I needed to meditate on all of the happenings with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Tatler this week. For whatever record, I still believe the Tatler cover story was supposed to be about Embiggening Kate. That was obvious from the first quotes released from the piece – it was supposed to be all about how hard Kate works, how she’s perilously close to Zooming herself into an early, overworked grave, how Harry and Meghan are terrible for leaving Will and Kate to pick up the shattered pieces of the Windsor clan, how stoically Kate deals with all of the endless Sussex drama and how she’s the perfect Future Queen. This is why I believe that Kensington Palace and the Cambridges likely did work with Tatler in the early stages. But then something happened and suddenly the Tatler piece was shady AF. First, Kensington Palace sent out two denials, one through an unnamed source, then a second through official the official communications office. Then Tatler responded:
Society bible Tatler has clashed with Kensington Palace over a story claiming that Kate Middleton with her post-Megxit workload – with the magazine backing the piece despite royal insistence that the claims are false.
Sources claiming to be friends of the couple told Anna Pasternak at Tatler magazine that Kate was ‘fuming’ with the heavy workload after Megxit, revealing: ‘William and Catherine really wanted to be hands-on parents and the Sussexes have effectively thrown their three children under a bus.’
A Kensington Palace spokesperson dismissed the claims, saying: ‘This story contains a swathe of inaccuracies and false misrepresentations which were not put to Kensington Palace prior to publication.’
It prompted a Tatler spokesperson to add today: ‘Tatler’s Editor-in-Chief Richard Dennen stands behind the reporting of Anna Pasternak and her sources. Kensington Palace knew we were running the “Catherine the Great” cover months ago and we asked them to work together on it. The fact they are denying they ever knew is categorically false.’
Parsing both statements is quite fascinating – KP never claimed to not know about the article, they merely said that they were not given the article to review before publication. That is a whole other thing, because how many media outlets do that for Kensington Palace? I would imagine quite a few allow KP to review pieces before publication. But not Tatler. As for Tatler’s response… “we asked them to work together on it. The fact they are denying they ever knew is categorically false.” Note that Tatler doesn’t say whether William and Kate agreed to work together originally. But yeah, of f–king course the Cambridges knew.
So, here’s my general theory: the Cambridges thought they were authorizing some soft-focus embiggening cover story in which they could continue to smear the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But Anna Pasternak actually – gasp – did research and spoke to actual people in the Cambridges’ social set (which Will & Kate authorized), including some interviews with the Turnip Toff set. Keen Defenders can cry all they want that “Meghan and Harry are behind this!” But the bigger issue is that Rose Hanbury’s fingerprints might be all over this. If not Rose herself, then the Turnip Toffs who have aligned themselves more closely with Rose than Kate. There’s just too much “Norfolk Drama” in the piece. Which means drama amongst the turnips, not the Sussexes.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
We will never know, but I can certainly see the Turnips aligning themselves with Rose. Wouldn’t it be ironic if they helped to push Meghan out so that they could put Kate back in the spotlight to show how inept she is at her role and how she doesn’t belong????
I think KP worked with Tatler to release that story in a timely manner that would distract from Prince Andrews involvement with Epstein on the day the Epstein documentary release. End of that sad story.
Makes total sense for the UK market but not the USA market. USA people who are interested in the BRF are more interested in Andrew’s part in the Epstein mess.
I guess there is much USA interest in Epstein or Netflix would not be doing a four-part documentary on him. I must say that there is more interest in this Epstein mess in my part of Florida than I originally thought,
I think my favorite sly-shade in the piece was, to paraphrase, “it’s all well and good to tell people how to parent their children.” There is some real, subtle resentment there – this commoner who thinks that marrying the FFK and popping out an heir and two spares gives her the authority to tell us how to raise our own children! And, honestly, as snobbish and insufferable as the toffs are – I don’t blame them. Who the f@ck is Kate to set parenting standards anywhere other than her own home? And she has nannies handling most of that, for chrissakes. 🙄
They’re not that bright to be all that scheming, so I doubt this is some huge effort to make Kate look particularly incompetent. I think that, as far as the quotes about her workload go, they really did think they were painting a hugely sympathetic portrait of her struggles. To them, not being able to engage in such idle, yet delightfully common, pursuits like doing the school run is something that warrants sympathy, even though to the rest of us, it’s just eyeroll inducing.
They don’t like Kate, because they’ve never liked her. She’s been with William for almost 20 years total at this point, and there’s still no indication that she’s made any genuinely close friends with the people in that circle. Everyone explains this away by saying that “Kate’s friend group is just tightlipped and quiet!” but the fact remains that you can be discreet and still actually be seen hanging out and doing things together. She’s papped with her kids more than she is with any friend of hers after marriage, and that’s always given me the impression that she doesn’t actually have any that she’s close with.
Actually know from a friend that Kate does have and has maintained very close friendships .These friends remain very much below the radar.
Actually know from a friend that Kate does have and has maintained very close friendships .These friends remain very much below the radar.
I have never seen her papped with friends. Diana was constantly papped having lunch out and/or shopping with girlfriends or close females friends on her staff. Kate’s lack of these type of pictures is sorta weird.
Kate only has the 2-3 of William’s friends she used to climb and get into William’s circle. They are William’s friends not hers. And Pippa and Mummy of course.
Lol @ Zooming herself into an early, overworked grave. It’s nice to take a break from the real world for a moment and this royal gossip is perfect!
Why can’t they embiggen her without talking about Meghan? the Meghan friends talking to people had absolutely no mention of Kate or William…..none at all!
What Meghan has showed is how mediocre this woman; can barely string two sentences together and dumb as a shit, no curiosity about anything……..
She has birthed 3 children and want to be a SAHM, they should let her do so; she is really of no use outside the house and that should be ok imo.
There are the Meghans of the world, there are the Kates, there are the ones in between or left or right of them; we should all be able to co-exist peacefully……..I hope!
You know how some people are like “it is not enough that I do well, others must fail?”. Cain and Unable are like that. They really think they are the toast of the monarchy and the UK. They really think they are working hard and HM cannot be better than them.
Kate can’t be SAHM cause she signed up to be the future Queen consort and all that it entails. If she wanted to be a SAHM she should’ve married someone who’s job allowed for that.
@S808 – Wanted to be a SAHM is one of the many reason I think Camilla was not really that interested in marriage and/or a long term relationship with Chuck when they were young.
Never thought of that – but now that you mention it, I can definitely see it. Especially in Diana’s day, when she would do several appearances per day, perfectly groomed, animated, tirelessly meeting and greeting.
