This is interesting, to me at least. For decades, Westminster Abbey rang the bells for important royal birthdays and important royal weddings. There were twelve royals who got Abbey bell-ringing on their birthdays, and the Duchess of Cambridge was one of the twelve. But the pandemic hit, and the Windsors (and the Abbey) were looking for a way to avoid ringing the bells for Prince Andrew’s birthday, so basically… the rules were changed. As in, the royals broke their own royal protocol and changed who gets the bells. All of this means that Kate didn’t get birthday bells on Sunday.
Kate Middleton missed out on a royal birthday tradition this weekend. Westminster Abbey — where Kate and Prince William tied the knot in 2011 — is known for ringing its bells to celebrate the birthdays of senior members of the royal family. However, the tradition has changed amid financial issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before 2020, the bells marked the birthdays of 12 royals. Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, their four children — Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — all receive the honor, as does Charles’ wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Prince William, Kate and their three kids — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — completed the list. However, the Abbey announced that starting in 2022, the bells would only mark the birthdays of the Queen and Prince Charles.
“The Abbey bells can be heard ringing out before services and in celebration of church festivals. The bells have also traditionally been rung to mark the birthdays of senior members of the Royal Family,” a spokesperson for Westminster Abbey told Hello! in August 2021. “Due to the financial challenges posed to the Abbey by the Covid-19 pandemic, and in consultation with Buckingham Palace, the bells will now ring only for the birthdays of HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales.”
The bells last rang for Kate’s birthday in Jan. 2020 when she turned 38.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s birthdays were not celebrated with the bells, even before they stepped back from their senior royal roles. Even some working members of the family — including Sophie, Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra — were not part of Westminster Abbey’s schedule before the change.
Real question: if Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace changed their birthday-bell policy in August 2021, then why didn’t Kate get birthday bells in January 2021, for her 39th birthday? Is it because Covid cases were piling up and the Abbey didn’t want to look out-of-touch by ringing birthday bells while thousands of people were dying? I totally understand that, but it’s definitely weird that they only announced the change months afterwards. Anyway, no bells for Kate! She won’t get the bells until she’s Queen Consort, probably. Because I doubt King Charles will want to give her birthday bells.
Photos courtesy of Instar.
Or someone knows she won’t remain a member of the family much longer, so why bother.
Somebody on twitter mentioned that the story of her not taking up more work for the coming 10/15 years could be the start of the Windsors phasing her out
I do wonder what william thinks of her birthday puff pieces. He didn’t exactly come out of it looking good.
That honestly seems like a possibility.
@jais: the idea caught my attention but i don’t think william and kate will ever get a divorce
1 kate is the only member of the family that garners somewhat of attention.
2. This arrangement between her and william suits them both. He gets to do whatever he wants with whoever he want to do it with. And she gets the titles and the glowing pieces.
Chloe- The marriage suits Wills only if he hasn’t found anyone better. If he has, Kate’s toast.
@Chloe Princess Di was the only member of the family who gained attention and they ditched her.
@chloe I’m with you, I don’t think they’re divorcing these rumors have been going hard for two years I’ll give it another year and if nothing happens than they’re both content with their arrangement and that’s that.
I honestly don’t know if they will get divorced? I guess I’d be more surprised if they didn’t? Clearly William can cheat if he wants so why would he divorce? But he genuinely does not seem to want to be around Kate or even look at her. He’s been raised entitled and to be the king. So if the Ffking wants to cut ties, he’ll do as he wants.
@Jais I used to think that a divorce was highly unlikely for the reasons that everyone else here has said – they seem to have an agreement that they’re both fine with, she wants the titles and jewels, and he wants to do whatever he wants.
But then, like you said, over the past few years it has become so obvious that he cannot stand to be around her, and that he doesn’t enjoy her company, they don’t want to touch each other (shrug-gate, anyone? And that was with cameras rolling for a TV special), etc. And the PR about Kate that’s been going on for close to a year now is just weird (not the typical embiggening, but there’s something else to it, something almost desperate from the Middletons.)
So that has made me think that a divorce is more likely than not, but I don’t think it will happen before the Queen passes.
I don’t see them ever divorcing, why would they? He cheats she accepts it as part of the package to get the crown. All she asked is he be discreet about it and if that’s not possible, make sure the media stays quiet.
Though the day could come when he wants another woman to be his wife. the media is not guaranteed to stay discreet and William could manage a divorce if he wanted her out. And he would not have to give up being on the throne.
