The Windsors have so many “royal traditions” around the holidays, many of those traditions dating back to Queen Victoria’s time, meaning that the traditions are pretty German. Basically, Windsor Christmas seems like an exercise in tight-ass scheduling, church trips, not-fun gifts and drinking. It could be worse, of course. But it’s little surprise that someone like the Duchess of Cambridge wants to spend her Christmas holiday off the German schedule. William and Kate spent Christmas 2016 with the Middletons in Bucklebury. Those photos were pretty much confirmation that the Cambridges are actively trying to have a “separate court” apart from Prince Charles and the Windsor establishment. But with the arrival of Meghan Markle, everything is being re-evaluated, of course. Suddenly, Will and Kate are extremely keen to have a royal Christmas at Sandringham. Reportedly, Will and Kate will even host Prince Harry and Meghan at Anmer Hall. Now Kensington Palace confirms that we’ll be getting those “money shots” of Meghan interacting with Will and Kate at Christmas, probably on the walk to church.
A Christmas gift for all fans of the royals: Meghan Markle will join fiancé Prince Harry for the holidays, PEOPLE can confirm. The 36-year-old American actress will be seen heading to church with the Windsor family on Christmas day morning and will spend the festivities as a guest of Queen Elizabeth.
That means Meghan will share Christmas lunch and gift-giving on Christmas Eve at Sandringham House, in Norfolk – the Queen’s country home and estate about 110 miles north of London. The palace would not confirm any other details including where Meghan may stay. It has been suggested that Prince William, 35, and Kate Middleton, 35, will put them up at Anmer Hall, which is on the estate and only about two miles from the main house. So, Meghan will likely get to spend Christmas morning with little Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2.
A Kensington Palace spokeswoman told PEOPLE, “You can expect to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry and Meghan on Christmas Day.” The annual services are held at St. Mary Magdalene Church, a short walk from the main Sandringham House, and where Charlotte was christened.
For Meghan, the holidays will mean getting into the swing of things with the royal traditions alongside Harry. She will be expected to bring along non-expensive, humble gifts on Christmas even – when the presents are laid out on long tables. Perhaps she will watch Harry, 33, play soccer along with William in the annual charity match, which pits workers at the estate in Norfolk, England, against villagers from nearby Castle Rising. Meghan will certainly take part in the pheasant shoots on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) and other occasions around the 25th.
It is unusual for non-married partners of senior members of the family to join the Queen for Christmas Day’s celebrations. Despite being engaged to William, in 2010 Kate spent her last Christmas as a single woman with her own family. But, unlike Kate, Meghan doesn’t have any family in the U.K. — and clearly Harry will have wanted his new fiancé by his side.
What Harry asks, the Queen is likely to grant, too. A family friend has told PEOPLE, “If Harry asks for something, the Queen would say yes as she adores him.”
Royal fans will now be watching to see if she in the U.K. in time for the annual pre-holiday lunch that the Queen holds at Buckingham Palace next week before she heads to Norfolk.
My guess is that Meghan won’t go to the pre-holiday lunch at Buckingham Palace, but the trade-off is that Meg is welcome to every festivity at Sandringham. I hope Meg enjoys a gin-sauced Queen, corgis going buck wild and endless jars of Kate’s chutney. Ha, wouldn’t it be funny if Meghan’s low-key gifts to the royals were something that she made too? What if Meg has her own chutney recipe?!?!?!
Oh, we should also be getting the engagement portraits at some point, hopefully very soon. Keep your eye out!
Photos courtesy of PCN and WENN.
Yay! I’m actually excited To see if she’ll get on well with Beatrice, Eugenie, and Zara. They all seem like my cup of tea. I’m sure Kate is a perfectly fine person and Meghan called Kate “wonderful” during the Engagement interview. However, I need a little “oomph” with people, a little chutzpah.
Ha ha, Agreed. I always say that about going out to eat. I love the grumpy, but efficient, waitresses who’ve done it for a million years versus the bland version. I don’t need a new friends, I need my food with a side of ‘tude. I agree too that Kate is probably fine, but gimme the chutzpah too.
+1000
The family bond seem to have already been in place as Prince Harry has with his royal family – now Lambridge will be at AH Forest not middleton buckleberry court .
Carol waitie middletons trying to pretend Princess Henry joining the RF before marriage is no big deal – they know making exceptions for worthy Princess Henry Sparkle compared to Lazy Useless strategic baby maker/Duty avoider waitie middleton matters; so carol making sure to keep a CLOSE watch via AH.
Prince/ess Harry need to remain with his ROYAL Family – Cousins HMs -his parents. Waitie willnot couldn’t be bother with traditions over the years, having separate Court in buckleberry rather Wsillnot made changes over the years to NOT be with POW HMs at Sandringham instead stayed with carol and hangers on siblings,
Princess Henry Sparklers should continue to be with the RF at Sandringham – Meghan didn’t leave her life to mixed lower her status and around mafia boss carol middleton the hangers on and lazy Do little waitie middleton.
The Henry’s need to remain with HMs/POW/ RF Cousins who are more important as a family.
@ ‘RoyalSparkle’
I don’t understand what you are trying to say. You always sound like a bad Google translation.
LOL Bianca. LOL.
@ Bianca – neither do I. I saw, and still do not see, what was wrong with Kate wanting to spend her last Christmas before the wedding at home with her parents. But then I am not constantly looking to pick fault. Although I always thought that all members of the RF being expected to be at Sandringham every Christmas was a bit off to be honest – a bit selfish.
@Bianca,
lol. I read it as a total takedown (once again) of Will & Kate and Kate’s family of origin, jealousy, and H& M belonging with TQ / POW at Christmas.
There’s definitely a little crazy in there.
@Bianca. I thought I was the only one. Every post from this poster sounds like gibberish. Thank you for saying something
Royal Sparkle is expressing criticism the way they can best and also their love for Meghan and Harry. I don’t understand all their posts but still read them with interest and try to engage politely at times or say nothing at all. Passing an English exam is not mandatory to post on this site. Picking on them for their English is not nice. Why bother to comment and pick on a commentator for their English. #eyerole
#letbe
@SoulSPA i don’t get the vibe of not speaking english as a first language from RoyalSparkle’s posts. it seems like someone very excitable who doesn’t look back on what they’ve written to check for coherence, insists on referring to everyone/everything with these silly nicknames and abbreviations that no one who doesn’t follow their posts will understand, and speaks in a word salad. it’s entirely possible english is their first language and they’re just not a careful writer/poster at all.
“Lazy Useless strategic baby maker/Duty avoider waitie middleton” all these words when you can just say KATE and everyone will understand.
No, this is not a native English speaker, and I think uses a phone or has a problem with editing or could have a problem with a brain injury or dyslexia or who knows.
I learned the hard way that I can’t use an iPad or else I sound like a Grammar gone wrong edit and spelling challenge lesson. My phone isn’t helpful either sometimes because I am using doing other things and get distracted.