Other royals have children, often young children, and still manage to work. Amazing how Kate stans think Kate cannot handle both.
If she and Bill would like to give back the 50 room apartment at Kensington Palace, and repay the 7 million in taxpayer funds used on it? If they’d like to give back the 10 bedroom country mansion and millions spent on it? If they’d like to give back the million or two in taxpayer funds spent on security Mummy Carole’s new house? Then they can never work again. Otherwise? They’re both required to step up and work.
Our theories align, Kaiser. That’s what I think it was – a supposed puff piece on Kate, so of course KP said “sure! talk to everyone! Catherine is the FUTURE QUEEN!!!”
But then Anna Pasternak started talking to some people, expecting to get a fluff quote or two, and got WAY more than she expected, which made for a MUCH better story, sooo…that’s what she wrote. and my guess is those quotes are all from legit sources, Tatler had to know how KP would react, so they wouldn’t just make that stuff up.
I don’t know if this was all Rose, or all about Rose, but I definitely think the Turnip Toffs saw a chance to knock Kate down a peg or two, and took it.
Yeah, I am willing to put money on the idea that they just assumed it would be a fluffy piece and didn’t bother looking into it further. And I mean – of course they’d assume that. There have been a constant stream of puff pieces. They knew SOMETHING was being written, didn’t care to investigate it any further because they were confident it’d be complimentary.
Then there are some gals who had a bit of an axe to grind, and a FFQ to put in her place, and things just went from there.
It’s just a viscous circle of mean-girling happening at this point. It really just makes me appreciate Meghan even more – she had plenty of reason to do something like this, but she’s a hell of a lot less petty than I would have been.
” I am willing to put money on the idea that they just assumed it would be a fluffy piece and didn’t bother looking into it further. ”
With these two, always bet on the lazy explanation.
It’s well beyond just mean-girling. The racism that Meghan experienced from this crowd and the classism that Kate is subjected to go hand in hand. I just want to state unequivovically that they are not the same in any way, and what Meghan experienced is much much worse than anything Kate is going through. But the larger attitudes are representative of a fundamentally unequal society. The toffs do not think that people of Meghan background are their equals. They don’t even think that of Kate. The whole issue is much more sinister and awful and speaks to a truly disgusting mindset that is still popular even if it goes unspoken.
But I thought the editor of Tatler was Team Kate? Her best friend from college?
No real friend would have published this article.
The editor of Tatler is a friend of Tatler and the Toffs from all “UK social sets” that make it work.
It is my personal opinion that the powers that be at Conde Nast told EIC person to “make it work” and “make a profit”. Do not forget that there is a big rumor of a major shake-up and revamp at Vanity Fair. Tatler & Vanity Fair are both owned by Conde Nast.
Meh, I’ve never been of the opinion that the EIC and Kate were BFFs. there’s a connection, obviously, and they may get along, but if Pasternak got these kinds of quotes, and Dennen needs to sell magazines and drum up interest in his high society gossip mag – they’re going to write the more interesting story.
ETA so to say, that because there is a connection, if Kate wanted to get in a few digs at M, she could place a phone call or send an email, but Dennen’s ultimate loyalty is to his career. “Friends” have done worse things for worse reasons.
This “set” of people don’t strike me as ever being genuine friends with anyone. It’s all about social status.
Hah, no. There are no friends among this set. They knew of each other and probably hung out and had a good companionship. But when push comes to shove, their class is where their loyalties lie.
Conde NASSTY destroyed VF, and Wired. They are TERRIBLE.
That’s all I have to say about that.
Full disclosure – I have not read the Tatler piece, so take this with a grain of salt. I am basing all this on the comments I’ve read on CB.
Given all the speculation and the strange statements within the article, I wonder if some of the issues stem from the fact that Tatler was writing for two different audiences who have completely opposite agendas. First, there are their regular readers who have in the past made their opinions of Kate extremely well known. Second, there is Kensington Palace, who apparently requested Tatler to write a piece elevating Kate as of Kingmaker. The third audience – the general public – doesn’t seem to have factored into the writing because they are there to consume the articles, not dictate its direction.
What resulted was a very bizarre amalgamation which certainly satisfied their regular readers, followed KP’s surface instructions to shine glory on Kate, and created drama everywhere. The only unambiguous thing I could take away from the piece is that the animosity the aristos have for the Middletons never faded in the slightest and perhaps grew stronger.
For some reason, I also get the impression that there is a significant amount of resentment on the part of the aristos- the KP strategy of elevating Kate surely must have gone to her and William’s head, which likely changed their behavior in the presence of the Turnips. I can easily imagine Kate, who always seems to derive her confidence by how completely she can grind someone else down, starting to throw her weight around in their social circle.
That’s an interesting take, and could explain some of the more random aspects of the article.
It is definitely clear that the animosity for the Middletons has not gone away at all.
“Kate, who always seems to derive her confidence by how completely she can grind someone else down,”
She lacks graciousness.
“The only unambiguous thing I could take away from the piece is that the animosity the aristos have for the Middletons never faded in the slightest and perhaps grew stronger.”
It sure seems that way, doesn’t it?
I think that Kate receiving the Victoria order and new jewels from the Royal vault after the Rose leak, along with Elizabeth’s and Charles’ obvious support, rankled the Toffs. IMO – the Toffs felt that Kate had done her duty and, given the Camilla precedent, William would put her aside.
Yes. That last paragraph is exactly what I think as well. Will and Kate, and especially Kate (and the Middletons included), started getting a little too grand for their own good. We all saw how the Turnip Toffs reacted when the news broke last year that Kate was trying to freeze out Rose Hanbury from their crowd. They saw that as her getting a little too high and mighty for her station and that probably is what caused all the other issues that had previously been buried to resurface.
Exactly – KP had no problem because they didn’t realize that the aristos and turnip toffs would actually speak their real opinions, barbed in double edged disdain of course. Once Tatler realized the gold mine they had struck, they were faced with loyalty to the aristos or loyalty toward KP. I think the aristos feel superior to the Royal Family. They see them as interlopers from Germany/Austria who are much further removed from royal blood than some of the aristos themselves! Plus, they have HISTORY in this country, more than the Royal Fam does. This is what they really think of Kate and William. Can’t imagine many social visits in Norfolk after this.
Even if it wasn’t them, they are howling at their Bridge games right now. They have effectively put Katie Keen in place and she will never try and pull rank on them again.
