I put this story in the links yesterday, but I thought it was worth talking about in more detail, mostly because the details are so, so funny. You know how Duchess Kate is always compared to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana? You know how Prince William seems to actively encourage the comparisons, as does the press? Well, the good side of those comparisons is that the royal family is trying to “correct” some “mistakes” that were made with Princess Diana. Like, as soon as Diana and Charles were married, Diana was thrown into her full-time princess duties immediately, and she had a full set of charitable commitments within a few months. Diana was overwhelmed, and she felt unprepared. She was 20 years old (maybe 21). The royals don’t want that to happen to Duchess Kate, who is just a few months shy of 30, and who has a university education and barely any job history. Yes, a woman of nearly 30 years is getting the kind of delicate “princess training” that would have been too kid-gloved for even Diana:
The Duchess of Cambridge is to hold meetings with senior members of the country’s most respected institutions to prepare for a lifetime of royal duties. Private tutorials with experts on government, the arts and the media will teach her about the establishment she will one day represent. The one-to-ones will take place at St James’s Palace throughout the autumn.
Her husband’s mother, Princess Diana, complained bitterly at being thrown into official duties without training or coaching.
The duchess has carried out just one official engagement since she married Prince William in April, when the pair visited riot-torn areas of Birmingham last month. But her duties are set to increase when the palace reveals in the new year the charities she will be supporting in her role as royal patron.
Last night a palace source said: ‘The duchess is being briefed on how the state works, getting to know our national institutions better and learning more about organisations such as the arts, the media and the government. It is a process that will carry on for several months. As well as meetings at St James’s Palace, the duchess is spending time carrying out private research of her own.’
Until the charities she will officially be supporting are announced, the duchess’s official engagements will be kept to around one a month, to give her time to get used to her new life.
Next week she and William will open a children’s centre at the Royal Marsden cancer hospital in Sutton, Surrey, of which the duke is president.
Princess Diana told friends that when she married Prince Charles, palace staff ‘basically thought I could adapt to being Princess of Wales overnight’.
[From The Mail]
First of all: why didn’t anyone think to do this BEFORE Kate and William got married? Is it because William didn’t really KNOW that he was going to marry Kate back in 2007, which is now part of the “Waity” fairy tale lore? Because in 2007, William allegedly told Kate she was “the one” but that she would have to wait a few more years to marry, and she accepted that deal. Allegedly. So, if both Will and Kate knew that this – marriage – was the endgame, why not begin princess training in 2008? Is it because the 2007 Waity Lore is BS? Is it because William was fine getting the milk for free with Kate until the Queen wouldn’t let Kate move into the Anglesey house while they were unmarried? Oh, right.
As for Kate’s dithering about what charities she wants to work with… I don’t even know. I read the whole thing as Kate being lazy, and having spent the last nine years of her life focused on single goal: getting the ring. She doesn’t know who she is beyond that. And I can’t stand the way she’s being babied. She’s almost 30 years old, and they’re treating her like a petulant teenage girl who can’t get it together.
Oh, and Life & Style is reporting that when Kate is in Kensington Palace (and William is in Wales), Pippa will be living with Kate to “keep an eye on her”. Because Kate needs to be constantly reminded to eat, you know. BUT! Gossip Cop says that story is crap. Yeah… I don’t think the royals are too crazy about Pippa, and they certainly don’t want Pippa “living” in one of the palaces.
Photos courtesy of Fame.
She’s 30??!! Geez, she looks good for her age I guess, but Ive been under the impression she was 22 or 23. Hence why I thought she seems so ‘unfocused’ because she hasent really had time to settle into her own woman yet. Damn girl get it together!
Pretty girl but compared to our Princess Mary who always looks so polished and refined, Catherine looks a bit rough and needs a transformation – the hair, the makeup, the clothes…
A 30 yo university grad is now a Princess in training…real funny. I can’t compare Kate to Diana (never would) they were in two different age groups and eras, with totally different upbringings.
I find it hard to believe that a Brit could get through a university education without having any classes on government, civics, etc. Was she just not paying attention?
Call me crazy, but even if I was madly in love with the guy I’d never trade my freedom for pantyhose and “official duties.”
I hadn’t really thought about it before, but yes, she is almost 30 and basically useless. She was probably a crappy student, and obviously coasted through her 20s. It’s sad when people like this are supposedly “icons.”
University education is much more specialized than american education, as she studied history of art they would have been the only classes she took. However do I really believe that St Andrew’s is so remote not to have tv, of course not. But if she really needs the lessons to act like a princess i think its better she has them now early on before it gets embarrassing when she finally speaks.
I love Waity! So harsh!
By the time her “training” is completed she’ll probably be pregnant.Once she’s pregnant she can’t be expected to fulfill a boatload of royal duties.Me thinks William doesn’t want his wife eaten alive by the media and has done a fairly good job of making sure that doesn’t happen.He and Kate seem in agreement that they will have a private life and a working life and that the two shall not converge in tabloid heaven.If that’s the case I think he’s got the right idea from having watched his parent’s media circus.As for Kate, she’s got him and that’s definitely what she wanted so for them it’s a win.