I’m in the camp that they won’t get divorced, because William can continue to live the life he wants, even without the negative publicity that a divorce could cause. Maybe if William fell madly in love with someone else and had to be with her all the time, even in public? But, the odds of that happening are slim. What I do think is possible, is the royal family could marginalize Kate to where she puts in only “X” (that’s a single digit) number of public appearances a year, but spends the rest of the time out of William’s sight and mind. If that is a possibility, then the “Kate wants to stay out of the limelight” stories are a way to keep her dignity, by implying it was her idea to step back.
Interesting theory Mrs K. so they’ll completely sideline her except for a handful of engagements a year (the really big ones where her absence would be too obvious) so its the same thing as a divorce for William, without having to pay her anything, and she still gets to keep her dignity and her title etc.
The lengths they have to go to avoid giving HRH NoncyDrew honors (thank you CB who coined that term yesterday!!!) without acknowledging his shame. When will they actually strip him of his honorary military titles and patronages?
people in the twitterverse have been using noncy drew.
I will be a little surprised if Kate makes it to queen consort. She’s already done the best that she can do, which is bear children. She’s shown–and declared–that she’s incapable of doing anything more. That would be fine if this was 100 years ago, but we live in the 21st century, and people want something back for the money they pay.
Because ringing church bells are said to scare away devils and Andrew is Not Allowed to flee right now
😂🤣😂🤣
LOL!
+1
I’m dead!
Who determined the list to begin with? It doesn’t seem to follow any reasoning. H was a working royal and above Anne, Edward and Andrew in succession but they got it and he didn’t. Sophie works harder than Kate as a married-in but no bells even though Ed got the honor. I can see PC having them just for him and Cam.
It’s about blood descent and male primogeniture, not how hard someone works. The monarchy isn’t about merit or morality.
So the queen, her husband, and her four children — the main family of the “blood royal.” Also the Prince of Wales’s direct heirs by male primogeniture who are in line to be king. Not totally sure why they included Charlotte and Louis but guessing William wanted/demanded it.
Yes, it’s very strange to me that William’s 3 kids all get it as children of an heir but Harry didn’t (as child of THE heir? Even long ago?)
Also, does it really cost that much money to ring the bells? Of all the ways the BRF could have publicly economized during the pandemic, this is what they went with? (Charles: oh look we’re sacrificing, no bells for anyone but mummy and me!)
@Lionel – the “cost” thing caught my eye too. How much can it possibly cost to ring the bells, compared to how much money the royal family costs the public in general? Is this just another example of how the royal family lies about EVERYTHING instead of being honest, that they cannot even tell the truth about something like bell ringing? If it wasn’t a good look during a pandemic, then say that. People would understand. If they didn’t want to draw attention to Andrew and his problems, then say that — the public already knows that he was asked to step out of public limelight, so again, it’s something the public would understand. Just stop lying about everything.
Lionel, that’s what set me off on this as well. I’m sorry, are the royal family, supported by taxpayers, suggesting they can’t foot the bill for the working class who ring the bells?? In a time of global struggle??
I am a single mom, and I think I could foot the bill to keep bell ringers on the job, if that was something remotely in my sphere. PLEASE, RR, tell me that one ringing of the bells costs one million dollars, and then tell me the royal family couldn’t cover it, in the spirit of national unity, or whatever.
@Emma Then why was Kate included? She doesn’t fit any of that.
Because she’s shy and doesn’t want anyone to make a fuss about her birthday.
@Charfromdarock
You forgot the: /s
LOL, Charfromdarock
I’m still confused by Kate’s official portraits. Looking at the photos of her in this post, and having seen thousands of photos of Kate over the years, the portraits really just look nothing like her. It’s bizarre.
They are bizarre, even for her. Whoever chose this artist had one effort or one purpose to create. They certainly are not very artistic or trying to convey a certain presence. If they had chosen ONE photo to represent
Mumbles, yes. But she couldn’t help herself!!! Mumbles McShy and demure had to publish all three. During a pandemic, no less!! Mumbles has no decency or frame of reference as to how badly she looks from the outside. She put on her Keen Christmas event and her reward are these 3 very diverse set of photos in return.
Mumbles McMutton is purely flashy, attention seeking and not a simpleton that wanted to marry a farm boy from down the street type of woman. Mumbles McMutton wanted the power, jewels and the ever present hype and publicity, every ounce she can grab or steal, she’s in it. Mumbles has been in it since day one. She paid the price of waiting, now she wants her just desserts too!!!
Those portraits are a sham. The real Kate looks nothing like those photos and seeing these pictures of her make the contrast even more jarring. The photographer must have spent so much time photoshopping Kate because chica doesn’t even look close to those portraits in real life.
I wonder if she can get Earl Spencer to lend her the Spencer Tiara. I hope not.