I have every reason to believe that RoyalSparkle is a regular commenter who uses the handle to say things that are…indelicate. I suspected it a few months ago and began to pay attention/compare. I am not only convinced but have identified the person I feel may be doing this. I obviously have no proof but if you start paying attention you may reach the same conclusions I have. In addition, the speech patterns are not those of a non-native English speaker. There are moments of complete clarity, context and coherency isolated within intentional clumps of faux stream of consciousness word salad. A sad commentary, imo, on being too invested in royal gossip threads. And before I’m accused of caring too much please know that I enjoy the posts but rarely comment as I have nothing new to add. But this bugs me.
It’s not this sparkly commenter. I do love me some Harry though.
@Azureskies, I don’t mean to be *indelicate*, but that stream of consciousness word salad is pretty damn consistent in its peculiar wording. I can’t imagine how someone without a personality disorder could maintain such a elaborate (and dichotomous) ruse. It’s always difficult “translating” the comments, but I do try to give the commenter the benefit of doubt by assuming he/she may be dealing with language and/or writing skill challenges.
Olenna,
I rather hope you’re right and I am completely wrong but idk…I am coming away with a different take.
Zara seems cool
She’s her own woman and I like that. Although I’m not a fan of her husband since those pictures came out with him getting cozy with another woman. It either happened shortly before their marriage or shortly after. He just seems so “bro-ey.”
@African Sun, yes. Plus accomplished equestrian with medals won at Olympic Games, world cup too IIRC representing her country. Just like her mother the Princess Royale. That alone makes me less critical of them using public money. Zara’s hubby Mike also played in a rugby team of one of the countries that make the UK, I don’t remember which one nor his sports accomplishments but getting to play for the team is an accomplishment in itself. And he doesn’t come from money. #ilikezaraandmike
@HH, I agree that Mike Tindall seems bro-ey, but a friend of mine has met him (in a rugby context) and says that he is surprisingly articulate and intelligent. And very nice. And he played for England. I am not especially patriotic, but I must admit that I wept when they won the Rugby World Cup in 2003.
@HH the women he was getting “cosy” with was a close friend of both of them who was at their wedding. Honestly, imagine hanging out with your mates – male and female – at the pub, all a bit boozed, and someone is taking secret photos of you all. I’m sure a lot of the photos would look suspect even though it is all completely innocent.
My quasi-old roommate and very close friend is a beautiful heterosexual guy that I am affectionate to, and we hug all the time. We used to walk around holding hands when were younger and he always stayed at my apartment when he was in New York.
My close gay married friends with their babies and apparently a couple, people try to make me part of the equation. Just because we laugh and hug or whatever it doesn’t make it romantic.
It isn’t always what it seems.
According to Tumblr, H&M double dated with Eugenie & Jack many times over the last 18 months.
Oh that’s good to hear. Eug and Jack seem like a fun pair!
Meghan has been very friendly with Beatrice and Eugenie for quite a while.
Harry likes the Yorks, so it is no surprise.
Seems boring tbh. If it was me i’d rather spend Christmas with family and friends while I still had the chance.
If I remember correctly, Kate and William had said that they wanted to try and spend every other year with each other’s families, and last year was her year. This “rival court” is just sh!t-stirring nonsense, IMO.
And honestly, HM’s scheduled-to-the-minute “festivities “ sound horrible. I think the Middletons’ Christmases sounded like a LOT more fun to be at personally.
Ever since Anmer was refurbished, all the middletons decamped there for Christmas. They spent only one christmas at Middleton Towers.
There was alot of behind the scenes stuff that happened at the tail end of last year and William only announced a Middleton christmas at the last minute, and Carole was suddenly looking to rent a cut price boxing day shoot to keep William at Middleton Towers instead of returning to Sandrigham for their boxing day shoot – one he had never missed no matter where he spent christmas day.
Everyone, reporters alike were surprised and the general feeling intimated by the royal reporters was that it was a reaction to those things. Then KP invited news organisations to record the rival pap stroll and the unseen children were rolled out. The entire thing was co-ordinated as if it were a royal engagement. And it stole HM’s annual pap stroll headlines across UK media. It was a stunt worthy of his mother in the years when wanted to pull focus from the royals.
Of all the things William could have learned from his mother, he *chooses* her blatant media games and manipulation. Such a disappointment.
+2
at thread
One of my fav photo of POW – Prince Harry Church walk with the RF /cousins – Mia should be on hand this year. Prince Henry is too much is father and grandparents – he wont break such sacred Traditions to stay at middleton AH with mafia carol and middletons hangers on – visit yes, but he will be be with as all his life – with his grans/ father parents/family side –
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5129065/meghan-markle-prince-harry-queen-engaged-christmas-sandringham/
(AND middleton court)
It would have been believable had they quietly attended church without the kids and then they return to Sandringham for the Boxing Day shoot. But keep spinning sugars, keep spinning.
Sure but it doesn’t make the festivities “German schedule” which is really strange to read on this blog of all. For the record, coming from an old Prussian, later German, posh family, have never had a scheduled Christmas.
Yeah I never understand the snark about this. There is NO WAY IN HELL I would spend every Christmas with my husband’s family and none with mine. My sister and her husband alternate years (this year is our year!!) as do most of my friends. This is totally normal.
The website did not publish my objection to the way how German Christmas is incorrectly and i-gnorantly associated with boring and strict schedule in this post. LOL Sorry but I do insist on fixing the post and to not imply that German traditional celebrations in any way resemble “German schedule” which poor snowflake had to suffer. As a person celebrating avery traditional German Christmas, I find the implications made o-ffensive. Let’s see now if my opinion will be published whennot part of the choir.
I agree that the difference is that the Queen has a more formal Christmas schedule and the Middletons don’t. Neither version is wrong. Not every family can put on a sumo suit and wrestle with their guests during the Christmas holidays!
I think the post meant “German” in the sense of “Queen Victoria’s old-fashioned German Christmas, served up stiff-upper-lip style, circa 1882”.
Test
Good. Spending time with your new family is important…royal or not.
+1000 – AMen!!!
(@Soulspa)
Especially with BRF status and to be successful as a Line. No one is paying hundreds of millions to the HM to see common hangers on carol middletons mafia hangers on.
Lets have a photo with Prince Henry Couple and the BRF POW and Princess Sparkle – HM heirs the cousins walk/ helping HM accept greet the people. It will be huge crowds one that waitie Dolittles middletons want to be sure they are included in
Those middleton lambridge kids have not been photo before at Sandringham Christmas Church instead they were at middleton Court. Shows how awful PR hungry waiite carol and Willnot hangers on are..
Middleton mafia bringing the kids to Church for the first – to take some of the goodwill favour away from Prince/ess Henry Couple Line and their Engagement – wont work!
I’m excited for this! We will get our first pics of Kate, Will, Meghan and Harry all together! I have always suspected Harry was the Queen’s favorite and I was right!
Me too! Now I get what the money shot pictures means, LOL!
Now that would be interesting to watch. New family member #meghan, new couple #meghanandharry. How many BRF will be there? How different from other years’ Christmas? Who will walk along who? What relationships will be revealed?