I hope Will and Kate have a long happy marriage but I think the palace should not build up any expectations regarding this empty vessel. She is the woman we always see at charity events sipping wine and posing for the photographers as she receives accolades for her charitable contributions. Charitable contributions being arriving in a couture gown with jewels,waving,smiling and shaking hands.
When they give her princess training, do you think they’ll also throw in a free neck supporter? She always seems to have such trouble holding her head at a vertical angle.
I think the statements here about Kate are somewhat harsh. I felt like I was reading a description of Bella Swan rather than of the Duchess. I’d also venture to say that she has more class than other ‘legitimate’ members of the Royal Family *cough* Charles, Camilla and Phillip, *cough*.
There are only 2 things Diana and Kate have in common: William and a weight problem.
They don’t even have the same title. Kate has more in common with Camilla who waited and paid her dues as a mistress before becoming the official woman. And even once those two became “official” they didn’t get to be THE PRINCESS.
At 30 Diana had two sons, a crumbling marriage, and immense charitable responsibilities. At 30 Kate has a great hairstylist and that’s about it.
“Private tutorials with experts on government, the arts and the media will teach her about the establishment she will one day represent.”
Shouldn’t Kate know at least something about the latter two seeing as she studied History of Art at St. Andrews? Or does she need a crash course as she probably forgot what she learned at uni as she didn’t put them to good use all those years (not getting a real job etc.) her knowledge must be getting rusty.
I give Kate a break! But if she knows what is good for her, she should be pregnant by now or very soon – if not by their first anniversary or words will be exchanged between the Queen and William! Better hop to it William – once that is done, life will be a whole lot better in the castle.
Wow, why so harsh!
I don’t think any sort of training could start til after the marriage for fear of leaking.
( obviously, after the engagement other things take precedence)
She has generated allot of goodwill for the Monarchy so far….and let’s be real, that’s what expected..
My theory is that she’s not ‘refined’ enough for the royal family. I think she does have knowledge about all that stuff that a normal university educated person would have, but it’s not good enough for the courtiers and those folks. They prob didn’t think it was ‘appropriate’ to ‘train’ her before she was actually married into the family.
But I do love Princess Mary of Denmark. She’s another one that get’s to skinny sometimes-but she’s pretty awesome.
I think the problem is that some people don’t fully understand the inner workings of royal life.
Kate is a smart young woman with a university degree but her current training as a royal has nothing to do with her university education. The palace is giving her the information about the inner workings of royal life so she can be properly prepared for her future royal role as the future Queen. She’s meeting with a great deal of charities and organizations that she’s interested in and getting down to the nitty-gritty of the purpose of the causes and how she can go about helping them achieve their goals.
Diana, Princess of Wales was pretty much thrown in on her royal duties and she said herself that she had no idea what to do because the palace didn’t fully prepare her for the royal job. This is a woman that used to cry in the backseat of the car before she embarked on her royal engagements. It really did take her years to fully come into her own and focus on the causes that she could fully help. She got rid of hundreds of charities after her divorce and narrowed them down to just a few. With the few like; cancer, aids and landmines where she could be more hands on by help highlighting these problems. Now had “the men in grey suits” prepared her properlly, she wouldn’t had such a difficult time with her royal duties so early on.
Prince William, Prince of Wales and Queen want to make sure the Kate receive the proper guidance of her new role. No one should really complain about this but take the time to understand that despite her dating William for eight years, she’s now officially on the inside of the royal world and there’s a great deal for her to learn. It isn’t easy as you may think it is and really take time to adjust to your royal responsibilities.
By next year we will see Catherine working with her choosen charities, making her first speeches and taking on more bigger royal role alongside William.
Can’t take this woman. The most interesting part of this family died in Paris in a car crash. No one will ever dazzle the world like she did in that family.
I would have thought that Princess training would have begun as soon as the engagement was announced.
I would like to smack the shit out of Waity.
Steve, unless you are Paul Burrell, and Kate is a 20/21 year old girl, then what you just said makes perfect sense.
Since the Diana debacle, the Palace has been super sensitive to the public image. If this girl/woman had done anything of note however small, it would have been trumpeted to the heavens.
They can’t very well say that she’s lazy and doesn’t want to work [if you recall, they were perfectly ok with leaked stories about Camilla’s laziness after HER marriage]
i guess it is because of the position of Prince William in the public’s mind, it needs to be spun a certain way. Like someone posted on here, i wish she would give up the pretence that she is suddenly going to find a work ethic, what ever that entails, after not showing one for her entire adult life.
The only compareable situation is The Countess of Wessex, another commoner who married The Queen’s son. And who did not have the luxury of millionaire parents to fall back on, in order to wait for her ring, which took 6 years i believe. prince Edward isn’t as high up the food chain, but his wife took on royal duties immediately. There were no excuses made for her. She married her Prince in late 90s, after Diana’s many complaints about Royal life were public knowledge, so it isn’t a new situation to be kid gloved by The Place.
I happen to think that Duchess Do little has had a superb, but Victorian upbringing where you are highly educated in the arts, but really just decorative.
The sooner she makes an heir and a spare, the sooner this pretence can stop. If that is a cruel assessment, it’s because she has not demonstrated any other talent.
