
I wonder if K got the connection between “Charlotte’s Web” and the spider’s name or whether she just thought it was a cute coincidence that the spider and her daughter are both named Charlotte. Regardless she wanted to hold the spider because she knew it would be the shot that would get her the most attention. I guess the only way to out stunt a garish ballroom dancing costume is by holding a tarantula.
I see William’s broken out his trusty blue pullover again. Perhaps he means to make this his trademark, a la Steve Jobs and the turtlenecks?
Chicken or chicks? Asking for a confidante.
I’m sorry, but why does helicopter will look serious at the Table with the students, and waity has that maniac grin on her face?.
There is something wrong with woman. Inappropriate behavior, and responses to the situation, forget the clothes, get her some help.
@Margaret, this comment had me cackling so loudly, my cat woke up, gave me the stink-eye and left the room.
Soooo…how long till her forehead moves?
Gosh… these people are unoriginal
Kate looks lovely in that purple jacket. Does her face look, uh, different though? She looks very VERY refreshed.
@case you are kidding right?. That color?, the grin?. Just asking.
@margaret I genuinely like that color purple lol. *shrugs* No fan of Kate’s but I do think she looks pretty and more vibrant than usual here.
@Case, yes she has had some work done lol.
The obvious answers is Botox. Deep furrows and crevices in her face are gone. Although for me she still has hard and sharp features. Like a man’s.
Don’t know about the rest of you, but I can name two of Amner’s chickens.
Oh burnnnnnn!!
Why are they the ONLY people not wearing masks indoors?!?
I know a lot of people are calling out copy/paste but a lot of the royal properties have farms so no big deal. It’s just highlighted more since Archie’s Chick Inn was revealed. However, they spent the day there visiting various organizations, and their most notable quote was her mentioning they have chickens and wanting to hold a tarantula? This is where we stare straight at the camera. Not more comments about how this is positively impacting the students and the changes they see in them, nothing about how they’re funded and sustained, nothing on animal welfare. Just, “ we have chickens too”. Ok
Lightweights sent out to hold the exotic animals and keep Northern Ireland engaged. Next stop, look out Wales.
There isn’t a U.K.-wide fee system. There are no fees for Scottish students attending Scottish universities. English students attending English universities do pay fees. While fees aren’t at US levels, they are not insignificant and students do take out loans to pay them off.
And may those chickens come home to roost.
Have either of these two ever had an original thought? They have three kids: they can’t even say Charlotte likes this, George likes that and Louis likes something else? Spread it around the family for a while. We heard Charlotte likes spiders, but mostly its George this and George that. And yes it seems George likes whatever the Keenbridges are doing.
A college petting zoo? What a great idea! Wonder if they have a Zoology major…
Lol… new Dan Wooten headline in the Fail:
“DAN WOOTTON: Why Kate can thank Meghan for her metamorphosis from slightly-dowdy Duchess into new royal superstar who’s leaving her wannabe sister-in-law in the shade”
🤣🤣🤣🤣
The copying has become so obvious that they’re leaning into it and trying to spin it as positive.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
oooh……..that’s shady though for DW.
He’s giving Meghan credit for Kate’s “metamorphosis.”
And he’s calling Kate “slightly dowdy.”