Well well well. People Magazine put this cover story together pretty fast. It makes me wonder if People was already set to put the Keen Caribbean Tour on their cover, but just do it as a positive story about how Will & Kate are perfect future monarchs because they danced and ate chocolate and said “wow.” But as we’ve seen, the tour went sideways in a hurry, and this mess will go down as one of the most deliciously chaotic royal tours in history. “Facing protests, the couple must navigate a changing world.” They’re 39 and 40 years old. They CHOOSE to live like Victorian monarchs, they choose to not live in the real world, they choose to be this sheltered and insular. In fact, they bullied Meghan and Harry out of the country, the two people who could have done a lot to help the Firm “navigate a changing world.” Oh well. Some highlights from this delicious People cover story:
The Disaster tour: They’re typically greeted with deference and excitement wherever they go — until now. For the first time, the royal couple, who are in Jamaica for the fifth day of their eight-day tour of the Caribbean, are facing significant backlash on an official tour. Although they have received warm welcomes from many locals, they are also encountering mounting tensions in the Caribbean nations where William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, remains head of state.
The protests in Jamaica: “It is important as we turn 60 years old as an independent nation that we stand as ‘adults’ on solid ethical, moral and human justice grounds,” Norah Blake, the co-organizer of a protest in Jamaica, told The Independent, “to say to Britain, who was once our ‘parent,’ that you have done wrong in enriching yourselves off of chattel slavery and colonialism.” Blake said both an apology for such atrocities and reparations are essential to moving forward: “Today we are setting the conversation of our future generations, for them to have something to build a brighter future.”
Why it’s all on Baldy & Buttons: It is Charles, 73, who will reign next alongside his wife, future Queen Consort Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, 74, but “because of the ages of all the participants, there must be a feeling that long-term, the future of the British monarchy is more about William and Kate — spiritually, not in terms of actual succession,” says historian Sarah Gristwood, author of Elizabeth: Queen and Crown.
Charles’s slimmed down monarchy blew up in his face: With the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, from the working family, and the discrediting of Prince Andrew, “senior royals are a bit thin on the ground at the moment,” says Gristwood. “Britain is never going to drop all its pomp and ceremony, and it was eventually going to be slimmer and economical. But it’s doubtful even Prince Charles wanted it to lose weight so rapidly.”
Robert Lacey speaks: Royal historian Robert Lacey suggests that for the institution’s long-term health, Charles should not reign as King outside of the U.K. “Why not jettison the hereditary foreign realm concept, securing Elizabeth II’s place in history as the last ‘Queen of the World’?” he asks. He points to the success of the Commonwealth realm, which comprises 54 countries that were once mostly part of the British Empire and today remain voluntarily linked to the U.K. The royals, Lacey offers, should “concentrate on developing the Commonwealth family as a more cohesive, diverse, international, open and forward-looking concept.”
I don’t even understand why so many countries still have QEII as their head of state, including Australia and Canada. It’s bonkers. Lacey is right – transition all of those countries to simple “Commonwealth” countries, with an acknowledgement of historic ties and absolutely zero formal participation of the British monarch. It’s not even like the royals have much of a say in it anymore – it will happen with them or without them. But yeah, it’s hilarious that William and Kate blundered into this catastrophe. Everyone should have known this was going to be a total sh-tshow the second they decided to “formally announce” the tour on the same day Russia invaded Ukraine! They are fundamentally tone-deaf, and putting more pressure on them will not help.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instar, cover courtesy of People.
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- North America Rights Only – Kingston, Jamaica -20220322- Prince William joins young footballers on the football pitch during a visit to Trenchtown as Catherine Duchess of Cmabridge watches on day four of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee. -PICTURED: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge -PHOTO by: Jane Barlow/PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- North America Rights Only – Kingston, Jamaica -20220322-Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica, on day four of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee. -PICTURED: Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge -PHOTO by: Jane Barlow/PA IMAGES/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- North America Rights Only – Caracol, Belize -20220321- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge look out from the Caana at Caracol, an ancient Mayan archaeological site deep in the jungle in the Chiquibul Forest in Belize, during their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee. -PICTURED: Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge -PHOTO by: INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- North America Rights Only – San Ignacio, Belize -20220321- At a special reception at the Mayan ruins at Cahal Pech in San Ignacio, Belize, hosted by Froyla Tzalam, the Governor General of Belize, in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, during day three of their tour of the Caribbean. -PICTURED: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William -PHOTO by: INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- North America Rights Only – Belize City, Belize -20220320- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge their visit to the Che il chocolate farm in Belize as part of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee. -PICTURED: Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge -PHOTO by: INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
The world changed a LONG time ago. They just refuse to acknowledge it.