Message: you maybe the future queen but we are from good stock and don;t need to buy our furniture – lol
That’s EXACTLY how I read it
Egad. The toffs sound wretched.
yep and Kate is desperate to be part of their group.
My theory is the Cambridges knew about this story and contents.
They just didn’t account for how tone deaf the article comes off.
I think the Cambridge’s definitely knew about the article. Knew Tatler was running a “Catherine the Great” story and gave access to friends (It has been said that Kate’s circle don’t talk and they’re known for not talking).
But they definitely did NOT know about the Carole, Pippa and William stuff. I mean Carole is said to be snobby and controlling, Pippa is a”try-hard” and they all know it and William is a naive idiot who is overly dependent on Kate and the Midds and has some mummy issues. These three do not look good including William hence why I don’t think KP were told the full contents or they were but Tatler changed the story because the current story seemed a lot more interesting
OK, question. The consensus everywhere is that Carole is the puppet master. She seems to be obsessed with aristocracy and royalty. How does she seem to never understand the way society works?
I think it’s both. I think all the shade at the Middletons is Turnip Toff stuff they weren’t expecting. The stuff about Kate being an overworked CEO pulled away from her kids with no time for holidays (!!!) because of the wicked Sussexes were absolutely things the Cambs put out there and were too tone deaf to realize how people would react or expect the backlash.
It’s common with magazine feature stories like this that the reporter will run quotes and passages made by a source/interviewee by said source prior to publication to check for accuracy, grammar and tone. So KP saw and approved its part thinking what they saw was close to the complete story. That’s how I interpret the KP statement, they’re butthurt they didn’t exert full editorial control over the story.
I said this yesterday that rose may have had a hand in this, but it was only just a theory, because everyone seemed to be getting shade. Also Tatler is snobby as hell, and they will only truly respect another aristocrat so even if rose didn’t have a direct hand, the people at tatler may be very much team rose. I think sh*t has hit the fan behind the turnip toff set and those people will always side with true aristocracy. There’s no need for them to be nice to kate because even willIam isn’t nice to kate. The kate embiggening was there, tatler wrote everything KP told them to, but said it in a sarcastic way. Also I was at the hairdressers at the beginning of March and flicked through a recent copy of Tatler, and who’s picture popped up at a society event? Rose.
I, too, am a February Pisces. We da best.
“There’s no need for them to be nice to kate because even willIam isn’t nice to kate.”
@February Pisces – This has to be CB’s and Kaiser’s comment of the week.
@NextToMe yes we are!! 🤗
@btb lol 😂
BTB: Yes – hits the nail on the head.
The Toffs may not have sanctioned the article (like I initially said) but I agree: their fingerprints are all over this.
Now Rose and the Toffs may not have called Tatler and said “Hello? Yes I have something to get off my chest regarding Cathy Cambridge” but once they heard they were knocking on doors, they must have gone “Well since you’re asking so nicely… ;)”
On that note: I do wonder what Rose and the Toffs reactions are? Are they snickering to each other on the phone? Are they snickering to their partners? Are they rolling their eyes and going “ugh Carole”? Are they even discussing the article at all?
And how will Tatler feel about Kate going forward. KP has effectively thrown Tatler under the bus and Tatler has basically accused KP of lying. How do the toffs feel about “their” magazine being thrown under the bus like that? Will Tatler keep embiggening Kate? Or will they be more neutral going forward?
So many questions!
I think Tatler will attempt to rehabilitate the Sussexes and get in their good graces in order to sell print magazines which is where their greatest revenue is generated. The “Katherine the Great” article may be the first step in this process. Is Tatler tough?: YES. Are the fair?: I think they will be more so going forward.
Just cannot see the Sussexes falling for that under any circumstances. None what so ever!
@bamaborn – I do not think the Sussexes will fall for it, I stated that I think Tatler will try. Tatler has nothing to lose as positive Cambridge stories do not sell magazines.
I think the Toff’s are tossing the magazine to each other, and mumbling, “Poor darling, how embarrassing.” I would think that’s their way of laughing. Later, if they see her, they may mention how lovely it was she was able to finally get away and drop the children off at school.
You have a wicked imagination. I love it.
Original Jenns, you should get a job writing for Tatler.
Now THAT is some masterful shade. You need a desert full of aloe vera for that burn.
What is the toff equivalent of “bless your heart”? Anyone know?
William has the heir and 2 spares. Does he really need Kate now? His father divorced and remarried and didn’t lose his place in line of succession. I think if the Toff continue to treat Kate as an outcast and big Willy will want to continue to play with the Toffs..he may just cast Kate and her thin lips aside once the kids are a tad older. I just can’t see him choosing Kate like Harry chose Meghan. William wants to be with the ‘cool kids’ aka the Toffs. He’s shallow and a narcissist, so he will chose the Toffs when the times come.
We can only hope. Hopefully he will fall madly in love with one of his various mistresses and toss this white bread to the curb. Kate can kick rocks and Fergie her way through life since she has no skills.
I do not want to see Cambridge marriage bite the dust and break-up as Bill and Cathy are a match made in heaven and truly deserve each other.
@Bay — so you don’t want them to split, but you do want evidence of an affair blasted from every outlet with all of the sordid details.
I don’t get the motivation hoping for one but not the other. Actually, I do get it.
The affair is just gossip. Also, I dislike people who try and pretend they are perfect.
Eh, as I said below, no one is devoting daily commentary on gossip hoping to be wrong. Let’s just be honest, Kate’s the uppity, lazy commoner we hope gets tossed out on her ear to live a life of misery taking Royal crumbs while Willy gets to ride off into the sunset with someone more worthy. If we are lucky we will get pics of Willy naked in the garden with Rose Who and get to relish the public humiliation.
The days of Monarchy are numbered and I want to see it end. As for people pretending they are perfect, that is the job, it’s not like it’s merit based.
I would rather not see George, Charlotte and Louis have to deal with their parents divorcing and all the media drama that would ensue.
If their parents are miserable and unhappy in their marriage, why force children to witness that on a daily basis in person and in the media? Better to divorce and move forward with mature co-parenting.
He should divorce her just for daring to have thin lips. He has nannys. 🙄
It’s very ugly, but it *is* a great read on William.
he’d need one of the mistresses to fall in love back, which seems to be the problem.
DLC, IKR? Why would anyone who isn’t a shameless social climber want to marry William? Clueless and illiterate seems necessary too because you’d have to be truly ignorant of how awful the wife-of-heir role is.
And it’s not like this is 20 year old William who could melt you with a smile.
The Queen would be so mad if they divorced.
