Late Friday/early Saturday, the Daily Mail and several other British outlets published grainy paparazzi photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge just outside Heathrow airport. William and Kate were with their three kids and Nanny Maria. They looked like a harried middle-class family. Well, now those photos are only up on a handful of Twitter accounts, accounts which grabbed the photos before they were deleted from every British outlet. The Daily Mail deleted their tweet, which had the photos, and they also deleted their story entirely.
So what was so damaging about the photos? Why did Prince William presumably scream down the phone at every tabloid editor in the country? Well, a variety of reasons. The photos were taken on Thursday, as the Cambridges were clearly flying off on holiday, presumably internationally, because the kids’ school is off next week. The Mail also pointed out that they were checking into the Windsor Suite at Heathrow, basically a first-class lounge which costs £3,300 for three people (and maybe £6600 for six people?). The photos included the kids looking like normal kids, not dressed up like Little Lord Fauntleroys. And yes, Maria was ever-present too, and the Cambridges hate when people see that they have a full-time nanny.
In addition to all of that, they were clearly leaving to go on another vacation just as the Queen returned to Windsor from her hospitalization. It makes the Cambridges look lazy and work-shy, but also heartless, like they weren’t going to cancel holiday plans just because the Queen is in poor health. The Cambridges were truly leaving on the same day that Buckingham Palace admitted that they lied about the Queen’s hospitalization!
The questions people are asking: was this originally a Cambridge set-up pap stroll to make them look relatable, only it blew up in their faces like the “pub lunch”? Or did the British papers publish the photos without Kensington Palace’s authorization, as a way to needle Will and Kate for being work-shy and heartless? I’m going more with the latter. I don’t think the photos were originally authorized at any point. I think they were taken and published to send a message to William and Kate. The Mail and the Sun were telling them: look, we own you. We are keeping your secrets. We can tug on your leash at any moment. There’s a very real power struggle happening right now, especially between William, Charles and the British media.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, social media.
The children being off meant an expensive trip for them. They did have a two Months Vacation, and a few weeks of red carpet appearances and endless photos of Kate’s fashions. This does not look good considering the current economy, the fuel shortages, and the pandemic not over. That and the Queen being hospitalized and their rushing off to go on a trip. They also have the spin of being “thrifty” which to me is absurd.
They keep lurching from one PR nightmare to another. Trying to pretend to fly commercial after the dreadfully posed and stilted photo op that was keenshot. They shouldn’t even be flying anywhere at all. They could have pretended to show concern for their grandma by being papped visiting Windsor or they could have gone on holiday to any of the environmentally friendly holiday spots in the UK. I suspect they will be holidaying separately as William has on his blue dad visitation sweater.
This is another shot fired by the British tabloids to keep the family in check. We own you so you better keep giving us the exclusives and not People magazine.
If you scroll down just a bit in this Twitter feed you can see the pics of the Cambrocrites, outside at Heathrow: https://twitter.com/ddofccourt. These were the pics on the Fail, that have since been remove.
These same people (and family) would screech to the 4 corners of the world had it been H&M jetting off with their kids with Granny “practically on death’s door” (ie: an over night hospital visit). And Mr. Earthshot….what was that about carbon footprints and flying? Do as I say, not as I do? Yeah..thought so.
This was a set up – they are all dressed matchy matchy, which is always deliberate, esp with their pap shots.
@digital unicorn- I’m not convinced it wasn’t originally posed pap pictures either. Like you said, the matchy clothes, and also in one pic, Kate is looking directly at the photographer, like she sees that their pic is being taken. But maybe that just happens? I’ve never been papped so idk?
Even though the optics are terrible, we’ve talked about how their instincts are just so bad. Maybe they thought this would show that Kate and William do vacation together. At the same time, the nanny is in the pic though so that makes me think it possibly wasn’t planned. Idk? Either way, the papers capitulated by taking it down and removing comments which is just hella annoying bc it means the Cambridges were able to get it taken down.
@Jais – I thought the same thing; it looks like Kate is looking right at the camera. It’s possible that they could have been papped unknowingly and she just happened to notice them there, but they are awfully coordinated.
I’m wondering why there was such a delay in publication? They were papped on Thursday afternoon so why would the tabs hold it until Saturday when it could go up Thurs. night or Friday? The timing makes me wonder if it might have been Joe Public who got the shot and then didn’t quite know what to do with the pics and needed some time to shop them around. Kate’s glamour shot at Phil’s funeral/fashion show went up before the service even started. The tabs move fast and this was out-of-character slow.
The photos are still at DM. They’ve hidden them in the “Prince William and Kate News Plus Royal Baby Louis Updates” section. Just scroll down to the first Story Heading. LOL! They’ve hidden these photos in plain sight in a fairly dormant DM Title section. Oh, and they’ve removed any article for the photos, just artfully edited narratives in the captions beneath the photos.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/prince_william/index.html
That garbage dress was $405!?!? Kate’s style is throwing thousands of dollars at sister wife dresses.
Speaking of the People magazine photos, have you guys seen this? I just saw it on Twitter.
Chris Jackson replicated EXACTLY this photo of Meghan. How is he not mortified to include that? Not only were his photos featured in People, but he wrote a lengthy piece along with them— how wonderful his “behind the scenes” experience was, how “spontaneous” the photos were because W&K are so in love (lol), etc. Did he not think anyone would make the connection?? Incredible
So not only are W&K copying Meghan, but their personal (yes I know he technically works for Getty, but he’s friends w/the Cambridges and his wife is Kate’s “stylist”) photographer is, too 😭
(Actually, he’s copying Misan Harriman’s work. I get that there’s nothing super personally-creative about that shot, and there have been similar ones since cameras were invented,, but W&K never did them and this is SO soon after Meghan’s photo was released; it’s not like hers was ten years ago. And she’s also copying Meghan’s hair, clothes, etc. so I doubt it’s a coincidence here.)
https://twitter.com/SheCometh/status/1451460427829989393
@wiglet the sister wife dresses are a lifetime penance she has earned from her earlier years of wearing flouncy dresses that flew up in public and revealed her royal highness’ bottom.
@ Tessa : Many decades ago, Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada. He always made a point of vacationing IN Canada with his family. Wilderness trips in the summer and skiing in the winter. Ironically he also made his kids go to public schools and ride the school bus (with a security car driving behind).
Haven’t these yahoos heard of a Stay-cation?
There are so many interesting places they could explore in England if they had an ounce of curiosity or intelligence.
William probably hated that he was pictured using a gas guzzling SUV to board a plane
( more than likely a private plane) less than a week after his little “save the earth” awards show. Especially when one of the rules was that you couldn’t fly in for the show. Hypocritical.
Yes that’s where I thought CB was going when I saw the headlines. But the other angles as well. No wonder they demanded it come down pronto.
Reaction time was much faster than pub lunch (which looked set up and after plenty of airing were taken down) – goes to show how dangerous those Heathrow pics must have been considered.
This is what happens when your work is all about photo ops. Keenshot has been exposed for what it is, an opportunity to get papped copying his brother. I am here for the press to turn on them and at the moment they can barely keep them at bay. Once the queen goes it will be a free for all.
@Ginger, yeah, not a WORD about gas-guzzling SUVs or flying immediately after Earthshot. We know full well what the headlines would have looked like for his brother in this situation.
@ Ginger, PWT is the epitome of hypocrisy!! Why would this instance be any different than all of the other times he had that he was papped and didn’t like being shown his true colors? PWT is an embarrassment in riches!! I believe he will destroy The Monarchy when his time comes and we are all here for it!
I saw this on the DM Online and read a lot of the comments. They were mostly critical of their hypocrisy of flying just days after Keen-Shot. What I found surprising were the amount of negative comments that were upvoted. Even comments about what other commenters would say if it were H&M flying off on holiday just a day after the Queen was hospitalised. I think the stories and photos were pulled because of the backlash towards them from people who usually believe the media hype about them being the keenest, hardest working, secret weapon, safe hands etc etc etc. I hope the tide is turning and the rest of my fellow Salt Islanders wake the eff up to the media brainwashing.
