Here are more photos from the royal family’s big weekend, most of these pics I just hadn’t gotten around to posting yet. There are some balcony pics of Duchess Kate and William and Harry, plus a couple more of Kate with Prince George at the polo match on Sunday. While I know the Trooping the Colour event “counts” as royal work, I wonder if Kate’s appearance at the polo game also counts? We’ll see.
Kate and William actually did several appearances over the past week after taking some time off after their grueling Australian and New Zealand vacation (because that’s all it was, another vacation). It was just announced that Kate, William, Harry and the Queen will be attending the Commonwealth Games in July in Scotland as well. The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles and Camilla will be opening up the games (the dates coincide with the Queen’s annual summer vacation to Balmoral), and Kate, William and Harry will all be attending on July 28 & 29. So… something to look forward to in July. Hopefully they’ll get a proper vacation at some point this summer!
As for the Aussie and New Zealand trip (which cost taxpayers more than $2 million), the Australian Tourism Board says that it worked. Inquiries about tour packages have increased, everyone wants to see all of the sights that Will and Kate saw. One Aussie travel-site general manager said: “The Kate Middleton effect strikes again, but this time it’s not the latest dress the nation is after, it’s a holiday. We have seen a huge demand from travellers looking to replicate that of the recent Royal tour.” Well… good, I suppose. That’s strange that it’s still all Kate is known for, shopping and vacations.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
Do we think Kate wore the same color as the Queen to upstage her since she was forced to wear a pencil skirt?
The Countess of Wessex wore a similar color. I think they all have to wear a limited palette and there was no conspiracy.
Kate wears pencil skirts all the time and always has.
George is a cutie pie ❤
So adorable.
Such a cutie! I just want to squeeze him!!
Yup. Babies are cute. All babies. Royal and common.
Ditto.
Please tell me you don’t think I’m saying he’s cute just because he’s royal.
No goodnames
I am thinking he’s a pr pawn and i’m not biting. Every time isee lenor, george, and other royal babies my heart goes awwwww! But as we know Georges privacy is paramount! Unless his parents need a happy family outing photo op. George any othertime is off limits. Happy family or not. It has come to the point where when I see George i wonder what scandal or bad pr am I missing.
That and a baby is an easy distraction for the masses. He’s adorable in his outfit and those chubby cheeks! But he wouldn’t otherwise be in these shots if he wasn’t serving a purpose for image and pr
It saddens me, but I’m with you on this one, FLORC. I hope to be proven wrong in the future.
That was, like, three solid days of work for Kate, non?
*turns on tap water, watches it catch on fire*
Oh poor thing.
Yes, I’m sure that tour was exactly like a vacation. Where you have millions of people scrutinizing everything you do and you spend a lot of time making small talk with local dignitaries. That sounds exactly like the last time I went to the beach.
I don’t think it’s fair to compare it to a vacation, either.
Considering they did fit at least 2 vacations into the tour I think it is.
Then they get special invites to parties and tours to areas a normal tourist wouldn’t get. Like in a resort how you go and do a few things a day for a few hours and then relax. Only this vacation/resort paid you to come, paid all your expenses, and bought you new clothes.
If Esti is making sarcasm i’m not seeing it. That’s exactly what happens when I go to the beach.
Yes, Royal tours and appearances often involve things that people would do for fun on their own. But there’s an enormous difference between “hey, want to go the zoo today?” and showing up for an official appearance at the zoo where you’re meeting with officials and selected visitors and having thousands of photographers follow you around.
But if you think the Aus/NZ tour was a vacation, I hope you were criticizing Charles and Camilla for taking a vacation in Canada last month, because they did almost exactly the same activities. Welcome reception, exhibit of planes, animal exhibit, war memorial (which W & K also did).
As for “vacations” during the tour: they took three days off on a three week tour. That seems pretty reasonable to me.
You are right, it’s not fair to compare it to a vacation. Why? Because people pay for vacations out of their own pockets!!!
Not quite fair to compare C&C to W&C. CC did their engagements in four days, and there were a lot. Like a lot.
But I can see both sides of the “vacation” argument as they didn’t do a lot during the time they were there and had plenty of downtime. So maybe we could agree on working vacation or something like that.
But at least Kate is now using her powers for good.
Agree, @bluhare, “working vacation” is probably best. My husband and I attend several conferences throughout the year, and in addition to preparing our papers, presenting our papers, and attending other panels and receptions, we make time to enjoy the sights of whatever city we are in (heck, it’s part of the reason we go!). And we have to pay our conference and travel fees and are responsible for our own clothes, hair and makeup.