#excited
#newroyalchristmas
#bestangles
#royalfashion
#newroyalPRstrategy
#it’salloptics
Yes, I am excited too. The crowd at the church will now quadruple, along with the media. People will camp out for this. I wonder whether Meghan will start walking behind Harry, I wonder if she will be allowed to interact with the well wishers who often bring flowers and little gifts?
I somehow think that we will not get the ‘money shot’. The royals usually come out in batches, and I believe the Cambridges and their two kids will come out as a group, and Harry and Meghan may come out together, or as part of another group, with the cousins for example.
Should be fun photos to see.
I’m looking forward to seeing if MM bundles up in the Norfolk cold……that of course means she’ll be wearing panty hose this time and hopefully her shoes fit properly.
I hope she wears a very nice coat, in a reddish colour with a furry collar and long suede black boots. I have no idea what kind of hat would be best for her.
She’ll look totally inappropriate if she skips the pantyhose and – most importantly – freeze!
Can someone explain the tucking of the hand in the jacket coat that Harry (and other) men do. It annoys me. I know it may be a strategy to keep the hand from looking idle, but maybe there is another reason.
Nervous gesture. Discreetly self-soothing to quieten the nerves.
I don’t know why I find it odd that he would be nervous in public.
It’s surprising because he looks so confident in public, but he talked about it once.
He knows that their every word and gesture (especially hers) are going to be scrutinized like mad. Should either of them say the wrong word or there is even a hint of the slightest misstep and you have an international scandal within the hour.
Don’t blame him.
In other news, this is Meghan interviewing on her own before she was a AAA star….i can see why he likes her so much. (Its rather long though, so maybe watch later
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQsq8J2c4w0
I thought he looked super nervous at the engagement photocall and less so during the interview.
He still looked nervous at the start of the interview and relaxed considerably as it progressed.
When Harry leaves one or two fingers out, some people believe it is a message.
+1
Tucking in hands more Regal and commanding – HM other heirs do the same -something to do with the hands . As the younger females with a purses. Princess Henry carrying a handbag like HM was a fitting Tribute to HM on her First Royal Duty. The handbag company Strathberg made hundreds more last week – to meet the great demand.
I don’t think she will be known as Princess Henry but the Duchess of ?????? I certainly hope she won’t.
Oh, she’ll be Duchess of something. It’ll be either Sussex or Clarence and my money is on Sussex. Unless Andrew unexpectedly pops it, leaving York free and clear. (Edinburgh is reserved for Edward).
Masonic
I think York can only go to the second son of the monarch, so Harry cannot get that title until Charles is king. He may end up getting it in the long run anyway.
The monarch can give any title to anyone, that’s one of the (relatively few these days) perks. Victoria gave Edinburgh to her second son. I agree that Harry may well end up getting York eventually, so this doesn’t much matter.
What I would like to know is would the dukedoms be combined? So if Harry was given Sussex and then later York, would he be Duke of Sussex and Duke of York, or Duke of York and Sussex, a double dukedom? The minutiae fascinate me.
Tina: it could happen. Goerge V was temporarily Cornwall and York after he unexpectedly became heir after the death of Prince Eddy.
HM doesn’t seem to be a fan of double dukedoms though the Hanoverians in general seemed to like them.
I do hope its Clarence ….soo much more classy sounding. Prince Henry, Duke of Clarence.
I’m tired of the current names. Cornwall. Cambridge. Clarence would only add to that noise, but Clarence & Avondale would be welcome. Or HM might surprise everyone, as she pulled Cambridge out of a hat.
Nota – I love Clarence and Avondale as well!!
Also, Duchess of Sussex is really difficult to say aloud, so I hope the queen doesn’t go with that one.
@inthekitchen: I can’t say it either! Sounds like I’ve still got novocaine from a dentist visit.
Wasn’t Napoleon Bonaparte painted using that gesture?
Bonaparte has his entire hand in his waistcoat.
I was thinking it was a military stance for certain times and he was simply defaulting to his training in that regard. Could be wrong. Old memory sticking and it resonates as military.
I can’t see them staying at Anmer. We had that rumor around the TMW J Matthews wedding and it didn’t happen.
If all of the Middletons tag along for Christmas at Anmer this year, why would H&M want to stay there? More likely they’d stay in his regular room at Sandringham to be with the extended royal family (Zara, Peter, Eugenie, Beatrice, etc.).
Still curious as to where HM will hide Sarah Ferguson this year, if Philip is in Wood Farm.
I don’t think TQ would host MM in Sandringham (in Harry’s room with him, especially). Usually it’s a tight fit, and some of the family gets the servants’ quarters. I am guessing it will be at Amner.
But it will be interesting as to what they do with Sarah. I have *no* doubt PP will never let her stay at his place, as she used to! Now that it’s his retirement home. Wonder what fit Andy will throw to Mummy now lol
Is there a chance she would stay at Amner? This is really sitcom levels of weirdness when it comes to Sarah Ferguson’s lodgings during the holidays.
There are other cottages on Sandrigham.
In his late 90s Philip should for heavens sake let bygones be bygones. Does he really want to take this feud to his grave? Extremely stupid yes but she didn’t kill anyone.
From the photos it looks like there might be a small cottage right next to Wood Farm, which could be accommodations for Philip’s staff.
William and Kate are trying to have a seperate court? Or they just spent christmas with her family. Like many couples do. Last year with kate’s family this year with william’s family. Nothing to do with Meghan.
They replicated the walk to church with the kids and invited the paps to attend. If they wanted a private Christmas they wouldn’t have done that. And Carole arranged a separate pheasant shoot for a Boxing Day for William, something the Middletons never did on their own.
They had to arrange something with the paps because it is a public road. They would have been there if they wanted it or not. If they wouldn’t have done that media would have had a field day. So what if they arranged a shoot? You saw no pictures of that. It isn’t a crime.
No one is accusing them of a crime but a separate court. William knew that the press would follow him and chose to pull attention away from his grandmother’s church walk by heading to the Middletons. And the paps had way better access to them during the walk then they did for Pippa’s wedding.
They didn’t have to arrange anything with the paparazzi, people don’t care that much about William and Kate. The media would have turned up, taken pictures and left. And that shoot at Bucklebury was appalling. I have a friend with a place near there in Berkshire and visit all the time. There is nothing to shoot there. They imported birds from France, to be shot.
It has to be a crime before people can comment?
Why did the Middleton’s and W+K plus kids go to church at all? None of them are religious. It’s just for show.
Do we know that they’re not religious? Not that they have to be. My family went to church at Christmas and none of us were the least bit religious. It’s just a tradition.
Kate had to get confirmed prior to the wedding. In the Church of England, you tend to get confirm by 14 if you are actually a regular church goer. Kate was 29, so her family did not attend enough to get that done.
They have spent Christmas at Middleton towers in the past and managed to keep the paps away and for the few that took their pictures, those were pulled down within hours leading to a public rebuke from a few newspapers.
Last year’s christmas walk to church was a deliberate competing pap stroll, conducted in a way showcasing status and all the Middletons stood as far behind as possible so that they wouldn’t be in the same frame. Cambridge kids thrown in to entice the media. All dressed as if for an engagement.
