Here are more photos of the Prince and Princess of Wales in Belfast on Thursday, October 6th. The visit was a “surprise,” because the Windsors generally have to move quickly and silently when they’re doing anything in Northern Ireland. Interestingly enough, that’s become more of a regular thing for William and Kate, even though we’re being told endlessly by their communications staff that Will & Kate are the “most popular royals.” If they’re so popular, why can’t they announce their trips, their arrival times and their itineraries? Scared that too many supporters will show up? LOL, of course not. They’re scared that if they interact with too many peasants, something like this will happen:
As you can see, Kate moved over to greet some Belfast residents and after she gawped at a baby, she shook hands with a woman who told her “Nice to meet you but it would be better if it was when you were in your own country.” Kate laughed and began to move on to shake hands with another person, and the same woman said “Ireland belongs to the Irish.” As you can imagine, the royalists are in full meltdown and I’d say we’re mere hours away from Dan Wootton calling this woman a “Sussex supporter” and a “Sunshine Sachs plant.” The Keen defenders are also praising Kate for her reaction, which…? I mean, I’m glad Kate didn’t scream or yell “seize her!” Kate just laughed, like the woman was making a joke. Like Kate thinks a free and united Ireland is a joke? Isn’t that the bigger story? That the Windsors think the idea of a free and independent Ireland is hilarious?
Incidentally, I mentioned the other day that Kate’s hair/mourning wiglet has looked terrible since she became Princess of Wales. Her hair situation was also a major struggle in Belfast. Once you see the line of her hairpiece, you can’t unsee it. Once you see where she’s plopped her hairpiece on the back of her head and refused to blend it, you can’t look away. Enjoy.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
Prince William And Catherine, Princess Of Wales Visit To Northern Ireland
The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland
Featuring: Catherine, Princess Of Wales
Where: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
When: 06 Oct 2022
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
**North America Rights Only**
Prince William And Catherine, Princess Of Wales Visit To Northern Ireland
The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland
Featuring: Catherine, Princess Of Wales
Where: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
When: 06 Oct 2022
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
**North America Rights Only**
Prince William And Catherine, Princess Of Wales Visit To Northern Ireland
The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland
Featuring: Catherine, Princess Of Wales
Where: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
When: 06 Oct 2022
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
**North America Rights Only**
Prince William And Catherine, Princess Of Wales Visit To Northern Ireland
The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland
Featuring: Prince William And Catherine, Princess Of Wales
Where: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
When: 06 Oct 2022
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
**North America Rights Only**
Prince William And Catherine, Princess Of Wales Visit To Northern Ireland
The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland
Featuring: Catherine, Princess Of Wales
Where: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
When: 06 Oct 2022
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
**North America Rights Only**
Prince William And Catherine, Princess Of Wales Visit To Northern Ireland
The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland
Featuring: Catherine, Princess Of Wales
Where: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
When: 06 Oct 2022
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
**North America Rights Only**
I dont see many royal women with short hair(the most famous is Diana ofcourse), maybe its too modern and not Princessy enough. I would recommend Kate try something drastic and ditch the extensions if not a pixie cut maybe something similar to Kris Jenner.
I think shorter hair would actually look great on her! I’m not one of those people who believes that long hair has an age limit, but certain styles of long hair definitely do, and Kate often veers into “little girl” styling and it’s not a good look. A pixie cut might be a bit drastic for someone as vain about their hair as Kate is, but maybe a long bob could be more age-appropriate and sophisticated.
Long hair looks elegant on older women who come by it naturally (like Phyllida Law or Alice Krige), but the heavily augmented prom hair is aging. Not to mention that a dramatic haircut would generate at least a few days of positive headlines when the royal family could really use them.
But Kate’s hair is all she has going for her. It’s the source of her “popularity” and why she’s seen as “never putting a foot wrong.” It’s her entire identity and self-worth.
Short hair would be easier to maintain for her on so many levels. She is never going to embrace the gray publicly, so it’ll be a lot easier to dye. Honestly I think the wiglet is a convenient choice too — probably allows her to get away with less color sessions.
” As you can imagine, the royalists are in full meltdown and I’d say we’re mere hours away from Dan Wootton calling this woman a ‘Sussex supporter’ and a ‘Sunshine Sachs plant.’ ”
Lol…there was an article that the Sussexes left Sunshine Sachs and will do PR in house now. That’s probably what stopped Wooton from going there.
She is so offensive and galling. And it’s true. Take you pussy bow blouse and your wiglet back to your own country and STAY there forever welfare queen.
The problem with Catherine Middleton is that she was sent there to Meghan her way to philanthropy without any anticipation that the Irish have not forgotten Bloody Sunday: the soldiers of her majestic majesty Elizabeth II fired indiscriminately into a crowd of peaceful Irish protesters, killing 13 by shooting them in the back, as they were running away in terror.
The lady was justifiably aggravated by Karen’s nonchalant colonizer visit, because she was probably in her early teenage years when this massacre of Irish civilian took place, with the blessing of the Queen. She must remember her mother crying in front of the bulky tv set. 1972 is not that far back that people can’t recall how they were treated as the English Crown’s white slaves. So Lazy Katy daring to turn up all innocent when everybody (but her?) knows she was sent as the beacon of royal oppression in Ireland, must have triggered xenophobic feelings from the lady.
Besides, the handshake is kind of rough, suggesting that Ireland ‘s working class have no deference and no respect whatsoever for the monarchy and its sluggish English roses. These people have had it hard and are therefore absolutely no nonsense.
Instead of aping Meghan’s every public move and forcing herself into that spoof Meghan’s warmth impersonation, Katren of Wails should have gone to Northern Ireland with a wholehearted repentance speech begging for forgiveness and reconciliation. But her disconnect from the real world, and people’s trials deluded that entitled, overrated royalty into thinking she is awaited like the messiah.
Security better watch out because next time kate shows up somewhere ignoring the resentment caused by the wrongs perpetrated by her upper caste, I can garantee you some angry working-class person will be happy to slap her across the face so bad as to make her made-in-Korea wig spin.
This comment took me places. If you wrote a book – I’d buy it. I’m Canadian, and I can’t stand that old hag as our figurehead for so long and all over our money for eternity grinning like the imperialist clown that she is. Ding dong the witch is dead!
I thought something like this might happen and I was very surprised that they went to Belfast. I’ve been there 5 or 6 times and people there absolutely despise the Brits. Whenever we took a taxi there, every single taxi driver asked us if we are Brits and if we are Carholic. People there are actively hating the monarchy and the way they have been treated by it I’m surprised W&K haven’t been treated worse tbh
I’m sure they make sure to only interact with royalists or bring them in for the event. The baby of the woman Kate held is a super royalist instagramer so clearly a KP plant. I’m sure someone in KP is getting yelled at for allowing the peasant too close to say real things.
Yeah, I wondered about that. The woman with the baby is an instagrammer fan so obviously some people are tipped off about the event and location. It’s a surprise visit but do they announce it locally that day so some people show up or literally the whole crowd is people they contacted?
So a pre-selected audience? That would explain why there was a crowd there with a “surprise” visit. I guess, one of the hired help went off script. That makes the comment event funnier.
