As we’ve discussed throughout the week, the British media’s reaction to Prince William and Kate’s “cancer free” video has been critical and skeptical. Kate’s message about the end of her chemotherapy was accepted at face value, but the video broke something in even the most sugary of royalists. The Mail, the Evening Standard, the Guardian and more have all run negative commentary pieces about the video feeling cringey, cliched and gruesome. The press is also worried that this will become Will and Kate’s new normal. Well, I’m ashamed to admit that it didn’t occur to me that this criticism and skepticism was being authorized by Buckingham Palace. I clocked the fact that Buckingham Palace or “sources close to the king” had not spoken off the record, positively or negatively, about the video. But it didn’t occur to me that Team Charles and Team Camilla were quietly letting the Keens twist in the wind all week. Of course, Charles and Camilla couldn’t help but sign their work in the end. From Richard Eden’s latest Daily Mail column:
Everyone close to the Royal Family is delighted that the Princess of Wales has completed her chemotherapy treatment and hopeful that she remains in remission from an unnamed form of cancer. But the super-slick video that Kensington Palace released on Monday to broadcast the welcome update on her health has divided opinion among courtiers – and provoked scathing backlash from some friends of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Their Majesties haven’t yet commented on the extraordinary three-minute film – made by Will Warr, who earns most of his money from shooting advertising campaigns for companies including supermarket giant Tesco and delivery service Uber Eats…But the highly-stylised video certainly laid bare how radically different Prince William and Catherine’s approach to communications has become from the more traditional methods favoured by the King and Queen, and Queen Elizabeth before them.
Notably, while Catherine’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, are shown playing cards with their grandchildren at what appears to be Anmer Hall, the Prince and Princess’s home on the King’s Sandringham estate, King Charles and Queen Camilla are nowhere to be seen in the video.
Some of the monarch’s friends are critical. One told me: ‘There’s no coincidence that the Middletons appear in it and not the King and Queen. I can assure you that Charles and Camilla will not be filmed kissing each other on a beach [as William and Catherine were] until hell freezes over. It’s distinctly un-regal.’
I spoke to another insider who was even more scathing.
‘All that lying round, hugging and kissing – they’re not soppy teenagers,’ they said. ‘It felt manipulative. It’s the sort of thing that Meghan would make. All the time, effort and expense put into making the video could have been much better spent elsewhere. Why not visit other women being treated for cancer? That’s what Diana would have done.’
Even though I think the latest video is very sweet… William and Catherine don’t need to be ‘Instagram royals’, hungry for ‘likes’ and ‘engagement’ online. They should follow the example of Queen Elizabeth. The late Queen was always keen to keep up to date with the latest technology but, at the same time, maintain the dignity of the Monarchy.
A Kensington Palace spokesman declined to comment on why the Middletons featured in the video but not Their Majesties.
It also goes back to my question about why Kate released that tree photo and lengthy statement ahead of Trooping the Colour, because it felt like Kate was making Trooping all about her and ensuring that she was the only story. The same thing here – she was centering herself and trying to convince everyone of her solid marriage (as opposed to sticking with a simple, concise “cancer free” narrative). Nowadays, it looks like Charles and Camilla are absolutely sick of her sh-t. I still believe that Charles stepped in, back in March, and basically rescued William and Kate’s from whatever catastrophe they had gotten into and couldn’t manage their way out of. Cover stories were brainstormed, new people were brought in, narratives were orchestrated and Charles likely hoped that Peg and Buttons could stick with the program for six full months. They could not. Now, is this Charles washing his hands of them? Probably not, but he’s clearly furious at their constant stupidity, vapidity and short-sightedness. “All the time, effort and expense put into making the video could have been much better spent elsewhere. Why not visit other women being treated for cancer? That’s what Diana would have done.” And I oop–
Photos courtesy of Will Warr/Kensington Palace and PA Images/INSTARimages.
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- Handout photo provided by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales with the Prince of Wales and Princess Charlotte. The Princess of Wales said she has finished chemotherapy and is “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months” Featuring: William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Sep 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Handout photo provided by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales with the Prince of Wales. The Princess of Wales said she has finished chemotherapy and is “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months” Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Sep 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Handout photo provided by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales. The Princess of Wales said she has finished chemotherapy and is “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months” Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Sep 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
“I can assure you that Charles and Camilla will not be filmed kissing each other on a beach [as William and Catherine were] until hell freezes over. It’s distinctly un-regal.” Unlike being recorded telling your long-time mistress you wish you were her tampon, eh, Charlie-boy?
The tampongate LOL.
What is fascinating is that now they act like they are all prude and perfect.
🤣😂 A lot of the talking points about what Kate coulda shoulda done instead of that thumbs-down glossy p.r. schlock, are talking points Eden got from reading Celebitchy posts. 😉
Yet Eden unsurprisingly fails to register that none of the overdone, inauthentic posing, pretense, and try-hard nonsense has anything to do with Meghan or Harry, regardless of WanK’s lame, one-sided efforts to compete, preen, and copykeen.
They don’t act regal or prudish – it’s not particularly dignified behavior to smirk behind your hand at foreign customs and roll your eyes when a black pastor gives a poignant and passionate sermon at a wedding. Such people are much less dignified than my vegetable farmers at the weekly market.
Not a fan of Charles or Cowmilla, but the tampon phonecall was a private call intercepted and published without consent, not a professional production made for the public.
C&C are terrible enought without judging their private calls.
And he didn’t say he wished he was her tampon. what he did say was still pretty graphic, but he didn’t say that.
And there’s a big difference between a leaked personal call and…..this.
Well, he referred to how he’d like to be be reincarnated as her tampon to live inside her.
[…] When discussing how much they “need” each other, Charles said: “Oh, God. I’ll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!”
Camilla replied: “What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers? Oh, you’re going to come back as a pair of knickers.”
Charles then said: “Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck!” […]
He doesn’t say he’d like to be her tampon though. He’s making a joke about his bad luck.