Yes, she is getting treated with kid gloves, but I wonder if it’s a function of having developed (what appears to be) a fairly sharp and intense eating disorder? The Firm can’t have her keeling over while on display (nor is she likely to get preggers, frankly) with such a low body mass. She does truly resemble a Diana 2.0, for better or worse. Sigh.
Wow, think of all the possibly boring international people she’ll have to shake hands with properly instead of just hanging out like any other rich girl. OMG. And people examining your pores.
Haven’t we come a long way from the last two generations or more? Because I don’t have any interest in whatever this princess training is.
I think most of just want to hang out and not worry about the bills.
I think to blame Kate for anything she does is ridiculous at this point. The palace and/or William are controlling her appearances, the “princess training” and probably the charities she will headline. She has to meet diplomats, heads of state, legislators, etc. – knowing the power struggles and intricacies of that kind of politics is a little beyond University level civics. She is being indoctrinated by the Firm.
Still think that Pippa and Catherine look masculine.
Oh lord that whole thing bored me to tears….just EAT a cheeseburger already!
I think she’s absolutely lovely.
Say what you will so far I like the Duchess of Cambridge.
Even United States and foreign diplomats have intensive training on protocol, who is who and what they do in different countries,etc. so I don’t find this at all unusual. Hell, in a former corporate job, I had to learn the fine art of exchanging business cards properly with Japanese business people. There is a ceremony and one does not reveal bad manners or ignorance by not being famiiar with how things are done. She has chosen a highly unusual life and there IS a great deal to learn. SO, people, back off, give her some breathing room She seems like a very nice person. No smile like hers is anything but genuine.
Sorry for the long, long rant:
Kate is lazy and work-shy. That is the truth. In all the time that the media has followed her as William’s girlfriend, she has never been reported to volunteer her time for charitable causes. The only charities she’s done are those for her equally rich friends that included partying and boozing. Is it any wonder why she doesn’t have the ‘common touch’? It’s because she’s never had to be with true ‘commoners’ who struggle to make ends meet. She’s always lived in a bubble, and her parents have allowed her to be as lazy as can be, and it paid off with her marriage to William.
She has no hobbies aside from catering to William’s needs. She doesn’t seem to have a personality of her own, she doesn’t look like she has interests in other activities aside from spending money shopping, vacationing, and partying.
She’s lived the life of a trust fund kid. Now that she’s a royal, she gets to be even lazier because some people, who have taken it unto themselves to be blinded by this girl’s supposed “charm”, always say she should be given a break because the media is so mean to her, and royal life is so hard, and look at what poor Diana went through.
Boo freakin’ hoo. Kate is 30 years old. She’s done nothing of merit, but wait for William for almost a decade. Her Art degree has been wasted. She has made no contribution to society except spend her parents’ money on designer clothes. She’s 30 years old and she’s absolutely useless. No life experiences, no significant work history, no “common touch”. She gets by because her smile is pretty and she has great hair.
What exactly is she doing, aside from Princess lessons? She’s staying in Wales, yes, but aside from that, what hobbies are there to keep her entertained when William is not home? She’s often photographed in London, shopping, so it’s clear she’s not always in Wales and she’s not getting Princess lessons every day.
The Palace always says she’s going to take 2 years off. Wow! How nice. On top of 10 years lazing about and doing nothing, she gets to take another 2 years off, only appearing 3 times a month and getting praised just for showing up and for being a boring dresser. If she didn’t marry Diana’s son, would everyone be as enamored of her? People always excuse her actions like she’s a child who can’t fend for herself and always compare her to Diana. Kate is not Diana. If people will just stop coddling her, I think she can do much more than Princess lessons.
If she gets pregnant this year or next year, the “leave of absence” and no work will extend another 2-3 years. So Kate will probably have 5 years off in total, living off of taxpayers’ money, before she starts taking on her own duties. What a life.
And people blame the media for stressing the poor Duchess out?! Please. She barely does anything…she looks like she doesn’t even eat nowadays. If she’s stressed, it’s because she’s not used to putting in more effort in the things she’s required to do since she married William. She doesn’t even have the schedule Princess Anne has and yet she’s already wasting away from all the alleged ‘stress’ of her new position.
Imagine Kate in Princess Anne’s shoes being very busy and dedicated to her many causes…yeah, I can’t. Even Prince Philip who is 90 yrs old does more duties and is more active than 30-yr old Kate.
William may think he’s protecting Kate, but he’s just babying her even more. Kate is lucky that the press has turned sugary and are fawning over her since the engagement. She’s also lucky that she married the heir’s heir, so she’s given much leeway in terms of being a working royal and is given the excuse “easing into royal life”.
Other commoner-born princesses (Norway, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands) who married the current heirs to the throne were thrown right away into royal duties combined with the expectations of childbirth (the future heir(s)), representing the whole nation during State Visits and other royal duties, media scrutiny and criticisms, etc. and they’ve all managed beautifully.
Then again, all of them had been accomplished career women and were very independent before meeting their Princes. They had some idea what royal life would be like, and they were not afraid/shy to put in the effort needed to be prepared for their role.
Maybe Kate will have the same outlook…10 years from now.
Well, #30, you DO put the R in rant. Don’t agree with you, but admire your writing style. I am sure in the future I will find some common ground with some celeb we both rant about…till then, have a great day. Sincerely.
Well said, Melody!