Previous christmas attendance was very casual, no special allowances given to the cambridges and mingled with the regular parishioners without a fuss.
See: https://cdn.fashionmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/gty.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nXiuMf7nwzM/UNmj75Eb0yI/AAAAAAAAaOU/A9z2ow4DOgM/s1600/christmas2012.jpg
They didn’t have children then. Maybe because it was their first time at christmas to church with children they did it this way.
Firstly, the Queen doesn’t allow very small children to do the church walk so if they had stayed at Sandrigham, that excuse would not wash. The kids would have stayed behind with their little cousins whilst the adults pap strolled to church.
Secondly, the Cambridges are very strict about how and when they show their children and sue everybody who dares photograph and publish pics of their kids without their permission. They also know that photos of the kids are premium and push out other royal stories – shades of Diana stunt Queening when she wanted to push the other royals off the front pages.
The fact that those earlier christmas photos were pulled down within hours of being published shows that the Cambridges can control the media and that rival court pap stroll wasn’t hapstance. And it was carried out with all the encroutments of an engagement instead of family attending church with or without the kids like the earlier photos. Complete with news organisations being invited by KP to see them pap stroll to church.
NM, what LAK said.
@lak you are really overreacting. So they go one year to her family and next to his family. NO need for these theories. Bizarre. Every family on the planet does it.
This might be a stupid question, but what reason could they possibly have for competing with the Queen?!
Notok: i am not overreacting. I don’t have to have an opinion on anything that i’ve written in my post since it’s publicly available information and therefore easily verified.
Bella Dupont: There was a rumour that William was throwing a tantrum due to being told he had to take up royal duties once and for all and no excuses this time.
The pap stroll was a show of William’s rival court and ‘doing things his way’. Much hilarity that Carole hired a cut price boxing day shoot to keep him entertained at Middleton Towers instead of his returning to Sandrigham to attend that one. Very silly given how good the Sandrigham shoot is.
Bella, just like Diana I suspect William is well-versed in emotional manipulation. We saw it publicly from the time he was a young child. Neither HM nor Charles knew how to deal with Diana’s temperament, the same one William has.
William’s constant public games (like sneaking the engagement and EAAA things on them) are his way of saying, “I’m the future of this show. I’m going to do whatever I want, which includes making the Middletons the Real Royal Family TM”.
Having Kate and William walk in first was so bizarre, like it was an official engagement or something. For a “normal” family, that was pretty hierarchal.
Is it really possible for someone like William to have a normal temperament, based on both genetics and environment (and, er, being told you’ll be King)? I suppose I was reminded during the 20th anniversary documentaries of what William would have perceived of the royal system growing up. I don’t think he lives up to his mother’s legacy, but I realized the love for her is always going to be strong and that could have a. profound impact on how he views both the royal system and the media.
Of course, I’m talking here about his perception, not what the actual truth might be. And from what I can tell he perceives both the royal system and the media as having been cruel to his mother (he even said he understood why she did the Panaroma interview. I still don’t get it, but I was moved by the fact that he understood her need to act out). I got the sense from Harry that he too has some kind of internal conflict about the system and the media as well. You could see his anger coming out when discussing how the photographers took pictures of her dead body. I just get the sense that the two boys will always have animosity over what happened to their mother, both in life and in death, and it may at times play out in some strange ways in the media.
I think other people have worse problems of course, but if their psychological temperaments are a bit on the obstinate or rebellious side with both the royal family and the media, I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised by it. I’m not saying what they perceive is the entire truth of the matter, but if people being terrible to their mother is the perception they hold, I can see why they’d behave the way they do. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I can see why. I suppose I have the same understanding about Charles and Diana too. I get why both he and Diana acted out the way that they did.
Perplexed: You make such good points that are definitely at play here.
However, what Nota is discussing is the Spencer temperement that manifests as disagreeable and difficult. Johnny Spencer (Grandfather), Charles (uncle) and Diana (mother) had / have it. There is a strong view from alot of people, including biographers, that William has inherited it. And HM and Charles don’t know how to deal with it. Just as they didn’t know how to deal with Diana. They seem to have settled on bribing William in such ways as giving him everything he wants and hoping for the best.
And in the meantime everything you’ve mentioned is also at play.
I don’t see this level of petulance from other heirs to the throne, ones 35-50. They are not gossiped about as much in English-language forums, but they receive plenty of white-hot tabloid attention in their home countries. They come to terms with their role without acting out anywhere near William’s behavior.
I don’t think other heirs to the throne had mothers as famous as Diana was though. I think he (and even Harry) will always feel some level of resentment over what happened to her. Of course, they are also beneficiaries of the system that they feel damaged her. I also think the British royal family is a much larger global phenomenon, maybe due to Empire, the Commonwealth, and ironically, American interest. Their distrust of the media doesn’t necessarily strike me as odd, even if I do think their parents bear some responsibility for their own woes with the media. I do think they should do their duty, but I feel that weird conflict with the media impacts even how they approach duty.
Interesting that Diana was descended from the infamous Duchess of Devonshire, Georgina. An 18th-century media darling.
The whole thing was very tasteless.
I’m not saying they had famous mothers, but each of them has faced white-hot tabloid speculation their entire lives in their home countries. My guess is that matters just as much to them and has impacted them greatly, no matter what the numbers are across the globe. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen the obsessed yellow Spanish press or unhinged European tabloids.
Felipe of Spain’s parents have been miserable, secretly living separately for 50 years, and he’s turned out fine. Victoria of Sweden’s sexist strip-club loving father and unhappy mother played a large part in her anorexia IMO, but now she’s doing great. Frederik of Denmark has talked of having a distant relationship with his parents. Philippe of Belgium dealt with his parents miserable-for-years open marriage by seeking refuge with his childless uncle and aunt (the king and queen).
They’ve all faced challenges, many with unhappy home lives, in the glare of their country’s media spotlight – and none is so petulant or workshy as William.
I just think the manner in which Diana died, even if she did play a role in the media’s fascination with her, will always have an impact on how both William and Harry view the media. That’s where I think the level of her fame becomes relevant to their psychology. It wouldn’t even surprise me If they both hope for some kind of revenge on the media. Do I think they should act out their revenge? No. But I get why they’d be more prone to viewing the media and the expectations the media have of the two princes with a certain disdain. I could see that disdain even spilling out from Harry’s end during the documentary special.
That she died in another country where the media was on her in just as hot pursuit, I suspect, also impacts the way they might view the media globally. That’s where I think the world-wide attention and global phenomenon that was Diana and, heck, even the BRF itself, is relevant to their psychological make-up. If she had died a simple, peaceful death on her estate in England rather than in a car crash in France where photographers took her picture as she lay dying, I think they might have had a different relationship with the press and what the press expects of them.
Diana’s relationship with the media overall was the result of her own manipulation and games. William plays the same games.
William has hated his role and hated “tographers” since he was a toddler. Well documented for the last 3 decades. His mother’s manner of death had significant impact, but his anti-role anti-press and often-remarked sly nature were well-established long before her death.