So, I have been resisting the Charles is behind all of this theory. I have changed my position. The reason for the change is that the RF has sent Harry out to tour the “Black countries” in the past. Charles is aware that Harry is just like his mother, she could relate to anybody, anywhere. Wiliam can barely relate to his wife and children. I honestly believe that it was William that demanded that Harry/Meghan GO. What upset Harry is that his father did nothing to stop him and exacerbated the situation by removing security. I can see Charles saying to William…”you think you can fill Harry’s shoes, go to the Caribbean and prove it”… and of course Baldy came up with plan. So here we are, and we still have a few more days left on the Worst Royal Tour in HISTORY!
so I’m starting to tweak my theory a bit, i don’t think Charles is behind this in a “let them be the ones who have Jamaica become a republic” kind of way. I’ve said over the past few days that my thinking was that it was just that the Firm thought that the Cambridges would be the most likely to have a successful tour right now, not that they were being set up for failure.
But now I’m tweaking that a bit, I think Charles knew that whoever went to Jamaica right now would be received poorly, and I think he wanted his hands clean of that mess. So its not so much that he hoped they would fail, as much as he figured any royal would “fail” and it wasn’t going to be him.
But I don’t think Charles can be blamed for the scuba diving and $$$ outfits and Kate recoiling from a Black minister of the arts and culture etc. Those “errors” are all pure Cambridge, so maybe this has benefited Charles more than we realize. His hands are clean of the whole “Jamaica doesn’t want the queen anymore” issue AND this trip just solidifies W&Ks status as racist, lazy, lightweights.
@Becks1: Right and also Charles is the next King. William is the grandson of the current Queen. Charles had more to lose but Charles would’ve NEVER done things the way the Cambridges did. Charles would have been satisfied with whatever crowds came out to see them. William had to go buy crowds. William and Kate walked into Jamaica like they owed the place. The British Press did not do them any favors with their headlines and still the headlines coming from the British Press are terrible.
PaulaH, I’m stunned the BM is ranking them out so much. They came suspiciously prepped for the party…🤣🤣🤣
Two things from me on this article:
1. Kaiser you are hilarious. I finished the article and your last statement was in my head – as I scrolled and saw that pic of Kate. Well done.
2. Kudos to Norah Blake. Her quoted statements leave a lasting impression and makes one think. I wonder of Dim and Dimmer understand why this is all happening.
Agree! Also want to point out that People has a new American editor. The last one was a British guy and anti-Meghan. Liz Vaccariello sounds great & I’m betting the royal coverage will be much more realistic.
Vaccariello previously held the role of VP and editor-in-chief of Real Simple, a women’s lifestyle pub with a print and digital reach of nearly 22 million. She also served as group editorial director overseeing multiple home, beauty, and health titles including Real Simple, InStyle, Shape, Martha Stewart Living, Health, Parents and Parents Latina.”
https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/people-magazine-liz-vaccariello-dan-wakeford-1235188439/#!
Can’t navigate a changing world when you are rooted to the traditions of the past in order to keep your wealth, power, and privilege.
This. The monarchy is, by definition and at its very core, incompatible with modern society. How they’ve lasted this long is a mystery to me.
Canadian here. We get zero benefit from Queen as head of state.
In order for Canada to leave the Commonwealth, the Constitution will have to be rewritten. If the Liberal/NDP coalition strengthens, and if the CPC continues to fall apart under dreadful personalities like Poilevre and Bergen, I give it a better than even chance of going forward. But not before QEII is in her coffin.
@Colby … Unfortunately, I believe their incompatibility with modern society is due in great part to Queen Elizabeth’s long reign. When he was younger, Prince Charles had modern and (to his parents’ horror) radical ideas that would have helped bridge the gap between a ‘traditional Monarchy stuck in time’ and the modern world.
Queen Elizabeth only knew tradition as it was handed down to her in 1952 from a father who was born in 1895, and he in turn inherited tradition from his father, who was born in 1865. After she became Queen, Elizabeth was further schooled in tradition by her mother (widow of King George the VI) and her grandmother (widow of King George V).
Prince Charles was 21-years-old in 1969. He was the chance to bridge the gap. Prince Harry and his wife the Duchess of Sussex were another chance, but they weren’t really in a position to change the Monarchy itself as ‘Baldy and Buttons’ would never allow that. The mistake was allowing Queen Elizabeth to ‘school William’ in tradition rather than his father, Prince Charles.
I want to start of by saying that i think everyone in that family are a bunch of power hungry egomaniacs. But i think that charles would be less bothered with loosing the commonwealth than william. Charles seems to think his popularity in the UK is the most important while william wants to be king of the world.