The visit wasn’t a secret but only embargoed from the press, so while specifics about where they were going in belfast might not be known the locals would have seen the security build up and even things like barricades being set up.
Since no one knew they were coming except the local government and the venues where they appeared, everyone they interact with is hand picked by authorities, no matter how much the media trumpet “enthusiastic” crowds. The surprising thing here is that an Irish nationalist got this close to Kate. And the laughing response is just Kate being Kate.
@Jais about the woman with the baby who has a pro-Cambridge Instagram account, do you know if she is the same one who just happened to be in London and was able to run over to Kensington Palace to see Kate landing in the helicopter within the past year? I’m curious as to how KP is working the social media scene by planting peasants in the crowd who pretend to just happen upon Kate. KP is obviously trying to get more seemingly spontaneous videos of Kate onto Instagram in order to hook the younger generation into liking her more.
@harper- I don’t think it’s the same person? Honestly, the insta blogger seems like a huge royal fan so as @nic919 says, since she lives in Belfast and streets are being blocked off, I’d imagine she’d know someone is visiting. I think she’s met both Kate and Meghan before so clearly she likes to go to these events anyways. But it’s also very very likely that someone from KP gave her a tip as she’s a known fan and someone they’d want in the crowd. Pretty blonde with a cute baby. Kate seemed to recognize her and head over, although that could’ve been the baby. She merches on her insta and the style seems like one Kate would follow so she prob does. Imagine she didn’t realize she’d be standing right there while Kate was told it’s better if she was in her own country though.
@Jais thanks for the info! I did see the video of Kate running towards the baby like he/she was the dead Queen’s jewels. Can’t miss that broody photo op!
Yeah, she’s been publicly supportive of both women. Honestly, KP tipping her off on where they’ll be seems smart since she’s clearly a royal fan, which could also mean they didn’t cuz they’re not always smart lol. Equally, she could’ve heard from someone in the organization too since she lives in Belfast.
@harper are you referring to the royal writer who got video of the Cambridges returning from wales and Louis running up? If so, no, not the same person. They’re an historian not an influencer. They’re actually a friend of mine. They were in London for the jubilee and were near KP. Heard the helicopter and made a beeline. Got the video and she sold the footage to one of the papers. Not a fortune obviously but helped offset at least some of the vacation costs!
The vast majority of people in Great Britain (76%) wants to g’et rid of Northern Ireland. But only the people of Northern Ireland have the right/vote to cut the cord.
The people are standing in fenced-off box (you can see they are behind temporary barricades, but in front of a regular wrought iron fence) — so they absolutely were hand-selected to meet Kate. And someone just “happened” to have a bouquet of flowers with them to give to her? Lol. I am not surprised, as we know they pay for positive comments on their Youtube videos, and censor negative comments. So planting people in the “crowd” (another “lol,” as there were maybe 20 people tops in that box) is right up their alley.
I’m actually in London RIGHT NOW! Never been till now. Toured Windsor Castle. Crown Jewels. Etc. If I was British I would be so furious 24/7 that this sham has continued to present day. It’s truly grotesque. (Lots of other awesome stuff though)
Ah I don’t know what else she was supposed to do in that moment? In fairness to her, she probably wasn’t expecting it and she handled it as best she could 🤷♀️
Given her apparent inability to engage in thoughtful discussion, even when given time, yes, she would not have known to do anything but laugh. She may just have that as a blanket reaction to anything, seeing as she is so often not on video, and it can appear that everyone was just simply having the bestest time! Nothing to see here.
With all due respect, do you seriously think Kate knows or even cares about the history of Ireland? She probably didn’t have a clue what the heckler was even talking about.
I agree with you, the duchess. Khate ‘can you test the smell by smelling it’ is stupid and incurious. She probably didn’t even understand what the woman was saying/meaning and wouldn’t have been prepared because we know the Wailses don’t read the briefings to prepare for their engagements.
I’m not English but wouldn’t the conflict have been taught in school? I don’t understand why Kate wouldn’t have known that not everyone would be thrilled with seeing the BR family.
The fact that all their visits to Northern Ireland are press embargoed would confirm to a reasonable person that they should in fact expect some pushback anytime they attend.
That she didn’t expect it reinforces how lazy and entitled she is. She should be EDUCATED and prepared. What the heck else does she have to do?? If you want to be a royal, you need to actually know history. She just wants to play dress up and hold approved white babies. Sorry, but in all fairness, she has a job to do and she’s clearly not up to it.
I think that’s the key here. I watched and thought, “Ugh, I probably would have done the same thing.” But I’m saying that as someone who (1) could not have been expecting the question (since I’m just an American sitting at my kitchen table right now), and (2) didn’t have time to prepare for it.
She should absolutely have been prepared for this.
I also think she handled it well. It’s not like she can agree or engage in a debate so she kept smiling and moved on. I’m sure they were told how to respond if this happened and that’s the response that draws the least attention.
Expectations are so shamefully low for Kate. Here’s what you say in that situation: “We’re here today just to extend our good wishes to the people of Northern Ireland. Take care. “
You don’t laugh like a moron. Unless you’re a moron.
I don’t think she handled it at all. I think she laughed because she doesn’t really listen to anyone. It gave her another opportunity for the ‘happy snaps’ the photographers get.
Exactly, I think it was just a default reaction and she may not have even heard what the woman said, or had time to process it. I’m not one to defend Kate but I will say that if I were in that position I’m not sure I would’ve processed it in the moment and been able to quickly formulate a response, but then again I haven’t had decades of experience interfacing with crowds. Kate absolutely should not have laughed, she should have a canned response at the ready. A simple “I respect your perspective” or “thank you for sharing your perspective” would suffice. I mean, imagine the positive PR that kind of response would have garnered. This should absolutely be a scenario that she is actively trained on.
@Sunday. I don’t have the ability to quickly process unexpected reactions and respond, and Kate may be the same. However she would have gone way up in my estimation if she had anticipated the possibility if such a comment and prepared a response such as “thank you for sharing your perspective” – in Irish Gaelic.
Agree! @ BeanieBean. Kate isn’t a listener and was only expecting positive things to be said to her-nothing needed to be handled. Just gurning smiles.
Now, talk about setups or set ups (help me out grammarists), a few? months ago at an outing with Kate, some lady was conveniently caught on camera saying Kate will make a great Princess of Wails. lol
@tessa right? This woman expressing her own personal opinion about wanting Ireland to stay Irish is “rude” and “highly disrespectful” but when Meghan was being rudely snubbed by an old white woman they were yapping like seals
(I don’t really mean that. Comparing derangers to seals is an insult to seals but I had no other metaphor)
They want kate to wear the tiaras with stolen jewels and live off taxpayer money without having to deal with any of the downsides of representing a genocidal institution I guess.
I think I’m dumb…for the life of me I cannot see the wiglet. I know it’s there – I trust you guys – but my eyes don’t work. Next time there’s a terrible hair post, can someone draw on the photos so I know what to look for? Or point me to a website that has already done it?
@Anners look at the third photo down in this post (two after the video.) You can see how a piece of hair from the back of her head is falling forward – thats the wiglet. It’s a shade lighter than the hair near her face.