I once read what Christmas at the Middleton household is like, and I had to grudgingly admit it sounded kind of fun. I have no idea as to how calculating they actually might be, but I get why William, as the son of publicly warring parents, is attracted to them. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors (maybe Carole and Mike were secretly fighting each other when no one was looking), but even Kate’s childhood sounded unusually pleasant in comparison to other happy childhoods.
I don’t like the Marshmallow dude all that much, but I can see why William likes the rest of them. Doesn’t Mike Middleton dress up as Santa? Yeah, I’d be at their house too in a heartbeat. I’m immature like that.
He doesn’t dress up as Santa but puts on a sumo suit… which just seems weird. I am sure things are more relaxed there because Sandringham is a very formal Christmas, but the pap walks with the kids are what was different from all the other times they have attended Bucklebury.
LAK has provided tons of factual information and we discussed this last year when it happened. So this isn’t a Meghan thing, but a petulant William thing.
Yes, I’ve seen the actual information. And I still get why someone would be attracted to the Middleton family (well, except for the Marshmallow dude). I don’t see what’s wrong with saying that.The royal family might be fun (I don’t personally hate the royal family), but that doesn’t cancel out the possibility of the Middletons being fun too (Kate’s childhood does sound like it was genuinely pleasant). It is possible (at least for me) to still understand why he’d like hanging around them, petulant side or not. I think I can also see why he’d want the world to know he enjoys their company, I suppose.
I wouldn’t mind going to Sandringham to see the food.
Given that both his grandparents have been ailing and aging rapidly in recent years, I’d be spending as much time as possible with them while I could.
A few weeks ago, a video was released of the Christmas decorations at Windsor Castle. I imagine the ones at Sandringham are similar. For me personally, formal celebrations have a classic appeal suited to the season, moreso than a sumo outfit.
Why have paps for Church stroll with the kids to compete with HM POW RF Sandringham Traditional walk – yet kids waitie are supposedly too small and stressful with the RF at Sandringham. Prince Princess Henry Line will have his kids out in no time.
Why did BP have Prince Henry Couple First and only Walkabout Royal Duties then Princess Sparkle sent off for these weeks. Was Prince Couple popularity too overshadowing for the Do Littles to hold their own??! Was expecting Sparkle along with Prince Harry other events before Christmas.
Once the Prince Couple settle in their home in Cotswold – Doria, dad -family friends will maybe discreetly visit GB.
What about Meg’s mom? Will she be invited to holidays with the Royals after they are married?
Sophie’s widowed father attends Sandringham so it is possible Doria attends if she is in the UK.
I think her mom may get the invite *after* the marriage, not before.
Seems about right to do it this way
I agree that she will likely be invited after the wedding. However, I feel so sad for her this year not being able to celebrate with her daughter!
Why on earth would Doria want to spend Xmas with the Windsors?
I don’t know if they usually spend the holidays together or not, which might impact whether or not she’d even want to be invited. Meghan is her only child. I can see why spending time with her in the UK – especially when/if grandkids arrive – might be more desirable in future years.
The most surprising part of this story is that Meghan will go hunting on Boxing Day. I wouldn’t have taken her for an animal killer. Especially for sport.
Oh no. If this is true – I will be terribly disappointed. Tired of facades and the general public coveting high profile, non spiritual beings.
me too. She so heavily promotes herself as an animal lover. These royal shoots are ludicrous, shooting hundreds of birds in a day – that is not hunting for sustenance that is sport hunting. The royals really are complete hypocrites about sport hunting aren’t they? it’s only a bad thing when non-royals in Africa do it?
OriginalLala: yes to everything you said, a thousand times yes. Sport hunting is beyond disgusting, there is absolutely no justification for it whatsoever. Proponents of it can yammer on all they want about herd management and so forth. Bullshit. It’s just slaughter for fun. End of.
If she participates in this I will never be able to look at her in a positive light again. I had such hopes….
Considering she’s a human being, it’s likely she’ll disappoint you in this……and probably in other ways as well, sooner or later.
I’m personally trying to manage my expectations of her.
Original: Cosigning on all the dotted lines.
She eats meat…and her favorite dish is wild boar. I’m sorry but unless she SAID she is anti hunter…she haven’t promoted herself as a damn thing. I mean her dad loves hunting…hunting for food to eat isn’t the same as hunting extinct animals for sport. This is when semantics come to good use. I have a dog too that I love & my ass still eat meat. She eat vegan for health reasons during the weekdays…my lord.
Y’all assuming a lot….
Is she supposed to reject Harry because of this? Life is about compromise. Even if she attends the shoot it don’t mean she is endorsing it, she is not marrying into an ordinary family. The RF seem to have gone out of their way to accommodate her and so in turn there are some unpleasant things she will have to put up with too.
I think some people here need to get off their high horses. I agree with principles but very few people lead lives where they can always put their principles ahead of everything. I care about poor people but I still take luxury holidays that I don’t really need and could survive very well without.
@RedOnTheHead, @Lilith, @OriginalLala – ITA.
I feel like she will go but not actually shoot anything to basically appease her new family to show she’s one of them. Besides lots of people say they are animal lovers but still eat a plate of ribs and a hamburger in a minute.
I won’t get on the vegan soapbox, but for some people, if you eat animals you aren’t an animal lover. So it is degrees. I know it is not that simple though.
It actually is rather simple, MagnoliaRose. I think that those “animal lovers” who then go on to eat animals do so because they choose to dismiss the thought of how that flesh came to their plate. I mean, they “know” it intellectually, but they don’t let it sink in. It’s not a truly, consciously assumed moral decision, based on a rigorous thought process, so they are kind of “sissies”, if you ask me.
I’ve had a few “animal loving” acquaintances who were quite happy to eat meat as long as they weren’t reminded of how it got there; but once they saw a single video from a slaughterhouse, they couldn’t stomach meat anymore.
I’ve never watched any such videos, and certainly don’t intend to. I don’t have to know and SEE the specifics to realise the horror of it. (I’ve been a vegetarian for 30 years.)
I like and respect animals but if we didn’t eat animals we were not have evolved into being humans. Also I believe that plants are living organisms and therefore have senses. Many trees live for hundreds of years and provide services for humans but we still feed off them, cut them down and make furniture etc. People need to get real.
@Princess K
ITA. Its sad, but in order to survive as a race, we have to eat other living things. That is the brutal reality.
Wasn’t there rumours that she went to a shoot in Scotland for Harry’s birthday last year?
Anyway, as an advocate it would be great to see her advocating for animals too and not associate herself with these barbaric events again.
I don’t have a problem with a shoot as long as what is caught is eaten – not be a vegetarian it would be hypocritical of me to think otherwise, as long as the killing is humane.
Does Kate go hunting, too!?
I’m sorry, no animal lover hunts for fun. Just the thought gets me ill. So if true, Meghan will be giving up her claim to be an animal lovers.
She is giving up everything for Harry. Very disappointing.
Yes she does…and have…yeah you can love your dog & still love to eat some damn chicken.