I think the term “scrutinized” is a bit overstating the case re: Kate. She wears a dress and it sells out in an hour; there are entire blogs dedicated to her clothing choices. She gets criticized, but really it’s minor: length/style of hair, appropriateness of attire. No one is trying to tear down the monarchy because her skirt flew up. It’s hardly “grueling.” Nor, for that matter, is attending a zoo exhibit and making 5-10 minutes of small talk with a zookeeper. Let’s raise the bar a little, shall we?
Esti
Royal tours that Kate has been on are drastically different from Royal tours that other royals have been on. And yes, some do have an easy time while others are non-stop. I refer to Bluhares comment. You just can’t compare the 2 for numerous reasons outside of “Royal couple” and “tour”.
Also, this tour was very easy. Much was cut out and shortened for them. Much was simply a photo op and standing, sitting, elbow rubbing. They declined items and their discretion, much as they assemble their schedules.
An because they didn’t pay out of pocket was not the sole leg of my argument to stand on. If that’s all that came across I’ve clearly not stated my point well and i’m sorry.
Okie
Yes. Thank you. Sure Kate gets some criticism. Show me a public figure that doesn’t. It is standard with her role and she will never get the worst of it. Harry’s wife will. What she gets criticized here for is mostly apathy towards her charities, covering our jewelry pr0n with her hair, forgetting to wear underwear with cameras all around her looking for “the shot to sell issues”, and not following protocol at the very least.
She’s over 30, a mother, and been in the firm for 3 years and counting. Let us not lower the bar anymore. That poor thing is 6 feet under.
Now lets all go to a KK thread and complain about how she doesn’t work, give to charity, wears innapropriate clothes, and has her photos all photoshopped.
*snickers off to spin class*
Exactly. That is what Royals do, they travel around talking to people and waving at them. I remember just after Prince Charles and Lady Di got married, they also spent time doing the exact same thing. We got a day off school just so our teachers could watch them drive past us waving
Cue the violins. Would you like some “whine” with your cheese?
I think fair to say that it was a working tour with a much lighter schedule than comparable working tours made by other members of the RF, however. And to be a bit shadey when saying it!
Was the schedule actually lighter? I think people forget that Aus/NZ are huge, and because they weren’t just in one or two places, they spent a ton of time traveling while they were there. The only difference I really noticed was that they didn’t do evening events because they wanted to see George at night.
I think the thing people did notice, and that there was a lot of talk about, was that it was more *casual* than a lot of Royal tours. They didn’t do a lot of formal/semi-formal receptions or dinners, it was more active. That was reportedly both because the palace wanted to emphasize that these are the young Royals and because Aus/NZ wanted to be more laid back and showcase those kinds of activities.
At the end of the tour, I believe someone posted here on Celebitchy their schedule with the actual time spent at each engagement.
I agree, Sixer. I just made the same argument upthread.
Yes, Australia is large. They had plenty of time in between their engagements, and other than getting up for a dawn service on Anzac day it wasn’t exactly grueling.
I believe they did something like 26-28 events over 21 days, and by comparison, Charles and Camilla did something like 40 over 4 days in Canada.
And yes, it’s a big place, but it doesn’t take *that* long to travel when you have jets and helicopters at your disposal.
It was a light tour, any way you look at it, and they had a lot of fun.
I would also like to stop pretending like these recent events are work. Doing actual charity work for their patronage’s is work. Not riding in carriages and attending sporting events.
Canada isn’t small – not if you’re a Brit!
It was a demonstrably light schedule and I think we do get to say “should try harder” about it.
Shazbot: I think state occasions are fairly called work. That’s the constitutional side of the RF and it’s non-negotiable. I don’t think polo matches can count as work, simply because the photos appear in the papers.
Sixer – fair.
I think I mean more that they’ll do Trooping the Colour and Order of the Garter, then Whiny Willy will stomp his feet and say they worked so hard all weekend.
Part of me totally gets that he didn’t choose this life and having your career and future dictated for you would be frustrating, but let’s call a spade a spade. This is a sweet gig they’ve got, and it’s not like he would be happy having a *real* career where he actually had to show up and work 40 hours a week with 2-3 weeks of vacation. I would love it if my whole job was to champion causes close to my heart and work beside them to bring awareness and fundraising. Diana had empathy for miles, which she seems to have passed to Harry. William, not so much.
I was thinking this morning, Harry has done an official visit to the Americas every year of the last three, in addition to other foreign visits and being active duty military including a deployment to Afghanistan. And yes, I am aware he usually tacks a vacation onto the end. Still, it’s striking to me that William and Kate haven’t managed to start picking up these shorter visits in addition to their one longer annual tour.