I’m not a fan but I always felt for him about this. Not only does his personal embarrassing love nonsense get broadcast to the world, but everyone misreads it .
HAVING an affair is un-regal. It’s common, expected and excused, of course, but it is still poor behavior, as is moving your side-piece into the castle and putting a janky crown on her head. Chuckles and side piece are the very epitome of un-regal but I’m all for watching the two houses bicker like the spoiled, arrogant brats that they are.
Well, some might say having an affair is the most regal thing of all, lol. It’s probably the most consistent thing among English monarchs.
Adultery is acceptable to the monarchy, well at least for the men but public performances like the video just show a lack of decorum. I feel this has come from Kate and William was an unwilling participant. BTW I am no fan of William either. He certainly should have known better.
Totally what I was thinking lol
I’m here to point out that twitter highlighted Charlotte’s disgusted face when she saw mom lying on the ground and dad leaning over her to kiss her. 😂 that face reveals that she hasnt seen this behaviour ever from mom & dad and was like WTF 😂
Kate was always about kate. Why she would not take the opportunity to thank her medical and her medical aids and her supporters is beyond me (IF there was a medical team) So shortsighted, selfish and frankly very dumb. Just fckin basic and she can’t even do that. Or all of this was all a lie, like the million things they lied about.
I don’t know what it says about my kid but she is 9, similar to Charlotte, and does that a lot when we are affectionate with her dad. And we do that regularly and live under the same roof.
As far as charlotte.. all kids hate their parents canoodling. It is a universally accepted thing to be grossed out by!
As far as Kate thanking her nurses and support staff… I am a stage four cancer survivor and all I do is sweet talk my nurses. I am so thankful for them and all the hard work they do. She doesn’t thank anyone because she is entitled and feels like everyone should be working hard for her glory. Gross!
“It’s the sort of thing that Meghan would make.”
“Why not visit other women being treated for cancer? That’s what Diana would have done.”
This sounds exactly like the sort of catty, racist horsesh-t that Camilla would spew.
That spoiled, debauched, fishwife masquerading as a queen consort needs to learn to keep those women’s names out of her filthy, gin-swilling mouth.
I noticed in the video how Catherine didn’t thank NHS staff. She definitely had private treatment. No cancer waiting lists for this special porcelain doll.
That is very telling, isn’t it? Maybe this video is just meant to distract from those sort of questions so they loaded it with other stuff to talk about and be upset about.
Yes She’s astonishingly unaware of how to behave towards others. I’m positive that, above and beyond that, she doesn’t want to give any concrete details about her cancer, including her medical team, because then it will become anchored in reality and thereafter dwindle into the commonplace. My feeling is colon cancer. This is a huge topic at the moment because it’s hitting younger people. Kate having colon cancer would make her too ordinary So, she’s gone for mystery. She’s now a woman of delicate health, royally aware that she can only give away so much. “Brave and enigmatically ill Kate”. This will be her brand from now on.
Sparrow, do you recall a side remark she made in the first video, something like ” cancer is rarely found in people with my condition.” I might have heard wrong and haven’t scrolled way back to see the video. Based on this, my thought way back then was uterine fibroids, given that she quite often had her hand over her abdominal area. However, colon could be it as well (diverticulitis?) I’m all over the place on this but I recall reading that he “palace” has forbidden her from divulging the source of the cancer cells.
Also wondering if she got HPV from Heuvo which then led to cervical cancer. He was very odd at the beginning of all of this and it fits with him being like a mannequin in the video. He caused her suffering so she wanted the video to include the displays of affection because he owes her now. It also is a sign to his side pieces that she’s still got him (someone suggested that the other day).
Libra I didn’t know this. That’s fascinating. I didn’t know the palace had dictated what she could reveal nor that it could be something like uterine fibroids. Ditto HuffnPuff’s idea. I just think a hell of a lot of good could be done if she were more open about it, ie directing attention to a certain cancer and how to financially support its research. The woman’s been ill, that’s really sad. But I do get the sense this will become her whole narrative for years, one which will be used to prop up her lack of ability and work ethic. How long can Brave Kate be the story. She’s taken a disease that thousands upon thousands fight minute in and minute out, day in day out, while working and ploughing on, and made it into an opportunity to float around in dresses, groping her husband on video, while hinting at perhaps working a bit now and then.
Huff Puff, it might explain the bruise on his neck, when she found out what was wrong, she might have taken a swing at him, she would have been very angry. It does mean of course, that we were lied to right from the start.
So, how did that Balmoral Summit go when the senior royals were all going to get on the same page and have a united front? 😂
KP is so unserious. The clown car there is fully packed.
“ The clown car there is fully packed” this had me howling with laughter. I’m enjoying the s**t show at KP
I seriously doubt William and we’re at the Balmoral meeting…some of their stuff, yes…but not them…the whole photo in the car is suspect…they were both elsewhere and they just released a photo from last year slightly retouched to appease the tabloids and create the illusion they were there….they didn’t dare create a totally new AI photo 😉 😀 😜
How I am cackling!!!
Leave Diana out of this FFS.
And for me the only reason they are mad, is because Willnot and his wife stole the thunder. Charles doesn’t like to be upstaged.
and Meghan as well! “This is something that Meghan would have done”… uh Kate DID it though and Meghan has not released a plop of trite ever.
I came here to say just this… why say Meghan would do this, when she clearly has NOT done anything like this. There was one photo of her pregnant with Lili where she was lying on the grass – but a still not a 3 minute video.
Meghan doesn’t do tacky.. and that video was as tacky as it gets.
They punish Meghan for something she might have done. FFS she will never win with those people
I think the reason all the media responses are shoehorning the Meghan phrases into their reaction pieces is engagement strategy. Phrases like ” this is what Meghan would do” and “more like Meghan” and “Meghanization” ( though I wondered why the Guardian journalist said Meghanization and not Americanization as the Americanization seemed a more natural fit to her piece and her flow of argument – there may have been the thought that the video was to engage an American audience as it is very ballerina farm coded and fits right into People Magazine middle American audience.
