I’ve finally gotten a chance to read Us Weekly’s full cover story this week, all about how Kate Middleton and Prince William are finally going to officially get engaged next year. Sort of. Maybe. The whole cover story is based on Katie Nicholl’s new book, William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls, which we’ve already previewed here. The story is pretty basic, and Nicholl makes very similar assumptions to what I’ve made. For example, when Kate’s parents came to Balmoral last week, it was “extremely significant” because they were “being taught a favorite royal pursuit” while actually at a ROYAL residence. SHOCK. Here are some other highlights:
– Sources confirm to Katie Nicholl/Us Weekly that the engagement will definitely happen in 2011: “The engagement will be announced in 2011,” a source says.
– When the Palace deigned to reply to Us Weekly’s question about an engagement, they were told that the Palace does not comment “on the private loves of Prince William or Ms. Middleton.” Because Kate’s name was included in the “no comment,” Us Weekly is about to pee themselves. This is the first time (?) that Kate’s name has been included in a “no comment”.
– In 2007, “while on vacation in the Seychelles after reuniting from their second breakup” Kate and Will made a “secret pact” with Will promising her that he would marry her eventually if she would just wait for him several more years. Nicholl says: “Kate wanted assurances from William… For the first time, they discussed quite seriously the subject of marriage. William told Kate she was The One, but he was not ready to get married. She…agreed to wait for him.”
– On the importance of doing stuff in 2011, Nicholl says, “2011 wouls be Diana’s 50th birthday and also the 30th anniversary of her wedding to his father. This will be William’s way to make sure his mother’s memory won’t be forgotten on the most important day of his life.”
– About Kate’s potential wedding dress: She’ll probably consider her favorite brand, Issa, and she “might be pressured to select a British designer.” And she’ll probably be “loaned” a tiara from the queen.
– Why the long wait for an engagement? Nicholl says: “He didn’t want to make the same mistakes” as his parents.
– How do Kate’s parents feel? Carole Middleton, Kate’s mom, “put some pressure on” in 2009. And at the time, “William assured her that there would be an engagement soon.”
– What are Kate and Will doing in the meantime? While Will trains with the Ryal Air Force, Kate “spends a lot of time living with William at his private farmhouse in Wales… they love to stay in watching DVDs, and they love being in the kitchen, cooking British foods like Shepherd’s pie.” Nicholl’s says that William’s advisors told them to quit partying: “Kate was often at London clubs, which we don’t see anymore. There was pressure from his advisors to curb the partying. William’s a man now, and with that comes responsibility.”
– What does the Queen think of Kate? “The Queen was initially concerned that Kate had no focus,” Nicholl says. But now the Queen kind of likes her. Kate also gets along with Charles and Camilla, and Harry thinks of Kate as a sister.
– How does Will feel about this now? “He wants to spend the rest of his life with her.”
[From Us Weekly, print edition and online]
The part about the Queen is especially vague, and I’m just going to go out on a limb and say that Her Majesty is a good judge of character, and if Liz thinks you need to get a job, your ass better get a McDonalds application. Also: do you love the vague description about how Kate has spent her time over the past (NINE) years? Uh… she and Will watch DVDs. And they cook together. That’s it. No job, nothing. She just hangs around, waiting to be proposed to.
As far as the alleged 2007 conversation and Will’s promise to make Kate his bride… eh. Sure, maybe it will happen. The way things have been playing out over the past month, I do believe the engagement stories more than I used to. But at the end of the day, I still don’t have any respect for Kate. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why this is an interesting tabloid story. Kate in and of herself is so f-cking boring and lazy and single-minded, that the story becomes “Why the f-ck does William want to make her the next Princess of Wales?”
Photos courtesy of Bauer-Griffin.
In my more weirder moments, regarding these two, my brain screams out ‘beard!’ in regard to her.
I mean, does it seriously take 8 years to figure out if you want to marry someone?
I doubt it. So I tend to think she is just there to make him look eligible.
I truly don’t get the hate. She seems nice enough to me, and I have a hard time getting enraged over a long courtship when his parents marriage was a complete disaster. 28 is hardly spinster material these days, so why is everyone so offended that they are treading carefully?
Even her lack of work ethic doesn’t bother me. She’s dating the future king and her parents are filthy rich, so she doesn’t have to do a goddamn thing if she doesn’t want to.
Well, call me a crazy romantic, but if he loves her, at least it won’t be a Charles & Diane fiasco, and just maybe Queen Liz finally understands that (one can only hope).
I think maybe he is dragging his feet because of the disaster that was his parents marriage.
I also think he is bored of her, but willl cave in and marry her sooner rather than later. When you think about it, it has to take place next year, because no way will they do a royal wedding in 2012, with the Olympics and Elizabeth’s 60th anniversary as Queen, so she will either have to marry in 2011 or wait until 2013, which would mean never.