I can actually imagine chalres doing what Lacey suggested as one last gift to his son before he departs this earth. If commonwealth countries don’t leave on their own accord first
@Chloe: If Charles didn’t care about the Commonwealth, his mother would not have campaigned for him to be the next Head. Being Head of State of countries outside of the UK helps with their justification as why they should still exist. So Lacey is living on fantasy island.
@amy Bee: i didn’t say he didn’t care. I said that he’s less bothered about it than william.
@Chloe: Charles cares as much as the Queen does about the Commonwealth. He’s going to be next Head and that was only possible because of the Queen’s campaign for him to be the Head. William is probably the one cares the least about the Commonwealth.
Charles was very concerned about the Commonwealth. In fact, he and The Queen used Meghan to secure his position.
Thats because bullyiam is fixated on competing with his brother.
With H free to be himself and achieve whatever he wants, and with the USA so obviously embracing H and with over 20+ countries signed up for Harry’s brainchild, the Invictus Games, bullyiam sees all this as headwinds against him (rmbr that phrase from the Tomes article bk in 2019….LOL) and he’s gonna remain fixated on trying to outdo his brother or bring him down, all to the detriment of his own responsibilities to the UK.
I don’t understand so many things. What’s the difference between being in the Commonwealth and having a symbolic royal head of state? How can you have one without the other? And what benefits come with being in the commonwealth that leaving the commonwealth is not the desired outcome here?
I know this much: the Commonwealth is just doublespeak for empire. The Queen is Canada’s head of state and is represented by the Governor General, who technically has powers but only in limited circumstances. Canada only got its own constitution, along with our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in 1982. 1982!!!! Pierre Trudeau was responsible for that. His son seems softer on the monarchy. Being a member of the Commonwealth has no benefits for Canada, aside from maybe sports opportunities and student exchanges that are poorly advertised. But becoming a republic doesn’t have enough traction in Canada yet. Yet. It’s coming.
I’m in Canada, so the Queen as head of state is woven into every aspect of government. The Governer General is her rep, she gives a Throne Speech (written by the Prime Minister) to open Parliament, every province has a Lieutenant Governor. Our prosecutors are Crown Attorneys, our public land is Crown Land, all our govt legislation mentions the Queen, she’s on our currency. It’s actually incredibly tricky and expensive to weed that all out (though I’m in favour).
Very different from being a Republic that attends meetings as part of a voluntary international organization but has no mention of the Queen anywhere in govt.
Glad you broke this down.. for non-Canadians it must seem like a choice. I heard a political analyst explain that it would be easier to elect Celine Dion as queen of Canada that it would to unentangle the monarchy from our constitution.
@SaraTor ~ you spoke well. Also, many indigenous tribes have treaties with ‘The Crown’, so who takes ownership/responsibility and pays $$$ if we remove the The Crown from our governmental systems. Think Britain will willingly pay? The treaties will have to be sorted out first and that could take hundreds of years right there (it already has, which is gross). Another is that ALL provinces and territories must agree to all the ins and outs of removal. That’s likely to benefit some provinces more than others so a fairness to balance things out needs to also be agreed upon.
As Sara says, it’s incredibly tricky and expensive to weed that all out…I’m also in favour. It’s going to cost us big $$ anyway, just to change things like “Queens Court” to Kings Court and all the other language ensconced in our governmental systems. The cost alone to change our money from her to him is aggravating to the nth degree.
The Queen was in the U.S. for a tour in the eighties and was going to British Columbia the next day. She mentioned to Ronald Reagan that ” I am going home to Canada tomorrow “.
SaraTor – Got it! That is very clear. So basically, as a republic, being part of the Commonwealth is a lot like being part of NATO or the UN? That makes sense.
And Laura-Lee, I really had no idea that Canada didn’t have a constitution until 1982. I was 6 in 1982, so it doesn’t seem like that long ago, historically speaking.
Won’t this all have to change when Charles becomes king? You’d have to write new laws, print new banknotes and change legislation so instead of doing all that might as well scrap it all.
Although, from what I understand as an Ontarian, that Quebec has civil law, and is established differently that the rest of the provinces and territories as well as the federal system. I’m pro-republic, especially as we become more and more aware of the devastating effects white colonialism has had domestically and around the world.
Yes, Surly Gale is right. We have way more work to do with treaties/Land Back issues than futz with a monarchy that has absolutely nothing to do with our day to day lives.
And no, our laws in Canada are not affected at all by Charles and/or English politics.
What Americans need to understand is that it’s a non-issue in Canada because it’s largely ceremonial.