The editors know it isn’t really true, there are actual evidence of how Meghan handles physical and mental health issues she faces – Parents Network to help family members protect young children handle the negative impact of social media , A thoughtful article in NY Times about Miscarriage, and donation/grants to and highlighting organizations pushing for a more positive digital world.
Even when Meghan was pregnant she used the global spotlight on her pregnancy to highlight charities in commonwealth countries and her hometown that aid babies and toddlers and new mothers. I don’t recall other Royals doing that before – i could be not fully informed, so open to be corrected.
But by including reference to Meghan in the pieces or doing the comparison, the editors know her defenders will react and respond and the articles will achieve wider reach. Having both ladies and Harry’s name in the articles give them higher SEO hits as well as they are the top searched RF names. It’s always about engagement.
Leave Meghan out I would say! Meghan is pure class and still they hold her as an example for childish giggly behavior in all the articles criticising the video. Of course they do but leave her the f* out of it. It annoys me to no end.
Could the comment, comparing Diana to Kate, been shade to Kate due to fact that she tries to emulate her late MIL and not only falls short, but also shows she is not her own person?
I thought that was a very pointed barb. Like BP is saying “for chrissake with all her issues and problems* even Diana would have handled this so much better.” Like Kate is so incompetent she can’t even get this right.
*in the view of Charles and Camilla obviously.
Sorry, how is she not her own person? This is exactly who she is, empty, vapid, and completely self centered. Whatever the truth of the last nine months – and clearly, something significant happened for Will to agree to participate here, and for her parents to be back in the picture – it’s clear she won’t be “working” again to any extent. But she’s not going to completely give up her time in the spotlight, hence this unnecessary video, the one before Trooping, etc. This is still a woman who always needed to be the center of attention – unweighted hems for years, a fashion shoot at a royal funeral, practically flashing her crotch at a state dinner, and who could find the cameras to pose for wherever she was. Trying to emulate what Diana (or Meghan) wore is another strategy to attract notice. Whatever has gone on hasn’t changed her. She’s not going to share her now more limited time as the center of attention with anyone or anything else, not her medical consultants, cancer resource organizations, other survivors.
For the sake of her children, I hope the truth is she’s now in reasonable health. But make no mistake about the “person” she is, this is the real Kate.
Quite the dig, indeed. They spent a lot of time early on saying how Kate was her own person, would forge her own path, be her own kind of PoW. Because they all knew–Kate included–that for a lot of us, there’s only one Princess of Wales, and that’s Diana. This barb had to sting.
I don’t mind the Diana comment because Diana WOULD have visited other patients and treatment facilities and brought light and joy to a very difficult time in their lives.
I am sickened by the articles that claim KaTE iS JusT likE DiANa because she wore polka dots. Kate is lazy and self-centered and the polar opposite of Diana and it should be called out when her sycophants and handlers try to steal Diana’s popularity through cosplay.
And they would have ripped Diana because Royals aren’t supposed to show empathy or emotions.
Diana DID do it, and she didn’t have to have cancer to care about the people who were suffering from cancer. Kate can’t even care about them when she is one of them, it’s unbelievable. WHY did she want this for herself in the first place?
Oh dear ,we all have seen how Kate cant handle backlash, they are really going in. Time for a new bench video so she can be left alone again. On a side note Meghan really is strong ,the BS she goes through Kate cant handle for a week.
I’m pretty sure that soon there would be a new video with Kate visiting a cancer charity 😊
Or she’ll suddenly decide it’s time to CopyKeen Fergie, and have two forms of cancer.
Yes, the video is sappy, but just like Meghan I don’t think Kate should be faulted for trying something that actually makes her look like a human being with feelings. Every cancer survivor/patient should get to dictate their own journey. Even if there are cracks under the foundation, every struggling couple should be allowed to work through issues in their own way. Goodness knows Charles didn’t handle his marriage well. I’m not usually a fan of W&K, but I actively disagree with the way the British media treats anyone in the spotlight.
Sorry if Kate wanted to show she has feelings she went about it the wrong way William looked like he was very uncomfortable and they had the lovey dovey session on the ground in front of their kids.
People can empathize with Kate if they want, I personally dont wish her ill health either, but do NOT bring up Meghan’s treatment in defense of her when no one benefited more from Meghan being dehumanized and constantly attacked for showing human emotions than Kate. That’s offensive.
Kate started it by her behavior when Meghan planned her wedding she even set up a party with the some of the bridal attendants. That and the fake crying story
100%, well said, Chelsea. All of her distress is self-inflicted.
But she turned her family into something it’s not. It’s plainfully obvious William doesn’t give a S*t about her looking at her joined engagements, him walking away from her at the polo, or her shrugging of his hand on her shoulder.
It’s faked for the vid.
And not a word for fellow cancer sufferers and/or cancer charities
The picture of them in the lumber yard, it looks like they are both in pain as they clutch hands and try to look natural. 😆
The video is sappy. Agreed. If WanK were normally sappy or touchy-feely or gave the impression that they were super in love with each other, it would be easier to agree with the rest of your statement, LMR1999.
But, the sappiness is an abrupt departure from how WanK normally treat each other in public. Just this year alone, William visited his wife, who spent over a week in hospital, one single time. He expressed little public concern or affection towards her. Then, while she was missing, he insisted she was healthy. After the Frankenphoto he supposedly took of K for Mothering Sunday that he himself placed in honor of her on their website, W blamed K for his actions. He was missing during the Cancer Bench video. He was cold and not affectionate during Trooping. He was missing during Wimbledon.
This treacly advertisement-adjacent cancer free video therefore comes across as fake, manipulative, and as though it were a commercial. Not genuine. Which leads to the message it’s trying to convey not getting across at all.