Zoom in on the second picture down, the one that is mostly her reaching arm. Zoom on her head and look where the part in her hair stops abruptly (the way parts do not).. Where the part stops, the wiglet starts. It is a different color, too, but for me, the part is the tell.
It is also easy to spot in the next picture down, where she’s baring her teeth at a bunch of closed-eyed women.
@Anners I, too, struggle to see the hairpieces sometimes, but I’ll try to help. Take a look at the 3rd picture in this post (right above the one where Kate is bartending lol). Look at the section of hair tucked behind her ears. That is her real hair & has reddish highlights. Then look at the hair falling over her ears, which has blonde highlights & looks tacked on to the back of her part. THAT is the wiglet & that’s what Kaiser is talking about when she says it’s not blended.
@Lizzie and @Becks
I don’t think that part is the wiglet at all. That part sits right on top of her head, nobody puts a wiglet there. I think that part is her own hair – the bit that was lifted up to place a wiglet under, which is why that part of her hair moves separately from the rest of it, but it’s not actually the wiglet.
@Tessa you may be right but then why is it a different color?
someone was describing it yesterday in great detail and they speculated she wears extensions (which would be more under her real hair) and a wiglet. Wiglets usually go on top of the hair I think and extensions would be underneath.
Thanks for all the help! I definitely see that the back part is a little bit lighter, but to my eyes that hair is coming out of her scalp. @Tessa – it would make sense then that the wiglet is under a layer of her own hair, but starts where the part stops unnaturally. Merci!
Tessa, the type of hairpiece (AKA wiglet) Kate is wearing is called a fall, or a 3/4 wig. It does sit on the back of the head. It’s human hair that’s woven onto a mesh cap that clips onto your real hair at the scalp. Kate’s fall is expensive but the color isn’t–as many of you have observed–a perfect match and in the 3rd and 4th photo, it’s a dead giveaway.
Kate actually handled it okay, I’m not sure what else she could have done, maybe acknowledged the comment in some way about the history or something? the woman was great though, polite but assertive and made her position clear. Northern Ireland is not Kate’s country.
the wiglet is so obvious in these pictures. Yikes. Did she get a new hair person or something??
Also, do they have to go to a pub/bar every time they go to Ireland (Northern or the republic?) Like is that a requirement or something? I actually thought yesterday seeing the initial pics “well at least they’re not at a pub this time” then I saw the rest of the pictures lol.
Yes it’s really bad they do this. The whole Irish like to drink stereotype looks bad from them, especially knowing the English like their pubs just as much.
This was my gut reaction, quickly followed by, K looks natural mixing drinks, followed by, why didn’t they visit the Belfast Distillery and actually support trade?
@Nic919, not only what you said. It’s a bad look for the royal patron of Action on Addiction (that’s merged with the Forward Trust), to be shaking up alcoholic cocktails on video for the appearance of W&K having ‘fun’ together.imo
You know what would have been a good move for the royal patron of the Forward Trust/AonA, the shaking up of non alcohol drinks/mocktails. It’s not great guess work that bars all across the globe have specialty cocktails that contain alcohol. It’s a given. It’s also a given that throughout W&K’s time at St. Andrew’s, drinking & the mixing of cocktails happened a lot. Crack Babies comes to mind. How ’bout having a bar showcase their non alcohol drinks. It’s a win for both. At least, from what I’ve seen, in my local bars that don’t have a royal patron from Action on Addiction. Pretty sure that the next time Kate gives a speech for the Forward Trust-the video of her shaking up the gin, sherry, whatever else will not be played in the background.
Big mistake. Huge.
Their new ‘PR guru’ sucks if he couldn’t connect the tone deafness of Kate being the royal patron of AonA/Forward Trust and the good time show of shaking up cocktails contest. Or, W&K, said no…we wants our drinks and we have to do everything to compete with the charisma and fun of H&M. lol We are fun! Look at our very badly edited video.
This is a matter for the Northern Irish government though. As if Kate could re-unite Ireland.
The lady was polite and frankly Kate handled it well, and not commenting was the only way to handle it , definitely not make any comment abt Irish history which is a minefield. Not her place to comment on something THIS touchy
Not her place? She represents the monarchy. That’s literally her job that she gets paid lavishly for. She lives off of taxpayer money. It is very much her job, and she was not prepared.
This is a matter that is much more important than the monarchy. this is a matter for the British, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland governments. A royal wading in on a topic this sensitive would be completely stupid.
I’ll note, then, with some irony, Dominique, that the royals have often interferred in this specific place – these six counties. The entire 20th century circles around monarchist interference.
Im confused about your statement. Do you approve of previous Royal interference in such a complex matter? Would you want her to get involved in a subject that even seasoned politicians stay away from unless absolutely necessary, because other royals did so in the past?
Royal family members past and present should not get involved in matters that belong in parliament. Surely they should be encouraged to stay in their lane whatever that is.
Kate was there representing her father in law who is king of Northern Ireland. If she is not prepared to deal with some pushback considering the recent history, then she is ill prepared. She’s 40 and old enough to know better.
Besides all their trips to Northern Ireland are embargoed for this exact reason.
No way Kate can think on her feet fast enough to properly address such comments. And she can’t even say “welcome” or “thanks for coming” in a speech without looking at notes. So even a prepared response would likely be impossible for her to deliver properly. Laughing awkwardly and moving on was her best option.
Remember her prepared comment about the housing crisis or whatever? that did not go over well, so really laughing and moving on was her best option.
But what is interesting is that she got the comment at all, right? I feel like a few years ago she either would not have gotten that comment OR the press would not have shared that clip.
True, Becks. It’s interesting that this story is a thing. And that nobody heckled William.
If I was a conspiracy theorist, I might wonder if this story was by design to make Kate look bad, for divorce purposes. Or maybe “Kate feels too bullied by the public in the PoW role” will be the excuse for the marriage disintegrating.
I think that a member of the public felt comfortable to make this comment to her face is the story more than Kate’s response. It shows the veneer of politeness is wearing thin.
Kate is just so vapid she gets excited over babies but could not have been bothered to spend time with Archie and Lily i wish someone she greeted asked about her niece and nephew
While it feels disrespectful to laugh at the woman (that is **not** heckling), Khate lacks the intellect and wit to come up with a suitable reaction. Actually, “thank you for coming” wouldn’t have been a half bad way to respond. Oh, well. The default laughter from a woman who grins and gawps maniacally at innocent children and suicide prevention workers shouldn’t surprise me.
Kate could have said something like “I appreciate your comment and understand your feelings”, or her *aides* could have prepared something in advance, knowing that someone would inevitably speak out against the monarchy. Honestly, the stupidity…it’s like the blind leading the blind.
You can see that it’s a hand-picked crowd of mostly women and children, which is an advantage of embargoed events. I’m glad that a few dissidents managed to sneak in to such a tightly stage-managed appearance.
Call me petty but, I laughed because it made me wonder if William, Kate or both said something similar to Meghan. At the very least Kate now has experienced a tiny smidgeon of what she and the rest of the RF probably put Meghan through!
That’s so true! When all her vapid supporters started tweeting #GoHomeMeghanMarkle… I hope more and more people tell Kate exactly this to her face, on camera.