Nessa, I said “hunting for fun.” Not to feed yourself.
And if you hunt for fun, and love your dog, you are not an animal lover. You are a dog lover.
She’s an animal lover, but she loves her man more.
Seems reasonable to me. 🙂
We can safely say some people are looking for a reason to dislike her and will. I am an animal lover, vegan and active in animal welfare and passionate about it but most people who love animals don’t go that far. I get that.
I HATE hunting but love the English hunting parties and fashion. If we could just ride around looking spiffy and stopping for Victorian picnics, I would be all over it. Lol, superficial but it is true.
Me, too!!! I love the riding and the clothes and the parties!!
In the states we have something called “Hunter paces.” It mimics a hunt, but uses fox urine instead of a fox. I haven’t done one, but my old barn used to hold them and everyone loved them!!!
She clearly roasts chicken, so she is an “animal killer” anyway.
I find it a little ridiculous, though, that she would (apparently) ask Harry to stop smoking “for her” – but not to stop killing innocent, defenceless creatures?
Whatever.
If I loved someone, and especially if I was planning on starting a family with them, I would encourage them to stop smoking. It takes years off one’s life.
If they have to give humble gifts, I bet Meghan will make gifts that show off her calligraphy skills. I know I would.
this is a family that has been gifted everything imaginable, and apparently prefer silly, Jokey gifts. Like the year Anne was rumoured to have given Charles a joke toilet seat!!!
Caligraphy skills would be over thinking the gifts.
Unless they were funny/rude sayings done in calligraphy and beautifully framed, which some of them might find hilarious. One reading “Sod Off!” for Anne, etc.
Did enjoy that Camilla’s ex gave her the original political cartoon about badgers being responsible for KM’s topless scandal. Poor badgers were blamed for everything that year.
Oh yes the badgers. I remember a newspaper columnist making a snarky comment that perhaps that’s why William and Kate opted for a Middleton Towers christmas that year.
That’d be nice. But we won’t know for sure re: #chutneygate
LAK – if it’s something handmade, I don’t see how it’s overthinking. It all depends on what’s written, it could be a silly limerick, for all we know.
True.
A puerile limerick perhaps? That seems to be the level of their jokey presents.
Kate and Will have historically alternated Christmases with their families so I’m pretty sure this Christmas was supposed to be spent with the royals anyway, not sure that Harry’s engagement had anything to do with that decision. Where does this need to pit Kate and Meghan against each other comes from? They may very well do that on their own as time goes on, but no need to push in that direction. Hopefully they’ll become allies – Lord knows they could each use a friend in this family. That’s what I’m pulling for anyway. From an entertainment standpoint alone, I think the two women teaming up together stories would be much more fascinating than the usual “all women hate each other and are jealous” mess.
I’m baffled that people actually want to see them at odds with each other. I can understand comparing them from a fashion perspective or whatever else, but the need to see them dislike each other is a little weird to me.
@perplexed: I don’t find it odd. See the BRF scandals played out in the public for years. That set the standard which I find unfortunate to say the least. Then, W marrying K came with a fair load of scandal because of the Waiting Years and all that happened during that long time. Enter the strong rebranding with the Middleton middle-class factor extended to WK’s lifestyle and from there to WK’s kids’ upbringing. Huge difference thus a perceived rift in the BRF thus oddities thus more interest and the inevitable feeling that they should not like each other. They tried making something good out of the rebranding but it didn’t work. It only made the differences more obvious. Blood BRF work a lot more than William or Kate. Harry is in a grey area – likeable, handsome, brave soldier and fun, very good charity causes and involved, good speaker, but still lazy if one compares him with his other blood family – the senior ones. The Middletons keep appearing in the picture unlike the families of other married-in royals, and right from the onset from the early 2000s. We see little interaction of WK with the other royals yet their relationship with the Middletons is still a huge factor. This is why the optics show there’s a rift in the BRF.
Unlike the Danish and Swedish royals whose extended families show up together many times. Including Countess Alexandra, divorced from Prince Joachim and mother of his two first children, happily appearing at special occasions with him, their children, his new wife Princess Marie and his two youngest children. What happens behind closed doors is their business but the public image the BRF present does not show a lot of love or sense of family.
I get what the media gets out of it — it pushes sales.
I just don’t get what everyone else gets out of it.
The scandals involving Princess Diana and the rest of the royals were real. That’s why they were fascinating to read about because there were actual words coming from both parties. But since the stuff involving Kate and Meghan is speculation and we have no actual words coming from their mouths, I think it’s harder to find whatever potential feud they could have all that interesting. We heard Charles and Diana speak out against each other. But we have no actual idea what Meghan and Kate think of each other as neither comments publicly on the other. So, for me, it’s harder to find a soap opera since neither lady is publicly contributing to a war with the other one. (Even Fergie wrote a book where she mentioned something about Princess Diana’s toes — obviously the media could find a feud there to speak of). But here? There’s no real info from either party to grasp at anything.
@perplexed I hear you. The thing is that we will not hear any badmouthing anymore. The BRF have learned a very tough lesson with Diana and Fergie. BRF’s own wrongdoings too, they did not want to manage the situation or were not able to do it properly and things happened. Now things have changed if not only with a tight leash on the media.
The BRF could actually choose to control the narrative and show off a happy, solid royal extended family if they cared. A few well positioned pictures, a few interviews, repeat and repeat again. And people would get it. Thus no more soap opera and speculations.
#constructivecriticism
#weareafamily
The problem is the Middleton factor, and I don’t mean Kate. Why did Pippa suddenly visit a hospital with cameras in tow wearing an outfit that looked awfully familiar. Months and months post wedding of cycling around London, but suddenly a charity event was scheduled.
It’s the little things like that that continue to support those who theorize that the Middletons don’t like losing press attention to Meghan. William can control Carole if he wants to and if he is serious about showing a united family, then the Middletons need to stop with their shenanigans.
Joannie. It’s like you’re right here with me.
SoulSpa. Joachim, Alexandra, and Marie are a great example of how to blend a public family well. No drama, just go about it with dignity. There was some stuttering for a bit with the Martin nightmare (Alex’s second husband), but she seems to be regaining her footing and moving forward positively. Mette-Marit and Haakon of Norway are a good example too, incorporating her first son and his strong relationship with his father and royal step-father.
Because it sells and the Middletons are social mountaineers. Simple.
For those that are self-righteous, I thank you sincerely for tearing yourselves away from your cracking social lives to join us poor souls by commenting on the internet. Ironic.
Only when there is nothing of value to add to a discussion do people resort to “just jealous!”. It doesn’t say much about the people who post things like that.
nic919, the irony of people being on forums where they constantly post about how *others* are in the wrong to be posting? This irony escapes some people.
Agreed. If any of you recall, Fergie and Diana in their early royal duo years were FANTASTIC together. Remember when they were using umbrellas to poke attendees in the behind at Ascot? Or when they were always smiling and cackling at events? I think they were rumored to be dressing up as police to go out clubbing?! We need that kind of levity from these two. Imagine seeing the fun, lighter side of Kate. Fergie did it for Diana, maybe Meghan can do that for Kate.