The bars that are lowered for Kate! @lmr1999, the bare minimum Kate could have done is shown tangible support for “other” cancer survivors. It would have been ALSO thanking those who cared for her. It would have been cutting this 3-minute long infomercial into a 1-minute long message doing the above.
People praising this are part of the problem because they accept LESS than the bare minimum as long as it “looks” good, no matter how much it stinks. Please, let’s not do that.
Sure. Absolutely Kate can tell her story however she likes. And the way she chose to reveal it says a lot about her. No words of thanks to doctors. No links to cancer charities.
The way she tells her story is rather problematic and, I’d say, provocative for the taxpayer…she’s saying she’s cancer free and enjoys time with her family running in the woods, at the beach etc instead of working like the taxpayers who pay her bills…she could have been human being with feelings in a video visiting other cancer patients and supporting a cancer charity…other cb had excellent PR ideas for a video in recent comments: Kate preparing for a chemotherapy while the children eat their breakfast, leaving them and going to the hospital with a supporting William, showing the nurses and the doctors who helped them, meeting other patients before their chemotherapy etc… instead they made a well staged video that I’m pretty sure it costs dearly…never mind, the taxpayers will cover for them 😉..
Please leave Meghan out of your defend of Kate’s phony video. Meghan has been abused and trashed by the British media, with Kate’s help. Remember, “Meghan Made Kate Cry?” Kate is the recipient of some of the most sycophantic media coverage the world has ever seen. The idea that she nevertheless needs some fake video to prove whatever is really something. That Meghan and Harry have to take control of their own PR is not out of vanity, but because of necessity. Harry and Meghan would not be in Montecito today, but for the British media abuse that placed their lives in danger. Kate has never been the subject of such coverage.
Oh, don’t misunderstand–what happened and continues to happen with M is beyond and I completely agree that KP was a huge part (if not the sole instigator) of the abhorrent treatment H and M received. I am in NO WAY defending the way the Sussex family was treated. I only meant that the British media attacks anything that falls out of the realm of what they view to be acceptable.
There are so many things Kate could’ve done differently with the video to make it more gracious, more believable, more relatable, etc. I’m not defending the video itself, more commenting on the tabloid media. There are various levels of abuse from them with the direct threats to M’s life at the top of the list. This isn’t that.
I agree completely, Proud Mary. Unlike a lot of celebrities the British media torments, Kate actively participates by feeding stories to them about Meghan and Harry (and other royals, the York princesses would like a word) on a constant basis. Caroline Flack, for example, was targeted and harassed by the media to her own death. Kate gets no sympathy when she is a very large part of the problem.
Proud Mary agree with your statemnt 💯.
This video was supposed to be about cancer which she herself has yet to thank anyone just for the treatment and her awareness that it’s something that is hard to go through
William hasn’t said anything about it either which if you want to make a video with family should’ve been the first minute. The second should’ve been going through it and acknowledging medical personal and the last should’ve been the resources and how to assist
Kate’s silly, sappy, air-brushed shampoo commercial-level video does NOTHING to highlight the needs of cancer patients in the country she supposedly represents. It is an utterly fake paean to Kate and nothing else. That she had the temerity to release it after 9 months of a disappearing act complete with AI generated fake photos and videos says nothing more than it’s a blatant coverup of what really happened, and one can imagine with a fair bit of accuracy what that was. She’s seemingly gotten her way, her parents are back in the fold, she’s got William eating out of her hand, her life is one soft-focus, glorious walk in the park. Rub it in everyone’s faces who are suffering untold misery at the hands of cancer Kate (that includes me), you do you in the lap of luxury. That’s all that’s important in your selfish, vapid world.
Word, Jaded.
My full agreement, Jaded.
A year off on full pay,
The Middletons must be laughing up their sleeve. I wonder how much money has changed hands, enough for Carol to pay off her debtors and leave a nest-egg for all the Middletons to continue larging it for the duration?
Very well said Jaded
The Middletons grinning all over their faces says it all
I guess a question needs to be answered. Was this video funded by the British tax payers?
Yikes! Yesterday, there were several posters here who detected an equine aroma behind these stories, but I didn’t think there’d be an open slap across the chops from BP.
And Tesco and Uber Eats – ouch, ouch.
Charles is angry, because, a few months back, he gave Kate and William his secret sauce for gaining the world’s sympathy after the Wales’ fell out favor with their bad PR schemes. (Notice the similarity between Kate’s cancer story and Charles’). This video to him feels like a stab in the back. It’s reminiscent to him of Kate showing up at the Chelsea garden and crashing his party. She is just too naïve. She doesn’t understand that the worst part is not what Charles knows about her marriage, the extent of her illness, and about her parents’ skeletons. It is that Camzilla knows it all, and with one fell swoop, she could end Kate.
That’s the thing. Charles announced he has cancer and has still been doing work and events. More than Kate has. And he’s not out there making a soft-focus video about it. Charles and Camilla had to be like GMAFB when they saw it.
Charles has also shown the effects of the chemo, especially during the initial round of treatment. And that’s because he didn’t hide away for months.
Kate just shows up for events where a crowd will clap for her. To be silent on thanking her carers during this video shows she’s the narcissist they try to project on others.
I think if the Middletons had been left out of the commercial, Chuck and Cam likely wouldn’t be this furious. Chuck has a very large Sussex grandchildren image problem, and could have used a sweet photo of his Wales grandchildren playing cards with him.
They have carpet bombed the British media over this video, reaching out to more than just their usual media darlings.
Some of the expressions on Williams face in those photos are hilarious .
He is such a dork .
I haven’t watched the movie but by the look of these photos it must have been pretty funny .
They must have been so proud of their acting debut .
For those who can’t eT h the video here is an edit version set to the theme music for Successio. It’s absolutely brilliant. https://twitter.com/monkuno/status/1833587565406101923?t=Nc0_8Teo-1cDELrSruomsQ&s=19
+1!!!