As Ashley says, having the Queen as the head of state is entirely ceremonial. The British monarch has no power whatsoever. So it really is a non-issue in Canada. When Charles does become King, I suspect he will not be put on coins and bills as were previous monarchs. There is no rule that requires the monarch on our money. The treaties with the First Nations could be a thorny legal issue though. But probably solvable if we were to jettison the monarch as head of state. No money goes to the First Nations from Britain any longer. It all comes from Canadian tax revenue and flows through our federal government to the First Nations. Reconciliation with First Nations is a huge and important issue in Canada. My opinion is jettisoning the monarch as head of state will cost a whole cart load of money, best let it lie for now.
Canada did have a constitution in 1867. It was called the British North American Act and it turned canada from a British colony to the Dominion of Canada.
Later on canada and other countries like Australia and New Zealand passed the Statute of Westminster which removed the UK privy Council as the final court of appeal. This was in 1937 after canada, Australia and NZ said they wanted more control after helping out during WWI.
In 1982, Trudeau repatriated the Canadian constitution, renaming in the 1867 Constitution Act. Before that technically the UK could still pass legislation that could override Canadian laws, although they had not done that for decades. The 1982 Constitution Act, also known as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was also passed which contained the Canadian version of the bill of rights but with a more modern approach than the US one. There was an amendment formula passed as well.
When there are fights between the feds and the province, it is the original 1867 act that comes in play because it set up the division of powers between the provinces and the federal government.
I’ve been saying it for a while: the future of the monarchy will sink or swim on Willy’s reputation.
And the palace know it. That’s why they protect his PR so fiercely, not just because he’s an heir. Charles is quite old and if people don’t like him, they won’t have to wait long (in royal terms) for William to take over. But if William is disliked too then George is much further in the future with no guarantee he reason to think he won’t turn out the same.
You are absolutely right but i’m starting to think that willy being disliked is going to be increasingly unavoidable. He is the future king and support for monarchies in general is dwindling. So him being unpopular might not even have anything to do with him specifically but might be about what he represents. They are working overtime to paint him as a king of this generation while in reality he’s more like his grandmother
“… the future of the monarchy will sink or swim on Willy’s reputation.”
And he won’t have Harry to save his dislikable butt, neither…
The fact that Charles couldn’t figure out he needed Harry and Meghan, not only for diversity, but just as two extra pairs of hands – the fact that he didn’t move heaven and earth to keep them in the family…well, it shows a staggering lack of leadership.
I hate to agree with Lacey, but yes, they should stick to the UK. Only problem there is that the UK is a changing world, too – and the RF don’t seem to be good at navigating that, either.
Dumb move on the royal family’s part but it only makes me happier that harry and meghan got a clean break from this mess.
Yes! Imagine what a nightmare it would be for Harry and Meghan if the RF had accepted their Half in/Half out offer.
They would be running the Sussexes ragged, throwing them under the PR bus and sucking all the life out of them.
I was thinking the same thing, especially about this tour, and every time something happens. What the TPTB meant for evil when not compromising with H&M has turned out to be for their good.
Yup. Meghan would be the token minority, therefore expected by racists to be the model minority. She’d never be validated as succeeding or therefore being “accepted”. They’d never.
She and Harry were never going to be Q&K, they really had no dog in this race and didn’t want one. They’d be used as the token wokes and if they mistepped, the fall of the empire would be put on them. They would have been absolute idiots to stay, no matter how nice grandma might have been when they packed their bags.
And what timing! Less than half a year later, global BLM movements had people paying attention to everyday injustices all around them. And learning what “systemic racism” was, and that you don’t have to straight out ask how dark your nephew will be to be racist, thinking it at all was a problem in *you*; and that white women weaponise racism and bias every single day. H&M probably never dreamed they’d ever be believed, but here we are.
“… the fact that he didn’t move heaven and earth to keep them in the family…well, it shows a staggering lack of leadership.”
Heh. There’s a reason pride is the deadliest sin. It can muck up even the most strategic genius. 🤣 The RF still refuse to believe anyone would give up that life—and Charles was betting H&M would come crawling back.
They wanted a free vacation, optics be damned.
That is why they went.
Lol, they get what they deserve. Kant and Won’t are going to run the Monarchy into the ground and this is arguably, the beginning of it. Three things I think will come out of this mess – refreshed calls for Harry to come back permanently and save the Monarchy, which of course won’t happen. Secondly, I am convinced – Kant and Won’t will divorce. They say financial strain is one of the driving forces of divorce…how about the strain of trying to salvage what’s left of a out of touch, unnecessary, Monarchy. They’ve lost the battle and Will of course will blame Kate. Lastly, I suspect, after the tour is over there will be suspicious interviews of how wonderful and needed Carole is in William’s life. That tends to happen whenever the Middleton’s are scared.