Kate gets three portraits (IMO one is enough) in the National Portrait Gallery after the Great Portrait Tour. She’s married to heir to heir not a monarch.ANd they are so badly photoshopped!
Apropos of nothing: compare the top picture of Kate against the “Diana Glamour” photo. You can see the extent of the photoshop, most notably the fact that Kate has a much more SQUARE jawline than the photo.
The Abbey had stopped ringing bells for royals birthdays when the UK when COVID broke out in March 2020. That’s why Kate didn’t get Birthday bells last year. I still remember when Richard Eden tried to make it a big deal that Meghan didn’t get bells ringing for her birthday in August 2020. People had to tell him that Harry and Meghan were never on the list of birthday bells.
Yeah, I think that’s why the announcement came in in August from Westminster Abbey. The press was making it into something about Meghan when it wasn’t, even in 2021.
How much does it cost to ring the bells? A quick Google search indicates the bellringers get very nominal pay…and the bells at WA are of such great stature that if money were really the problem, volunteer bellringers could be assembled quickly.
Why do they pretend to be thrifty in the dumbest, most easily disproven ways?
That was my other question, how is it expensive to ring them? If there’s some kind of maintenance involved, they should be still doing it to avoid trouble down the road. You’d think they could afford at least one person spending an hour (somehow? Assuming there’s assembly required or something) roughly once a month.
It’s almost like they make up the rules and change them for nonsense reasons, instead of treating them like they were handed down from King Arthur himself.
The press call her an asset to the rf, but I bet the family considers her just an ass. They really are dissassociating from her as much as possible. She’s been in the press far too often, I’d say more than Kim k and always for some fued, fight, rumor one after another. Before and after the whole Diana era I think the queen enjoyed the peace and quiet until wills wife came along. She’s a liability and will probably give the queen a heart attack with one her shenanigans.
The Queen never really had peace and quiet. What with Andrew and all that. Plus her sister’s behavior.
The Queen could have kept William in check and also Kate. She chose not to. She creates a lot of the problems on her own. If she could have given William some responsibility so he would not have all the leisure time, (she allowed him to get that playing normal job in the Air Ambulance) and maybe he could have married someone who did not enable him. She should have wished Diana were here, Diana would have had the gumption to rein in William. What a mess.
She didn’t get birthday bells because she didn’t cure f-ing cancer, mmmmk?
Someone needs to ring a bell asking when she plans to work? It’s now January 11th. Her last appearance was her Christmas Jazz Hand keen to be A. Keys special.
🤣🤣🤣
And let’s remember that she recorded that performance…..December 9? December 8? Somewhere around there. So its been over a month since she’s done a public event.
It’s good to dodge the thousands of stories about how M is jealous that K gets bells for her BD.
Did anyone else get bells? I don’t care enough to check but wondering if it’s much ado about nothing.
Currently only the Queen and Charles, which makes sense. Monarch and next in line.
That purple suit photo: Kate needs to work on her posture…she’s hunching already!
That hunching is a sure sign of poor bone matrix possibly early osteoporosis. Price one pays for ridiculous dieting.
Maybe when Kate tinkled those piano keys for her breathtaking concerto, those functioned as her own birthday bells, too! What a clever queen she will be!
She does not deserve to have bells rung for her.
I still think they went on holiday for her birthday. There hasn’t been any sighting since Christmas morning. I think that’s another reason there have been so many keen pieces on keen Kate – to cover up the holiday. At least that’s my belief.
I believe you are right! The thing Waitie Katie wanted most for her birthday was a luxury holiday on a very private island. The media were fed three portraits to keep them happy and in return they agreed not to report on her true birthday celebrations.
It is only a few years ago that we read reports about friends invited to Anmer Hall for her celebrations and there may even have been some photos of said friends attending a service with her. This year: nothing. No doubt the Aga-lover is warming herself on some Caribbean beach.
Well at least someone’s bells are ringing because it ain’t hers.
I highly doubt they are getting divorced. As many have pointed out already the arrangement they have right now works for them both. This bell ringing nonsense is so out of touch. The entire royal family are a waste of resources. It’s like the hunger games royalty edition titles, pins, Sashes, bells. The sooner the monarchy is abolished the better
How did they justify the Bella not ringing for Harry when. All the Queen’s children and all of William’s children had Bella ring for them? The interesting thing is they stayed away from the line of succession emphasis ( Elizabeth-Charles-William-George) that they had been playing up the last few years. I think they realized that was just over doing it. Most interesting is that William is left out. There is so much he will be King PR. Westminster would only have made this move with the BRF’s approval. So more significant IMO is that they limited it to Monarch and Heir. De-emphasizing William.