Yes the majority of Irish are for reunification. The English treated the Irish horribly. I cringe when I see the royals there. Go home. Leave the Island in peace.
The Good Friday Agreement is very clear that as and when the people of Northern Ireland wish to join with Ireland, that will happen. (I expect it will happen in the next 15-20 years).
The whole of the island of Ireland has to agree to a united Ireland, a majority of the persons on both sides of the Irish border, not just Northern Ireland saying what they want and then it happening.
The public sector accounts for 27% of employee jobs in NI, so what would they do if they no longer work for the British government? Unification would have a huge impact economically and would tip us all into recession. Would they be willing to pay for healthcare, different educational system as well, it would be a nightmare.
@Zapp, I think you’re right. There are two different cultures at play after centuries of interference, and while I think it’s far more likely to happen now that the Queen has died and Brexit has taken root, it’s still a wildly complicated process.
Oh, I finally see the wiglet! It’s popped out to me like one of those Magic Eye posters and now I can’t believe could never see it before and just took y’all’s word for it. But those pics, oh my! It is a different color! If we can tell from a still photo I imagine it’s even worse in person.
I’m sure she’s bothered by losing hair volume as she’s aged, but very few of us have the same hair thickness as we had in college. But she needs to get rid of that rug ASAP – a new, shorter hairstyle can disguise the sudden reduction of her hair volume.
Don’t feel bad, it took me awhile & lots of squinting & head-tilting before I spotted it. Like Shannon says above, once you see it you can never not see it.
IIRC, Royal visits to Northern Ireland would usually not be publicised in advance, for heaps of security reasons.
As far as I can tell, I think they were in a Catholic part of town (or least Catholic adjacent), so there was always a chance of some mild heckling, or seeing some Republican murals around. I am not familiar with that neighbourhood though.
Her reaction here is much better than from the past. Last year when put in a slightly similar situation, she literally rolled her eyes, (and in front of a bunch of children non the less). I remember Kensington palace seemly went out of their way to get that clip taken down. I wonder if she was given a warning afterward, hints the more dignified response?
I dont think so. She rolled her eyes bac k then because she understood and hate the topic, meghan.
She just smile right now because she know nothing about north ireland.
If someone said anything about meghan, she would rolled her eyes again.
This video shows that Kate is not an active listener. It didn’t seem like she heard what the woman actually said at first. Then she ignored the woman said Ireland for the Irish.
The deserted mausoleum that is her mind. My gosh. Does this woman have any reactions that aren’t deadpan glares or manic laughter? And why can’t she get her interactions right? Who laughs after being heckled? Even if she mistook the woman’s intentions, she then made it very clear with her follow-up statement and Kate’s response is…to laugh out manically, again. She truly is the anti-Diana.
She thinks Diana was special because of her features or what she put on them. They’re what plant the idea, yes, but it’s her willingness to be human, for better or worse, that made people think she was a goddess. Kate misunderstanding this is the funniest thing. If she threw a chair at William at a gala or something, I guarantee she’ll snag a Vogue cover or twelve.
I know your question as to whether Kate had any other reactions that weren’t maniacal laughter or deadpan glares was rhetorical but I could add one more: Rolling of the eyes, a hair toss, and a dismissive “What else?” to the young teens who asked about Meghan to Kate once. None of those reactions is really stellar and stately.
It’s funny how when Meghan gets snubbed the Karen’s crowd literally went crazy with excitement but the moment their precious white Karen gets snubbed it’s omg it’s so rude .
So there are a couple of very important dynamics that complicate this (I’ve talked about it briefly in the other thread).
The first is that there remains in NI a vociferous community who identify as British first, last, and foremost. Within this community, the overriding concern is to preserve the union with the rest of the UK, underpinned by a conditional loyalty to the *monarchy* not Parliament.
The second is the shifting demographics that have placed this former Unionist majority (for whom the NI state was created and secured) in the minority.
But the biggest part of this to hear in mind is the shifting attitude of the Republican movement (and specifically Sinn Féin) towards rapprochement with – or benign coexistence – unionists and representatives of the British state. It was cataclysmic when former IRA commander turned politician met and shook hands with QEII on Irish soil. Charles himself met with the leader of SF in NI before the leaky pen incident and jokes about how they are now the largest party in both NI & the RoI.
So this women’s opinion is perhaps widespread, but Republicanism is deliberately moving away from expressing it publicly in these terms.
@ML: yes, in the RoI SF’s economic platform is more prominent than an overt appeal to reunification in the short term. That said, all 3 of the biggest parties still lay claim to the Republican label and nominally support an eventual UI (within the terms of the GFA).
Given Brexit, the hard rightward shift of the rest of the UK, the erosion of key aspects of British state and identity (eg the NHS), and movements within Wales and Scotland, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gaël have also hinted at considerations for a referendum on unity – and a big rally/conference to that effect in Dublin last week. But no, no one is standing in the streets shouting “Ireland for the Irish!”
@justbitchy: lol! Sorry – I was typing fast to get my thoughts down and didn’t intentionally skip over McGuinness. I met him once when I was an undergrad. He was an interesting man, and one who made deep personal and ideological compromises to support the peace process.
PhD – you are very knowledgeable and well traveled. I must admit that I often refer to that handshake when I am discussing Israel/Occupied Territories with his Israeli family (I am joint RoI/US citizen [who isn’t ?] ). Xoxo
Thanks PhD. I saw your comments on a previous thread and was waiting for you to comment as someone who knows exactly what’s going on. As I said in another thread, I was in a long term relationship with a NI man for many years and spent a lot of time in Belfast. His family went thru hell and witnessed deaths, as did so many others, and I’m not going to elaborate on which side his loyalties lay. The issues are complex, always fluid, and not strictly my own. Thank you for your complete run through for the benefit of others on here inc myself.
Kate handled this well—it’s exactly what Charles did on his “Mummy died, Hi, I’m your king” tour of Wales. Northern Ireland is in an uneasy peace.
That said, Kate was not heckled. At least not according to the Cambridge (cough, cough) definition of heckle: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/heckle. If she thinks that this was nasty and vicious, she’s in for a long hard slog.
What could she say? “Of course, it does. It’s your option to stay as part of the UK or to vote for withdrawal. While you are part of the UK, we will try to represent you and help to the best of our ability.”
Wooton is deluded. That woman took issue with her country being a colony under British rule. It had sweet FA to do with any allegiance to the Sussex’s. The desperation of it.
Seriously girl. “Heckled”??? This Irish woman sounded very polite and low key. William and Kate are not going to want to spend time out and about with the public in the USA
Kate has had all the time in the world to prepare for moments like these. If she’s going to be exalted as special, she should learn how to handle sensitive moments.
The most irritating part are the DM bots putting down the woman who addressed Kate and trying to make Kate look like a Saint who is soooo superior to the woman who spoke to her. The DM had an article about a little boy who would “never wash his hands again” after shaking hands with Kate. LOL.
The DM had a big ad at the top of this story asking for information or phone number of this woman. It’s been almost 3 days and I am pleasantly surprised and pleased that no one in NI has sold her out. Hats off to you wonderful people.