I couldn’t bring myself to watch the whole video which is why I missed the Middleton cameo and that tells me everything we need to know – Ma was behind this video and she was making sure to be seen in it to cement her position as being back in with William.
Whatever William did Ma has him by the balls and she’s going to milk it for all she can while she can – it won’t last long and if he wants rid of them he will but he will need his fathers support to do that and I think that he’s isolated himself from his father.
Interesting times indeed – the Wails have isolated themselves from the rest of the RF and now from the press who know all their secrets. That includes the Middletons who am sure there are skeletons in their closet that they want hidden.
As for the backlash – I wonder if we will get another ‘poor me I’m a victim’ video from her about how ill she is or isn’t. I think she was ill but am not really sure what with now.
If KC won’t let PW dump the Mid’s maybe the video is his revenge and why he went along. It’s hard to feel badly for any of the people in this battle, except the poor children who are getting used just like Harry and Will were.
Yep, and the biggest takeaway for me was the prominence of the Midds. This is 100% a Carole Middleton production and William had to show up and play his role during filming.
Remember how publicly he had to support Ma and Pa Middleton at the races earlier this year, after many months of them being in social exile?
Whatever William did is SO BAD.
I agree, Pinkosaurus, it has to be really bad for this commercial to have been made in the first place. It’s so glaringly not royal. It’s not anything, I don’t know of anyone who could put something like this out and it not be weird.
No one is pulling off this BS, it’s just so dumb.
I didnt watch the whole thing either so I also missed the Middletons. Or else I just zoned and ignored them lol.
I did see a reel from Daily Mail in my feed yesterday about the clip of William and Kate on the beach with Charlotte looking disgusted standing right there. Like…..DM was doing the whole “oh this is so cute” while making sure to highlight a very awkward moment in the clip.
With all the talk of breaking protocol, I’m not sure where dry humping your spouse in front of the kids and recorded for public consumption falls on the spectrum.
It’s sad that the children have to be there for “entertainment” like child actors in sit coms.
The staging is disgusting, it is not as if these were private moments, this was staged. For what purpose you might ask. You are married, why the need to stage your marriage so publicly. The husband looks uncomfortable even with the staging, These folks are unhinged. In their need for relevance, they stag a love fest in the woods and on a beach for the public consumption.
And staged in June with full wardrobe changes for the different scenes of vigorous activities while insisting she couldn’t do any work at all. In these days of virtual based events some opportunity to be public facing was open to her. The king reduced his schedule of public events but he still has one.
Yeah this is a shot across the bow from BP. Remember Camilla visited a cancer center and it got some press but not internationally. Sticking the Middletons in the video infers Charles has no relationships with his English based grandkids (although we know he doesn’t care about his American grandchildren). There’s suppose to be some post from Chuck and Can praising the Waleses, but I think this hit piece show their real feelings.
If gramps Charles was bothered by the Middleton family in the video nothing was stopping him from asking for photo ops with the three children not just George. Whom he rarely poses with to begin with. And nothing was stopping him from seeing the Sussex children.
The shorts outfits looked ridiculous especially for pegs. Kate is doing the same old same old making things about her like het fashion shoot at Philips funeral
“Why not visit other women being treated for cancer? That’s what Diana would have done.” Well, that’s going to leave a mark.
They got that one sentence correct. Diana would have done that and she would have laid bare what it’s like to go through cancer treatment. If she lost her hair she would have made head scarves fashionable. She would have thanked people endlessly and would heave elevated nurses, doctors, other caregivers, and researchers.
I went with my Dad to every infusion and the staff was always outstanding. It takes a huge team and there is no end of people to thank on the journey.
“If she lost her hair she would have made head scarves fashionable. She would have thanked people endlessly and would heave elevated nurses, doctors, other caregivers, and researchers.”
Absolutely.
Oh, my goodness, yes, it’s a huge team. And every single one of them (in my experience helping my mother during her multiple myeloma) is so kind, caring, and thoughtful.
My team at the cancer unit were absolutely wonderful, and once my infusions were finished I sent them a thank-you card and a gift basket of cookies, snacks, etc. to show them how grateful I was for their unstinting hard work and compassion. Something tells me Kate did nothing of the sort, if indeed she actually had cancer. I’m still on the fence about that.
Diana would have praised her doctors and nurses, not just referred vaguely to her ‘medical team’.
That Diana quote definitely didn’t come from BP. But I do believe that some people in the press and the Palace are upset about the video not because of the contents of it but because it didn’t go through the proper channels. And no Meghan would not have done something like this. She’s more likely to write a piece in a newspaper or magazine like she did when she talked about her miscarrage and even then she didn’t center herself in the piece.
That and harry and Meghan don’t trot their children out for photo ops like the wails do. The three Wales children were around when the parents were having their pda sessions.
Am I the only one who thinks it’s absolutely wild that Charles and Camilla’s people are telling Kate to act more like Diana?!
That comment didn’t come Charles and Camilla’s camp. It came for a journalist.
It came from an “insider” which could be anyone really. It could even be Eden himself. But I think the fact that it was printed shows how this video is going down across the board.
Yeah, I don’t know who exactly said it but it’s clear that Camilla and Charles basically told the rota to go for it and not hold back. What I’m curious about is whether the rota would be going this hard on their own. Would they be gushing like Becky English and Camilla Tominey are if they hadn’t gotten the green light from the king and queen?
“Why not visit other women being treated for cancer?“ This is what makes one go “hmm” about her cancer diagnosis. This would the easiest PR slam dunk she could do. She could truly show that “we’re in this together” but the fact that she hasn’t raises eyebrows. Her lack of thanks to her medical team is another head scratcher. Makes me think that there wasn’t a medical team to thank.
Reminds one of a certain jackass who apparently got no medical treatment for a self-described gunshot wound.
On the other hand identifying Princess Catherine’s medical team might reveal she had a different medical condition than KP announced. It could reveal her treatments were not conducted at the London Clinic or even within the UK. That KP and William in particular are lying is indisputable the problem is figuring out what the truth they were covering up could be.