I think the tide is turning as most people are not stupid just quiet and indifferent. The difference now is that people are prepared to speak up and are sick of their bread and circus act. They will not be forgiven for hiding away during covid, doing nothing to feed the kids and of course there’s Andrew. There is of course the pain of Brexit, so we are in for a long ride.
I make a point of commenting on their puff piece propaganda articles. I think that when the Queen passes, the monarchy will slowly but surely wind down. There’s no affection for Charles and that will filter down to the Keens eventually. I truly believe Baldingham will not see the throne, certainly not as it is today. Society is changing, the narrow-minded will die off or become the smallest of minorities. I just hope that the whole damn class system and the aristocracy is abolished. While there’s a class system and titles, there will never be true equality for all.
I think people are facing tough times right now, with Covid and Brexit. Their patience for these hypocritical idiots is wearing thing.
@Space Geek I agree — it will start falling when Charles is king and all the Commonweath countries start opting out. Most of them have been too afraid to do so when TQ is so old (except badass Barbados and a few others), but when she’s gone they’ll start dropping like flies and jig will be up.
Comments and likes are all manipulated if not fabricated by the DM to promote sick, hate-fueled ideologies Murdoch wants to promote. I’m sure there are many negative comments about William&Kate all the time, but they are buried as long as they play by the rules. And there is actually only one rule: stick to the conservative ideals of my unhinged readers (that was actually spread by me in the first place), don’t promote progressive ideas, or I’ll destroy you. This is the formula. I wish Meghan(or actually Harry) knew better about it, she didn’t know what she was getting into. And everyone in Britain knew.
There are a lot of bots and green arrow manipulated comments, but the media will never get rid of them as there’s always an agenda.
The daily mail types loved to heap praise on the Keens in retaliation to harry and Meghan. That is the only reason why they are praised, not because they are loved, but because they are racist n hate harry n Meghan. But if you take the Sussex’s out of the equation, then there is absolutely nothing to love about Willie and keen, absolutely nothing. I get why these DM types love the queen, cos she’s been around since forever, but these two are just a couple of fakes and it shows. Most of the comments that praise them are bought and paid for bots,
Given that the stories coming from Cambridge sources were that they would have a “lighter” schedule and were likely to be enjoying family time together in Norfolk, they definitely would not have wanted this to come out, especially with the Queen’s recent stay in hospital. It looks soooo bad.
I wonder if they attempted to mislead the royal rota that they would be staying at Anmer, then got screwed by photos at the airport, or if they just are used to relying on the tabloids to cover for them and were unpleasantly surprised.
The media are already pissed at the fact they didn’t know about the Queen being in hospital so maybe they wanted to tug on their leash as Kaiser suggests. Damn she’s good!!
Additionally they haven’t gotten over TOB’s interview with People.
BTW, I looked in the checkout line at my grocery store yesterday and not one photo of W&K, not even a small one on the cover of People. They just done sell in the US.
Didn’t the articles about their “light week” speculate they would be in Norfolk? And wasn’t there an article this summer announcing they would no longer vacation abroad, or something along those lines? This, and the fact that the DM actually allowed negative comments, makes me thing this is chain-yanking.
I forget whoever first said what is zero divided by zero in the earlier post, but they were absolutely correct in terms of how much work would be done.
@Gruey While the story last week wasn’t as clear on where they would be headed, it was heavily implied that they would be in Norfolk “where they often escape.” So this makes me think they were caught unawares, and they were trying to pull a fast one with the press. It might ba case of misdirection.
The fact that they are going on a vacation from a non-existent work schedule when courtiers where forced to cancel several appearances by the queen due to her hospitalization was not a good look, but so accurate in how little the Cambridges care about their role. The British papers really chose their moment to play their hand.
Even weirder was the speed at which the pics came down. Saw it on DF yesterday and clicked on photos that took me to stories about Andrew and Louise riding in Windsor together( they were not together) and Beatrice at a pub with husband. Look for the story of HM not caring for Liz this evening.
Prince Andrew and Louise Wessex riding together – a girl roughly in the age group as his victims, yes?
Imagine being the parent who thinks putting their kid in that situation, and letting photos get out, is a good idea.
(I know they’re uncle and niece but… even IF you believed he didn’t do anything, that’s still putting her in the public line of fire.)
I think rather than showing they don’t care enough about their role (whatever that is!), it’s more indicative of their stubborn and deep sense of entitlement.
This part! Listen, everyone on this site has noticed how little they work. That is not a change from the norm but choosing to do this after the Queen was in hospital ? Talk about not reading the room. And the press is for sure sending a message by releasing these pics.
pshaw. They’re going off to do Important Work in another Caribbean Island that hasn’t left the Commonwealth.
I found it interesting that Kate and William were wearing masks all of a sudden, with their track record there throughout the pandemic.
The masks make me think it was yet another posed papped stunt gone wrong.
There may mask mandates at airports, etc. But it sure looks like a planned pap stroll – with the children dressed normally, the women in flats, William carrying bags. They were appropriately dressed for an airport experience.
Probably a logistics mistake. They were taking a vacay, making a point of flying commercial, showing what a lovely family they have, how strong the marriage is, but the Queen’s hospital stay complicated things.
So even though the Cambridges said they were going to Norfolk, the pap agency still sent a photographer to check if they showed up as originally planned.
I believe masks are still a requirement at airports and on planes regardless of vaccination status.
It was staged bc the kids are of age to wear masks too. They did this to try to get positive press but it looks bad. Even the story says oh they’re not worried and after such a hard week they need a vacay.
I read the DM story while it was up (sometimes I can’t resist), and the Keenbridges were getting dragged in the comments. I especially enjoyed them mocking Kate’s Laura Ingalls cosplay sisterwife dress and matching mask.
Don’t they have ways of getting in and around airports without anyone knowing? I find it hard to believe they were papped without their knowledge. I wish they’d let Nanny Maria wear a comfy pair of leggings to fly, but no. That woman earns her money.
That’s the part that gets me. Isn’t there another entrance they could have used instead of the very public drop off zone? That part makes me think these were staged and got pulled down due to the backlash.
I’m sure there could have been another entrance they could have used.
I agree. Reminds me of when Andrew thought his BBC interview went well. They thought Keenshot went well too despite the BBC losing 2million viewers and the programme not even making the top 10 of the night’s viewings with a passive, captive audience. If the DM readers could be this angry, imagine how the rest of the population feels about them.
The photos might very well be staged but the copy accompanying these shots in the DM does not flatter W & K.
You’re right that the copy (well, at least the headlines that I saw) wasn’t great, but they still mentioned nothing about being hypocritical and flying right after W launched Earthshot, or the gas-guzzling SUVs they rode to the airport in, OR the fact that they were leaving for a vacation when granny just got out of the hospital. The Sussexes would have been EVISCERATED if it had been them.
There are definitely private ways for them to get in and out of the airport, which really suggests it was planned, imo. They probably thought the reaction would be, “our regal, happy family takes a holiday after exhausting week of packed schedules!” and everyone would ooh and ahh over what a cute little color-coordinated, lily white FFK/Q they have.
There has to be. Since Harry left, there have been no have been no airport shots of his returning or leaving. We get updates about arrivals and departures but no pics.
Oh shit, what did they make Nanny Maria wear? I’m picturing a blue striped dress with a fussy pinafore and a doily on her head, like a Victorian nursery maid.
Probably the Norland nannies uniform. It’s hideous and unpractical.
I had to Google that. Um, what in Mary Poppins-on-safari hell is going on there?
She was wearing a skirt and a top that looked like a sweater or cardigan. She looked better than kate with her sister wife cosplay, but it wouldn’t be as comfortable as leggings. I mean kate has worn them for actual engagements so she should be letting Maria be more casual.
She was wearing a regular (frumpy) dress, cardigan, no mask, and had her hair in a bun.
I know many people who have nannies for their kids, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone dictating the nanny’s wardrobe (or at least not beyond, like, “try not to wear booty shorts in front of the kids”). But oh yeah, I can definitely see Kate being petty enough to do that.