Kant and Won’t ~ LOL LOL LOL
My favourite is Cain and Unable.
Personally, I prefer Keeny and Weeny
The Hatebridges
I’m also convinced this disaster of a tour bodes well for a potential divorce. If it was bring considered before, it’s definitely being considered now.
I think we underestimate Kate, I saw a video of her looking stony and quickly dropping her hand from Williams and then she immediately started smiling when she spotted cameras. They will live separate lives and will never divorce, even if William is caught with another woman. What I think though is as time goes by their uselessness will become pronounced and they will become disliked, I also think they will be king and queen of only England and will probably be the last monarchs.
I am not taking up for Wiglet Kant but my gut feeling is that 75% of the problem has always been and still is Won’t…aka Horse Teeth the Bald!
After too damned much thought, here’s my opinion.
First, these two just aren’t very intelligent to begin with. But with all the smoke being blown up their respective orifices, they believe they are. They are smrt. Just soooo smrt.
They have all the advisors who are willing to help them out (or did have them, they probably left in disgust) but because they are sooooo smrt, they don’t need help understanding or learning anything. Plus, someone probably throws a tantrum when told he doesn’t understand/doesn’t know/needs to learn. Cause he’s smrt.
At the end of the day what you have are two people who know nothing, refuse to learn anything, and can’t understand why the world isn’t what they believe it is, because they’re smrt.
These are 2 people who have never faced any real accountability in their life. Neither has ever had a job with a performance review. Most 16 years who work at McDonalds have more work experience than Kate has. William’s mistakes in college and as an air rescue pilot were covered up and excused. Their lack of work as roaysl has been excused–Meghan did more work in 18 months than the 2 of them together in 10 years. William has no Sentebale or Invictus Games, and Earthshot is a big fat nothing of an initiative. Now they are being called out publically for failing to meet the impossibly low standards of their job. How hard would it be to read some press briefings, engage with people on tour? They gave Meghan crap for holding binders, but it’s doubtful that Kate even knows what a binder is. My guess is that she hasn’t willingly opened a book since college. They are spectacularly unprepared for their jobs, so is it any surprise that they perform as poorly as they do?
Absolutely not! To us, that is.
To them, they’re smrt, so they don’t understand why they’re doing so badly.
And because they’re smrt, they won’t learn.
Seriously, most adults have to “navigate a changing world.” That’s life, and part of growing up. These two have never had to grow, so they are arrested-developed to a damaging degree.
As Kaiser notes, these two numpties are incapable of navigating a changing world because they either knowingly or ignorantly choose not to recognize they are, in fact, anachronisms of the old regime. Still, I’m shocked to see this coming from People.
I also think it is because they are incredibly isolated and only spend time with people who are just like them. Harry is empathetic and has charisma but the thing that probably served him the best was his time in the military where he was forced to/able to spend time with people whose lives and experiences were different than his. That is why he is better able to navigate the outside world because he went outside the bubble and then he met and fell in love with a woman who while privileged lived a whole life different than his and whose entire experience of the world would be fundamentally different as a woman of colour, particularly a mixed race/ black one.
The fact that Charles who seems not entirely an idiot seems to have nobody around him advising him re: a changing cultural context is wild.
And again it must not be understated the majority of the Commonwealth populations are brown and black and it will continue to be impossible for royals to connect with these populations without accounting for a long overdue moment of historical reckoning. They will remain out of touch. And that the heart of this remains that an institution whose goal is to remain outside of time to preserve its longevity will struggle to operate within a shifting social landscape. They are doomed to be a relic.
This People article was amazing. My bet is the UK press are going to spin the fact this “charm offensive” was such an epic disaster into a “they meant to do that”. There’ll be stories about the “slimmed down monarchy” and how it was always the intention commonwealth countries will remove the monarch as the Head of State and K and W were the doing just that.
KP and the British press don’t understand that calling this tour a “charm offensive” was very insulting and offensive to people in those countries. The whole approach to this tour was wrong and should have included some introspection.
The Grey Suits teaching (lol) the lamebridges how to do Meghan .dance smile touching each other touch melanin oh…how to be clean!!! Wash hands sanitizer masks on DO NOT TOUCH ANYONES HAIR. oh. Just a thought. Bring gifts to the host country. I’m loving watching willifiwant try to be like Harry and Hkate try to be a nice girl. The longer Qell lives the more the suits celebrate.
In many ways this tour is just the culmination of the royals hiding their hands in the sand for decades – they haven’t acknowledged the changing world, they’ve thought that ignoring things like Black Lives Matter and other social justice movements was the best option, they refused to learn from the mistakes with Meghan which were really just emblematic of the bigger institutional issues/problems, etc.