She’ll likely be dead by then, though.
Damn! That was harsh but funny as hell, tcbc.
It isn’t like divorce is uncommon in the Windsor family. Her sister was divorced. Three of the Queen’s children are divorced, her nephew is divorcing, her cousin Duke of Kent and his wife have been separated for three decades, her grandson Peter and his wife are divorcing.
If that was the way Will felt, though, why would he have married Kate in the first place? (Also, yes she has thin lips, but at least she hasn’t puffed them up with ridiculous fillers.) Didn’t he want a doormat who toes the line? That’s what he has.
I thought Melissa was being sarcastic with the ‘thin lips’ comment.
She was. No one gossips hoping their theories are wrong so it always amazes me a little how hopeful people are for the outright destruction of this chick’s life. Thin lips and all.
I think he doesn’t want the negative publicity that would come from that. Even he is smart enough to know that wouldn’t play well.
Unless it’s spun properly. Like maybe…..
Carole, Pippa, and Kate schemed for years to get William. Even they can’t believe they’ve won the big prize and they’re going to do whatever they have to do to bring it to fruition and see Katie Keen on the throne.
Poor William was manipulated, he loved the Middletons, Carole was the “mum he always wanted,” and he adored her and Michael.
And now, Kate is pissed at all the work she has to do. “She didn’t want this!” Shes petulant and pissy and has to be wheeled out to do her duty against her will. She just wanted to be a stay at home mom and do the school run, and even clapping for carers is too much for her!
…This entire article is full of reasons why Kate is a bad FFQ. It’s even called “Catherine the Great,” and has a great big cover picture of Kate hogging the spotlight while Will is pushed off to the side, in the shadows. “Catherine the Great” brings to mind the historical Catherine the Great who schemed and plotted and manipulated her way to the top and the expense of her husband. She was someone who married in as a meek and quiet girl and ended up using her close confidantes (in Kate’s case, her family), to take over and assert her will. “The prize is so great and none of them can really believe that they pulled it off.”
@AmyToo, OMG, you might have just stumbled on the hidden meaning behind the title! If so, that is some seriously delicious shade!
I feel this was a takedown from the powers that be, a signal that somebody needs to know their place and they better get back in line. I believe it was a shot from Charles who is tired of Will/Kate/Carole pretending like he’s already dead. If it was from Charles then it is a master class in how to pull the rug out from someone without them seeing you coming. Another reason why I think it’s Charles or even BP is look how strident that Tatler response was to that statement about the article. They are sure not worried about pissing off the Cambridge’s at all, they basically called them liars. Hmm, wonder why?
Catherine the Great killed her husband and took over as empress. The double meaning was in the title and it is unlikely that William wants Kate to get any more of the spotlight than she already has.
Well, didn’t the amazing and fabulous Sara Latham go work for Charles & the Queen after Harry and Meghan moved? I personally have grown so tired of seeing William & Kate strive to outshine his father and act like they’re next and sabotage him in public. There might be a couple of strings pulled by the masterful Ms. Latham to put them on the back foot after feeling so powerful with pushing Harry and Meghan out of the way… Charles definitely didn’t intervene but you can imagine he’s not happy about how the feud and Cambridge pettiness.
Good theory, Amy Too.
I called it yesterday. Once Betty is gone, all bets are off. This might be the beginning warning shots to the Midds.
If he divorces Kate, Carole will talk and air all his dirty laundry. William surely knows this
I’m sure the BRF and UK government have far more on the Middletons, squirrely James Middleton, Uncle Gary, and Pip’s father in law.
Will needs Kate as he is obsessed with her mummy.
I don’t like them but they deserve each other. Don’t like speculating about other people’s marriages, especially since it seemed the Royal family have been gunning from day one to wreck the Sussexes marriage. Some marriages have different rules and different boundaries. Regardless of the state of their union, is it too much for the Cambridge’s to cop onto themselves and just be decent people, stop being so nasty and vindictive towards their in-laws. They have learned nothing from their stunts and scheming,other then they usually get away with it and are propped up in the process. They truly deserve each other. Utterly useless.
W&K deserve each other, but for the sake of their children, they’d be better off divorcing and growing up.
Tatler is a magazine by toffs for toffs, let’s not forget that. And there is a set of aristocrats who view themselves as higher in status than the royals because of their bloodline. There were some who thought Diana was marrying down when she and Charles got married.
I agree Kaiser, KP thought they’d be getting a fluff piece with a nice side of Sussex smearing and were ok with the first quotes when they came out (even though those were tone deaf and ridiculous).
The full contents that followed though? That’s where the incandescent rage set in.
Diana was marrying down. Trufax.
Diana called her in-laws “the Germans.”
Incandescent Will makes me snicker.
Diana was absolutely marrying down, but that’s not because she was nobility with a better background and “pedigree” than Charles. It’s because she was a genuinely nice human being and Charles (and his family) were pricks.
I’d even argue that Kate married down. She could be out there having a great time with someone who’s genuinely handsome and seriously devoted to her, who has money and titles and country houses (with newly installed central heating), where she could be devoted to raising her kids and not doing anything else and being looked after her whole life if she wanted to. Instead she married William. She’s far superior to him in every way, even though her mother was born in a council flat and she’s descended from coal miners. It’s too damn bad that neither she, nor Carole, can see this or accept it given how devoted and desperate they are to become part of the aristocracy.
Exactly.
You spelled out what I was attempting to say. 🙂
Sometimes I feel badly for Catherine.
Sometimes, not so much.
Someone who marries for money generally earns it.
Kate and William are made of the same thin-skinned, lazy, selfish cloth. Two peas in a pod when it comes to bullying others, pulling rank to force people to kowtow, and throwing whomever ever they want under the bus for their own PR. In that way they are equal and deserve each other. The children, however, do not deserve to be raised in a miserable marriage.
I think the two deserve each other.
The timing could be about the Netflix Epstein documentary but this article has been in the works for months. I think a cover story in a magazine would not be how BP chose to handle it.
I think it is the toffs and possibly endorsed by Charles as well. Keep the Cambridges on the backfoot.
Rose is more one of their own than Kate, and David Rocksavage definitely is one of them so watching them be dragged in the media and David’s sexuality and his association with the guy who scammed the L’Oreal heir be part of the gossip probably concerned them. They kept mum about William and Kate and expected the same back.
If KP had enough pull with the Sun to get the line about William having dinners with Rose pulled from the article, KP could also have exerted more influence to protect the Chomondoleys. Maybe they blame Kate for falling out with Rose and making a fuss. They’re not going to blame William even though he had the affair.