Maria looks kind of normal, but honestly, they all look like they are from a regressive religious enclave. I’ve seen observant Mormons with better style.
Nanny Maria is no fashion icon, the photos we’ve seen of her at other events are usually pretty covered up though I would love to see some pics in a pair of nike joggers and a high pony chasing the kids.
A note on “observant Mormons” — they wear garments UNDER their clothing as a reminder of their covenant with God, on the outside they wear clothes just like anyone else and are just as stylish. Not sure where that stereotype came from.
Now that you mention it, @same, I was thinking of the local Mennonites, not Mormons. Thanks! Man, I hate it when I screw up in public XD
She doesn’t wear the Norland uniform except on certain formal occasions like Charlotte’s christening when the Queen was present. She’s been photographed many times blending onto the background among the various aides.
They made her wear the uniform at Pippa’s wedding, when we were told Kate was going to be handling all the kids solo.
@Lorelei The copy isn’t overtly unflattering but I think anyone used to reading between the tabloid lines will pick up on the negative coding – see Aurora’s comment about the original headline.
@Miranda ‘Mary Poppins on Safari ‘ 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 thanks for my Sunday LOL
@lorelei and sure- the copy was no where near what it would be if it was Harry and Meghan, but it was definitely not good. Details about the cost of the suite and wondering where they might be going. It’s just enough of a tonal shift to warn the Cambridges and also to incite negative comments. If it was originally staged, then I’m sure the Cambridges assumed the copy would be cute and fluffy and the nanny would be cut out of the pics. I’m just annoyed the DM gave in and didn’t keep it up and removed the comments.
@Jais My favourite line from the DM article is the reference to K’s “£55 box-fresh white trainers”. While it doesn’t scream “she’s a hypocrite” you can nonetheless hear the whisper.
@Sure/@Jais, no, I knew it definitely was not good. At the headline changed a couple of times, at least on the DM. But the absolute worst one I saw was something like, “W&K spotted at Heathrow w/kids after Queen’s hospital stay sparks concerns of a ‘failed cover up attempt by the palace.’”
It’s not the sugary praise we’ve been seeing for a while, but it’s not really aimed at the Cambridges? They seem to be sort of a pawn because the press is pissed at the palace and wants to put them on watch. And it’s not as if the Fail is known for nuance, lol.
If it had been the Sussexes, there would have been that ^^ headline, plus at least five other stories all focusing on “eco-hypocrisy” and a couple dedicated to how much £ worth of clothing & jewelry Meghan was wearing, complete with those stupid little red graphics. The total cost in the headline would have included her engagement ring and a watch she bought herself in like 2012. AND there would be a fuss about them taking a nanny along.
Overall, it just seemed tame to me? And was removed quickly. Like…they just wanted to send a message to the palace, and once that was done, they could delete the photos because they’d served their purpose? IDK
I think my brain is so used to the scathing vitriol directed at Meghan and Harry that this just seems kind of “meh.” But definitely a warning shot.
@Noki I was dying at that, too. 😭 Thanks, Miranda!
I know that in the UK, it’s very prestigious to be a Norland graduate, but can’t they update that uniform a bit?? That alone would deter me from going there.
Def tame @lorelei but I guess it was something? Feel like we’re scraping the barrel and it’s bc they have been so utterly propped up since Meghan came on the scene. To farcical levels. Like it suspends the belief in reality levels. So I’m enjoying the little jabs, but in truth, u right, it ain’t enough.
@Jais, it’s funny, almost 200 comments, and lots of different theories & opinions, but one thing EVERYONE seems to agree on is that there’s something “off” about it, and that something bigger is definitely going on behind the scenes.
Honestly, I feel like it’s *well past* time for the Cambridges’s comeuppance. They have enjoyed almost 100% positive, glowing coverage since NOVEMBER OF 2016, and at this point it’s honestly ridiculous. It’s time for karma to come back to bite them in their asses. They richly deserve it.
Don’t they have ways of getting in and around airports without anyone knowing?
Yes, there are various VIP services that take one through the airport individually, past security and customs, offer a luxury lounge for waiting, and take you straight to the plane. Usually, one boards ahead of anyone else and sits in first class.
They are hypocrites. However I’m interested that they are vacationing together. It seems like this marriage truly is. It going to end. They are committed to the farce.
They arrived at Heathrow together and spent time in the SuperElite lounge together, but nobody saw them get on the same plane.
Fair enough. Good points. We don’t know if they actually left together.
LOL…for all we know Will was just dropping the kids (and Kate/the nanny) off at the airport to go on vaca to meet Carole and crew and then going on his merry way….I mean he was wearing a stuffy cardigan/dress pants/button down combo and the rest of them had on outfits that looked as though they were going somewhere warm. Maybe they thought, ooh, let’s make this look like we’re going on a lovely family vaca — except we’re not.
The DM removed my comment suggesting that William was just taking them to the airport but not going with them to Mustique or wherever to join the Middletons. There was nothing offensivein the comment but it had apparently triggered complaints. I tried twice more to make a comment that William might not be travelling with them and each time it was swiftly removed.
One reason could be sensitivity to the idea that they don’t live together. Another could be that William is staying behind because of the Queen’s health. Perhaps she isn’t expected to survive much longer and William needs to be around as his father’s heir. Yet another reason might be a formal regency is in the pipeline and William would be involved in the consultation.
Whatever the reason they don’t want it known if William is not with his family on holiday.
Seriously there is no reason to remove that comment unless it hits too close to home. The photos not published perhaps make it obvious that he is just dropping them off.
But very interesting how they managed to find them this time but nothing when it came to going to France for James’s wedding.
@Nic19 I still think that the absence of photos for James’ wedding was because William wasn’t there. As we we’ve seen quite recently, it isn’t that hard to get pics of the Cambridges altogether “au natural.” The pub lunch, Kate with the kids at a store, and now these airport photos show that the sort of shots are a dime a dozen. But the fact that there was nothing for James’ wedding, no staged pics or grainy photos, means that something was amiss that they didn’t want to highlight. Ergo, William wasn’t there because they’re living separate lives and he can’t stand the Middletons now.
Wow now that’s interesting!
He definitely didn’t go to James Middletons wedding and he’s definitely not going on a holiday with Waity. This was supposed to give the press something to sell with the kids being trotted out and Kate in her latest sister wife outfit. It flopped and got negative responses so they scrapped it. They think they can keep playing the public, but it’s not working.
I am almost certain that “William and Waity Cambridge “ is Old English for “useless pile of excrement.”
I don’t see the monarchy surviving till William. He and Kate are unbelievably lazy and I believe they are making a big mistake giving access to People magazine. I know posters here believe the British media don’t care because it will give these royal experts access to the US market but unless I’m mistaken, earthshot barely made any dent globally and no one was inviting these ‘experts’ to discuss it in the US. They don’t bring in the same interest as Harry and Meghan. Chasing after the US market and playing the UK media against each other- I believe KP told the sun about the queen being hospitalzed and giving exclusives to the times- is going to backfire on him.
The UK media helped William and Kate drive out Harry and Meghan and I am sure they want to collect on their payment.
Imagine that the CEO of a family firm is ill. That is not the time for any of the directors to go on holiday. In fact those on holiday will be recalled back to work. The optics of this is so bad. Who on earth advises these people?
I wonder if they knew? What if no one told the Cambridges that grandma spent the night at the hospital. It doesn’t seem like a normal family. Each household seems to be running entirely independently and they’re competitive and secretive with each other.