It’s really not a surprise that the tour hasn’t been a hit, I’ve just been surprised at HOW bad its going. When even People mag is acknowledging it…..
The invisible contract can only go so far. There are some smells even Febreze can’t cover.
Will is just so bad at all of this, and so completely uninterested in improving, I’ve started to wonder – does he care if the monarchy ends with him, so long as he ultimately inherits the Windsor’s massive private wealth (after Charles passes)?
Right now no doubt he enjoys the status of being the FFK; it gives him prestige compared with Harry, there’s lots of people kissing his ass, etc. Within a short space of time, once TQ passes, he’ll inherit the rights to the Duchy of Cornwall from Charles (whether or not he becomes Prince of Wales right away). That should make him happy for a while. Meanwhile, Charles is already in his 70s; he’ll be fortunate if he has another 20 years left, but he may not. As I understand it, Will definitely must become monarch on Charles’s passing or face onerous tax consequences on the transfer of the family’s private wealth (which IIRC includes both Balmoral and Sandringham) but what happens after that? Who will there be to actually do the work of the monarchy? Everyone currently working will either be dead or retired. According to Charles’s slim down plan, who else is there for the future besides the three Cambridge children? I can easily see George not wanting to be king, in the same way it’s always been said, at least when Will was young, that he never wanted that position either. Poor George already looks so uncomfortable in formal public settings, for whatever reasons (there’s probably several).
Once he’s got the big bucks, I can easily imagine Will being perfectly happy to live the life he always seems to have wanted, basically aristocratic landed gentry (which, actually, he’s likely to do regardless of whether he’s king or not). One thing we know for certain at this point, he doesn’t care at all about doing real work of any kind, so the immense platform that would come with the position as monarch (or even POW) is irrelevant to him. So if the monarchy crashes and burns during his reign, will he care?
Shoot, it’s a brilliant plan, if you think about it. So long as Will can live his mega-rich lifestyle, why should he knock himself out to keep the monarchy going? 😈🤣 I would bet the courtiers and staff are more afraid of World’s End than Will is.
Privilege is requiring everyone else to change around you. These two love their privilege and are not going to change. They will appeal to the far right and use bots and deals with the press to suppress everything else.
Finally People read the room. Will and Kate’s staff are filled with right wing tories. I honestly don’t think they thought this would be a problem. I mean when you have most of the Uk press blowing smoke up your arse and live in that bubble who wouldn’t.
I don’t know if they still fully realize what’s going on..We know they monitor social media very closely but are they really seeing how bad they are being dragged? Will they even care? Idk
They definitely care that’s why they buy bots and William sent the rota to defend him after that alien war comment also things are getting worse in the UK economically wise and this display of wealth is beginning to nauseate even people that like them as the years go by and in order to survive I could see them giving out private properties as shelters, cutting costs and more rewears from keen
“Will and Kate’s staff are filled with right wing tories.”
This ^^^ They have no hope of change without at least hearing from the relevant perspectives on this!
That horizontal striped dress is literally the only thing she has ever worn that I like.
Yep, they’re completely tone-deaf and it pleases me greatly that they’re being called out.
Altho I’m sure it’s all H&M’s fault some how….
Already been said ‘It’s Meghan’s fault because she made accusations of racism’. I kid you not
And to no one’s surprise, their precious hounds at the tabloids are only making more muck for them to step in.
They’re so blind and racist they don’t see how this will just piss these countries off more. They’re taking away the autonomies of WHOLE COUNTRIES, GOVERNMENTS AND VOTERS by saying they’re so gullible, so inexperienced in big boy politics, they’ll mindlessly follow the lead of any random person of colour, just because.
Oooo I hope we see the BRF and rags turn on each other! Neither knows how to PR good–I’m hoping for an Anchorman/TV Stations street brawl!
I bet the new editor Liz is in place because Wakeford would have never mentioned this disastrous tour as anything other than wonderful if he was in charge. Maybe People’s coverage about the royals will continue to be this pointed going forward. There is no reason why an American magazine should be touting royal family talking points.
I hope that it’s this type of coverage going forward. If it is i will definitely give them my clicks.
Only one thing that annoyed me about this article: it’s Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex. Not Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. That is the divorced form.
Yeah, fingers crossed People keeps this kind of energy up.
My comment kinda misses the point, but I don’t understand how you can have a big successful tour if you only announce it a few weeks out? Doesn’t take a while to organize meaningful events as well as drum up enthusiasm and attendance?
Welcome to Kensington Palace where every hour is amateur hour.
Bwahahaha! Epic description.
Good crisis management is about putting out fires before they start. Bad cm is about constantly putting out avoidable fires. Catastrophic cm is constantly setting fires, putting them out with gasoline—and believing that will work because you are a royal.