They dressed as policewomen and ended up at Annabel’s.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/35/64/e3/3564e3b2e1f6a3f17bf73d9c5ef8d834.jpg
Yes, Adele Dazeem! That is EXACTLY what I would love to happen. Wouldn’t that be SO much more interesting and fun to read about than Kate being jealous and Meghan being a mean girl or whatever?!
LAK, that pic made my day! Thank you!
I remember reading about that incident many years ago and feeling sorry for Diana, more than Fergie, for missing out on her young adulthood to be silly and enjoy life without the burden of responsibility.
As much as i criticise her, i always have to remind myself of that. Fergie was married at 26yrs old, so less sympathetic to her difficulties, and Sophie was 36yrs old when she married so definitely no sympathies what so ever to any difficulties she might face with royal life. Likewise MM at 36.
Kate is a strange mix of Fergie and Diana in terms of maturity and age that she married. By that i mean she had a coupke of years on Fergie, and the life experienfe of Diana. Actually, Diana at 19yrs old had more life experience than Kate.
Wow! I have never seen that pic before. It would be nice if Kate and Meghan became friends but they seem to be polar opposites, Kate has worked hard to be a prim and proper Queen in waiting and she is not going to let that persona slip, her mother has probably already advised her how to handle the Meghan factor and are probably just waiting for Meghan to fall flat on her face.
I honestly don’t care whether they are friends or foes as long as they do some WORK. I don’t frequently comment on this sort of thing because it is really William and Harry who should be taking the lead on work, but they all receive their funding from the Duchy of Cornwall, which belongs to the British people, and so I would like for them to get their arses off their luxurious cushions and go out and meet the people who they serve.
+1000
Exactly.
Yes. They all need to Get the F to Work.
Agreed.
Exactly.
First pictures of Camilla’s Christmas tree decorating event are out, wonderful as usual.
Saw those. That always looks wonderful.
+2
Agree. Always look forward to her warmth and that wonderful Chirstmas Party – so genuine – more as The Prince/ess Henry Couple.
And HM was out at The Goring Hotel – the people showed/ gave her a LOVE -ly greeting.
The fact that Harry smokes and hunts is hardly a secret. Certainly Meghan knows and she’s still agreed to take this on.
The smoking may go but that hunting will be with him forever.
He was just in Germany in a trip hunting wild boar. I’d think one topic that’s been settled lol.
I thought I’d read that she was going to stay with Kate during the shoot…?
I don’t know that Kate hunts but there are grainy images of her at Balmoral, back in the dating days, with a gun in hand. Wills may have been teaching her to shoot. Even Diana grew up with scheduled shoots and wasn’t opposed to it (wishful thinking from her fans couldn’t take the aristocratic thinking out of the girl).
I have no problems with hunting for food, particularly in North America where the deer population is huge. But I am not entirely sure that is what is going on with these shoots.
Markle will figure out some way to deal with it I am sure.
I don’t know that Kate hunts but there are grainy images of her at Balmoral, back in the dating days, with a gun in hand. Wills may have been teaching her to shoot. Even Diana grew up Roth shooting and wasn’t opposed to it (wishful thinking from her fans couldn’t take the wrist out of the girl).
I have no problems with hunting for food, particularly in North America where the deer population is huge. But I am not entirely sure that is what is going on with these shoots.
Yes, she has hunted with them before. I’d just read, that with her being pregnant this year, she wasn’t hunting, she was staying at home with the kids, and Meghan was going to keep her company”.
The shoot, The Hunt, The races, The Polo, The tennis, The boat race Henley it’s all part of the season
Fashion rivals is fine but they will be family. As much as I like the gossip but I really would love for them to be friends.
I hate that women is always seen as the ones who can’t get along. It would be great for women in their position to be friends.
Same. I have my issues with Kate, but it’s in the interest of the family that they get along rather than they don’t.
Same. Reading all these comments is too reminiscent of Diana media years. The criticisms are already off the chart. Unsettling. I’m not sure I’m up for another round of years of hateful press toward royal women.
I would do but the Middletons would have to get out of the way.
Everyone talks like Christmas with the royals would be bad…but can you imagine how Christmassy their pad/ palaces are!? All massive massive trees and roaring fires and butler service. I’d jump at that!
I’d love a roaring fire Xmas sounds lit to me!
if I had a roaring Christmas fire it would mean the house was going up in flames.
😆
Not much the royals can do he got engaged and moved her into the palace how shocking is that for them not the usual way of going about things
It’s not that shocking. Sophie lived at Buckingham Palace for the better part of 6yrs as she dated Edward.
William and Kate lived together before they were engaged. Anne and her 5-year extra-marital affair with her mother’s equerry. Prince Andrew in general.
Getting engaged and living together before the wedding is nothing compared to some of what the older Windsors have gotten up to.
Rose, there was video news circulating end of November about the Christmas decorations at Windsor Castle. Looked beautiful to me. And today was Camilla’s annual decorating of Christmas trees at Clarence House with children with lifespan-limiting conditions.
I cannot get links to go through, but one of the articles about Windsor Castle was from Metro entitled Queen puts up 20ft Christmas Tree inside Windsor Castle. As if HM was personally decorating it!
CP Frederik and CP Mary of Denmark also released a video of them decorating a tree with their kids at Amalienborg Palace.
I wonder who Meghan’s mom Doria will spend time with at Christmas? As far as I know, Meghan is her only child right? I’m sure she must have her own family in the States but hopefully she won’t be alone! Meghan and Doria seem very close and I dunno, I hope her mom is around for Christmas too. Not invited to the festivities at Christmas at Sandringham per se but I’m sure there’s room for Doria at Anmer Hall too.
For all we know, Doria may have her own special person that she may want to spend time with over the holiday. I suspect with Doria not everything in her life revolves around her daughter.
@Bea, LOL!
I think the church invitation is a huge sign that Elizabeth R likes Meghan because seeing that she isn’t married yet to Harry, it is a massive sign that she likes her and wants her to be included. It also shows warmth and a bit of ”reaching out” which they have been accused of not doing much of.
I am interested in this new Meghan and Harry era – maybe they want to try something new. Just the fact the Queen met Megs and Harry privately points to a new vibe in the royal family.
The Queen has my respect because how she manages all of her children and grandchildren and their different personalities while still keeping everyone in line is bloody impressive.
I don’t think she managed the Diana/Charles thing well at all–from forcing the betrothal onward. That marriage was infamously poorly played (as was the palace’s response in the wake of Diana’s death).
She *may* have learned from all of that, however (Camilla’s place at Charles’ side now, acceptance of Kate and MM, etc.), so yes to more recent wisdoms.
The Queen relaxed many rules after the Queenmother died.
I think the only rules she relaxed were Sophie living at BP during the 6yrs she dated Edward and Anne remarrying her second husband. All other rigidly held rules stayed put until QM died.
The speed at which some of these rules was chucked out is amazing. It’s sad in a way that the Queen acquiesced to her mother so much because situations might have been better handled alot sooner.