After the Countess of Wessex got married to Prince Edward in 1999, she and her husband did a royal tour and did some official engagements with her husband. The following year the Countess took on royal duties and became patron and president of many charities and different organizations. She too went through the proccess of royal training.
No one is treating Kate with kid gloves. The palace is just giving Kate the right tools so she can go about her royal duties with the best of her ability. She is taking on a role that’s bigger than what the Countess of Wessex currently has because Kate is married to the second in-line to the throne. She is going to be the future Princess of Wales and future Queen so her process is a bit different than Sophie’s. St James’s Palace has released a statement about how busy the Duchess is on meetings with a broad list of charities and oragizations and will make her official patronages announcement in the new year.
The problem is that people have such a lack of understanding of this process and some people are so quick to criticise Kate. It’s not an easy job being a royal and you can’t just start doing charity work the next day after your wedding. It takes hard work for you and that palace officials to go over the hundreds of charities that want your patronage and your name attached to their organizations. It takes time to meet with them and find a suitable hands on role for you to take on. William and Kate want to be more involved in their charities and not just show up and unveil plaques. Also, Kate will be taking on a more diplomatic role with William. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are now handing down some of their roles to the younger royals. So Kate have to be briefed on diplomacy and how the inner royal court works. The royal family will be slimming down soon and William and Kate will be major players in the monarchy.
So, i’m not totally surprised that Kate is getting some criticism on the internet about her royal duties because some will never be satisfied about anything she do and pretty much enjoy ripping her apart for every little thing. But i know there are people like me out there that fully appreciate and happy about how much the palace and the royals are helping Kate with her future role. I remember Diana, Princess of Wales as a loving woman who did some amazing things with her royal role a few years after her marriage. I also remember her expressing her saddness that she didn’t get any help from her husband and the palace when it came down to her royal duties. She suffered a great deal because it and it helped lead her down a sad path of bulimia nervosa, cutting her wrist and chest and made her look for love and friendship elsewhere because she wasn’t getting that at home. When Diana got her divorce, cut down her charities to focus on being more hands on with just a few worthy causes and was making great plans for her future, it was all a bit too late and she suffered a horrible passing.
I for one am glad that Kate is getting the help she needs. She has shown us all after her engagement and the royal tour she took on after her marriage that she have what it takes to be a good wife and supporter to William. Now the palace is taking the time to give her the tools and guidance she will need to go further with her royal life. Next year will be a busy year for the royals because the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will take place and next year Kate will be taking on her duties to help celebrate the Queen’s 60 years of service to her country.
Kate is taking her royal life serious and getting down to the nitty-gritty on the business of inner working of the monarchy that she and William will one day be head of. It’s a totally new life than the one she had when she was just dating William. Now she’s in the “Firm” and not looking at things from the outside.
She needs to ditch that eyeliner.
It is too bad William didn’t marry a hard-working woman who had a career, knows about hard work, and could jump into important charity work. That would be a duchess I could admire. Duchess Kate, absolutely not, I find her to be basically useless and boring.
We must also remember that William and Kate aren’t full-time royals as of yet because of William’s military career. In 2013 William will finish up his SAR job and that’s when the royal couple will take on full-time royal duties. Right now they pretty work around his SAR schedule and do less royal duties than most of the full-time royals. Everyone pretty much knows this and the palace have been pointing this out for sometime now. So it makes no sense to even try to compare William & Kate’s royal duties to those who are full-time royals.
Also the other European Princess that have recently married into royal houses have also received royal traning but are put to work a bit sooner after their marriages because many of their princes are no longer serving in the military and are full-time royals. The princesses that were born into their positions are on a total different scale altogether. Most of their training started when they were little children and when they became of age. You can’t compare Kate to them either because she wasn’t born royal and raised in the inner workings of royal life.
So to fully understand the programme the royal household is drawing up for Kate, you have to remain patient and be careful to not jump to conclusions.
Her eyeliner doesn’t bother me…hate her button outfit… Agree with BeckyR in post 29.
It’s not like she’s getting tutored in how many MPs there, who’s the head of the C of E, or how to pick Ed Milliband out of a crowd, which I’m pretty sure she knows already. (By the way, anyone criticizing her not knowing how English government works had better know those things cold.) Imagine if you were someday to become the symbol of the United States for all the world, wouldn’t you want to know the real ins and outs of US institutions? And if you had the opportunity to get private tutoring on those institutions from, say, Joe Biden, Ruth Ginsburg, Mitch McConnell, Hillary Clinton, Admiral Mullen, and a dozen others of their stature—don’t you think you’d take that opportunity?
I think she’s behaving conscientiously and appropriately.
Thank you Melody.
It will be interesting when the tabloids turn on her. And it will happen.
Duchess of Lazytown.
@ Becky R “No smile like hers is anything but genuine.”
I used to think that too becasue she really has a beautiful and warm smile, but then I saw this: http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpoi7tkLlm1qmh2hvo1_500.gif
and this:
http://i51.tinypic.com/abia69.gif
and this one is a bit odd too: http://i52.tinypic.com/2z7eiab.gif.