I dont see many royal women with short hair(the most famous is Diana ofcourse), maybe its too modern and not Princessy enough. I would recommend Kate try something drastic and ditch the extensions if not a pixie cut maybe something similar to Kris Jenner.
I think shorter hair would actually look great on her! I’m not one of those people who believes that long hair has an age limit, but certain styles of long hair definitely do, and Kate often veers into “little girl” styling and it’s not a good look. A pixie cut might be a bit drastic for someone as vain about their hair as Kate is, but maybe a long bob could be more age-appropriate and sophisticated.
The long bob or shoulder length style she had while pregnant with Louis looked good.
Long hair looks elegant on older women who come by it naturally (like Phyllida Law or Alice Krige), but the heavily augmented prom hair is aging. Not to mention that a dramatic haircut would generate at least a few days of positive headlines when the royal family could really use them.
But Kate’s hair is all she has going for her. It’s the source of her “popularity” and why she’s seen as “never putting a foot wrong.” It’s her entire identity and self-worth.
Short hair would be easier to maintain for her on so many levels. She is never going to embrace the gray publicly, so it’ll be a lot easier to dye. Honestly I think the wiglet is a convenient choice too — probably allows her to get away with less color sessions.
I’m not her fan but this is really weird, if she wants to keep long hair she should, I honestly don’t think she could pull off short hair.
” As you can imagine, the royalists are in full meltdown and I’d say we’re mere hours away from Dan Wootton calling this woman a ‘Sussex supporter’ and a ‘Sunshine Sachs plant.’ ”
Lol…there was an article that the Sussexes left Sunshine Sachs and will do PR in house now. That’s probably what stopped Wooton from going there.
She is so offensive and galling. And it’s true. Take you pussy bow blouse and your wiglet back to your own country and STAY there forever welfare queen.
The problem with Catherine Middleton is that she was sent there to Meghan her way to philanthropy without any anticipation that the Irish have not forgotten Bloody Sunday: the soldiers of her majestic majesty Elizabeth II fired indiscriminately into a crowd of peaceful Irish protesters, killing 13 by shooting them in the back, as they were running away in terror.
The lady was justifiably aggravated by Karen’s nonchalant colonizer visit, because she was probably in her early teenage years when this massacre of Irish civilian took place, with the blessing of the Queen. She must remember her mother crying in front of the bulky tv set. 1972 is not that far back that people can’t recall how they were treated as the English Crown’s white slaves. So Lazy Katy daring to turn up all innocent when everybody (but her?) knows she was sent as the beacon of royal oppression in Ireland, must have triggered xenophobic feelings from the lady.
Besides, the handshake is kind of rough, suggesting that Ireland ‘s working class have no deference and no respect whatsoever for the monarchy and its sluggish English roses. These people have had it hard and are therefore absolutely no nonsense.
Instead of aping Meghan’s every public move and forcing herself into that spoof Meghan’s warmth impersonation, Katren of Wails should have gone to Northern Ireland with a wholehearted repentance speech begging for forgiveness and reconciliation. But her disconnect from the real world, and people’s trials deluded that entitled, overrated royalty into thinking she is awaited like the messiah.
Security better watch out because next time kate shows up somewhere ignoring the resentment caused by the wrongs perpetrated by her upper caste, I can garantee you some angry working-class person will be happy to slap her across the face so bad as to make her made-in-Korea wig spin.
This comment took me places. If you wrote a book – I’d buy it. I’m Canadian, and I can’t stand that old hag as our figurehead for so long and all over our money for eternity grinning like the imperialist clown that she is. Ding dong the witch is dead!
I thought something like this might happen and I was very surprised that they went to Belfast. I’ve been there 5 or 6 times and people there absolutely despise the Brits. Whenever we took a taxi there, every single taxi driver asked us if we are Brits and if we are Carholic. People there are actively hating the monarchy and the way they have been treated by it I’m surprised W&K haven’t been treated worse tbh
Oh wow and if they dont like your response ?
I’m sure they make sure to only interact with royalists or bring them in for the event. The baby of the woman Kate held is a super royalist instagramer so clearly a KP plant. I’m sure someone in KP is getting yelled at for allowing the peasant too close to say real things.
Yeah, I wondered about that. The woman with the baby is an instagrammer fan so obviously some people are tipped off about the event and location. It’s a surprise visit but do they announce it locally that day so some people show up or literally the whole crowd is people they contacted?
So a pre-selected audience? That would explain why there was a crowd there with a “surprise” visit. I guess, one of the hired help went off script. That makes the comment event funnier.
The visit wasn’t a secret but only embargoed from the press, so while specifics about where they were going in belfast might not be known the locals would have seen the security build up and even things like barricades being set up.
Since no one knew they were coming except the local government and the venues where they appeared, everyone they interact with is hand picked by authorities, no matter how much the media trumpet “enthusiastic” crowds. The surprising thing here is that an Irish nationalist got this close to Kate. And the laughing response is just Kate being Kate.
@Jais about the woman with the baby who has a pro-Cambridge Instagram account, do you know if she is the same one who just happened to be in London and was able to run over to Kensington Palace to see Kate landing in the helicopter within the past year? I’m curious as to how KP is working the social media scene by planting peasants in the crowd who pretend to just happen upon Kate. KP is obviously trying to get more seemingly spontaneous videos of Kate onto Instagram in order to hook the younger generation into liking her more.
I thought the video was a great representation of the support the British Royals enjoy in Ireland, with a ten-yard crowd one deep.
@harper- I don’t think it’s the same person? Honestly, the insta blogger seems like a huge royal fan so as @nic919 says, since she lives in Belfast and streets are being blocked off, I’d imagine she’d know someone is visiting. I think she’s met both Kate and Meghan before so clearly she likes to go to these events anyways. But it’s also very very likely that someone from KP gave her a tip as she’s a known fan and someone they’d want in the crowd. Pretty blonde with a cute baby. Kate seemed to recognize her and head over, although that could’ve been the baby. She merches on her insta and the style seems like one Kate would follow so she prob does. Imagine she didn’t realize she’d be standing right there while Kate was told it’s better if she was in her own country though.
She’s been supportive of Meghan and Harry in the past so it’ll be interesting if KP is tipping her off.
@Jais thanks for the info! I did see the video of Kate running towards the baby like he/she was the dead Queen’s jewels. Can’t miss that broody photo op!
Yeah, she’s been publicly supportive of both women. Honestly, KP tipping her off on where they’ll be seems smart since she’s clearly a royal fan, which could also mean they didn’t cuz they’re not always smart lol. Equally, she could’ve heard from someone in the organization too since she lives in Belfast.
@harper are you referring to the royal writer who got video of the Cambridges returning from wales and Louis running up? If so, no, not the same person. They’re an historian not an influencer. They’re actually a friend of mine. They were in London for the jubilee and were near KP. Heard the helicopter and made a beeline. Got the video and she sold the footage to one of the papers. Not a fortune obviously but helped offset at least some of the vacation costs!
The woman is right. That the English are still occupying Northern Ireland is outrageous.
The vast majority of people in Great Britain (76%) wants to g’et rid of Northern Ireland. But only the people of Northern Ireland have the right/vote to cut the cord.
Amen, Josephine.