Maybe the Cambridges thought this was great PR: “look we’re all wearing blue and masks and we’re going to the normal, peasant entrance of the airport to fly on a normal, peasant, non private flight because Earthshot! Because environment! Because so normal, totally regular!” They honestly seem to think that taking 400 flights a year but having 1 or 2 of those be commercial flights is somehow great, environment-saving PR for them. They also seem to think taking off every single time their kids have a school break and going on vacation each time is some kind of “we’re super normal and family-oriented” PR. They’re not that smart when it comes to PR, they think that everyone loves them and wants to seek them doing things like fancy red carpets and wearing expensive clothing and going on vacation because they’re Royal and that’s what royals do, and theyre living the dream. Like they’re playing to the minivan moms in middle America who think the Cambridges are “aspirational.” So they give us these “insider” articles about them yachting and sailing all summer long at their country estate, or spending hours outside just playing and gardening and whatever else. Their “normal stay at home mom” stuff is not relatable, it’s like “normal stay at home 1% mom” stuff, so that it can be aspirational and so that everyone can feel like Kate is just the luckiest princess ever, a normal girl who hit the lottery and is living her best life, but we can’t be mad bc she “deserves” it because she was just a simple commoner who won the Prince. And then when she does something like get purposely papped flying commercial, everyone acts like she’s making some huge concession to the environment because she cares SO MUCH, and she’s such a good person for wearing a mask and using a regular person commercial flight. Such a sacrifice, she’s so good and normal, she cares so much! And I bet this is honestly how Kate feels. Like flying commercial 1/300 times a year is a huge sacrifice for her, it means she cares so much about the environment and that she’s “allowing” people to see her doing a peasant thing because she’s just so humble and normal. Which is why they think is GOOD PR for them.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if they were doing this on purpose for their own PR reasons, and then once they heard on Thursday/Friday—like everyone else—that the Queen was actually hospitalized on Wednesday, they realized this actually didn’t look that good for them, and they had it all removed and taken down.
@AmyToo not only do I agree with you, but I just had to tell you that this comment was so enjoyable to read because of your writing—the descriptions of Kate are *perfect*. I laughed out loud a couple of times. You should have a column somewhere 😂
I’ve said something similar above. People have an affection for the Queen due to her age and reminding them of a grandparent. As soon as Charles gets on the throne people will realise that they’re paying out good taxpayer money to a very unlikeable and lazy family. The institution will be surplus to requirement. As for the debunked idea that it’s the Royal family who bring in billions from tourism, it’s the history and the buildings ffs!
I saw the pics of family at airport unloading a large SUV for a vacay with nanny in tow. I also saw stories about senior royals stepping in to lighten the ailing queen’s load… the optics aren’t good for the Keens. The situation reads who are you going to believe me(BM cover up) or your lying eyes(disappearing photos)? Funny how media works for some royals and tries to destroy other royal members. Thank you Harry and Meghan for not playing the game. I trust the Sussex’s truth and see the facts.
It’s possible that William just accompanied the kids for the drop off, and didn’t actually go with them. At first I thought they were going to their cousins wedding in Greece, where Beatrice and Eugenia were picture, but they didn’t attend. So they went on vacation and snubbed their cousins, all while there is a gas crisis and the Queen is very ill.
The expression on Keen’s face wearing her red get up is priceless. Is there something wrong with her?
My tin hat theory is that The Sun has new kompromat on W. They used it to corrall him to their awards dinner which was followed up a fortnight later by the pub lunch photos. All was going according to plan until W gave an exclusive interview to People. The Sun felt slighted so W had to feed the beast by offering up TQ’s hospital stay. This was the mother of all exclusives and the other tabloids, quickly realising that W was the leaker, decided to remind him of their own power to shape public opinion by releasing the airport photos.
In conclusion, W is sc!!!!!
That does fit together! I wonder if you’re close to the truth.
What is “sc”?
That sounds very likely, I think you’re on to the gist of this!
I think you’re on to something, but I do think it’s significant that the day before the hospital story was made public, the keens got a full front-cover fluff story in the Sun with one of the B&W images from keenshot all about how they had things handled while the queen rested. If the Sun was pressuring him to play nice, IMO I don’t think they would’ve given him that cover. To me, it seems like William actively entered a new positive coverage arrangement, and that’s why he’s playing nice with the Sun – he goes to their awards ceremony, they give him positive coverage, etc. I think if it were a negative story that he was working to coverup the exchange would be way more frequent, whereas now it seems like a one-for-one tradeoff. Whatever it is, it’s a mess that’s obviously going to blow up in his face.
I just think it’s interesting we’ve seen so many pap pics of the royals & the Cambridge family generally given that press insisted the deal with the palace kept royals protected in the U.K. & they said moving to US, Harry’s family would be papped daily. There have also been pap pics of Andrew& Louise riding & Eugenie at a pub published since Friday.
I think this was the press yanking KP’s chain because of the people exclusive & the palace lying to the press about the queen going to hospital. Also that Diana donor party was a bit of a missed opportunity for the press with Harry not coming. The royals are failing to deliver so the press are telling them “I’m captain now” & don’t forget.
This is exactly what I was thinking. I think the Cambridge’s going out of their way to team up with a US outlet is probably bad enough for them. An outlet that from time to time gets Sussex exclusives as well probably feels like slap across the face, and this is the trash tabloids way of letting them know.
We have our own problems in the U.S., but I am so glad we don’t have a “royal family.” It is galling to see the British/UK public pay to support Will, Kate, and their three kids essentially to do nothing and live a life of luxury. I don’t know how they live with themselves when so many of their “subjects” are struggling. Do they really not care?
I’d agree that the press is sending out a warning but two things make me doubtful, the family was colour coordinated and they were going to the lounge instead of driven onto the tarmac as is the usual case. I’d say the Cambridges gave permission for them to photographed as peace offering for giving the exclusive to People. Make no mistake the press is pissed off about that. However the press did take down the pictures so is that KP promised them something else? It’s very unclear what is happening with the Cambridges and the press right now.
It just goes to show you how much the Sussexes were such sacrificial lambs. The Keens were virtualy teflon when H & M were still part of the circus. Now they are scrambling and in a panic,the lines are getting blurry after buddying up with People mag. It actually makes me sick that these people are ‘family’ wouldnt it make more sense to come together against the BM ?
I’d agree with your theory. Especially since these pics were taken on Thurs — the day the Queen was announced to have been in the hospital — meaning they were released at a time more favorable to the Cambridges. They were prob taken down bc KP realized the optics were bad. Dunno why the press kowtowed — maybe they were promised something better. We might see a return of the amateur kids photographer.
Kate is seen looking directly at where the photos are being taken whereas no one else is even looking at that direction in any of the shots provided. So I am inclined to think this was originally set up as a happy family shot to make up for the People exclusive.
The colour coordinated looks, the sister wife get up and being in an area where the general public goes just shows they expected to be seen.
But the negative reaction to their photos was not expected. And they likely didn’t anticipate that the press would still be made about the palace lying to them about the Queen.
Planned or not, the removal of these photos within hours, along with the entire article simply tells us just how quickly they can remove things they don’t want and so the pub photos staying there a week was intentional, especially since the article for those photos stayed up.
Could have been a Kate/Carole setup to get pic of them on Happy Family Holiday. William blew a gasket and pics were removed. Illegally by the way, because there is nothing illegal about photographing this family anywhere in a public space in the UK.
I actually think both could be correct. (1) The Cambridges cooperated in having the pics taken. But (2) the press spin on those pics was snarky (for example, including the reference to the exorbitantly expensive private VIP suites at Heathrow Airport – which I’m pretty sure the Cambridges wouldn’t have expected or wanted to be mentioned).
The press may be under instructions to report as positively as possible on the Cambridges, but I wouldn’t mistake this for actual support, respect or affection. I don’t think the press like them at all, and they do let it show from time to time.
Would the Keens really have to pay for their stay at the Windsor Suite ? I am sure they lounge there for free and these rich people hate paying for anything.
For all that the media has William by the short hairs, time and time again we see that the royals can squash stories if they want.
In the days of social media, those stories are saved and remembered and don’t completely go away.
Oh sure, but my point was to the palace doing nothing about the horrible stories about Meghan. They were all “We can’t respond to every trivial story.” I guess a photo at the airport is important; it’s racism that’s trivial.
@Eurydice, I don’t think they have fully processed the extent to which the Oprah interview was a game changer? That the eyes of the world are on them now, and they see what we’ve known for a while.