To me, she has always come across as very nervous in general. Very determined to come across as perfect, and very, very aware of being watched. And in response, she puts on an over-blown perfomance. It makes sense then that she’s doing her homework, so to speak, and limiting her exposure. It’s smart in the long run. And, if there’s one thing at which she is phenomenal, it’s thinking in a long-term sense.
Yes, I agree Kaiser. She’s lazy, had a single focus for too long, & a rich, pampered girl…all those reasons.
Also, it’s of the utmost importance that she is schooled how “to be a princess.” This is SO VERY IMPORTANT.
The 1st class in her rigorous princess training will be, “How To Actually Appear To Give A Shit About The Less Fortunate 101.”
TEAM STEVE!!!
@ Steve, we fully understand what you are saying but you have to understand that it doesnt matter how much training or education she receives; the girl is not genuine. She will aways incite two kinds of feelings. Those that like her, and those that see right through her and dont. I for one, think William could have done so much better, its just too bad the other women he wanted to marry were smart enough to value their freedom, career and privacy and not sell their soul for a title.
I’m on Team Melody here. At least Chelsy Davy is working on a career (law, I believe), not just waiting around for Harry to pop the question. (As far as I know, they are no longer together.)
And anyone who thinks she looks YOUNGER than her age needs to have their eyes checked. Both Kate and her sister look to be in their early 30s. I see younger looking 38 year olds every day.
Here is the thing, Steve. No one is comparing her to blood princesses. Everyone knows that she is new to these things, but in the past when she was Royal Adjacent, The palace put out statements along the lines of waiting for her to get married as the excuse for her NOT working in any capacity be it paid or unpaid work. It was also very strongly suggested that she was receiving princess lessons immediately she got engaged. Immediately after the wedding, probably not even a week later, The Palace put out a statement saying she was not going to work, preferring to be a housewife for at least the first two years of the marriage. Now she is either looking over some charities or receiving those same princess lessons. The point is that there is a PR campaign to make it seem like she is working or wanting to work, meanwhile time is ticking away. If the babies come, i am pretty sure that will be used as an excuse to give her a good 7 years [7yrs being the start of prep school] or even 13 when said children finally start boarding at Eton, or similar.
BTW, here is a thought. Charles is the next King, why has Camilla never been publically allowed to call her alleged laziness ‘princess in training’ lessons. After all, if you use the same excuse for Kate as Royal adjacent for NOT working before the wedding and now new Royal who needs to be trained after the wedding, then the same should apply to Camilla. She is in more danger of needing those lessons than Kate does seeing that is meeting these foreigbn visitors.
As i said in my earlier post, they need to stop because with every statement they put out, they make her look worse.
@kellie; exactly. We snark about the various princessess [see Monaco] but on the other hand it saddens me to think what she has done or appears to have done in order to get that title. She has no friends that are NOT his friends in the sense that all their so-called mutual friends are HIS friends. all her hobbies are HIS hobbies, never mind that she’s apparently allergic to horses. everytime you see a picture of her past or present when she isn’t hanging out with HIS friends, the only other people in her life are her family which i think is kind of sad. Diana managed a couple of girlfriends that she kept even after she married. i think they helped her put together that book with Andrew Morton. On the one hand, Kate is radiant that she finally got what she wanted etc and probably there is love too, but doesn’t she look tense.
Please, please, please stop making excuses for this lazy, pathetic almost 30 year old who doesn’t know the meaning of work. Palace PR bull shizz not withstanding; pick a charity, Kate, and get started. You learn by doing, not by sitting on your ass. And you will gain confidence as you do more. The longer you hide out, the longer it will take.
I just can’t believe all the “Oh poor Katie” whiny ass garbage being flung around here. The girl lives in the lap of luxury. Get started, or pregnant, or how about both.
Hate to say it, but I think William has a problem on his hands. He asked for it, though.
Melody: Bull’s eye!!!!
LAK: I’ve read a lot of people who call Camilla lazy too. She deserves the moniker as well. She does, however, get out a little more than Kate does.
Right on Julie M & Kellie!!!!!!!!! I think our friend Steve must have some connection to the royal family as he seems to have a vested interest in Kate’s reputation.
Well said #30.
Dot – those are too funny. The first one’s great.
Well said, Melody!
I’m over the fawning over Duchess Dolittle. There’s nothing admirable about her. All she did was marry a prince. She’s done fook-all else with her life.
Can’t really compare her to Chelsy Davy b/c, by all accounts, Chelsy broke up with Harry *because* she IS hard working and does not “need” nor want the attention and lifestyle that comes with marrying a member of the royal family.
I cannot judge Kate for wanting what millions of girls want–to marry a prince. She apparently made A’s throughout college, all the while staying active in sports (her own hobbies and proving she is capable of discipline), and she was savvy and motivated enough to make sure she was up at the crack of dawn to be one of the few to dine with Prince William, thus becoming a fixture in his life. Okay, so maybe that last part is not too impressive, but an early riser always impresses me, probably because I am not. 😉
Sure, she is not a huge career woman and, sure, I can look down on her for that, but that may be what William *needs.* Look at Chelsy–she was way too independent for Harry and way too busy with her own life. William cannot marry a Chelsy type because being his wife, in essence, is a job in and of itself. Now she is finally being trained for that “job.”