Putting pressure on them will only make it worse. True but it will also make it entertaining.
Oh God, this!!! And I’m here for it all 🍿🍿🍿
They really expected to arrive to this country that has struggled to advance in the face of their colonialism and HAVE THEM BOW DOWN TO THESE TWO IDIOTS. Hello we’re here because we believe my blood and by God’s authority I am better than you. WELCOME ME.
I clicked on the #RoyalCarribeanTour on Twitter and the fan tweets are insane. Lots of talks on looking down on the haters and living their best life. I bet they are EXHAUSTED and pissed when they go back to their respective rooms at night. How dare they not recognize our completely made up status that offers NOTHING to them?!
Perhaps in their statement announcing their tour, William and Kate should have said something about the colonial past and how they saw the future of the Commonwealth. It may not have stopped the protests but at least there would have been something to point to when people raised the issue. I don’t understand why KP wasn’t prepared for William and Kate to receive backlash after BLM, the accusations of racism in the family and COVID. This tour could have done so differently if they recognised that they had to address those issues but they just saw it a chance for a Caribbean vacation and didn’t care about the feelings of the people.
Makes me wonder when India will begin to join in and demand back the various stunning and priceless jewels the British royals lifted during their occupation of that country. Aren’t some of them in the crown that Cams is supposed to wear at Chuck’s coronation?
They have been demanding them back. The royals should give back the Koh-i-Noor. It’s not like they don’t have a gazillion other diamonds, and I can’t imagine that Camilla wearing the Koh-i-noor would get anything but bad press anyway. And thanks to idiot Jason Knauf’s attempt to smear Meghan, everyone will be paying more attention to the provenance of the royal jewels. Lots and lots of Camilla’s jewels come courtesy of the Saudis.
India has asked for the return of the jewels in the past. However there are several other claims on the diamonds from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Thank you @lanne and @amy bee – didn’t know that. Especially the part about Pakistan and Afghanistan. I’ve got some reading to do. 🙂
William Dalrymple and Anita Anand have written an excellent book on the history of the Koh-i-Noor. I recommend it highly. The story of the diamond before the East India Company bullied a child to hand it over (along with his country: Punjab) is long, bloody and convoluted as it was seized as loot through several wars between the rulers of Persia, rulers of areas which are Afghanistan and Pakistan today as well as it once graced the Mughal Peacock Throne in India.
I thought India was already making noises about getting the jewels back for quite some time now.
The British royals should just return the jewels and forego an actual coronation. None of the Scandi or Dutch monarchs get the actual crown on their head when they ascend the throne; it’s considered anachronistic.
“George and Charlotte just love chain link fences…As well as very high hedges, which hide the helicopters!”
It’s very frustrating to watch these media outlets behave as if the Windsors are the only royal house still kicking, so of course they are having trouble modernizing…
The Windsors aren’t even the oldest royal house. But honestly, English royals have always been barely educated dinosaurs who have had to be dragged kicking and screaming to any sort of modernity and even then, lagged decades behind the times of the people they claim to serve.
Even Prince Albert, who is a flaming sack of poo has a better education and background than the British royals. Most of the European royals have political science degrees, some have their masters and from prestigious institutions outside of their country’s borders. And many of them have spouses with degrees and life experience as well.
If you take a peek at other European royals, those in the direct line of succession and even outside of it, you’ll usually find they are raised and educated with the assumption that they will be stepping into a diplomatic role, sooner rather than later, and will be able to capably represent their nation and their people with some modicum of understanding and tact, and at least the appearance of a decent work ethic, beyond self serving arrogance and broad dreams with no real result.
But the British royals… they may as well be Romanovs for all the thought they put into preparing to be competent and capable royals. They believe their position to be God ordained and thus no need for real education or experience. Just show up and kiss some babies in between vacation cycles.
I was going to completely ignore this snore tour for a lot of reasons. Anyway, there are some bad optics and images, and a lot of tone deafness. The Royals thought this was going to look like an episode of the Crown, season 1,being greeted by grateful fawning natives. The fact that the headline says they need to navigate a changing world. Where have they been all these years? The last two with the pandemic and the disruption that caused, Black Lives Matter, Brexit and how it’s diminished the UK,the xenophobia surrounding that,and of course the whole thing with the Sussexes. Maybe to some it’s a minor thing, but a lot of Caribbean people saw how the Royals openly disrespected and continue to tear down the black woman in their own family, especially that disgusting behavior in the church on Commonwealth Day on their final tour , and they won’t forget. That brings up a lot of stuff. I just find this tour without any purpose or focus, other than Jubilee. These islands have young populations, they have no interest in this type of deferential relationship with their former colonizer. These countries do not need the UK monarch as their head of state. Let’s see how they try to blame the Sussexes for this and continue to attack Meghan. Even if the Sussexes were there and doing a very different type of tour, I would feel the same way. I’m actually disgusted with how these countries are spending so much to host these people, despite their heavy deficits, and the whole deference and respectability politics about it. What exactly have Will and Kate done to highlight these countries and their civic organizations? A travel influencer could do more. These protests are needed, minor as they are. There’s so much I can say but I’ve said it before, but these Cambridge’s are not ready, haven’t been ready, and this is all they are. They’re not going to improve,or step up. This is it.