Just my thoughts.
The reason so many people loved Diana was because she cared about people. Doing so much for poor and sick. This Kate seems very different and I think that is the main reason I don’t think she is good enough. But Will apparently thinks otherwise.
it is fine to be filthy rich and not have to do anything, but it doesn’t do much for your personality and karma.
I cant get over some of these comments, come on people marriage is not the be all and end all of a young woman’s life! @ comment no 1. I was with my boyfriend 10 years before we got married, and we are at a similar age to William and Kate. It’s not that unusual to wait to get married
I don’t get the hate either–there are tons of people out there who have waited so long…
What does she do again? “The on-again-off-again girlfriend/fiancee of Prince William”? Not much of a resume for age 27 or 28.
And waiting for 8 years to decide is the exception to the rule.
I think she is maybe the closest to ideal to William so far; but far from exactly what he has been looking for.
No focus? No focus? Please, Waity Katie is all about the focus. She focused on that poor sucker from the moment she learned he was going to St. Andrew’s and once there homed in on him like a heat seeking missle. Her single-minded determination to land this fish surpassed any remnants of self-respect long, long ago. At least the Windsors can be assured that once allowed in Kate would never do anything that would compromise her position in the family, including opening her beak when Wills starts sharing his polo mallet with other ponies.
I was around when Charles and Diana were courting and watched their wedding with stars in my eyes. Then watched as the whole facade crumbled over the years. Part of the problem was her ruthless desire to be in the public eye and to manipulate the press and people. Kate’s seeming lack of focus is most likely an earnest desire to avoid the press vultures as much as possible. In an age where quasi-celebrities are revealing WAYYYY too much information, her low-key lack of engagement with the press and public is a refreshing change and she clearly doesn’t give a toss what they think of her. Their long courtship is probably going to cement their relationship in a way Charles and Diana’s headlong rush into marriage and babies couldn’t.
she’s got a katie holmes smile!
Lack of focus?? Nope. I’d say Will has been her focus all along. ;oP
I can believe that William does not want to repeat the mistakes that his parents made. I get that. What he will be doing is making his very own mistake; marrying this lazy, workshy, waggy hanger on. Sure, she doesn’t have to do anything but cling to William, yes, her parents are filthy rich. What this shiftlessness shows, however, is her lack of character and self respect. Sorry, I just do not see how anyone can see it any other way. I try to understand the Kate defenders, but I just don’t. But we can all agree that it really doesn’t matter what any of us think, William is stubborn and I think he will marry her.
The Queen “kind of likes her”. Talk about damning with faint praise.
Stronzilla: Exactly. Let the mistresses begin! And she better keep her mouth shut. This is what she is signing on for.
At age 27, I had just left my cheating husband. I had a full-time career to support my two children, and did so without consistent child support.
I suppose my argument works both ways: While I was quite the educated professional, I was also the argument for waiting. However, I wouldn’t trade my children (and professional experience) for anything in the world, including a royal title and/or money.
I think he loves her. They seem well matched.
She seems sort of dull to me, but ok. I am a little more sympathetic than most that she doesn’t have a career — her relationship with Wills makes it hard for her to have a normal professional sphere. Didn’t she have a job right after University? Didn’t she get followed everywhere? Remember how Diana was hounded when she still worked? And as the prince of the lands gal-pal, she doesn’t have any formal status to be the sort of ambassadorial charity maven like a royal family member does (Diana didn’t do all that great charity work until in the fold).
I feel like Wills has left her in limbo. Her relationship with him makes a normal life impossible, but she can’t really adopt a royal life, either.
@JulieM – You said it all and others on here as well. And to those of you who say dating 8 years isn’t bad, you are right it isn’t, but that is not what these two have done. He has dumped her on numerous occassions because he felt trapped and wanted to get with other heiresses at the time but he always goes back to her that makes her look desperate and she deserves all the scorn she is getting.
@JulieM & TG
But why does he continue to go back to her? What has she got on him? And am I the only one who looks in her eyes and sees the same sneaky, calculating, cat-that-ate-the-canary look that Camilla had after she finally bagged Charles?
dump her!
On one hand if they truly love each other and are compatible, great!
On the other hand, in photos he doesn’t seem that into her. I personally would be really bitter if I were waiting for 8+ years…While there are some couples who mutually (?) agree to not seal the deal, I get the sense that that is not the case here. He may feel that it is easier to ultimately stay with her than venture into the meet market again. While she is rich and all, I think he would find a woman who has strong interests (like his mum) and strong dedication to helping others (like his mum too) much more compelling. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Middleton she has dabbled in fashion buying and photography. I also thought I heard that she was living with him in Wales while he did his military thing. I can’t imagine Wales has a big scene going on…and wonder what she does with herself all day long??