Should they have begun training her sooner? Perhaps, but as someone else pointed out, that may have ended up being publicized and thus scrutinized, which was premature at that point. Should she have begun doing charity work sooner? Probably. However, she has been a paparazzi target for awhile now, so that could have dictated what she chose to do/not do prior to marriage, because I don’t think she had security at her disposal then.
#40’s links were funny, and the first one does make her look like a bit of a fake (she smiles and when the camera stops she almost rolls her eyes. The other 2 videos are fine, IMO). However, my friend told me the other day that I did something similar (OMG, Heather, you just totally looked at Steve like you cannot wait to get out of here!)I actually was not feeling irritated but my face looked like I was. And my face certainly would have looked even more irritated if I was asked to pose for a million photos. So, again, I cannot judge…
It’s interesting reading all the comments here, not least because whilst I’ve never been a fan of Kate’s, I find myself wanting to defend her as I feel the level of criticism directed at her is unreasonable and unfair. Guess I’m more patriotic than I ever realised.
Firstly, to Kaiser – you don’t begin princess training until you’re a princess. Forget being engaged, until it’s official, you don’t start the official training.
To all those who resent Kate because she hasn’t had a serious career or long term job, without wishing to be rude, I can’t help but wonder; really what does it matter to you? It wasn’t like she was claiming unemployment benefit. She’s from a comfortably well-off family who have been happy to support her and therefore hasn’t been a burden to the state as such. If you had been financing her, I’d understand your resentment, but this kind of criticism is becoming increasingly tiresome and trite as are the bitter rants which accompany it. So she’s rich – get over it, some people are, some people aren’t, that’s life.
Another way of viewing it is that she did have a full-time job, as Prince William’s girlfriend. Clearly, and perhaps unsurprisingly she decided to make Prince William a priority in her life and that required certain sacrifices. Once she made that decision, a ‘normal’ life, is not realistic.
I can’t help but feel that much of the anger and annoyance at Kate stems from jealousy, perhaps from people who have to work hard for a living and are resentful of those whom they perceive to have an ‘easier’ life. I can totally relate – especially after the week at work I’ve had, but what are you going to do? Being bitter at Kate won’t make your life better.
And let us not forget, she will be taking on Royal duties. The fact that she wants to research and decide which charities she can contribute to, is an indication of someone whose sensible and independent rather than being willing to do what’s she told without considering it through. I take that as a positive sign.
Steve – do you work for the “Firm”? I found your comments very interesting, well balanced and insightful. It’s a shame that some people find it difficult to let go of their prejudices and be willing to give the girl a chance. I think she did an excellent job with Prince William when they went to North America, and this is coming from someone whose never been a fan of hers, although from writing this it appears I have been converted. I personally believe that she will make an excellent Queen and is the right person to give Prince Williams the support and guidance he will need when he takes on his duties.
Good luck to them both, I wish them all the best.
I think the point is that she is being held up as a paragon of whatever, by the media and royals fans, simply because she married William and he is the heir. People buy into this “fairy tale,” when in reality, marriage is no such thing, especially for a royal.
Sydney you and Steve probably both work for the firm and its interesting how you didnt think twice about the girl but find if necessary to write long paragraphs to defend her now. Thats one. Two, the only females in this world who are jealous of Kate are 10 year old little girls who dont know any better. Three, there are thousands of wealthy people who come from money and still manage to marry well, and make positive contributions to society. And you are right, she did an excellent job in North America because its hard to screw up smilling and waving.
What was that Steve? I couldn’t understand a word in between all the sycophantic gobbledygook.
Maybe if you write another long, pretentious essay on the merits of being a lazy, 30 year social climber, I’ll understand you better…
sydney, i think it’s the ham fistedness of the PR campaign that is creating all this snark. The constant updates followed either by U-turns and or something distracting. The message isn’t consistent. What kind of firm allows their newest prize jewel to go by the moniker of ‘Waity’, ‘stepford’ or even ‘duchess dolittle’ perhaps this is their way of countering it, but it isn’t working. she’s not a rock star, so why are they treating her brand as if they are promoting a rockstar?
@Sydney: very well said, and I concur…
@Kellie – thank you, for my first hate mail, now I know why it amuses Lainey no end when she gets them.
Firstly and sadly, I don’t work for the Firm, my job is far less glamourous and not as well paid.
Secondly, I never said I didn’t think twice about Kate, just that whilst I hadn’t been a fan of hers previously, I found the level of hate and vitriol targeted at her unwarranted and unreasonable. I think your response demonstrates this perfectly, so thank you for that.
Thirdly, so the “only females in this world who are jealous of Kate are 10 year old little girls who dont know any better”, interesting… so do you know all the people who’ve posted comments on here personally then? I don’t, but they don’t strike me as being 10 year old girls.
With regards to your comment, “there are thousands of wealthy people who come from money and still manage to marry well, and make positive contributions to society,” quite possibly there’s some truth to that, but let me ask you this; what makes you so sure that Kate won’t be making a positive contribution to society? Do you have a crystal ball that sees into the future? If yes, please could you let me know the winning lotto numbers – it’d be much appreciated.
Finally, I’m glad you feel that she did an excellent job in America, there’s clearly more to being on tour than smiling and waving, but you’re quite right in thinking that some might find this too difficult.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww
@Lak: Duchess Dolittle? That’s quite funny, you made me laugh, I hadn’t heard of that one!