I don’t think Rose and her family would bring that up again after all this time. Those Toffs might like to wife and husband swap but that doesn’t mean they want the world in on their secrets. But this was definitely put out there by someone who wants William and Kate to look bad when for months and months there have been all of these articles embiggening them.
It’s been said that Rose is the real power in the Turnip Toff set. And I am inclined to believe it.
I agree. Look at the header photo, it is the embodiment of the Turnip Toffs complaints about Kate.
Rose, while in an expensive ( bespoke?) dress clearly did her own hair and makeup, while Kate has professional hair and makeup. Was it necessary? Was it try hard? I don’t know, but Kate looks like she had to WORK to look like that while Rose does not.
Rose is in Valentino, she looks like a wet carpet
It’s a weird situation. Kate obviously put effort in and it might be mainly down to insecurity about her place in that world. But at the same time – I don’t think Rose looks great. Expensive, sure. But her hair is kind of frizzy (mine is too right now, so I’m not shade throwing so much as pointing it out) and definitely just a case of throwing a clip in quickly. But there’s a confidence about her – she knows where she stands in that society, I think, and it shows. I go back and forth on whether I think she’s pretty or not. Some photos she’s really interesting to look at, while others she looks a bit like she could just be someone’s aunt or something.
In the Buckingham interior photo though, I see it. She looks polished and pretty, but in a breezy sort of way that doesn’t look like she had to spend a ton of time to achieve it. She looks SO much younger with her hair pulled back.
Their whole world is just so bizarre to me. I can’t imagine having to deal with the petty olympics and all the infighting and politics involved.
Looking at all the guests in comparison to Kate, they all look a lot less polished. Like they throw on super expensive outfits, but don’t make much effort with hair or makeup. Which I’ve also noticed with the old school rich in the US. The full glam seems to be for new money crowd. I think it’s some kind of stupid power move, like they don’t need to prove anything. Putting too much effort looks try-hard.
To be fair, those pics of Rose aren’t the most flattering. There are other pics from the same event where she looks a lot better – its a combo of fashion and money and “I don’t care, I’m here to raise money for a good cause”.
@Erinn – I find Rose attractive because her look is interesting and shines through in the same way that Lauren Hutton and Jerry Hall have interesting looks that shine through in every picture I have seen of the two.
Also, Rose in the Valentino runway collection dress: Hostesses are to look nice and dress for the occasion but you do not out dress your guests, especially the guest of honor.
Rose comes off attractive because she exudes confidence. While she definitely has that horsey, aristo look to her that doesn’t always come off picture perfect, she seems to have a very cool demeaner and easy-breezy way about her. I find her very interesting. And I can see why William would too.
@L84Tea – I find both Rose and her husband very interesting.
I think Rose is definitely attractive. She exudes that special something, and it’s a lot more than confidence. She has the X factor. But she does have an unfortunate profile.
I’ve personally never found the middleton girls attractive. they seem quite plain and uninteresting. however it’s pretty awful to judge other women like I am doing right now. But the middles deserve it because of how they treat other women. So i’m allowing it just now.
@Erinn, I completely agree with your take on Rose’s 2nd picture. Just an easy, breezy elegance that comes from being confident in yourself. Rose looks great in that white dress. Reminds me of Keira Knightly in that fabulous green dress. If this article is the Toffs aligning strongly with Rose, then Kate’s Norfolk time is going to be strained.
Rose exudes casual elegance in that white gown. Oh this, just threw it on and pinned the tiara on the back of the chignon for fun.
“ they merely said that they were not given the article to review before publication. That is a whole other thing, because how many media outlets do that for Kensington Palace?”
—This right here is what makes me think W&K have approved many articles where Kate’s propped-up as the perfect future queen—victim of rude, narcissistic, ball-breaking, mean Meghan.
Like I said before, they told on themselves. They just admitted they work closely with the RR, and for the last few years they have worked closely with them to tear-down Meghan and even Harry, and to embiggen themselves, specially Kate.
Off topic- could someone explain why they are called the Turnip Toffs? Whenever I see it, I keep thinking of toffee made of turnips. It’s a strange image, because my mind immediately brings up cooking shows that feature glistening white plates of sticky, bland, pulpy mush.
It’s because they pretend to be farmers, but are actually just toffs who faff around at parties while the actual farmers do the actual farming.
Even more funny with the turnip trade in animal crossing.
LOL.
Thanks! Though I don’t associate turnips with UK agriculture. Mostly sheep. I suppose there has to be some kind of clever alliteration to make it… clever.
Knowing why doesn’t make my image of a Turnip Toff any better- now I just think of turnip shaped people rolling (literally) down the halls of old country homes like misshapen billiard balls while their dogs chew on the carpet.
Turnip Toffs are the title aristocracy and rich landed gentry who choose to base themselves in the Middleland England, East England and Southeast England at their county agricultural estates as opposed basing themselves in London at their townhouses or in Gloucestershire polo & hunt country.
Thanks for the imagery… Had a nice laugh… It’s a good question… I always think of turnips too… And toffee 😀
Turnips for Norfolk – the traditional ground where they are farmed
Toffs – bc they speak with a plum or toffee in their mouths – long drawn out over-emphasises syllables like – “AK – CRAWSE ‘ instead of ‘accross’ like us common folk.
Data gathered from attending UK public school (equiv of US private)
So they chose this moniker for themselves?
Just like the Chipping Norton Set except the Chipping Norton Set is entertainment, politico and media Toffs. Piers Morgan hangs (or use to hang with this set) if anyone is still speaking to him.
These Toffs even have a Wikipedia entry.
Does this have anything to do with William’s seeming inability to utter a complete sentence? I have heard BJ do the same thing: string a few words together, add a “ding dong” or other mumbo jumbo, and call it a sentence (although BJ would be more of a wannabe Toff?). Is it a Toff thing; or, is William just so lazy it even affects his speech?
LOL Mary!
I’m wondering if Carole was the one to let Richard Kay know that Kate had frozen out Kate. Is that potentially the reason for the back-lash from the Turnip Toffs and the Carole put downs?
Did Carole over play her hand ?
I think the initial story was from Richard Eden, but your theory still is interesting. At the time many of us thought it was from Rose – that she dropped the tidbit, knowing how the dots would be connected, and it was a warning shot to Kate – “I hold the power here, you don’t.” Rose didn’t care if people knew she was having an affair with William, I imagine it was an open secret in Norfolk.