Shazbot – I second that emotion – commotion? – at present, these two are not a good deal for hard-pressed British taxpayers. It might be a bum deal in terms of Willy’s peers, but us working Joes aren’t paying for them.
Canada isn’t small in general, it’s the second largest country in the world after Russia
I’ve been to Canada a few times. It’s Massive and every part of it is amazing.
Harry’s US visits have been packed. He meets, does a photo op, and then actually gets down to business. It’s not cameras and small talk. He’s engaged and working towards a goal. I can forgive his antics with ladies, poor party choices, and loads of vacations. I can easily do this because he works. He takes that time for the military and his charities. He has formed bonds with those he served with and has taken on more military related charities. He gets to meet celebs not in stuffy formal occasions, but being active in the charity with him. Again forming more bonds!
Harry is active in work and charities. And when the press tries to put out negative or embarrassing stories he ignores it and moves on with more work. He doesn’t dwell and complain. If you ignore it it goes away. The press can’t get a reaction so they lose interest.
This is why I gush over Harry, Diana’s son. And less gushing over William. I’ve been this way since 1996 too.
Hi Esti,
I see your point, but I just wanted to point out one thing vis-a-vis your comparison of the Wales’ tour and the Cambridges’ tour:
Charles and Camilla completed 41 engagements in 3.5 days while in Canada.
William and Kate completed in 16 engagements in 2.5 weeks while in Australia New Zealand.
While I understand your point regarding calling the Cambridges’ tour a vacation, I do think that Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall’s Canadian tour was jam-packed and a much more involved tour.
In this context, and given the multiple vacation and half days built into the Cambridges’ tour, I can understand why some would call this a “vacation” when compared to the Wales’ Canadian tour.
I agree that they don’t work very hard and all the rest. I just think calling it a vacation is going a little far. The responses to my comment, and to Esti’s, are a little over the top. These Royal threads are getting a little hostile, and I have no interest in participating in that. By the way, Aeryn39, I don’t mean you. You were very polite.
GoodNames
I’ve felt like you. It gets roughs and it shouldn’t. It should be light fun or an escape.
A vacation is too far. So is calling it a tour. A working vacation as another stated sounds right.
And I hope this wasn’t over George and his cuteness.
I’m not saying there’s anything untoward going on, but there seems to be a lot of chemistry between Kate and Harry.
That brooch or pin she’s wearing makes me so mad. She could wear something stunning every day and she wears that? I could make that dumb thing.
Definitely! Tossing her hair in his direction and the faces shes making while talking to him. That is flirting if I ever saw it. I made my husband, who couldn’t care less about royals, analyze the body language between these two and he agreed.
ITA.
She was tossing her hair in the space where Cressida isn’t.
[hairwhip] “Oh my, who took my advice too seriously, lol!” thought the Duchess with a barely concealed smile of triumph. “I’ve still got me two hubbies, oi!”
Bwahaha! @ Liberty.
She seems to come alive when Harry’s around. Actually, she seems to come alive when men (other than hubby) are around, like Ben WhatsisName from the America Cup event.
Hah Liberty! Your posts are awesome.
Still, Harry could have chemistry with a rock. It does not take much for him to make a girl smile.
Kate would probably have pursued Harry had he been the main title holder, she is totally attracted to him, in a flirty way. She would never go past that, but she likes him.
IMO.
Notice she never lights up around women, only men and especially Harry. Hahaha.
Bahahaha! @Liberty
Not surprised George was trotted out — they were getting quite a bit of negative publicity lately.
Many of William and Harry’s public appearances as children were at polo fields. I agree that they knew bringing the baby out would help their cause, but so far, George’s appearances have been remarkably similar to William’s. William had one extended photocall in Kensington Palace — I think it was just before the 1982 Australia tour — that doesn’t have a parallel. (The single family photo with Lupo wasn’t as extensive.)
Now if only Kate tried to follow Diana’s work schedule. Although actually I think William is the one who’s the most disgraceful layabout.
I agree with you, Ellen. They knew the photographers would be all over George, and she was wearing her engagement ring. She doesn’t wear it when she doesn’t think she’ll be photographed.
They did something of an interview right before Christmas of William’s first year that showed him off and showed him interacting with his parents. But I also think the royal family doesn’t do that kind of thing as often generally speaking now.
I’ve also heard that Kate and George didn’t stay at the polo for very long, which could explain why there were limited photos of interaction between them and William.
Yeah, and they’re not crying “privacy” over George’s gig at the polo field. I wonder how long they stayed.
And this is why the British support the royals. They are the best board of tourism in the world.