@Heather: Gosh – thank you, that’s very kind. If my friends could see me defending Kate – how’d they laugh. : )
You Go KimBob!
LAK, Kate worked at Party Pieces (her family business) for a couple of years before her marriage. She also worked as an accessory buyer with the clothing store Jigsaw before working at Party Pieces. When she attended St Andrews University, she worked at a local pub in Scotland. So you can’t say that she never worked a paid job. That rumor on the internet is false.
When Kate became engaged to William, she began to receive advice from William’s official team at St James’s Palace and his father’s team at Clarence House. Now that she was engaged to him she was entitled to receive briefings from the royal household. Now that she’s HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, she is now receiving the proper guidance so she can carve out her royal role. This is something Prince Daniel of Sweden went through after his engagement and marriage to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
When Kate becomes pregnant, she will most likely continue on with her royal engagements until she is put on official maternity leave from royal duties. I’m just saying that because this seem to be that pattern that pregnant royal ladies do now.
Camilla’s situation is pretty much different from Kate’s. Camilla went through royal traning before her marriage because Charles and his team tried to work hard to get Camilla accepted by the media and public. Of course we know why they did that. Camilla was attending public engagements with Charles before they was engaged. Camilla’s process took a couple of years and then they became engaged and then married.
I think the problem is that people are so tied up in belleving in all those tabloid stories about Kate, that they are full of anger and allowing that to cloud their judgement.
Also, the palace is never said that William and Kate will take two years off from royal duties. They have made it pretty clear that for the next two years the royal couple will continue to do their royal duties by working around William’s SAR (Search and Rescue) job in Wales. So this rumor about them taking two years off and doing no royal duties are also false. They will most likely take another royal tour next year for the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.
I do not understand the level of vitriol either. She may not have been as active as some would prefer (although I’m with Steve and Sydney for the reasons why) but we haven’t heard any reports of boorish or rude behavior, asking for favors, insisting orange cones be moved etc.
In addition, I think that it is impossible to compare the wife of the future King of England with other European royalty. At least in the US, the British royal family has a significantly higher level of visibility. Further, Kate and William are the new face of British Royalty and as such are expected to never cast THE FAMILY in a bad light. With such immense scrutiny the Firm no doubt wants to ensure that there are no misteps. Frankly, the Royals attract attention to all things British which brings in money. Conversely, they need to justify the money they receive from the taxpayers. There is a lot at stake which thus justifies the Kate’s lessons.
Well, I for one, don’t like Duchess Waity because she seems like a wet towel (no fun). She DEFINITELY seems like the girlfriend who gets a boyfriend and changes her whole life to make it revolve around him. Weren’t there stories that William invited all his ex girlfriends to the wedding? I believe that! I believe ALL their friends are really HIS friends.
Steve, please convey two messages to Waity – – 1.) STEP AWAY FROM THE EYELINER 2.) Eat a sandwich.
@Luise..try seeing an anger management counsellor..stat!
@Melody..I’m not a huge fan of the Duchess, but…why are you comparing her to other Princesses? Do you have a protocol in your head for how they should be qualified and how they should behave? Are you some kind of Royal expert? I guess she can’t keep everyone happy, but once she has produced an heir for the British throne she will be sitting even prettier. Don’t hate her for being a rich girl.
I just think that if she really cared for a specific cause, she would have started working for it a long time ago – you don’t have to be a princess to be passionate about something. I am not one and I am involved in a lot of organizations for the causes that I consider important. She strikes me as somebody who doesn’t really care that much for what does not directly affects her.
Grace, you are wrong. She does passionately care about her eyeliner, her hair and her thin body.
I too believe that Kate is lazy, and I think it is compounded because she appears to have no real hobbies or interests of her own. As so many people have already pointed out, she has done little since her graduation from university. During the period when Will & Kate broke up, did Kate travel, pursue a new hobby or career, volunteer, or take a class? It’s not like money is an issue.
When I did read articles about Will & Kate’s relationship much of their time together seemed to be casual dating. There was definitely a pattern of William dating another woman, William being dumped by the other woman, and William going back to Kate. There were at least 7 other women he dated and from the accounts I read he seemed more enthusiastic in his efforts than he ever was with Kate. I think he settled for someone who is easy going and loyal.
I don’t think it is too much to ask that someone who marries into the Royal Family actually have a personality and show some interest in something outside of their partner. I would also think that same person would have kept themself informed on politics and royal etiquette through out the relationship. Perhaps if Kate had showed more interest William wouldn’t have waited so long to propose.
I think Kate has had years to show the public that she has a personality and it has become pretty obvious that she doesn’t. I predict she will become pregnant as soon as possible and happily decide to “focus” on being a mother and wife for the rest of her boring days.
Why do some people use jealousy as an excuse for all the criticsm towards Kate? Some people are just able to see beyond all the PR bullshit – doesn’t mean they are jealous.
The degree of venom aimed at Kate is definitely excessive.
If Kate were so lazy, why did she turn down the offer of having full-time household help, and travel to Canada with only the bare minimum of staff? She’s often photographed going grocery shopping.