LEAVE HER ALONE! Really, I’m so happy for all of you dignified people – but there are many of us who would also find potentially being the Princess of Wales an all-consuming obsession too. If and when they do marry, I’m sure she’ll start to think about other goals. And if her family is her main goal, why is that a crime? Don’t we respect other women who make caring for their family their goal?
I think I’m smelling jealousy around here.
What happened to their long legs?
She really can’t even do charity work – the royals pressure her not to do anything that will get attention. Remember they made her pull out of that charity boating thing? And it’s not really waiting if someone says “I want to be with you forever, but I don’t want to get married yet”. That’s a committment in itself, and if that’s what they have, good for them.
I’m feeling snooty today: She looks older than her age, late thirties, rather than her actual late twenties.
Stronzilla – Nope. You are not alone! I never trusted this girl. Can’t quite put my finger on it. I have way more respect for Harry’s ex, Chelsy Davies.
@ whitedaisy:
Not much of a resume for age 27 or 28.
And waiting for 8 years to decide is the exception to the rule.
Agreed!
No offense to all the folks who waited 10 years for a man and think it’s normal. It isn’t.
Most people can tell fairly early on if they have a future together or not. If they do, after a few years they starting living their lives together. Not dating for almost a decade, in limbo.
Length of time together does not mean you have a solid relationship. In fact it could mean the opposite — you’re co-dependent. You love each other, but you don’t quite fit together, yet you’ve been a couple for so long the thought of breaking up breaks your heart.
I’ve been there. I was in a four year relationship like that. At the time I’d been with him for 1/6th of my life! But it wasn’t right and I’m so glad we didn’t get married because we were “together so long”.
I think Wills is scared to be alone and leave that comfort zone, but he doesn’t love her the way he should for their marriage to be a happy one. And Kate doesn’t care because she wants that title.
I wish them the best. I think it’s strange that many of the people posting here seem to lump Royals, especially the British Royals, in a general ‘celebrity’ catagory along with Brad, Angelina, and Madonna. We want to make them into normal people (who just happen to be celebrites) so we can feel more comfortable trying to understand and comment on their lives.
But, having spent limited time with the Prince of Wales- you always refer to him as ‘Sir”, I can tell you that these people always remember that they are themselves part of a system that has been working in England for hundreds of years. They don’t really think, act or understand what its like to be an average person. That’s not their ‘job’. One of the reasons that people adored Princess Diana was that she acted like a normal person who happended to ‘Royal” and in the process almost brought down the whole system.
I would think that the Queen and her family will try to avoid recent mistakes in what future they have if they want one at all. Prince William is not only selecting a future wife but he understands that she will be the next Queen of England unless the ‘average’ people of the United Kingdom are given a reason to decide otherwise.
Sorry for the long speech.
@Stronzilla – As to why he keeps going back to her I don’t know. Maybe it is that thing where he knows he should pick her for longevities sake but he still wants to play around. And your comment abou the cat that got the canary is too funny. It seems like there are many men out there who pick the safe if unattractive wife who will keep good house for them and then spend their free time running around with the women of their fantasies. Maybe that is how the Prince reasons things, after all isn’t the royalty all about arrangements and stuff like that and very little love.
I quite like them together. She seems a bit dull, but how can one possibly live up to being compared to Princess Diana?
She CAN do something: model dorky hats!
Why does women always get the short end of the stick? It is even more pathetic that it is women that harshly criticize their fellow women.
[quote]She’s dating the future king and her parents are filthy rich, so she doesn’t have to do a goddamn thing if she doesn’t want to.[/quote]
Ha ha, no sh**! If that was me, you better believe I’d be lounging on my sofa all day eating bonbons and ordering the servants around.
I do think there’s a bit of a lack of understanding from some quarters as to what Kate can and cannot reasonably do. I’d put money on it being mostly the palace’s decision that she not do much in terms of work. I always liked Chelsy best of the royal girlfriends but I’m not feeling the loathing for Kate.
TG/Stronzilla: I think he stays with her because it’s easy and he’s comfortable with her, like an old pair of slippers. TG said it, I agree. I think it says a mouthful about him as well and I don’t think there is any doubt at all that he will cheat on her. She’ll get the title, the palace, the crown, and the babies (actually, that doesn’t sound too bad, does it!) and he will get to play around on her. He is his father’s son and he will play around. Count on it.
Amy- I think I’m giving William the other short end of the stick. And why should I cut her slack if I don’t respect her just because we are both women?
Alexa- one more time, I am not remotely jealous of Waity Katie. She can have him. He’s getting less attractive by the day. Boring, boring, boring.
I think they will get engaged soon and married within the next 2 to 3 years.