The people are standing in fenced-off box (you can see they are behind temporary barricades, but in front of a regular wrought iron fence) — so they absolutely were hand-selected to meet Kate. And someone just “happened” to have a bouquet of flowers with them to give to her? Lol. I am not surprised, as we know they pay for positive comments on their Youtube videos, and censor negative comments. So planting people in the “crowd” (another “lol,” as there were maybe 20 people tops in that box) is right up their alley.
I’m actually in London RIGHT NOW! Never been till now. Toured Windsor Castle. Crown Jewels. Etc. If I was British I would be so furious 24/7 that this sham has continued to present day. It’s truly grotesque. (Lots of other awesome stuff though)
Ah I don’t know what else she was supposed to do in that moment? In fairness to her, she probably wasn’t expecting it and she handled it as best she could 🤷♀️
She absolutely should have expected it and she should have been prepared for it. I’m surprised it wasn’t worse
Given her apparent inability to engage in thoughtful discussion, even when given time, yes, she would not have known to do anything but laugh. She may just have that as a blanket reaction to anything, seeing as she is so often not on video, and it can appear that everyone was just simply having the bestest time! Nothing to see here.
With all due respect, do you seriously think Kate knows or even cares about the history of Ireland? She probably didn’t have a clue what the heckler was even talking about.
I agree with you, the duchess. Khate ‘can you test the smell by smelling it’ is stupid and incurious. She probably didn’t even understand what the woman was saying/meaning and wouldn’t have been prepared because we know the Wailses don’t read the briefings to prepare for their engagements.
Yeah, Kate is such a dim bulb.
I’m not English but wouldn’t the conflict have been taught in school? I don’t understand why Kate wouldn’t have known that not everyone would be thrilled with seeing the BR family.
The fact that all their visits to Northern Ireland are press embargoed would confirm to a reasonable person that they should in fact expect some pushback anytime they attend.
That she didn’t expect it reinforces how lazy and entitled she is. She should be EDUCATED and prepared. What the heck else does she have to do?? If you want to be a royal, you need to actually know history. She just wants to play dress up and hold approved white babies. Sorry, but in all fairness, she has a job to do and she’s clearly not up to it.
I think that’s the key here. I watched and thought, “Ugh, I probably would have done the same thing.” But I’m saying that as someone who (1) could not have been expecting the question (since I’m just an American sitting at my kitchen table right now), and (2) didn’t have time to prepare for it.
She should absolutely have been prepared for this.
I know this and I am a rando stay at home mom in living in East Podunk, middle of Canada.
I also think she handled it well. It’s not like she can agree or engage in a debate so she kept smiling and moved on. I’m sure they were told how to respond if this happened and that’s the response that draws the least attention.
Expectations are so shamefully low for Kate. Here’s what you say in that situation: “We’re here today just to extend our good wishes to the people of Northern Ireland. Take care. “
You don’t laugh like a moron. Unless you’re a moron.
I don’t think she handled it at all. I think she laughed because she doesn’t really listen to anyone. It gave her another opportunity for the ‘happy snaps’ the photographers get.
Exactly, I think it was just a default reaction and she may not have even heard what the woman said, or had time to process it. I’m not one to defend Kate but I will say that if I were in that position I’m not sure I would’ve processed it in the moment and been able to quickly formulate a response, but then again I haven’t had decades of experience interfacing with crowds. Kate absolutely should not have laughed, she should have a canned response at the ready. A simple “I respect your perspective” or “thank you for sharing your perspective” would suffice. I mean, imagine the positive PR that kind of response would have garnered. This should absolutely be a scenario that she is actively trained on.
@Sunday. I don’t have the ability to quickly process unexpected reactions and respond, and Kate may be the same. However she would have gone way up in my estimation if she had anticipated the possibility if such a comment and prepared a response such as “thank you for sharing your perspective” – in Irish Gaelic.
Agree! @ BeanieBean. Kate isn’t a listener and was only expecting positive things to be said to her-nothing needed to be handled. Just gurning smiles.
Now, talk about setups or set ups (help me out grammarists), a few? months ago at an outing with Kate, some lady was conveniently caught on camera saying Kate will make a great Princess of Wails. lol
The overpraise of Kate by her fans is absurd did her fans think she would be confrontational
@tessa right? This woman expressing her own personal opinion about wanting Ireland to stay Irish is “rude” and “highly disrespectful” but when Meghan was being rudely snubbed by an old white woman they were yapping like seals
(I don’t really mean that. Comparing derangers to seals is an insult to seals but I had no other metaphor)
They want kate to wear the tiaras with stolen jewels and live off taxpayer money without having to deal with any of the downsides of representing a genocidal institution I guess.
That wiglet has a life of its own.
I’m alternating between thinking:
“It’s life Jim, but not as we know it.”
or
“That is an ex parrot (insert fury creature of choice)”
I think I’m dumb…for the life of me I cannot see the wiglet. I know it’s there – I trust you guys – but my eyes don’t work. Next time there’s a terrible hair post, can someone draw on the photos so I know what to look for? Or point me to a website that has already done it?
@Anners look at the third photo down in this post (two after the video.) You can see how a piece of hair from the back of her head is falling forward – thats the wiglet. It’s a shade lighter than the hair near her face.
(I think at any rate lol.)
Zoom in on the second picture down, the one that is mostly her reaching arm. Zoom on her head and look where the part in her hair stops abruptly (the way parts do not).. Where the part stops, the wiglet starts. It is a different color, too, but for me, the part is the tell.
It is also easy to spot in the next picture down, where she’s baring her teeth at a bunch of closed-eyed women.
@Anners I, too, struggle to see the hairpieces sometimes, but I’ll try to help. Take a look at the 3rd picture in this post (right above the one where Kate is bartending lol). Look at the section of hair tucked behind her ears. That is her real hair & has reddish highlights. Then look at the hair falling over her ears, which has blonde highlights & looks tacked on to the back of her part. THAT is the wiglet & that’s what Kaiser is talking about when she says it’s not blended.
How about noting the difference in the hair colors, dear.
@Lizzie and @Becks
I don’t think that part is the wiglet at all. That part sits right on top of her head, nobody puts a wiglet there. I think that part is her own hair – the bit that was lifted up to place a wiglet under, which is why that part of her hair moves separately from the rest of it, but it’s not actually the wiglet.
@Tessa you may be right but then why is it a different color?
someone was describing it yesterday in great detail and they speculated she wears extensions (which would be more under her real hair) and a wiglet. Wiglets usually go on top of the hair I think and extensions would be underneath.
Thanks for all the help! I definitely see that the back part is a little bit lighter, but to my eyes that hair is coming out of her scalp. @Tessa – it would make sense then that the wiglet is under a layer of her own hair, but starts where the part stops unnaturally. Merci!
Tessa, the type of hairpiece (AKA wiglet) Kate is wearing is called a fall, or a 3/4 wig. It does sit on the back of the head. It’s human hair that’s woven onto a mesh cap that clips onto your real hair at the scalp. Kate’s fall is expensive but the color isn’t–as many of you have observed–a perfect match and in the 3rd and 4th photo, it’s a dead giveaway.