This is the theory I’m going with too. She can’t say too much about her treatment, due to the risk it would expose her real condition. And whatever the condition may be, it would be damaging towards the monarchy and how the married-in’s are treated. I’m not doubting she had cancer, it’s possible she had it last year when she was looking rather dreadful, or the surgery revealed pre-cancerous cells and she needed treatment in that respect. I just think ‘cancer’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to KP’s constant mixed-messaging.
@IG This what I’ve been thinking and it’s why everything about Kate’s messaging is off. Everything about her London Clinic stay was shady as hell, excellently highlighted by Camila’s near daily visits to Charles. William visited once for 15 minutes with Christian Jones and her “discharge” was a box of twigs. Even the announcement of her abdominal surgery was odd, with sources close to William saying he was caught off guard and surprised. Something is not right.
I said something similar the other day and my only issue with this point is that she doesn’t even have to name the doctors. She could have just said “a big thank you to my entire medical team for their care and support during this time.” I think she did say something similar when she was “released” from the London Clinic (well the twigs were released) but another note about it now would have been appropriate in my opinion.
My theory though re: the London Clinic has been that IF she was there, she was released before they announced the surgery.
Exactly!
That she didn’t visit other patients or thank doctors seems to suggest that she wasn’t treated in the UK. It would be tacky if she was seen with American patients and doctors. This definitely adds more weight to that rumor about her being treated in Houston.
It makes a refreshing change for Eden to be criticising William and Kate, unfortunately he couldn’t resist a dig at Meghan “It’s the sort of thing that Meghan would make” Meghan isn’t that crass. Charles would have every right to be angry, the late Queen would be turning in her grave, if she could. I turned it off at the point where Kate had her head on William’s shoulder and he looked up at the sky with total boredom on his face, but the bit I was really unhappy with was the pictures of them on the beach where he is on top and the look on Charlotte’s says it all.
Kate looked ridiculous
Ha! For once, Camilla and I are on the same page – it was a saccharine three minute advertisement for the Wales and manages to do bupkis for other people dealing with or surviving cancer. And, even worse, Camilla and Charles were left out of it!
It also doesn’t take a genius to see who is going to have to shoulder the blame (again) – why did Kate’s parents get to be included? Why doesn’t Kate visit other women with cancer? Obviously TOB, who also appears front and centre in this video and whose Duchy income likely paid for a slick producer, had nothing to do with it. Just like the frankenphoto, it was all Kate’s idea!
Meghan, “But why am I in this🙄”
This really ruins the spin that Kate is the daughter charles never had
Exactly. Meghan would never.
What I think is kind of funny is that I’m sure W&K were trying to generate some of the reactions H&M get (positive ones) when they are affectionate with each other in public – the jokes about how Harry can’t let go of her hand, etc. The royalists criticize that but we know they want their faves to act that way.
but this is William and Kate and they are incompetent so we know how this went – “well if people love when H&M hold hands how about if we ROLL AROUND on the beach together!!! that will show them that we’re the best couple!” and then the director comes in and poses them and moves them around for best lighting and best view of the ocean etc. Very natural. Very demure. Very mindful 🙄🙄
Harry and Meghan have more chemistry in one shared smile than this whole video.
The weird thing about W&K’s excessive PDA is that the media is prepared to find romance in any of their slightest actions. They ooh and ahh if Kate puts her hand on Will’s arm (never mind on his tush). They imagine fondness in every contemptuous side-eye. They’d go into a squealing frenzy if W&K actually held hands and they’d write articles about it for a week straight. None of this was necessary.
@Eurydice yes! Imagine William offering a hand to help Kate into the carriage at Trooping, or putting his arm around her as they left the balcony. Instead we got some very awkward body language.
@Becks1, now you have got me wondering if there was an intimacy coordinator on set for the Wales video.
I can see it now: Your majesty, why don’t you perch on this woodpile and touch your wife’s knee (William, recoiling, “Her bare knee? But why?”)
Your highness, this time could you make eye contact with your beloved? (William, exasperated, “I’m giving her a festive glance! The rota totally ate this up a few years ago!)
Sir, have you ever seen the beach scene in An Affair to Remember? (William, sweating profusely, “No! Certainly not! Of course I very much don’t know anything about any sort of affair. Ever! Next question!)
People are responding to the lack of chemistry because even in this video where there was time for retakes, William can’t pretend to be attracted to Kate. She’s the one leading the contact for most of it and the photos show him looking away from her almost all the time.
Yeah you know they are mad if BP is playing the Diana card. I think that was a bash in the head for Ma Middleton and for Kate. Not only are they accusing Kate of being “Budget Meghan” but she can’t even be “Temu Diana”. Ouch!
Temu Diana😭🤣
@Anna. 💯 agree.😂
You know part of me wonders if BP would ever start bemigging the Sussex’s, they’ve gone from supporting the Wails to keeping quiet (and briefing against them BtS) – stranger things have happened.
There has been a clear breakdown between the Crown and its heir – KP tried to manage it but the Middletons weren’t playing ball, then BP took over (making it all better) and now the Middletons have taken charge of the messaging from KP and we’re back to it being a sh!tshow. All the PR around Kate since the frankenphoto has come from Ma as it has ‘cheap glossy ad campaign’ written all over it.
I do feel like something has broken down again. It seemed in March that BP took some control and forced the video (or at least the announcement) and then Kate put out that weird picture and statement before Trooping and now this video. I dont know. It just feels like something is really off at KP and BP can’t reign them in.
I say let them keep making and releasing these horrible videos instead of doing events or being seen in public.. I’m enjoying the outrage and nasty articles.
The infighting in this family added to the pressure of the media is quite something to witness. They really are going to take each other down.
Always with the “what Meghan would have done”.
No she wouldn’t have made this ridiculous toothpaste ad. She centers other people, not herself. Except when they got their story out there at the outset to combat the misinformation.