Now, whenever they pull this sh!t, lots of high-profile people quickly speak out about it, defend Meghan and blatantly call out the racism. IDK if they’ve realized how much the media landscape has changed since the Sussexes have been living in America, but it’s vastly different, imo, and I hope they’re in for a rude awakening.
(Aside from the blindingly obvious racism, everything they do is also amateurish and embarrassing, and they’re making themselves look worse by the day.)
Dang! I saw another headline from the Daily Mail titled “Copy-Kate” saying the couple copied H&M because of some black&white photos that were deemed to Hollywood, unroyal when done by the Sussexes. I think Kaiser is right. They are pulling the Cambridges’ chain and letting them know that the current status quo is not enough.
@Lemons, even their photographer is just flat-out copying Meghan:
https://mobile.twitter.com/SheCometh/status/1451460427829989393
I wish I could believe that the press is turning on Will and Kate but I just don’t see it yet. They took down that story but they put it back up with the comments deleted. You literally could not comment anymore.(don’t know if the new version is still up either but it was last night). They’ve never done that for Harry and Meghan stories. I’ve only seen it for Andrew.
So until they put up a negative story about Will and Kate and LEAVE it or the rota very clearly start turning on KP…..until then I don’t believe anything has changed.
Time will tell and I hope KP, daily mail, & BM crash and burn but until then I won’t get my hopes up.
That’s very insightful. As I don’t read UK press normally, I would never have noticed this pattern. Verrrrry interesting.
Yup also notice they didn’t mention gas guzzling, no details about private jets, no talking about them being hypocrites for talking about the environment. No disparaging them because the Queen was in the hospital while they went on vacation.
Its just another fluffy piece esp for those not paying attention to what’s happening.
I do agree that there seems to be a power struggle behind the scenes but so far it’s hasn’t broken against KP. Daily Mail seems to still be planted firmly up KPs a**.
@Sun, same— trying not to get my hopes up. But it’s hard…it’s so overdue!!
Who wears that dress on a plane?where is she shopping? That’s seventy show wardrobe department? I can’t believe she actually gives people money for these hideous things she wears. I really think the BM is making a point to the keenbridges, you give exclusives to us and us only. No more of this nonsense with American publications.
Being caught hasn’t even made them return early. They really don’t give a damm because they know that the bm will always defend them . They might nudge them occasionally but at the end of the day, the keenbridges will always get better treatment than H and M
I think the royal ladies have a family discount plan with the fashion label. Kate, Zara and Sophie have all worn dresses by the brand this year.
Her style is so, so bad. A flimsy long prairie dress with long sleeves and big bright white athletic shoes. Where is she getting these ideas? Maybe that was ironically cool briefly two years ago? It’s not long before she does the neon green tweed skirt suit and black low heels and black gloves like the queen. All the resources in the world clearly can’t buy taste.
I do not understand how/why they demand to have things like this deleted. Do they not get that once it’s online, that’s it? There will be screenshots and the deletion of the story will BECOME the story and turn it into a much bigger deal? Plus, can’t the press in any other country publish them anyway? This is an asinine rule, or “custom,” or whatever it is.
They were in a public place. Why isn’t some bystander (idk who took yesterday’s pics, but for the sake of argument, let’s say it was a peasant) allowed to take a photo in a public place, in a public area like drop-off, where there is __zero__ expectation of privacy? It would be different if someone followed Kate into a bathroom and shoved their camera under the door of the stall or something, obviously (not that that would ever happen). But when they are just out in the open at Heathrow, whyTF do editors care what Bill thinks or if he’s mad? HE is the one who decided to go to Heathrow for the love of god.
I’m torn between whether it was a setup or not. The temptation to show off *again* how they’re so humbly unlike the Hollywood royals, vs. the poor timing with the Queen’s hospital stay? (They really shouldn’t be flying AT ALL right now, after William just spent the past week opining about the environment, but that’s another discussion.) We know that they have the worst instincts and always make the worst decision, so who knows.
Either way, someone needs to sit their asses down and explain the Streisand Effect.
Did anybody see the title of the original article? It was something like “William seen leaving for vacation with Kate and their kids.” I thought it was weird because they could have just referred to the entire family as a unit. The title read like it was notable for a William to be seen with his wife and kids. I think the tabloids are warning William they will start spilling on his affairs.
Aurora-
That original headline is very interesting and there is definitely shade being thrown by the DM.
I think this airport drop off was staged (before Kate and the kids flew off to one place and William to another) but as a partial offering to the press in exchange for their continued coverup of whatever William is up to. However, I don’t think the Cambridges expected the negative pushback to it since the royals can’t read the room, ever.
And as usual they’ve just made everything worse for themselves.
William and Kate had a pact with the devil British media. They are trading their souls for diabolical favors.
They now have these two by the balls. Complete dominance over them. And this is what infuriates the British press about Harry and Meghan. They have totally lost control over them. Good riddance! There’s no looking back.
Honestly I’m torn between this being a planned shot that didn’t work out in their favour or the media published this in retaliation for People getting exclusives and the palace lying to them about HM. I could make points for both tbh.
I see your point, but for me the fact that Kate knows exactly where to look while at a busy airport tells me she knew. William isn’t seen looking in that directly at all. He’s actually interacting with the kids.
I can also see them thinking pictures of the Cambridges going on holiday would be a good idea as it shows that “Look the queen is fine! Her grandson and his family are even going on holiday!” but because of the palace covering up the hospital stay and the media being pissed at the palace for doing that, it didn’t work out as well as they wanted it too.
@nic919- I made note of the same thing. Do you think it’s possible that Kate set up the photos, without William’s knowledge? Bc she does seem aware of being photographed but William does not, even tucking his hand into the back of the jeans. But also, just bc she saw the photographer doesn’t mean she set it up? She just happened to see it? Idk but it did stand out.
Edit- ok posted and just read what u said below.
Looking at the camera doesn’t necessarily equate to cooperation with a pap. See for instance the Duchess of Sussex looking at the camera when she was papped in Canada going for a walk with Archie in a sling.
And then she sued the paparazzi for taking the photo.
But seeing as we have confirmation that the VIP section at Heathrow is hidden away from the public and they would have had assistance with their luggage, it is more than evident that both Kate and William were aware that they would be seen by the paps as they were unloading in a very public section. And since an airport is a restricted area unless you are travelling or going to pick up someone, it’s not like paparazzi can just hang out there all day. So they knew when to be there to take the photo.
Wonder if charles camp is behind exposing them? Courtiers earning their sovereign and jigger of jin.
Despite Charles spin that he “is proud of” William. I think he is really seething. Charles espoused environmental causes for decades and I think he is probably annoyed.
@Tessa he’s probably laughing his ass off at what a flop it was.
It barely got coverage outside of the ROTA-type tabloids, and even those dropped it immediately as soon as Meghan’s letter was released.
But even before the letter, most of the comments were just about what W&K were wearing, as usual. Charles is pompous and unlikeable, but imo most people know this is a cause he has been sincere about for decades, and he’s genuinely knowledgeable about it (although it doesn’t prevent HIM from constantly flying private, so).
It was just so obvious that Earthshot was an expensive little vanity project for Bill.
Charles could’ve also leaked the queens hospital stay. He seems to very keen to be king ASAP. Lots of stuff in the last six months about whether or not she should step down, her failing health, how she’s so old and has to be accompanied by another Royal, how she can’t hear or understand things and that’s why she didn’t understand Lilibet’s name, etc. Charles seems to be trying to make her look weak and unable so that he can either get more power or actually get her to officially or unofficially retire.
I lean more towards Kate/Carole setting this up to show how ‘strong’ this business arrangement is. Kate is wearing a brand new, not yet released dress. Freebie in exchange for getting her in a picture wearing it?
@Nota, I have to say it would be very funny if this was Carole’s brainchild, but it backfired and ended up angering *everyone else*
My theory is that Kate thought it would be a great idea to show them travelling as a family so they did the public drop off photos on Thursday when anger at the palace lying about the Queen had not hit its peak.
She doesn’t normally wear the sister wife stuff on her own time so that and being the only one caught looking directly at the person taking photos suggests she knew about this.