She def did not get it right you are correct but she warmed up a bit and changed.
I must say again that all of this adds credence to the much earlier rumour that Camilla was totally astonished at the speed with which Meghan was being accepted into the RF, unlike her (Camilla suffers from delusions by comparing her forced and ugly entry into the RF with Meghan’s). It was said at the time that nobody was allowed to say a word against Meghan, and that everything possible was being done to help her as much as possible.
It is also becoming increasingly obvious that the Queen, Philip and Charles have a soft spot for Harry. When the Queen looks at Harry she probably sees the young handsome Philip because they look so alike.
I’m not buying there there is a built-in rivalry between Kate and Meghan or am I buying that Kate is green with jealousy. She is the future Queen. Meghan will be so far down the line of succession! There is no competition there. I don’t know if Kate cares all that much to be the Beloved of the People.
Also, what’s with the use of the word “keen” to poke fun at Kate? I might just be really ignorant, but isn’t that just a normal, very common word?
It’s keenly normal. It’s keenly used at every turn to describe how keen Kate is on things that she will do keenly.
Because KP use the word ‘keen’ ad nauseum to describe how keen Kate is to do this and that… and then it never happens. Hence, ‘keen’ is code for ‘do nothing’. Well-deserved mockery.
Not for Americans. It sounds funny if an American said it as often as they do. Someone would think you are peculiar if you said keen without irony or levity. I have never even known a Brit to say it over and over again like that.
It is not a matter of succession it is a matter of popularity. The best monarch’s are the popular ones that people love. Kate needs to have the people love her.
I am here for this with bells on and popcorn. Can’t wait for the photos and body language dissection!
Can you imagine shopping for freaking royals for christmas? I don’t think Amazon Prime-ing a coffee mug for the Queen will cut it. Sheesh!
10 years max, then the flameout will make the Andrew/Sarah split look veddy proper in comparison. Still, I am loving the drama and MM’s gorgeousness and I’m happy they’ll have a few very happy years.
A plastic corgi? 🙂
Plastic corgi keychains that bark.
If William wants a separate court, I feel that’s on him rather than Kate. He was the one born into the family and has the knowledge to know how the dynamics of these things might play out. I don’t feel Kate would really be savvy enough — having grown up in a family that wasn’t adjacent to the royal family like Diana’s family was — to know how to have a separate court. And even for Diana, I think it took a separation and severe acrimony for her to really want to build a separate court.
She comes from a family that has had a DM hack on PR retainer for 10+ years. The Middletons are a *very* media-aware family. Utilizing those connections with William to put themselves squarely in the frame as The Real Royal Family TM is by design not accident.
I am interested to see Meghan’s hat game.
British upper class women seem to wear them with so much ease, since they do so constantly for weddings and other occasions.
I see Meghan more with fascinator type of contraptions.
Don’t know why KP is confirming this stuff. They didn’t do it for last year’s Christmas. At any rate, given that Meghan has no family in the UK, it would have been so very odd if she wasn’t included in Christmas at Sandringham. Royal family or not, they don’t seem the type to leave someone out to dry like that, and they would have faced a ton of backlash for it if it had happened.
Sophie’s widowed father spends most christmases at Sandrigham. No big media spash about it.
That makes sense. Like I said, the RF don’t seem the type to leave someone close the family out to dry like that, especially if their alternative is spending Christmas alone. Heck, my family wouldn’t do it, and we don’t even celebrate Christmas.
Some of the comments on here are exhausting…
With that being said I was expecting Meghan to attend because they can either spend Xmas with her family or with his. Separate didn’t seem likely since they had a long distance relationship. This is nothing against Catherine; Meghan just isn’t British and will have to be accepted quicker so she can have a smoother transition.
This is probably the most talked about family in the world in terms of gossip, so I can see why there are stacks of comments. You either love them or hate them lol.
Realistically like you said they won’t be separated and he won’t be spending Xmas with her family in the US for a protocol-focused family like this.
Zara and Mike spent Christmas away from Sandringham the year they became engaged, so it is an option. I think it is less worrying about protocol now, and more worrying about whether or not this will be Prince Philip’s last Christmas.
@NOTASUGAR, that’s a fair point and while is going to come across harsh Zara and Mike are not that important in terms of branding compared to Wills and Harry.
I understand that, merely pointing out that it has been an option in the past. Christmas Day is the one personal day HM takes all year, and the one day she asks of her family. It is a private event, not a government engagement.
In most cases, they seem to agree to it as it is asking so little. I think the times Zara and Mike haven’t been there, one or both of them was working ex. Zara in Australia promoting a women in racing event.
I stumbled upon this article last night. I don’t know that much about Sarah Ferguson, but I was surprised how beloved she was in the beginning. Reading it, I couldn’t help make comparisons between how Diana/Sarah are described and Kate/Megan. It was an interesting read.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2013/08/princess-diana-sarah-ferguson-relationship
I am old enough to remember when Sarah Ferguson was liked. But it changed quickly for her and by the toe sucking incident, she was done.
Same. Sarah was treated terribly by all but she really wasn’t discreet. It went on too long tho and was too severe I thought. Diana snubbing Sarah entirely was hurtful.
How quickly the media will throw someone under the bus to sell more papers.
Meghan’s honeymoon is already turning, with the dog story and now trying to cause trouble between Meghan and Kate.
Beloved in the very beginning maybe, but it wasn’t long before she was called “duchess of pork, duchess Doolittle, and duchess of yuk.”
Sarah was often treated horribly by the press; the traditional heir vs. spare (Charles, Andrew) extended to their spouses.
The disaster of Sunninghill Park lingers. Should have tucked them away somewhere else like Frogmore instead of the elaborate new private, bespoke house. HM letting her favoritism outweigh logic to great PR detriment.
Sarah was basically alone for two solid years. Andrew was away all but 40 days a year, and he was frequently seen away from his new young bride the times he was home. I suspect he recognizes his role in her downfall, which is why they’ve been so mutually supportive for decades after that divorce.
Remember, when Sarah’s popularity rose, Diana would submarine her. Old tactic we’re seeing again now?
Sarah didn’t help herself by sometimes playing up to the cameras. She didn’t help herself by at times working less than the aged Queen Mum. Average out her workload though, including when expecting and after? Still worked on average far more than Kate Middleton has.
Okay, is it @LAK who is the person who’ll know about royal stuff?!?!?!
Question: is the curtsy situation something also happens if say will and Kate go over to Harry and Megan‘s for dinner in private….she still going to have to curtsy to them ???? I’m so curious about the private life part and if all the ‘rules’ still apply. That’s when it would be weird to me, like casual hangouts. LOL
Meghan only curtsies to Kate when Harry isn’t in the room. That’s only when she becomes HRH or UK citizen. She’s still American so she doesn’t need to curtsie to senior royals except the Queen, I think.
I would LOVE to hang out with a gin-sauced Queen and the corgis gone wild!
i think the rules are being thrown out because of whatever is going on with prince phillip. harry and meghan aren’t all that special, just another couple in a big family.