Exactly! Meghan and Harry let the cameras look at them because they know it brings attention to what they are doing, and that’s always tied into their WORK. We don’t see them out and about all of the time, unless it’s something like the Superbowl, a concert, or lunch with friends, they are only photographed when they are in the act of working.
This served no purpose, it’s an attempted hoodwinking, at best.
It’s kind of insensitive, given that King Charles is still being treated for cancer. Who knows what his prognosis is…
If he had it. I don’t believe either one of them had cancer.
We know how Meghan deals with personal tragedy — not with glossy, golden videos of her romping with Harry in woodlands, but with a thoughtful column in a major newspaper, asking people to care about others.
In 2020, after her miscarriage, Meghan wrote a beautiful piece for The New York Times, expressing concern about the pain everyone was feeling at that time because of COVID-19. She centered other people in that column, because that’s what she does.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/opinion/meghan-markle-miscarriage.html
Also, that Diana comment — no matter its source — is going to burn. As it should.
Spot on.
This!
The video is completely disjointed given the context. We’re invited to feel sorry for her, and forced to watch them make-out on a beach, but not to know what kind of cancer she has or what we are sorry for? What her prognosis is?
They think it’s a better more modern way to show the royals, not understanding it’s not about them (the middletons in particular), it’s about the Crown. This isn’t going down well for that reason.
What Meghan would have done is thank her doctors and nurses and said something like “I know how lucky I am to have access to the best care while many cancer sufferers do not.”
Then there would have been links to donate to places like Noah’s Ark and the Rainbow Trust and other wonderful charities that offer support to families in the UK with loved ones dealing with serious illness.
Truly baffling that none of the Wales’ PR people thought to do that. I thought the whole point of the royal family was to do charity work
Meredith, the whole thing has been a fiasco from day one. The lack of transparency, the fake photo. Then this, which is devoid of thanks to health carers or even open about what cancer she had. They have handled it really badly, and if they think this has scraped it back and made amends, they’re wrong. It’s naff and empty headed.
I think the video is totally Middleton, and Kate was the primary driver. She’s determined to make her illness her brand. I know that sounds cynical, but it’s become her usp. It’s all so mysterious: we’re left wondering what cancer she had, when she’ll be back ‘to work’, what the proper prognosis is etc. It’s very arrogant in that regard and distasteful, because she’s not being honest and she’s not being modern about how people talk about cancer. There’s no great shame or hush hush about cancer anymore; people are hugely educated about it. Say exactly what you have, talk about the research and medical team, stop hinting and seeming to enjoy the hinting. To me the whole thing was, look how royally enigmatic I am; I say cancer but nothing much else, I’m like the queen who disliked the word pregnant and would only say “expecting”. I float around, with a stiff upper lip approach that’s so admirable and decorous. And then this whole sham England of yore in attitude is blown apart by her being groped by her husband. I seriously think she’s aiming for mystery and pity, and also not revealing a cancer such as colon which is too commonplace in her head and too “yucky”. This illness theme will go on and on. Where Meghan has work, Kate has delicate health. Where Meghan has accomplishment, Kate has people clapping for just turning up once in a while, and where Meghan and Harry were castigated for holding hands, she and her husband get a pass for rolling around in front of their kids.
Well said! And see also: Queen Alexandra, there is royal precedent for illness as a brand, particularly when dealing with a wayward king…
Alexandra was not lazy she still worked despite her illnesses
I think it’s Middleton too and I think Kate wanted it made because she’s been insanely jealous of how much Harry loves Meghan and thought her woodland-PDA-family day-frolic- gropefest would show the world that she’s as adored by William as her nemesis Meghan is by his brother. The whole point of the “I’m well” video seemed to be casting William as an adoring husband. He’s a terrible actor.
If their PR team reads Celebitchy , they would get ideas for free on how to prop up Kate . I wouldn’t be surprised if they suddenly trot out a few nurses to thank or go visit a cancer charity or supply links to support groups as Meredith suggested . Let’s not give that useless woman ideas . One takeaway I wish they would implement is to stop using Meghan as punching bag and scapegoat . The less Kate does that the better, because Meghan is so out of her league and the contrast is glaring . Meghan is an unusual , empathic and brilliant person, and practically any other woman we can think of puts cardboard Kate in the shade . Even her voice and accent is so fake .
This entire PR campaign is confusing. What are we supposed to be thinking as it applies to the future? Are WanK saying this is how they’ll be communicating with the public in future? Is this a video to prove that their marriage is still strong? (Some sizzle between them would help, but I can’t recall when I ever saw that between them.) Is this to keep the masses quiet until WanK poke their heads above the parapet again? Or, just Bone Idle poking her head above the parapet?
Give a clear message when you spend a fortune making a video.
Saucy&Sassy. This is exactly what I think. Why all the mystery. For Kate, this wraps up her brand into a strange mixture of age old royal approach to illness (don’t really say what it is); traditional Englishness (please with the faux accent over video of countryside); and her attempt at sexing up their image as a married couple. At one point she’s floating around in her dress with her kids, the next they’re all over each other in front of the kids. This is her idea of being royal and appropriate (keep the details brief) and Montecito modern as it applies to rural England. There have been hardly any hot days this summer; they must’ve been waiting a long time to get the perfect weather. It was so damn prepared. I showed Mr Sparrow and he just laughed. And then said, really, REALLY, that’s too much, at the sand dunes bit. Only someone immature would think this is sophisticated content. It’s no surprise was hailed as a triumph by the average DM reader. Thing is, W&K are desperate to appeal beyond that demographic, and they fail every time.
I really take issue with them saying Meghan would have done this. She clearly would not and we’ve seen how she responds to personal issues that affect her like miscarriage and mental health impact of social media. She shared what she went through in an article and made it universal to others experiencing the same loss. They recently gave an interview about their parents initiative to help those who’ve lost a child through social negative media influence and convened a summit with the U.S. Surgeon General. I don’t recall a soft focus self promotion advert. The problem here is they can’t see beyond the superficial visuals. They are so desperate to one up the Sussexes that whatever serious message they may actually have gets lost in the need to prove how savvy and relevant they think they are with the cool kids. It was way too much and over the top.