Where things went wrong is that by the time the photos went up on Saturday there had been a few days of media anger at the palace about lying and the photos included Maria far more than kate and William wanted. The DM article wasn’t that negative about them, but the comments were.
But in any case we know they can remove photos they don’t like in a few hours. So anyone who tries to pretend that happy family photos with the kids like the pub photos weren’t done with their consent is lying to themselves.
I agree with you
Yeah I can see it being a set up which maybe went slightly wrong PR wise with the press not 100% keeping their end of the deal to needle them a bit& to provoke negative comments. So perhaps that’s why it was asked to be taken down. Eg the article referred to K&W carrying on as normal whilst the queen was in hospital which read to me as shade. Plus not sure they would have loved nanny Maria being seen in the pap pics because of their ‘hands on middle class family’ image.
@Nic ITA, the takeaway here should be absolutely no doubt whatsoever from anyone ever again about the palace’s power to have something pulled immediately if they don’t like it.
What I don’t have a great understanding of is why. WTF do they care what Bill thinks, as long as the story was bringing in the clicks? It wasn’t super-invasive of any of the children, and they were right out in public. I don’t get why they capitulate so quickly to what the palace wants?
No, the headline about the “cover up attempt” wasn’t great, but there had already been many FAR more damaging articles and news segments (from actual reputable outlets, worldwide) about how the palace deliberately mislead the press about the Queen’s hospitalization. They couldn’t unring that bell; the damage was done.
Even MSN yanked the Heathrow pics yesterday, and correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s an American outlet, so what reason on *earth* do they have for removing an innocuous story that’s making them $$?
I was also wondering if it was a set up but the issue was that Maria and maybe even Louis were supposed to be cropped out more. In a lot of the pictures, the Cambridges plus George and Charlotte are together in a tight little group and nanny Maria and Louis are off to the side. We know they don’t like Maria to be in the pictures, but I also wonder if Kate is trying to protect Louis a bit too, like he’s not the Windsor heir and spare that G and C are, he’s just her baby. We don’t see him as often as we see the others. Or maybe William has decided to keep him a little more private and out of pictures because he’s “not as important” as the official heir and spare and he doesn’t want getting used to seeing him and have him turn into another Harry that everyone likes best. That sounds cruel but it’s William.
I always find it odd that Louis is seldom seen. It’s like they are hiding him away all the time. They were just pushing the idea that they weren’t feeding into the heir and spare narrative , all of their kids are equals, and then they go and act like Louis doesn’t exist. Very weird.
I googled to see as many of these airport pics as I could—I mostly saw the ones where they’re outside—and Nanny Maria is in more than Louis is. Like I was trying to figure out where he was. I thought maybe he was still in the SUV? But then I saw one where he’s sort of just seen behind the vehicle that’s parked in front of them, and I wonder if they literally had him like way off hiding behind that car (maybe with a RPO?) while the rest of the family is front and center by their SUV, and nanny Maria is walking back and forth between getting bags out of the SUV and then hanging out with Louis away from the family.
I wonder if their insistence about not doing heir and spare is just about George and Charlotte? Like they’re treating those 2 as a unit, and they’re often seen together at events and in pictures that don’t include Louis, but since Louis is like a spare spare and doesn’t really have a place in the hierarchy, they’re not counting him when they talk about how they’re raising their kids equally? Maybe its something about Charlotte being a girl and Diana’s only granddaughter in public (we haven’t seen Lili) that makes Will feel more like including her. Like her PR value as a girl is worth more to him than making sure that she’s shown her place as the “spare”? Maybe he considers Louis to be more like the real spare because he’s a boy and reminds him of Harry, and he remembers what it was like to feel like people thought your little brother was cuter than you or whatever (I’m thinking about all those clips where toddler Harry gets to do something or touch something or is offered something and little kid Will immediately throws a fit and wants it instead). It’s sad to think about how they’re viewing these kids and ranking them by their PR worthiness or photographic interest vs where they belong in the heir-spare-double spare hierarchy, and then being able to see it all play out in their photos and who gets to go to which events and who gets to face the camera in photos vs who has to sit with their back to the camera or be pushed off to the side.
I think Louis isn’t seen as much in photos because he spends most of his time with nanny Maria and it would be harder to crop her out.
I’m assuming the whole point of the secret VIP Windsor Lounge would be discretion, no? This is why I’m inclined to think this was a pap stroll that backfired.
If they were genuinely caught holidaying together then maybe their marriage isn’t as doomed as some people think.
Emily. I think you make complete sense. If They didn’t want them to be seen, they would have entered privately. This is the see we fly commercial while my brother flies private, but it backfired big time because then news of petty came out and now they just look selfish and uncaring. Guess Willy and Katie aren’t doing all they can to be there to support the queen as Willy said in his salty statement when Philip died.
Charles and Diana used to holiday together even when things were bad to spend time with the kiddos. Just saying. That means nothing.
As written above, the original title of the article hinted strongly about William joining Kate and kids for holiday. As if the tabloids want William to know – we know you sleep elsewhere.
This was a clumsy PR stunt gone awry. @Emily, I never get the impression they’re a doomed marriage either. A stale marriage, yes, but they want that Crown. They are too much alike in their laziness, jealousy and attitude that they deserve all the praise and spotlight. I think William gets to do whatever he wants and Kate is compliant. He’s a control freak and can be openly disdainful, but she will always put up with it, she is well protected by the palace apparatus and a lot of the powers that be are heavily invested in them staying together. They will just coast through this and get it covered up. Real consequences and accountability are for other people.
There’s also murmurs and gossip for a while now that William is honestly not someone who strays that far beyond his comfort zone, either in his affairs or other matters. He’s as boring and as dull as watching paint dry, and his tastes fully reflect that fact. I doubt he’d know what to do or how to behave with a woman who actually had a personality outside of the posh toff types he surrounds himself with.
I have always heard that heathrow had a place for the famous to come and go to avoid stuff like this, so it makes sense to me this was planned. It looked super weird. I don’t understand why they try to look like “us” in some respects, and then they are super snobby elitists in others
I think it patronizing of them to try to look “like the rest of us.” They have numerous privileges and lots and lots of money and don’t have to worry about economic down turns or finding fuel for the car. They are elitists (big time) but try to put on the image of “thrift” which is ludicrous IMO.
I just think from a security aspect, this is a bad idea, especially with their kids involved. Not everyone will understand the unwritten rules. Now there will be those trying to track their whereabouts. It just all looks so desperate.
Pretty much *every MAJOR* airport has VIP entry/departure. Even if they fly commercial 1st class, they get on 1st/depart 1st so as not to have to “mingle” with the peasants. There are also VIP lounges, as well as special annexes (like the one at LAX) where they have private ROOMS to relax, shower, sleep before/after getting on/off the plane.
Of course there’s a place for them to enter and exit without being seen. They NEVER get papped at airports, train stations (lol), wherever they might be going – this was approved in advance.
My guess is the big difference between this and the pub lunch is that someone realized almost immediately how bad it looked and the decision was made to take the pics down much sooner than with the pub lunch.
There’s definitely a turn happening – between the press fighting back on the queen’s hospital stay, the lackluster response to William’s big earthshot show and now these photos. They knew they would have to take them down, but they wanted to put them out anyway – they are definitely sending a message, but what is it?
I know they weren’t happy about William and Kate’s office putting it out that America will be getting more exclusives in the future, but I believe more is going on.
@Talie ITA there’s something weird going on and we just don’t know exactly what it is yet. But with regard to Earthshot…I feel like they tried to make it happen, but it just flopped? Most of the comments that I saw were making fun of what William was wearing. I think they tried as hard as they could to polish the turd which was Earthshot, but they didn’t have too much to work with, lol.
Which could have also made the press mad, though. Will and Kate are like “hey don’t worry, press, Meghan and Harry are getting a lot of attention and you’re getting none of that action but just wait until Earthshot, it’s going to be huge! It’s the most prestigious awards show ever! Red carpet, backstage photos, excited crowds, celebrities, a whole televised event. And then it just…..flopped.