Kate actually handled it okay, I’m not sure what else she could have done, maybe acknowledged the comment in some way about the history or something? the woman was great though, polite but assertive and made her position clear. Northern Ireland is not Kate’s country.
the wiglet is so obvious in these pictures. Yikes. Did she get a new hair person or something??
Also, do they have to go to a pub/bar every time they go to Ireland (Northern or the republic?) Like is that a requirement or something? I actually thought yesterday seeing the initial pics “well at least they’re not at a pub this time” then I saw the rest of the pictures lol.
Yes it’s really bad they do this. The whole Irish like to drink stereotype looks bad from them, especially knowing the English like their pubs just as much.
This was my gut reaction, quickly followed by, K looks natural mixing drinks, followed by, why didn’t they visit the Belfast Distillery and actually support trade?
@Nic919, not only what you said. It’s a bad look for the royal patron of Action on Addiction (that’s merged with the Forward Trust), to be shaking up alcoholic cocktails on video for the appearance of W&K having ‘fun’ together.imo
You know what would have been a good move for the royal patron of the Forward Trust/AonA, the shaking up of non alcohol drinks/mocktails. It’s not great guess work that bars all across the globe have specialty cocktails that contain alcohol. It’s a given. It’s also a given that throughout W&K’s time at St. Andrew’s, drinking & the mixing of cocktails happened a lot. Crack Babies comes to mind. How ’bout having a bar showcase their non alcohol drinks. It’s a win for both. At least, from what I’ve seen, in my local bars that don’t have a royal patron from Action on Addiction. Pretty sure that the next time Kate gives a speech for the Forward Trust-the video of her shaking up the gin, sherry, whatever else will not be played in the background.
Big mistake. Huge.
Their new ‘PR guru’ sucks if he couldn’t connect the tone deafness of Kate being the royal patron of AonA/Forward Trust and the good time show of shaking up cocktails contest. Or, W&K, said no…we wants our drinks and we have to do everything to compete with the charisma and fun of H&M. lol We are fun! Look at our very badly edited video.
This is a matter for the Northern Irish government though. As if Kate could re-unite Ireland.
The lady was polite and frankly Kate handled it well, and not commenting was the only way to handle it , definitely not make any comment abt Irish history which is a minefield. Not her place to comment on something THIS touchy
I don’t think anyone is expecting Kate to reunite Ireland lol, even if she is the peacemaker of the BRF lol.
It so a matter for the government. Kate is just getting flack for using it as PR.
Not her place? She represents the monarchy. That’s literally her job that she gets paid lavishly for. She lives off of taxpayer money. It is very much her job, and she was not prepared.
@josephine
This is a matter that is much more important than the monarchy. this is a matter for the British, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland governments. A royal wading in on a topic this sensitive would be completely stupid.
I’ll note, then, with some irony, Dominique, that the royals have often interferred in this specific place – these six counties. The entire 20th century circles around monarchist interference.
Im confused about your statement. Do you approve of previous Royal interference in such a complex matter? Would you want her to get involved in a subject that even seasoned politicians stay away from unless absolutely necessary, because other royals did so in the past?
Royal family members past and present should not get involved in matters that belong in parliament. Surely they should be encouraged to stay in their lane whatever that is.
Kate was there representing her father in law who is king of Northern Ireland. If she is not prepared to deal with some pushback considering the recent history, then she is ill prepared. She’s 40 and old enough to know better.
Besides all their trips to Northern Ireland are embargoed for this exact reason.
No way Kate can think on her feet fast enough to properly address such comments. And she can’t even say “welcome” or “thanks for coming” in a speech without looking at notes. So even a prepared response would likely be impossible for her to deliver properly. Laughing awkwardly and moving on was her best option.
Remember her prepared comment about the housing crisis or whatever? that did not go over well, so really laughing and moving on was her best option.
But what is interesting is that she got the comment at all, right? I feel like a few years ago she either would not have gotten that comment OR the press would not have shared that clip.
True, Becks. It’s interesting that this story is a thing. And that nobody heckled William.
If I was a conspiracy theorist, I might wonder if this story was by design to make Kate look bad, for divorce purposes. Or maybe “Kate feels too bullied by the public in the PoW role” will be the excuse for the marriage disintegrating.
I think that a member of the public felt comfortable to make this comment to her face is the story more than Kate’s response. It shows the veneer of politeness is wearing thin.
Everything they wished on the Sussexes is now happening to them. I love seeing karma working in real time.
First Cathy flops in the Caribbean, now heckled to her face. And never stops gawping.
Ohh yes, I love this song!
I noticed the wiglet and her real hair were bouncing to a different tune at the same time. Poor sausage needs to rub her buttons and all will be well.
Kate is just so vapid she gets excited over babies but could not have been bothered to spend time with Archie and Lily i wish someone she greeted asked about her niece and nephew
It’s more likely that Kate had no idea what the woman meant so she just laughed and accepted it as some sort of compliment.
That’s what I think too, lol.
Yeah, I don’t think it registered in her tiny little brain at all. I’m sure someone had to tell her later.
While it feels disrespectful to laugh at the woman (that is **not** heckling), Khate lacks the intellect and wit to come up with a suitable reaction. Actually, “thank you for coming” wouldn’t have been a half bad way to respond. Oh, well. The default laughter from a woman who grins and gawps maniacally at innocent children and suicide prevention workers shouldn’t surprise me.
Yeah she had no idea what was going on, she was in her “smile and nod” robot mode.
Kate could have said something like “I appreciate your comment and understand your feelings”, or her *aides* could have prepared something in advance, knowing that someone would inevitably speak out against the monarchy. Honestly, the stupidity…it’s like the blind leading the blind.
There is a level of arrogance as well, because she couldn’t be bothered to be prepared for any less than positive reactions from the crowd.
You can see that it’s a hand-picked crowd of mostly women and children, which is an advantage of embargoed events. I’m glad that a few dissidents managed to sneak in to such a tightly stage-managed appearance.
Call me petty but, I laughed because it made me wonder if William, Kate or both said something similar to Meghan. At the very least Kate now has experienced a tiny smidgeon of what she and the rest of the RF probably put Meghan through!
That’s so true! When all her vapid supporters started tweeting #GoHomeMeghanMarkle… I hope more and more people tell Kate exactly this to her face, on camera.
Wait- people seriously think she actually knows there’s a difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland?!
Yes the majority of Irish are for reunification. The English treated the Irish horribly. I cringe when I see the royals there. Go home. Leave the Island in peace.
The Good Friday Agreement is very clear that as and when the people of Northern Ireland wish to join with Ireland, that will happen. (I expect it will happen in the next 15-20 years).
The whole of the island of Ireland has to agree to a united Ireland, a majority of the persons on both sides of the Irish border, not just Northern Ireland saying what they want and then it happening.
The public sector accounts for 27% of employee jobs in NI, so what would they do if they no longer work for the British government? Unification would have a huge impact economically and would tip us all into recession. Would they be willing to pay for healthcare, different educational system as well, it would be a nightmare.
@Zapp, I think you’re right. There are two different cultures at play after centuries of interference, and while I think it’s far more likely to happen now that the Queen has died and Brexit has taken root, it’s still a wildly complicated process.