But, I can see Carole doing it if she didn’t think it would get that far, if she just thought it would be embarrassing for Rose for people to know that Kate was freezing her out and that it would establish Kate as the “queen bee” of the Turnip Toffs. She may have just overplayed her hand like you said.
I’m starting to think either theory is equally plausible.
Wasn’t there a 1-2 liner from Sebastian Shakespeare at the Fail before that? Same Shakespeare who leaked Jecca’s secret London marriage in Sept/Oct before her son was born. Retweeted by Niraj Tanna but ignored by the ROTA. The Midds would have reason to leak Jecca’s secret marriage, and reason to try to get ahead of a Kate vs. Rose story.
As far as the toffs are concerned, Carole has been overplaying her hand since day 1. All of those nasty jibes about her (“doors to manual” “not quite our class, darling”) have been things people have said about her since the day William and Kate started dating and she became a presence on the gossip scene.
The doors to manual bit did not come from William and his friends. It was part of the pro-Middleton PR after the 2007 breakup, created by the Middleton’s PR hack at the Fail. Another one of their tries at ‘poor amazing middle class Kate’
The whole aristocracy is bull shit. Kate by her marraige outrank them all . Instead of begging them to accept her , she should have done her own job and business that may lead to accept her. If she really wants to punish them she should have team up with Meghan, both as team would have destroyed them. Because that’s what I would have done in that position I will gladly choose my sil even if I dont like her because you have dont need the world abt your relationship. By that she would have strength her position with biracial duchess because those snobby will be afraid of that team. Instead Kate choose the aristocracy over her SIL now paying the price. Many people hear said that aristocracy is close circle and have eachother backs. With kate being part of smear campaign they might be afraid of that she will not have their back because she can do that to her own sil with biracial and she may even cry fake tear over them. That’s why they slapped before she has the chances.karen middleton and her deranged fans are nightmare how they leave horrible comments on rose IG. That’s why they slapped her and her mom before she got the chance. Also those aristo are bunch of deranged idiots like Windsor and their snobbery. They are exactly like Windsor their lives is miserable and they also need public money that’s why they wheel out their house tour. Most aristocracy dont have that money as share or cash . That’s why they hold so tightly to their ancestral home that’s the only thing have meaningful. Again and again Kate is short sighted. Idiots 🤦♀️
@ Aria, I do agree. If K was more her own person and not trying so hard to shun her middle-class/working-class roots I would respect her more. She remains only interested in copycatting those in the higher ranks and that top me says a lot about how she and her siblings were raised.
Princess Mary of Denmark (raised in Tasmania) did not need to copy anyone. Princess Mary set her own pace and is highly admired probably more so than her husband.
There is reason why The Danish constitution does not allow members of the Royal Family to marry other Danes.
CP Mary is very popular in Denmark and she is very much respected by the establishment, otherwise she wouldn’t have been approved to act as regent in case the monarch and heir is out of the country. That is a HUGE sign of respect. She’s only the second royal, who isn’t born into the DRF, who’s been given this responsibility and privilege. The first was the late Queen Ingrid who was very respected and beloved.
However, it is not correct that the Danish constitution doesn’t allow a Danish royal marrying another Dane. What it does say is that a royal marriage has to be approved by both monarch and Parliament. However, Queen Margrethe has been very open about urging her sons to find their spouses abroad, which they have done. Frederik married an Australian. Joachim’s first wife was Chinese-British and his second wife is French.
@ArtHistorian – Thanks for correcting my statement. I was reading an article on this a couple of months ago and must have mis-remembered what was actually stated regarding marriage in the DRF.
There isn’t really a tradition of Danish royals marrying other Danes, even noble ones. The only notable example is Frederik VII’s morganatic wife Louise Christine Rasmussen, given the title Countess Danner – (and that was a huge scandal because in the 19th century Kings didn’t marry commoner ballet dancers who had a child out of wedlock and was his friend’s discarded mistress).
Another notable and scandalous example is Frederik IV marrying the noble lady Anna Sophie Revenlow in a morganatic marriage during the 18th century. That was exceedingly scandalous because the King had a living wife. Anna Sophie did become Queen when the King’s legal wife died but she was never respected and she was treated abominably by his son after the King’s death.
A more contemporary example is QMII’s uncle, the Hereditary Prince Knud. He married a Danish woman. However, she was his first cousin and thus a Princess herself and I’m not sure that counts in this context. Incidentally, Knud or his oldest son Ingolf was supposed to have become King but the Law of Succession was changed to allow for female inheritance by a general referendum in 1953, so Queen Margrethe is, in a technical sense, an elected Queen.
There are leaders and followers. Kate is a follower. This shows in her social life (copying accents and clothes) and her attempt to ‘work’. (someone sets it all up and she sits for a pic or a quick zoom) and the fact her mother runs her life at almost 40 y/o.
Meghan is a leader this shows in her social and work life.
Yup. Yes to all of this. Meghan never needed to have them accept her. She was never desperate to fit in. You see the difference between Meghan and Kate and the trajectory of their lives quite clearly in this more than any other comparison. Kate spent the entirety of her formative years (her early twenties) shaping herself into someone who William could marry and be with and accept. She has never bothered to become her own person. The entirety of her adulthood has been about being accepted by people who don’t like her and sneer at her every efforts, often because she’s making them in the first place.
Meghan has built her own life and her own sense of self from the very beginning. She knows who she is. She has known what it feels like to have friends and family who love her and accept her for who she is and nothing else. She has no need to change herself to beg for acceptance that may or may not be given to her, because she’s actually experienced what it feels like to be seen and loved for all that you are, and she knows that there’s no half-measure that can compare to that.
& yet Meghan seems to be the one who was deeply hurt by criticism.
(just playing devil’s advocate here.)
The Toffs are chuckling. While KP thought this piece would puff her up as the perfect future queen, CaroleKate didn’t expect that the Toffs went from tolerating her to loathing her after Turnipgate and Sussexit.
It was one thing when Wills married the an upstart, but having to put up with all CaroleKate’s attempts were exhausting. And then she got upset because Wills, who has been their chum forever, was friendly with one of their own? And the press got involved? Repulsive. After all that, and I mean, any wife can get a little squirrelly after an affair, but to be as openly vile to an in-law just isn’t done. Not publicly, in front of those we are responsible for. I mean, they expected Harry to marry one of theirs, but at least he didn’t marry some family who is buying their nobility and grasping at elevation above station.