Three weeks of endless public appearances and chatting up strangers isn’t a vacation. It’s a huge drag.
Oh the horror………..then the RF can give up the millions in welfare and get real jobs.
Yup. I support them, even though I think these two could really step up their game.
To some it may be a drag, to others a delight. I would love to have done what they did. It would be just like…a paid vacation. Heh.
Don’t forget the torture and mind control, kind of evens things out. I wouldn’t want to be a Royal.
Is it the Kate effect or is it that the press falls over Kate so where she goes gets attention by default.
It’s not what she did. It’s where she went and what she wore as said above. If Kate was replaced by any other woman on William’s arm who did that little the same effect would happen.
Absolutely!!! In terms of doing anything meaningful or productive, she is a big ZERO. There’s simply nothing for the press to say about her accomplishments or actual work – unlike Diana, Kate is a mere figurehead for her carefully selected charities and never actually rolls up her sleeves or gets involved.
Shame Kate hasn’t wanted to apply this “Kate effect” to charity. Can you imagine if she really got out there with fundraising and was able to say at the end of the year that she had raised X number of millions for charity?
AM, quite frankly I can’t imagine that. From what I’ve seen so far, Kate is all about doing as little as possible in order to get the attention she craves. The fact that she gets so much press coverage for merely showing up and breathing is testimony to this. If she is praised and admired for showing up in acceptable attire, what incentive does she have to knock herself out and actually DO something?
Caitlin
For a bit Kate seemed like she was going to be involved. That crew team charity event in the early part of their marriage. She trained with them and put in the time. She worked hard. Then she pulled out very last minute. People said at first it was her laziness, but later we’ve come to hear William told her to drop out.
2 things here. She can’t work harder than William. It makes him look lazy. Instead of Lazy William it’s Lazy Kate.
And if Kate does more she will not just be a clothes horse. She will be someone who works and the public may lose that fairy tale of marrying a prince and never having to life a finger unless it’s raising your tea cup.
I really thought with her pregnancy she would take on a infant related charity. Shame she wasted an oportunity. Woman with most watched bump would have been amazing for a cause.
Still, I wish she’d do more. Even at the sacrifice she’s not known for her looks. Working and keeping up her appearance can fit together.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner!
Co-sign. This is exactly it Florc! This goes for any celeb really. The press builds them up. They do the same with any blonde Harry talks to or date.
+1000 FLORC
If only she’d direct the “Kate Effect” to one of her patronages…
Amen, FLORC. All she has to do is bring the body.
Ironically, I don’t think we saw that much of Australia/NZ and what we saw has largely been seen before. I don’t know how this inspired people to suddenly want to spend big bucks to vacation there. I guess I’m totally skeptical about Waity inspired tourism numbers. Seems self-serving to me.
hmmm
I always question those numbers.They almost always get fluffed up.
wow
The press did this for sure as they do for most ladies. And lord forbid they cover someone who works. Diana and Hilary Clinton had this in common. No matter how hard they worked the press only cared about appearances and catty behavior.
Exactly Florc.
It’s the British press falling over Kate , she could stub her toe and they would sing praises of how well she did it, but this would have been the same with practically ANY woman William the future King married. William is the Golden Prince to the press and his wife MUST be sold as the golden Princess. IMO Kate is below mediocre, nothing special.
George is a cutie though. As a baby, He’s got more personality than K the and William put together. Haha.
Is it bad if I say i want more photos of George and less photos of his parents? Probably, since this is a WK story… But oh babies are so cute! And WK are … Well, not cute.
me like I want more pictures of George and especially more pictures of Estelle Sweden this is absolutely a little love, and indeed it would be nice if George and Estelle meet
Can she ever leave her hair alone?
If she isn’t flipping her skirt, then it’s going to be the hair.
She’d want to climb down out of her brother-in-law’s lap, already >_>
Oh dear, I hope they don’t have to spend too much time mingling with the peasants
Tourism “inquiries” increased, but what about paid bookings? It would be interesting to see down under visitor data at the end of this summer travel season.
Such a skeptic MinnFinn, tsk, tsk..;)
Good point, MinnFinn. Increased inquiries usually turn into increased business, so it would be interesting to see if someone actually tallies things up. Is this prime Australia/NZ tourist season? I know it’s ours, but is it theirs?
I assume that since kids all over the world have a break from school during the northern hemisphere’s summer, that means peak travel season worldwide. Maybe someone who works in the travel industry will weigh in.
Not really. It’s winter down here at the moment so NZ is mostly just wet & cold. It would appeal to tourists looking for snow/skiing I suppose. Usually summer (dec-feb) are peak tourist months
All babies are not cute, but this one is.