Oh, I finally see the wiglet! It’s popped out to me like one of those Magic Eye posters and now I can’t believe could never see it before and just took y’all’s word for it. But those pics, oh my! It is a different color! If we can tell from a still photo I imagine it’s even worse in person.
I’m sure she’s bothered by losing hair volume as she’s aged, but very few of us have the same hair thickness as we had in college. But she needs to get rid of that rug ASAP – a new, shorter hairstyle can disguise the sudden reduction of her hair volume.
I didn’t scroll far enough! I *still* can’t see it and I feel dumb lol! I know it’s there, but my brain can’t pick it out.
Don’t feel bad, it took me awhile & lots of squinting & head-tilting before I spotted it. Like Shannon says above, once you see it you can never not see it.
IIRC, Royal visits to Northern Ireland would usually not be publicised in advance, for heaps of security reasons.
As far as I can tell, I think they were in a Catholic part of town (or least Catholic adjacent), so there was always a chance of some mild heckling, or seeing some Republican murals around. I am not familiar with that neighbourhood though.
You can tell the hairpiece because of the color difference. And Kate got a reality check that not everyone will fawn over her.
Her reaction here is much better than from the past. Last year when put in a slightly similar situation, she literally rolled her eyes, (and in front of a bunch of children non the less). I remember Kensington palace seemly went out of their way to get that clip taken down. I wonder if she was given a warning afterward, hints the more dignified response?
I dont think so. She rolled her eyes bac k then because she understood and hate the topic, meghan.
She just smile right now because she know nothing about north ireland.
If someone said anything about meghan, she would rolled her eyes again.
This video shows that Kate is not an active listener. It didn’t seem like she heard what the woman actually said at first. Then she ignored the woman said Ireland for the Irish.
That was my thought, too. She didn’t really hear what was said because she doesn’t listen to people, actually listen.
The deserted mausoleum that is her mind. My gosh. Does this woman have any reactions that aren’t deadpan glares or manic laughter? And why can’t she get her interactions right? Who laughs after being heckled? Even if she mistook the woman’s intentions, she then made it very clear with her follow-up statement and Kate’s response is…to laugh out manically, again. She truly is the anti-Diana.
She thinks Diana was special because of her features or what she put on them. They’re what plant the idea, yes, but it’s her willingness to be human, for better or worse, that made people think she was a goddess. Kate misunderstanding this is the funniest thing. If she threw a chair at William at a gala or something, I guarantee she’ll snag a Vogue cover or twelve.
I know your question as to whether Kate had any other reactions that weren’t maniacal laughter or deadpan glares was rhetorical but I could add one more: Rolling of the eyes, a hair toss, and a dismissive “What else?” to the young teens who asked about Meghan to Kate once. None of those reactions is really stellar and stately.
It’s funny how when Meghan gets snubbed the Karen’s crowd literally went crazy with excitement but the moment their precious white Karen gets snubbed it’s omg it’s so rude .
So there are a couple of very important dynamics that complicate this (I’ve talked about it briefly in the other thread).
The first is that there remains in NI a vociferous community who identify as British first, last, and foremost. Within this community, the overriding concern is to preserve the union with the rest of the UK, underpinned by a conditional loyalty to the *monarchy* not Parliament.
The second is the shifting demographics that have placed this former Unionist majority (for whom the NI state was created and secured) in the minority.
But the biggest part of this to hear in mind is the shifting attitude of the Republican movement (and specifically Sinn Féin) towards rapprochement with – or benign coexistence – unionists and representatives of the British state. It was cataclysmic when former IRA commander turned politician met and shook hands with QEII on Irish soil. Charles himself met with the leader of SF in NI before the leaky pen incident and jokes about how they are now the largest party in both NI & the RoI.
So this women’s opinion is perhaps widespread, but Republicanism is deliberately moving away from expressing it publicly in these terms.
Yeah, and Sinn Fein was voted in on economic standpoints, not on breaking with Britain. They don’t want to return to the terrorism of the troubles.
@ML: yes, in the RoI SF’s economic platform is more prominent than an overt appeal to reunification in the short term. That said, all 3 of the biggest parties still lay claim to the Republican label and nominally support an eventual UI (within the terms of the GFA).
Given Brexit, the hard rightward shift of the rest of the UK, the erosion of key aspects of British state and identity (eg the NHS), and movements within Wales and Scotland, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gaël have also hinted at considerations for a referendum on unity – and a big rally/conference to that effect in Dublin last week. But no, no one is standing in the streets shouting “Ireland for the Irish!”
We can say Marty’s name here. And Republicanism is alive and well and gearing up for an eventual (and guaranteed by GFA) referendum!
@justbitchy: lol! Sorry – I was typing fast to get my thoughts down and didn’t intentionally skip over McGuinness. I met him once when I was an undergrad. He was an interesting man, and one who made deep personal and ideological compromises to support the peace process.
PhD – you are very knowledgeable and well traveled. I must admit that I often refer to that handshake when I am discussing Israel/Occupied Territories with his Israeli family (I am joint RoI/US citizen [who isn’t ?] ). Xoxo
Thanks PhD. I saw your comments on a previous thread and was waiting for you to comment as someone who knows exactly what’s going on. As I said in another thread, I was in a long term relationship with a NI man for many years and spent a lot of time in Belfast. His family went thru hell and witnessed deaths, as did so many others, and I’m not going to elaborate on which side his loyalties lay. The issues are complex, always fluid, and not strictly my own. Thank you for your complete run through for the benefit of others on here inc myself.
Kate handled this well—it’s exactly what Charles did on his “Mummy died, Hi, I’m your king” tour of Wales. Northern Ireland is in an uneasy peace.
That said, Kate was not heckled. At least not according to the Cambridge (cough, cough) definition of heckle: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/heckle. If she thinks that this was nasty and vicious, she’s in for a long hard slog.
To be fair, I don’t know what I’d say either. “Too bad, so sad, you’re stuck with us?” What should Kate have said/done that’s politic?
What could she say? “Of course, it does. It’s your option to stay as part of the UK or to vote for withdrawal. While you are part of the UK, we will try to represent you and help to the best of our ability.”
Wooton is deluded. That woman took issue with her country being a colony under British rule. It had sweet FA to do with any allegiance to the Sussex’s. The desperation of it.
Seriously girl. “Heckled”??? This Irish woman sounded very polite and low key. William and Kate are not going to want to spend time out and about with the public in the USA
lol I know. If this is how they define heckling, then I guess when they experience American heckling it will be considered an act of war.
Yes Boston is definitely known as a city where the crowd just murmurs politely and never heckles. 😈
Wonder how Boston will work out for them ?
Yeah, I’ve watched a lot of Bruins hockey and I don’t think that’s quite accurate, Nic919:)
Kate has had all the time in the world to prepare for moments like these. If she’s going to be exalted as special, she should learn how to handle sensitive moments.
The most irritating part are the DM bots putting down the woman who addressed Kate and trying to make Kate look like a Saint who is soooo superior to the woman who spoke to her. The DM had an article about a little boy who would “never wash his hands again” after shaking hands with Kate. LOL.
The DM had a big ad at the top of this story asking for information or phone number of this woman. It’s been almost 3 days and I am pleasantly surprised and pleased that no one in NI has sold her out. Hats off to you wonderful people.