Yeah I think the Toffs, who never liked and Kate and will never accept her, gave some less than savory quotes. I feel like this was definitely them saying, “yeah we don’t like the biracial girl, but we don’t like you either. Only one of you is still here and you’d do well to remember your place.” KP either didn’t read the whole article when it was handed to them or they really just thought the article would be the usual “Kate good, Meghan bad” and gave them the green light.
This is facts, except I don’t think KP got the article, just the rough draft in the beginning.
Is the Turnip Toff #TeamSussex?
NO – firmly NO.
But they are team Harry and might be ticked off with Kate’s throwing him under the bus repeatedly.
They’re #TeamToffs with their own agenda.
No, but neither are they #TeamCambridge, or at least they’re not Team Kate, which is something Kate seems to have forgotten, so they decided to remind her.
They hate Meghan just like they hate Kate so I don’t think so.
Meghan doesn’t desperately seek approval, that is always a turn off.
Kate is copying the Queens accent and apparently Rose’s clothes judging by the pics of them together. Kate reeks of desperation.
They certainly don’t care for Meghan either. As @Lizzie said, they might find her slightly more tolerable because she’s not desperate for approval, but they certain don’t think of her as an equal in any sense and she would have still felt their snobbery quite keenly if you ask me.
That being said, the ultimate irony is that out of the two of them, Meghan would have actually gotten along with the posh toffs more than Kate if she had been given a chance to. I think she has some very posh toff-esque interests in some ways and they would have bonded based on that.
Not Rose, it would be too stupid of her. She has everything to lose by doing that.
This whole affair is delicious. The lazy Cambridges just gave the green light *assuming* it would be the usual puff piece about Kate with a bonus bashing of Meghan/the Sussexes. I’m sure they felt they didn’t need to follow up at all — perfect illustration of how incompetent their press/PR people are. Their assumption was borne out the other day when snippets of quotes from the article were released, all appearing to blow hot air up Kate’s skirt (even though ridiculous and tone deaf). Tactically ingenious of the Tatler. Then, when the full article dropped, they were caught flat footed. Even their push back is tepid and inept inasmuch as they can’t produce any plausible counter-arguments. The “friends” and others “close to Kate/Cambridges” are either intentionally or similarly incompetently failing to give convincing defenses. It’s glorious.
Dinner parties in Norfolk will be delightful in the future.
Quit with the red herrings. You guys really don’t understand Prince Charles.
wait what? You mean you think he’s behind all of this? Please explain 😉
Okay Catherine. Just stop. I get you’re a Kate fan but you have to stop putting your head in the sand and blaming others when it’s quite clear the Cambridges are involved
Was it Charles who ran to Richard Kay last year when the Rose stories leaked and made the Cambridges look bad? Was it again Charles running to Richard Kay again this year when once again another story makes the Cambridges look bad? Was it Charles making faces at the Commonwealth service towards Meghan?
Charles isn’t entirely blameless but your continuous attempts at trying to absolve the Cambridges of blame is ridiculous at this point.
I’m sorry if this is rude but at this point when it comes to the Cambridges, you have continuously tried to bend over backwards to NOT blame them. You’re looking sad, pathetic and quite frankly a bit pitiful.
Thank you Sofia!
Look, Charles probably absolutely does want to knock William down a peg or two, especially in light of all the “William regency” nonsense over the past few months. But I don’t think he would go this route through Tatler and the Turnip Toffs.
It’s not a red herring to not blame him for this. The fact that Tatler immediately hit back at KP tells me that Charles isn’t involved, because they wouldn’t want there to be any chance his involvement was leaked.
Good God people this is gossip!
Sad, pathetic, pitiful??? Because one STAN view doesn’t jive with your own STAN view?
It’s like the Daily Fail in here with a giant whiff of hypocrisy.
@Melissa- If you hate it, why do you read it?
@Melissa: I stand by my view. And I also see what you’re trying to do. Playing the whole “I don’t like anybody but…” and subtly trying to question anyone who is negative towards Kate.
So if you have a problem with that Melissa, that your problem and I quite frankly couldn’t give enough shits even if I tried (yes I am felling salty and yes, once again, I stand by it all)
@ Geraldine — not once did I mention I hate it. When my 5 year old Grandson acts like an asshole, I call him out on it. I don’t hate it.
@ Sofia — I don’t particularly care that you are negative toward Kate, it is the path to being the popular kid around here. She is a public figure and so open to dissection as it were. I don’t find her to be particularly admirable, but I also don’t understand the vitriol aimed at someone that “at best” is boring as hell.
I don’t see the need to be so virulently nasty to another poster who has a different read on the tea. This is why stan culture is so darn toxic, who gets salty over gossip unless it’s your own?
My apologies if any of my comments have read as subtle — I straight up question why anyone would be gleeful at the thought of a woman getting tossed to the side for a side piece and hoping it is as public as possible for max humiliation.
@Melissa: Drop the bloody righteousness. You’re taking this all far to seriously. You say it yourself it’s just gossip. So why are you getting so offended on another poster’s behalf
And Kate is “boring” but she’s extremely lazy and after 10 years, I am tired. She takes millions a year from the taxpayers on the condition that she will work. If she doesn’t want to work, she can stop taking the millions. If she wants to be rich but without expectations, she should find herself a billionaire like her sister.
Kate is no “ordinary” public figure. She took and continues to take millions of pounds for not doing any work. Would you pay an employee who was doing nothing? I don’t think so. So I am, once again, tired of 10 years of laziness and her constant excuses. She has nannies, she has help and she has assistants. She can do a lot more than what she currently does – raising 3 kids or not
And no one here is cheering on Rose. Most people (including myself) have said they don’t see a Cambridge divorce happening. So stop generalising us and go back to calling a manager or something.
Righteousness, jumping all over other posters and taking it way too seriously is why this place exists 🤣 🧂🧂🤣
@Melissa: So next time don’t get your knickers in a twist if I find someone’s repeated comments to be pitiful and pathetic, okay? Since this is “why this place exists”
And I love how you have no genuine rebuttal to my Kate criticisms. Guess somebody doesn’t like being told that Kate criticisms here are valid and go beyond her being “boring”.
Why would I issue a rebuttal on your opinion?
That was my entire point, we should all be allowed to have them without being belittled or insulted for them.
@Melissa: And yet when I had an opinion on Catherine’s comments you came at me. So was I not allowed an opinion there? I called Catherine’s behaviour as pitiful not Catherine herself. So where’s my “allowance” over an opinion there. Catherine is basically saying we’re too “dumb” to know the REAL issue and this is not the first time that poster has made that sort of comment. Therefore I can challenge her behaviour because it’s very passive aggressive and I do not appreciate some of us being called essentially “naive”.