Exactly. Meghan would never approach things like this. However much Kate falls down, they always blame Meghan, thereby removing the fault that should fall at Kate’s feet. This time Meghan’s to blame for Kate Middleton’s determination to be like her. This is Kate’s OWN crude, literally crude at points, attempt at it.
This racists friend is so desperate to associate a very cringe and creepy video to a biracial Meghan that they completely omit Meghan’s white husband in their assertion that this is something that only Meghan would do. They are desperate for the biracial royal wife to be seen as being less than the white royal wife even though it is the white royal wife who has had a history prior to royal life and since marrying into this racist family who has done even more cringe and creepy things publicly without showing an ounce of shame or concern. It isn’t Meghan who has shown her butt and other things publicly with a smile and a wave. These cringey and creepy photos, videos and moments are common nature for this couple and trying to only associate Meghan to such behavior is disingenuous and an outright lie because they need it to be the biracial woman who is the embarrassment and not any of the white members of that family, including Harry who if Meghan were to create something as ridiculous as this video, Harry would have been right there next to her loving on his wife, only his would be genuine.
Yes! To all of that. When W said “we are very much not a racist family” it was the word family he was objecting to. Firm, people – firm is the word.
But the firm is institutionally racist the evidence of which was found in the National archives.
If she’s well enough to do this cringe video showing her as the very picture of physical and emotional health she’s damn well healthy enough to do some f*cking work. Period. I’m glad she’s taking a pummeling from the press about this mess, she and William and the Midds have gone too far with this. Burn it all down tabloids, burn it all down.
Meghan would not have done a glossy video.
Meghan would have written a powerful op-ed in the New York Times about her situation to bring awareness to it and encourage other women to get screened and make decisions to protect their own health, just like Angelina Jolie did.
Agree. Or she would’ve made a short film about visiting people with the same cancer, research facilities, and charities. She would not have made a self serving Merchant Ivory production that used her cancer to rebrand herself as a sexed up wife (dear heavens) and a woman who won’t say with any clarity what happened and when she will return to work. The more sophisticated amongst us don’t give a toss about sand dunes and log stacks, or floaty words said in faux accents.
In the olden days Kate would be a candidate for replacement. Her family lied about everything and she tricked William into thinking she worked. Lol. The only thing that would save her is if William wanted her to retire.
It looks to me that the office of working lavashly paid royal is being phased out. I think they will instead be paid to oversee britians parks and history stuff. Like curators. I mean they arent even trying anymore to be a help to the kingdom.
When Britain becomes short on funds they will pull Kate’s Security. I believed some sort of decrease is coming and Kate will be the example giving.
Let’s face it. Law of probabilities would mean one or two on that film crew had had cancer, or more likely had a close relative or friend with cancer. Can you imagine filming this woman treating it like an advert and having to keep your mouth shut to make sure you didn’t lose your job.
The video was callous and thoughtless. The canoodling with William. The images of happy parents and grandparents with children are out of place when you consider the video will be seen by children and husbands who lost the woman in their lives and the parents who are pre-deceased by their daughters.
Can the glossy happy family montage. Without the voiceover everyone would’ve thought you made a video montage of your children’s last school holiday. Sit on your bench. Give your perfunctory statement about how you sympathize with other sufferers and be done.
This is beyond ridiculous, that this lazy pair of grifters can mock us by putting out this nauseating garbage in an effort to get a sympathetic response from the people who are paying for their lavish lifestyle. Meanwhile families are facing a winter of fuel poverty, nurses are having to turn to foodbanks for basic needs and they are cavorting in the woods with nary a care. There has to be a reckoning for this blatant disrespect . When will ministers of all parties, the churches and the electorate call a halt and cut off the funding for this sham?
Agreed I view this as nothing more than a very expensive, open ended sick note paid for by the tax payers whilst the majority of UK population are being told by new PM that it is a time of AUSTERITY FOR US!
Agree with both of you above.
If W&K aren’t working, their funding must proportionately cease too.
Like meghan is any different 🙄
“That’s. What. Diana. Would. Have. Done.”
That seems absolutely huge to me. KP fans have been positioning her as bigger and better than Diana. And the unfaithful husband and his QC are saying, Nope!
Lort. Hope the faux rage and outrage misdirected by their comm teams at Harry and Meghan start cannibalizing each other instead. Harry left nearly 5 years ago and willl never come back. The rota are going to have to find new stories because they have lost their meal ticket with the dull left behinds. Will-not seems determined to cut out the rota and publish all money generating images on the royal social media accounts. Camilla has ties to the desperate media and will have Willy for lunch if she choses. Say what you will, Camilla and Chuck survived the press pre-2015 when the British media still had vicious teeth and weren’t subdued by right wing money and bots. Willy and Keener are not capable of living through a vicious, decades long media onslaught like they deliberately unleashed on Harry.
Only thing is Charles is a bad father to harry a bad father in law to meghan and bad grandad and let them down. Charles can’t live that down regardless of the media leaving him Alone
Just looked at the DM website, they have really gone to war with Meghan as they try to divert attention from this mess.
The worst is harry photos shown for birthday by dm include photo of kate simpering around harry and leave Meghan out of the photos
Remember the “getting ready for the coronation video” that Kate, William, and the kids made? I think this their new “brand”. Glossy, polished “commercials” for their family.
I think this video was badly done, in many ways.
No one needs all this fake mush/perfect devoted husband garbage.
Royalty is outdated.
William truly needs a very good PR rep.
Less seen, the better IMO.
“Their majesties,” oh pulleese. Could he BE any more sycophantic?
That video was awful. Reminded me of the old Summers Eve commercials. lol