Could be that Burger King leaked the Queen’s overnight hospital stay and then had to also deliver photos of the kids to pay up for giving those exclusive black and white shots to People. As they were going out of town there weren’t many options other than getting papped at the airport. Burger King decides to kill two birds with one stone … satisfying the paps and looking like Mr. Earthshot flying commercial.
But he is so ensconced in his upper class twit world where everyone probably flies off during this school break that he doesn’t realize how lazy and pampered the family comes across. Also it may be his newest PR stunt to get papped regularly and then bring them down to play the role of protective dad for the country. It’s all games with the Burger King.
I don’t think he leaked about the Queen’s overnight stay. I don’t think he would necessarily even be told about something like that because if worst case scenario happened it’s Charles that would step in. Someone suggested Friday that it was likely a UTI issue, which would require overnight monitoring of the antibiotics to make sure that they worked. So not super serious but still requiring close monitoring.
I suspect the leak came from the hospital itself. There would be a ton of staff involved with something like this and since they would cordon her off from the peasants, it could not be kept 100% quiet that she was at the hospital.
@Harper, it seems like that makes the most sense (or that he & Kate made the decision together), but then why would they have demanded removal so quickly? I guess Bill/KP could have set it up, but BP got pissed and pulled it? The entire thing is very strange.
I am getting so many conflicting messages from these pictures. If they were flying privately they would have been escorted right to tarmac. No need for VIP lounge. If flying commercial, they had way too much luggage to bring on board and Kate would not be seen dead wearing that dreadful dress with tennies in public. Seems more likely she had dress shoes in her bag, and the tennies were just for photo op. She is dressed for de planing someplace warm, where her dress and shoes would not stand out. That supports private plane. So why pose at a public entrance to a private room? Why masks outdoors when no masks were worn indoors for Earthshot? No masks on children. If flying commercial would they also be masked? Or is this an attempt to make this private flight just look like it’s not. Confusing. Who is paying for this family non business trip?
Adults are required to wear a mask at the airport for commercial flights so it’s likely that they are taking a first class flight from Heathrow to somewhere warm. I suspect it will be Mustique. Kate isn’t dressed for a location where it would be cold enough for skiing and the south of France is not that warm this time of year.
Expect to see them tanned whenever they decide to show their faces next month, likely not until November 11.
@Nic I’m clueless here, but isn’t Mustique a private island— would it even be a place that commercial flights would regularly go?
Anyway ITA, no matter where they go, they’ll return tan.
And am I imagining this, or did they just announce a month or two ago that the Cambridges were ONLY going to vacation in the UK going forward? I Googled it and came up with nothing, but I swear to god that was announced at some point, over the summer, maybe— does anyone else remember this? I guess it’s possible that I’m just making it up, but that’s an oddly specific thing to imagine?
Lorelei, people get to Mustique by flight to the nearest commericial airport and then a private plane trip to the small airport on Mustique.
In the past trips to Mustique they’ve flown commercial to another island like St Lucia and then private from there to Mustique.
You can’t fly direct to Mustique. It has to be either St Lucia or Barbados and then a chartered flight to the island.
It’s Kate’s usual style, the Little House on the Prairie look and she thinks these dresses are great IMO.
Yeah Kate always dresses like an escaped sister wife, even in her down time but I agree that this whole situation is fishy.
I think somewhere along the route between Heathrow & Mustique you have to switch to a small plane–those large international-flight planes can’t land on small islands–which is where Kate & the kids’ outfits would make sense. I’m assuming somewhere in their carryons they’ve got sweaters & such to keep warm for the long-haul flight.
Thank you, everyone— for some reason, a connection to a smaller plane is so obvious, and somehow it did not occur to me. 🙄
(It’s made even more embarrassing by the fact that one of my cousins is a pilot and flies those puddle-jumper flights from Hyannis to Martha’s Vineyard/Nantucket every summer.)
This was A Complete PR Misfire. The b/w photo exclusive of Chris Jack series where K/W look lovey dovey & this airport photo all have one message: Our Marriage is FINE. But if they doth protest too much, then the MEDIA owns them and has the receipts. So it’s either play ball, or suffer the media onslaught. Rich and entitled are on full display here. Trotting the kids out as an excuse to travel is pathetic.
Am I the only one who thinks Charlotte looks cold ? And I’m saddened by Kate’s token mini mask. Maybe a deal was struck and Kate gets a 5 star vacay, if she shuts up and smiles. I’m assuming there’s a house rental with separate mom and dad bedrooms.
Wasn’t there a headline awhile ago about them not vacationing outside the UK?
@Nunya I just said before I saw your comment, and I’m so glad someone else remembers because I was starting to feel insane. I guess it’s *possible* that they were flying within the UK, but somehow I doubt it.
I looked online but found nothing…maybe they realized what a calamitous mistake it was to make a promise like that, one they would absolutely NEVER be able to stick to, so those articles were pulled, too? IDK, but I couldn’t find a trace of it yesterday.
I remember it to because it was discussed here how it was most likely bs that they wouldn’t leave the country…and here they are.
Yes! I was totally thinking about that!
Deanne l completely agree but doesn’t William look delighted to be flying off, NOT, Kate has that face on again !!!!!
there looked like they had an “exchange” with George and looked displeased.
I think it was staged. What convinced me? Kate’s outfit and color coordination. I’m sure (to certain degree, of course) she isn’t wearing such dresses in her private life, only when she is posing for photos.
The fact that these pix provoked unexpected reaction just shows how little Keenbridges think about Granny Betty and understand public’s attachment to her. Will inherited this from his Gran, I suppose. Just recalling HM’s reaction to Diana’s death.
I wonder if Meddling Ma Middleton had a hand in this? Perhaps she convinced Keen to alert the Fail because the rumour mill is in overdrive about the state of her marriage and wanted to show the big happy family going on a big happy vacation. However this was set up, the inevitable result is the Keens shot themselves in the foot yet again. She’s definitely dressed for a warm climate so as the kingdom crumbles the Duke and Duchess of Dolittle are off to some exotic, pricey, private locale (my bet is Mustique) to get away from their terribly busy work life. I’m surprised the tabloids went so easy on them — ya there was some shade but I live for the day when the headline screams…”LAZY F*CKING ROYALS OFF ON YET ANOTHER TAX-PAYER FUNDED VACATION INSTEAD OF F*CKING WORKING”
My thoughts:
Staged photos–the matchy clothes and Kate, wearing a dress I’m certain she wouldn’t normally wear for a plane trip, looking at the camera are tells.
But they got upset that Nanny Maria was so obviously in the pics. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Whoever took the pics yanked W&K’s chain by putting their help in the shot. Ergo, the Cambridges had the shots pulled.
Staged is the only thing that makes sense to me. Kate is wearing some suburban mom dress and sneaker combo, carrying her own bag. The kids are wearing backpacks and Wills is shepherding the group. It’s downright . . . normal?
I’m quite sure it has been set up. It’s the second time she looks DIRECTLY to the photographer after the shots where she went shopping with the kids in that smiggle (?) store.
For her dress, pff, may she wear what she wants during a flight but making her daughter wearing a dress, too, thats a tad bit too much for me.
Willy leaked, brings out the kids as usual, but the crowd in the DM wasn’t having it. Willy running after the leak, shows the weakness of the child that he is. The comment section was not forgiving, the kids dressed for warm island location was like a slap in the face to the poor and hungry in the uk and the commonwealth.
Also the fact than they are more focused on the usa than their employers should really start to upset the haters, rr, and bm.
I think the photo-op was staged – the coordinated outfits and location of the dropoff give it away. We know that will doesn’t see himself as a hypocrite at all, hence how he prevented people from flying in to Keenshot and simultaneously announced he would be flying to the US for the next one, so to him being seen in the commercial area versus private shows he is “one of the people” – of course he’s entitled to his vacations, he’s the FFK! This was a one-two (attempted) PR punch with the B&W photos: 1. Get “loving” photos taken to show they’re just as smitten as that other couple and can take artsy photos too, and then 2. get papped going on a family vacation together to stifle all those rumors about living separately.