Australian here. Time to become a republic. Well over time. To have the Queen as our HofS is ludicrous. // Photo above of Kate. Shadows under her eyes. That’s some stress there. Phew.
Is this what they wanted when they drive M&H out? LMAO.
You know what would’ve helped the royals navigate the changing world? Accepting Meghan. By not doing so, anything else they do in terms of addressing colonialism, slavery, and the other issues plaguing them is moot. The world sees that their words or just empty.
They were so gleeful in letting it be known they would never accept her. They made it very clear they didn’t want that and rejected Meghan in a very hostile way. There is no excuse for this backwards attitude, other than their own racism and extreme privilege. It was never Meghan’s job to fix them or modernize them. They have all the resources in the world but choose to mount smear campaigns and lean into their colonial attitudes. I’m glad the Sussexes are far away from this mess and minding their business.
It would not have been hard to make this tour look good, modern and actually productive.
They should have brought business leaders and educators from the UK and other Commonwealth countries for meetings/seminars/parties to form meaningful connections to schools, universities, and businesses in these host countries.
They should have started or highlighted scholarships/exchange programs between UK and all Commonwealth countries to foster deeper ties amongst young people.
They should have posted films/photos of top tourist spots on their social media and given details about why those spots are important.
Those would be impactful ways to visit and be good guests in Commonwealth countries, and this list took me about 10 minutes to think about and type.
I saw some photos and videos from this “tour”. It looks like rich family on vacation in some exotic place. Nothing of substance, nothing meaningful. It seems like they engage in vacational activities all the time + the change of outfits for Keen (I like yellow dress!).
Their awkwardness around people and with one another is palpable, painful to watch. I hoped it will be entertaining. Nope, it’s cringeworthy, very Maria Antuanette vibe.
The only moment I found priceless was Keen’s reaction to the “snub” she got from former Miss World. Keen reacted like spoiled 5 years old, not as adult, FFQC on the diplomatic mission. That was funny and just confirmed how arrogant, entitled, shallow and dumb she is (sorry, but no one with brain would have been reacted in such manner).
I missed this snub. Does anyone have a link?
Here. I hope it’ll work.
https://twitter.com/AgainWeekend/status/1506395938000183298?s=20&t=hV10E-sG9KbQO9dF_1malA
Kaiser, thank you 💚
Your coverage is hilarious and we’re loving it. The photo choices alone are 👌✨ that windy grinning pic lmao
This is the royal tour from hell. The Cambridges are getting dragged on traditional and social media. Even the Fail ran the Kate snub by the Jamaican minister. This is karma for the Cambridges’ treatment of the Sussexes.
https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/03/awkward-photo-ops-in-jamaica-are-the-least-of-will-and-kates-problems
Thanks for sharing.
This is where old school royaling just doesn’t work anymore, and it’s a classic backfire, as far as PR goes. They wanted to counter the movement towards independence, and instead they just drew more attention to it. The luster of a youthful William and Kate has worn off, they’re now seen as middle aged senior royals with an agenda, and not one that people are keen to rubber stamp anymore, so in that sense yes the times are changing.
“The royals should concentrate on developing the Commonwealth family as a more cohesive, diverse, international, open and forward-looking concept.”.. is he talking about the same people that bullied and almost drove to suicide the only black member of the family?
I love the commentary on the “slimmed down monarchy” losing weight too fast. It’s like, DUH, OF COURSE THAT WAS A BAD IDEA!!!
I think most, if not all, of the Commonwealth countries are waiting for QE2’s departure from the stage to head for the exits. Australian republicans (note small r) have openly said that they’ll start a push to become a republic once she’s gone–the last referendum failed in the 90s because too many people still have respect for her, rightly or wrongly. Charles has none of that. And Baldy and Buttons have even less.
“Why not jettison the hereditary foreign realm concept, securing Elizabeth II’s place in history as the last ‘Queen of the World’?”
FFS. How to break down this level of insanity?
Dear whoever believes QEII is the “Queen of the World”,
She is not, nor will she ever be queen of any world.
Something tells me the royals will be begging Meghan and Harry to come back for a photo op following all of this…