I’ve said this before but if people would just accept that looking pretty, smiling, curtseying to the Queen, wearing the latestest fashions, being thin, having babies, showing off said babies every once and a while, showing up to events, and shaking hands is all that is expected of Kate at this point. So she is doing her job. She possibly has a long time before she becomes Queen Consort, so she is enjoying her time being a mom. That’s great especially when it seems to be a common complaint of royal children that their mother/father hardly spent time with them as children. I’m sure a lot of mothers would love to spend those formative years devoted to their children. Kate is fortunate enough to have that option with the Queens blessings apparently.
What I don’t understand is this surge of tourism to Australia is being accredited to Will and Kate’s recent trip. I mean hasn’t Australia and New Zealand always been popular vacation spots? I just can’t attribute this to being solely due to W & K presence there this year. Especially, as someone has already stated, their entire trip was paid for. I know Kate is extremely popular, but I ‘m not buying into The Kate Effect as far as tourism and this trip goes.
Oh, jeez, that hair flipping in the first photo. Kate looks really in her element, running her hand through her hair, grinning from ear to ear, on a stage and performing before a huge crowd. I can’t take her. And, yes, please show us more photos of adorable grumpy PG; he’s the best thing that resulted from his parents.
Is there a reason for the different uniform that Harry wore? The other men are in red? Marriage symbol?
Number 1 dress of the Blues and Royals
http://royalcentral.co.uk/princeharry/the-many-uniforms-of-prince-harry-explained-19228
Thanks DeeDee
You know she wants Harry. YOU KNOW IT. He just wants to go back to Vegas.
“Oi, I’m paintin’ the loo at home, you lug!” tittered the Duchess, tossing her hair the way workmen throw coal into a ship’s furnace. “I can use a push up the old ladder, eh? eh? A push, eh? I can USE ONE, eh, eh?”
The Ginger Prince laughed politely, but his eyes darted to a clock on a distant bank. Only a bit longer….. “Ah, painting, quite a nice thing to do,” he said, smiling tensely at the throngs below.
“Oh, you bad thing!” cackled the Duchess, bouncing slightly in her two-piece suit with the securely fastened and lead-weighted skirt-and-modesty-pants combo, quite new from the Miss Sarah Jane Burton Be A Princess collection. After a quick eyeball roll at her damp, pink-faced crowd-dazzled husband, she dug The Ginger Prince with a sharp elbow and mumbled something. Puzzled, he politely leaned in in time to hear his sister-in-law say through a gritted grin, “Oi, you scrumptious strawberry tart, come and service your future queen, eh? Eh? Gimmee a push up later? Big strong lad! When I am PAINTING? eh? Willy will be out matching socks at Liberty, I’ll be on my lonesome, right?” She peered at him out of the corner of her eye. “I paint in my slip, it’s a nice one, eh? eh? We can just talk, eh, friends, right? I’ll put perfume behind me knees just like it says in Women’s Own!”
“Heh heh heh,” laughed The Ginger Prince, flushing red in mortification at her license. His brain was whirling — Aunt Anne was right; time to date a big strong girl from the military who would know what to do. “Eh, must take the old uni in for an epaulet stitch-up,” he said quickly, gesturing vaguely at his shoulder. ‘But I’m sure Camilla or Sophie would, later –”
“Look! I saw a bird go past!” shouted a happy William Baldtop. “Imagine! Why, I love flying too!”
“Sod Camilla! There is no later!” hissed The Duchess at The Ginger Prince. “And fog the crown! I’ve a red-haired baby, eh, and me mum’s not afraid to use the DM OR the Mirror! Eh?! My loo in three hours!”
hahaha – “Miss Sarah Jane Burton Be a Princess collection”! Liberty, I love the way that you think!
LOL, Liberty! I’m with wolfpup on the Miss Sarah Jane Burton Be A Princess collection! Brill, I say!
LOL – I love flying too!
Hahahaha yup she w ants the Ginger.
Kate’s been busy these past few days. I’m not a big baby person but Prince George really is cute. I had to laugh at her face in the header photo. What kind of expression is that? Lol.
Smug, IMO. I’ve noticed the smug lately.
I think your right. She comes off that way in her body language when talking to people.
Yes totally smug.
LadySlippers (nudge and whisper) are you there?
William started his relationship with Catherine in Scotland, so maybe they will end it there, too. William seems like he’s looking for a real Queen, deep down. Often, he looks sad and forlorn, as if he’s seeking a true soulmate. I think William has potential to make a difference in the world, for the greater good, if he just finds the right princess.
Ugh, he should have thought of that before marrying her.