I think they realize that allowing papped pics to remain live is a huge giveaway that they coordinated with the media, so this publish-the-photos-then-take-them-down foolishness is their new tactic. They think they can have it both ways – get the photos and their desired narrative out there, then cry victim and demand they be taken down because they’re so obtrusive. This, like everything they do, will blow up in their faces.
Agreed that post staged pap photos then complain to get them removed is their new tactic. It’s an okay tactic for people in their position, they’re just bad at the execution (as usual). Pub pics could have come a week later to be less obvious. This airport thing should have been on the tarmac to be just believable enough, but he’d have to give up the “Everyman Windsor lounge angle” *gasp*
@Sunday, ITA that this feels like their stupidest new MO: leak photos, let them stay out there long enough so everyone gets screenshots, then have them pulled to make it look like they’re all about “privacy.”
IDK how, but I feel like eventually this will backfire spectacularly on them.
I cannot imagine the press will go along with being fcked with like that over and over again: a bunch of clicks, and then just as it’s gathering steam and getting more attention, delete it? To keep cutting off those revenue streams, according to Bill’s whims? (Especially when the Sussexes have been quiet and there’s not much else for to cover.) But Bill does fancy himself a PR genius, so who knows.
Don’t judge me: I was in London 5 years ago and to make a long story short, we were given use of a special lounge. At the airport, the limo drove up a little secluded driveway and parked right at the door. We had a 5 foot walk into the poshness. It took maybe 2 seconds? And the nice people brought in all of our luggage. And all the documentation was done in the lounge, privately. I think that they arrange arrival so that everything is seamless and you are the only ones being dealt with. Not one line.
Somebody from someplace came to escort us onto the plane. We boarded earlier but only had to spend a few seconds in “public”.
Even if we were not in the Windsor lounge, I saw the way that celebrities and exceptionally rich people can get themselves into and out of an airport.
No hate. If I could travel like that, I would. But you absolutely confirm that it’s ridiculous to believe they were lingering at the public drop off carrying their own bags just like us normal folk do.
I am retired now but we (2 of us) were representing the English Dept of a USA university. Because we happened to be returning from London at some magic time, at the very last minute the airline gave us a magnificent promotion to this ultra-wealthy experience. I note also that the driveways are sufficiently narrow and discreet. No markings. No room for on the ground paps. So they must have CHOSEN to be visible–nanny and all. They sent the limo to our little shoddy Earls Court place and immediately offered us cold champaign as we entered the majestic interior of the car with mini-frig containing caviar and stuff we did not dare to touch–and sailed away to Heathrow.
I assume that most major global airports have this down-low VIP treatment available. You can honestly buy anything!
So does Keen have a papp who’s striking back?
Or maybe when you cosplay Ma Ingalls you go to the public pavements?
@Gubbinal, not judging you at all, I’m actually very jealous!
And yeah this is confirmation of what most of us thought in the comments; if they didn’t want to be seen, they wouldn’t have been.
I wonder what happens when the Keens land at their destination, I bet they check into separate hotels, cos there is no way they are actually holidaying together.
Seeing how W+K are dressed for two different climates, I doubt they even got on the same plane.
Imagine having all that wealth and privilege, and still having to be in a year-round panto with tabloid reporters.
The story may have been taken down but there’s a reference to the Cambridges trip in the story about Louise and Andrew horseback riding in Windsor.
Just a few months ago this couple announced that as future future they will only vacation in the UK, so what happened to that promise?
Why are they not using the electric car they took to the award show?
When Meghan was pap in Vancouver she was accused of setting it up because she appeared to look straight at the camera. They should come at Kate with the same energy they came at Meghan.
It’s all tone deaf staged or not. That dress and hair is straight from Little House on the Prairie.
It was absolutely staged, any vacation William takes with the whole family is a farce.
At first it seemed like they consented to the photos being published to show how “normal” they are, but once again the backlash kicked in because of the timing with the Queen, and it just looks like they are so thirsty for attention. Maybe it was the press showing they wanted to expose them hightailing it out of the UK. They are definitely dressed for warmer climes. Also, People their new favorite magazine, just wrote that they would most likely go to Norfolk for their break. Obviously you don’t go to Heathrow Airport for a trip to Norfolk. So not only were the tabloids pissed at the Cambridge’s but they also showed People that they don’t know anything either, no matter how many “exclusive “ photos they get. They’re all terrible and deserve whatever mess they drag each other into.
I wonder how the editor of People feels right now. He got played.
Article is back up, changed headline, and a suspicious ‘no comments submitted’ tag on it.
Everything the Cambridges do is going to backfire because their entire public persona is a complete sham and everyone sees through it.
So Ed Sheeran had to cancel SNL because he tested positive for Covid and the US won’t let him in. And where was he less than a week ago? That’s right he was at Earthshot. Without a mask like the others.
So what are the chances they ignore the potential exposure to Covid while they are in an undisclosed location?
Yeah, the interesting thing is that every story I’ve read says his last big engagement was Earthshot. So the press is connecting the dots for us. How long before they connect the dots to the Keens holiday?
@Nic, I just saw Ed’s announcement, so of course my mind immediately jumped to Earthshot, and I was like, “oh boy.” My husband needed it explained, lol.
I don’t think they’re tugging more like choosing a side. The brutish media has chosen their own side. They want to eat too after all and playing by the rules isn’t helping them. The few hours it was on is enough to start a conversation and I bet the media knew that as well. They need the drama. I for one can’t believe how fast the brf reacted to that. Wish they were that fast when someone called archie something racist. Ohhh wait, they still haven’t 🙄
Now that I’ve re-read all the comments and looked at the picture, I wonder if William was there to drop them off and not join them. The bag he was carrying could have been Louis as the others all had their own. Perhaps he was encouraged to read the room and stay home?
That would fit with why they were papped too. William gets all the credit for going on a family vacation, while going back to his quiet house for a week by “himself.”
Saw pictures this morning.So it came as surprise that now they are all deleted .U can see some on news100 website
William was at James Middleton’s wedding. I read somewhere what he was wearing.
I commented a couple of times in the DM in the last couple of days about W and K being lazy and that another holiday after disappearing recently for two months was a disgrace. I received many red down votes!
The only thing I can say is that Kate really loves buttons and clothes that her mom would wear….it’s not just for show. She does the same in her private life. Who knew????
I know it’s been waived in the past, but I wonder if two heirs can be on the same plane, especially now.
Those photos are still on DM. And you can’t tell me they didn’t all color-coordinate for the photographers. Everyone except Nanny Maria is in complementary shades of blue, Keenie’s favourite colour for showing off Big Blue?
Please.
They didn’t land the way they wanted, so they got buried. All all comments are gone, shocking.
Heathrow would have known about this family arrival well in advance and this area would have been checked and cleared , there is absolutely no way these paps would of got anywhere near them unless they where cleared to do so. . Now how did William think that by getting on a plane and driving a big Audi SUV be a good idea after hosting Earthshot days previously, bet his sponsors or Charles where not happy, he hasn’t a clue !!!!!!
I’m so confused. Why the criticism? So what if they are off on another vacation after months of doing nothing? So what is their carbon footprint is the size of Texas so soon after the Earthshot Prize? Who cares the Queen needs more support with her engagements and William and Kate clearly couldn’t care? All that matters is that a few weeks ago, Kate showed up in an over the top gold gown with alien hair and proved to all the naysayers that she is ready to be Queen! Look at her! The confidence! The power! The monarchy’s savior!!!
Quite seriously, these two are a disaster. And when the press is positive and gushing, they gush over meaningless things like Kate’s James Bond dress. I, too, find the headline curious. If my family went on vacation, no one would say, “Oh look! Her husband joined her and the kids on holiday!” I think there have been an increasing number of hints that not is all well in Keenland.
A royal reporter on the Australian TODAY show was spinning it that they were RETURNING hurriedly after news of the Queen’s health…
Talk about getting busted then trying to spin it to your advantage..
Australian media are partners in crime with British media in covering up the shit of William and Kate. Both media are a tag team in smearing Harry and Meghan non-stop. Both are deranged.