Kate has clearly stated she’s in the process of choosing her charities (something like 700 of them have asked her to be their patron), and she is researching all of them and visiting many of them, and then will choose. So why are you people all upset about it? It’s completely irrational.
Maybe it’s jealousy, but the people who seem to be most upset are those who have their own expectations of what Kate should be doing, and then get angry and judge her harshly if she does anything else.
Clearly her No. 1 job is William, and that’s what she’s focusing on. Smart girl. That’s why she’s the princess and the other ones aren’t.
I, too, am getting sick of the “If you don’t like Kate, you’re jealous of her” crap the shows up from the Katie fan girls. I do not admire William in any way for settling for this lazy girl. She is welcome to him.
I honestly think that Kate thought that she could marry William and go live in the country for the rest of her life. Camilla did it. The fact that she may have to actually do something from time to time seems to be making her hesitate to get involved.
Please stop with the Jigsaw job. Those who worked with her said all she did was make tea part time. She had to be at William’s disposal whenever he wanted. She didn’t quit because of the paps (convenient excuse, though). She quit because it interfered with her social life. You sychophants can try all you want to make her into something she is not. Good luck, not much to work with.
Steve and Sydney: The check is in the mail.
I agree with Posts #30 and 70. Enough coddling Kate. She’s no different than Paris Hilton. Oh wait, even Paris has a career.
“Clearly her No. 1 job is William, and that’s what she’s focusing on. Smart girl.”
This seems like a back-handed compliment!
“That’s why she’s the princess and the other ones aren’t.”
The others weren’t princesses because they know all the pressure being the future Queen carries. Also, because they have self-respect and wouldn’t allow themselves to be dragged around for a decade waiting for a man to put a ring around their finger (while doing nothing at the same time).
Most of them are already part of the royals’ social circle, they can still spend time with members of The Firm without all the added pressure. They are already part of the aristocracy/landed gentry and wouldn’t feel the need to social climb unlike what Kate’s family did when she married William.
Steve, do you know how many university students have pub jobs or jobs to supplement their grants/loans??? To point to that as evidence of her work ethic frankly leaves me speechless. HOwever as you are so eager to point out the truth regarding her paid jobs, i really would like to know what her unpaid jobs are. And also, it’s very telling that you have to scramble to include childhood jobs ie the pub at uni, to include in her resume. These are things a 30yr old doesn’t talk about except anecdotally or if they have gone into that industry.
It was widely and well reported that her Jigsaw job was at the mercy of William’s schedule and even so only lasted a few weeks
And as for the work for Party pieces, again widely and well reported as one photoshoot rather than an on going concern.
This isn’t internet rumour, it is out there, openly discussed in broadsheets and tabloids alike. She is viewed as a work-shy woman who waited her entire adult life for the ring and the title.
And as for the various released statements which you are refuting, i suppose the Times has it wrong, as does the court circular. And when The Lady finds another excuse for why she has not taken up any charities yet, you will be back on these boards refuting any claims that she was researching any charities, just like you are challenging the other statements.
And another thing, it really doesn’t matter about process. I am sure you remember what happened after the death of Diana, and The Queen insisted on process to near catastrophe. The fact that she had worked tirelessly for this country all her life didn’t matter.
My advice, less process, more duty, stop the updates. It will shut all us naysayers up.
I think it was a valid life choice for Kate to be William’s companion instead of following a traditional career path. Obviously she knew they were headed towards marriage. It is very sad that Kate is being vilified for that choice.
Do people really think that everyone must have a traditional 9-5 job, or else they are lazy and lacking in self-respect?
Kate has already raised tens of millions for charity with sales of the wedding video and viewing of the dress, and her and William’s public appearances for various charities.
Perhaps instead of tending to William in Angelsey she should be driving 10 hours to London and back every day to make charity appearances? Get real, people!
By the way, “the arts” refers to visual arts such as painting, architecture, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance. Art history is a subset of visual arts.
As a royal, one would be expected to entertain — and converse intelligently — with the world’s top achievers, thus the need for some background info.
PJ; As prince Andrew proves, you really don’t need to be on top of your subject matter. people are coming to see you regardless.
It is a valid life choice, i just keep wishing that they wouldn’t pretend otherwise, and keep dangling these carrots. And whether i like it or not, she is being held up as a role model, and so you need to ask, a role model for what exactly? That just increases my snark.
BTW: that wedding video was a given. Every royal wedding video has been sold for charitable causes, so you can not credit her for that one.
I do not like Kate. She was the wrong choice and do not believe this is a happily married couple but an arrangement. They pay people to defend her. The PR campaign is garbage.
she’s 30 but she looks about 7 years+ older than she is ever since she lost an extreme amount of weight. she looked fine before she did. when will women understand that while being super-thin may make you fashionable, it ages you prematurely and you can look much better at a normal-thin weight. men do not require you to be at victoria beckham’s weight… and they don’t like it when a woman’s legs are anorexic looking. they just don’t want you to have a huge belly, that’s about it. i never met a straight man who said “oh she needs to be a size 0 or she isn’t hot enough” also, all these plastic surgeries are the bane of women and men in celebland but i digress. point is, she needs to go back to her weight when she was an athlete and she and the prince were dating. she looked superb then.
She can lose all the weight she wants but she still has a pig nose.
I wonder if Steve is a “paid” poster?