I feel for Kate though as she will forever be compared to Princess Diana and more often than not be found lacking. Harsh, yes…but we’re all thinking ‘she’s no Princess Di’ with every new post about her.
Meh, no matter, we’ll all watch the wedding just to see the dress and all of the pomp and circumstance.
It seems to me that if she doesn’t have a job it is with Will’s full approval. I’m sure if he wanted her out there working she WOULD do whatever he wanted. Why should she pour herself into some kind of career when she knows it will be put aside when she marries, as royal duties will be the focus of her life. If she had some kind of burning ambition to be, say a doctor, she wouldn’t be able to fulfill that desire. Her life will be planned out for her according to protocal. So I don’t see the point in all the criticism.
And another thing. William must be assuring her that he plans to marry her or she wouldn’t be sitting around waiting for it. Unless she is just stupid, which I guess is a possibility. Anyway, you know they’ve discussed the subject plenty.
Just a comment on the longevity of their relationship, as I don’t know much about these people; I AM engaged to my significant other, and I do want to marry him someday… but not right now. We’re doing the long engagement thing. There are lots of personal reasons for it, and I’m wondering if perhaps William has similar thoughts? He can’t just do stuff because he wants to. The dude is probably going to be the next king, so he has more to think about than his own happiness.
That said, I don’t know much, but I really hope he isn’t using her, and vice-versa. I can’t help but think that people get pretty mercenary with all that wealth and status to vie for.
She can’t do charity work, the palace doesn’t allow it because she’s not the member of the royal family. She is simply forbidden to do that. And it’s not true that she has been doing nothing for nine years. She went to college and then she worked for some time before the royals forced her to quit that job because of the paparazzi. And then she worked for her parent’s company until few months ago. You can dislike her but most of your fact are simply wrong.
And for all those who say they respect Chelsy Davy more – she is not working either. She finished college and is travelling for the past year, not working.
I don’t know why people sh*t on her. I think it would be tacky for her to do charity work as…what? The “possible, maybe future princess of Wales”?
And after his parent’s awful divorce, why would he rush, knowing the type of pressure they will face? Diana was 19 when she married Charles, and Kate was around the same age when she started dating William. Better to wait until they are both mature enough to handle the scrutiny that will go along with their union.
I also think her “focus” on being a Royal is admirable! 😉
Mare: So what you are saying is that only members of the royal family can do charity work? Seems to me that she did a roller derby charity event two years ago and another one last year. Two whole events in two years. Very strenuous. So did the royal family give her permission to do those two events?
The paps didn’t stop other royal girlfriends from going to work every day. I guess Waity is a special case.
She was not forced to quit her jobs because of the paps. She quit because they were part time made up jobs and she was never there. She was always off on luxury holidays with William. Her co workers at Jigsaw have confirmed that. Those pesky facts.
Chelsy did indeed take a year off after graduating from law school. But the reason she moved back to Africa several months ago was to start her legal career. And she probably got sick of Harry’s antics.
the thing I don´t like about her is her lack of a job, she worked for a while and that was it. I guess that is the thing with rich kids that know they don´t need to earn their salary. she could have been doing volunteer work during all these years. Or something at least.
Kaiser-seriously NEVER leave Celebitchy. I love all your takes on celebs. Even though I disagree sometimes.
Everyone keeps talking about how SHE seem boring or dull. What about him? Who cares if he is rich and prince, he seems just as if not more dull. The whole “Royal Responsibilities” idea that Will has been sucked into seems so outdated. I wonder if he actually got to CHOOSE what he did in life and who he could marry, where he would be right now but then again, I’m from the US where the idea of “Royalty” seems crazy.
they look like they smell like mothballs.
JulieM: Do you really really think she is that stupid? The public hates her for not having a job and doing nothing, nobody respects her and papers make fun of her and her family. And if the royal family wanted her to have a job or do some charity work, do you really think she would say no and just stay at home watching DVDs?
@Leah! – Having a long engagement is okay if both parties are committed to each other but Will has dumped her numerous times so he can hook up guilt-free with other rich girls. I don’t think your fiance is doing that, if so I would run not walk to the nearest exit.
of course she has no focus-she’s a rich girl
Mare: Why does the royal family have to give her permission to do anything?? If she had wanted to have a job after graduating from university (not a part time, non career, made up job), she would have done so. Other royal girlfriends have had jobs; REAL ones, I mean. Why the hell is Waity so special that she has done NOTHING for 6 years waiting for a marriage proposal. Absolutely pathetic. Is she stupid, not a chance. She is way smarter than he is, and is about to get what she wished for. Be careful, Waity!
@ nancyman maybe the system needs to come down, I suppose being american we’re always ready for a revolt, but i hardly think Diana almost brought down the crown, it seems to me they do ok on their own.