Like I said: go call a manager or something. You’ve been nothing but gaslighting me and trying to act “holier than thou”. Get off your bloody high horse. If someone calling someone else’s behaviour pitiful is what sets you off, then I can’t imagine what you’re like in real life.
Yes, thank you Sofia. ‘Catherine’ seems desperate to blame Charles for everything, instead of seeing what nasty, bullying, meangirls like Kate and Carole are capable when their backs are against the wall.
I think we understand quite a bit. About Charles and the Doolittle’s.
Talk about a red herring. LOL I would say good try but many just an attempt was made.
Always so desperate to throw the blame at anyone other than the mean girl herself 🙃
The most I can give you on this is I don’t think Charles cares about how this impacts Kate and William. But benefiting from the Cambridges getting bad press doesn’t mean he created their bad press. Kate and William can be messy all by themselves.
The problem with Will and Kate is they are messy and indiscreet. They not only are obvious with their insecurities and jealousy, but they use their privilege and position to let everyone know, through the press, the rest of the family, everyone. They have no shame. They were letting all their mouthpieces in the press how much they wanted the Sussexes gone and exiled, how they were taking away their shine. Now they bitch and moan about them actually leaving, because they need to work more and be more relatable ( ha!) To blame Meghan for everything, hold a grudge over a wedding because of tights, and say they have thrown their children under the bus is absolutely uncalled for and is tacky and spiteful as hell.
Lol, no, Sofia and I responded that way because Catherine has been going around these posts making one line comments implying we are all too stupid to understand what is REALLY happening.
Someone else (MsIAm?) mentioned she thinks it’s charles and did not get the same responses because she was not making the same kind of comments.
I do not think the Future Charles III originated this mess but I am sure he is enjoying watching it all go down.
Does the Future Charles III have any type of relationship with Catherine Karen Kensington Cambridge?
This, Becks1. ‘Catherine’ is always pointing the finger at anyone but William, Kate, and Mummy Carole. Red herrings abound.
I still firmly believe Rose didn’t have an affair with Will, I bet he tried and tried but she knows she can have that thrown around to Kate anytime she wants it. I bet there was an emotional affair and she stringed him along: that’s where the power is. I also believe she doesn’t care if people think she slept with him because all the right people know the truth. I believe she does know for sure with whom & when Will have cheated with.
Really? I feel like he’s done way too much since the initial fall out rumors. Getting his lawyers involved, forcing a media blackout, trotting out the kids far more often than we’ve seen in previous years, having his courtiers step in to protect Rose from scrutiny, pushing that awkward PR appearance of all three of them at church a couple of days before Sussexit…IMO it’s fairly apparent that they did have an affair.
There’s also the multiple hints from British media, whether it’s from disgruntled journalists on Twitter or in stories like Tatler’s. In fact Tatler’s mention was surprising to me, because Pasternak explicitly linked Kate and Rose’s fall-out to Rose’s “apparent closeness to William”. None of the British outlets dared to state that connection until now. It was always about the nastiness of the fight. The one time an outlet tried to make mention of Rose’s relationship with William, the article was scrubbed hours later.
Maybe Pasternak should write a book on the former Fab Four?
Trying to file suit in European court over ‘right to a private life’ vs. libel about this affair? WilliLeaks is guilty and he knows it.
Rose seems like a genuinely lovely lady with a gorgeous home full of real art and history which she shares with the public. Kate lets her mama do the decorating and is a mean twitchy bore who resents her duties but not her perks. If the Turnip Toffs are behind this takedown, good on them.
Genuinely lovely or cheating on her husband with a married man?
The two don’t generally go hand in hand.
True, but we are not talking about normal people here. We are talking about UK Toffs (pick your set) and members of the BRF. Their rules, regulations, protocols and values are different from mine and probably yours
They do when you’re playing at that level. They ALL have affairs. Literally all of them.
Don’t know anything about these people other this what’s in print so are they actually cheating or do they have a marriage that allows extra curriculars? They don’t exactly strike me as the types with a strong moral compass. THe husband seems like he could be up for anything and was quite the player back in the day. Their house is stunning, and is a great historic home. He’s incredibly wealthy, a Marquess with a bunch of titles, and has a full head of hair. William is more likely to be the side piece, not the other way around. The fact that she worked for Michael Gove and went to that state dinner with vile Aunt Sarah Vine though, shows that they have some backwards views. They may not like Kate, but definitely are not at all into Meghan. Not at all. That’s why these people, including the Cambridge’s should keep their business to themselves. They all seem messy, backbiting and a little repulsive.
She’s not. Her and her family are every bit the sort of desperate social climbing fakers the aristocrats claim they despise so much, with an equally pushy mother on their own end. Every last detail about how she met and eventually married her husband stinks to high heaven in my opinion. But this doesn’t get talked about or discussed in the same way that the Middletons’ exploits do because classism.
Case in point: Rose Hanbury’s parents are notoriously free wheeling types who have hosted plenty of questionable parties and personalities and cocaine in their home over the years. One of their associates is the journalist, Taki Theodoracopulos, a known racist and right-wing hack who wrote for Boris Johnson’s Spectator. Rose Hanbury interned for Michael Gove and hangs out with his wife, who is a gossip columnist for the Fail (and has written a number of pieces slagging off Meghan).
Her husband also had reputation for being a partying dilettante, at least in the years before he was married. Rose’s sister Marina married an aristocrat (who is also 20 years older than her), whose father was caught photographed in bed with two sex workers while smoking marijuana in the 70s and had to resign from his govt office as a result of the scandal. Last I heard, his son (who Marina married) had been fighting a legal battle with his sisters over the inheritance of their father’s estate. He confessed that he loved Marina on Facebook Messenger, and they were married 3 weeks later.
Both her and her sister married men who are much much older than them, who have titles and money and country homes. Rose Hanbury and her husband essentially had what is rumoured to be a shotgun wedding after she got pregnant when they were dating and they had to tie the knot to make sure his kids would be legitimate and could potentially inherit his estate and titles if they were men. Her mom is known to have been obsessed with ensuring both her daughters “married well.” They are basically the OG Wisteria Sisters before Kate and Pippa.
If Kate or Meghan or their families engaged in a fraction of the shit that these people have engaged in, they would have gotten excoriated in the press. These aristocrat types would have never let them hear the end of it. I don’t like Kate for a lot of reasons, but class doesn’t feature into it, and I don’t think it’s fair that she’s the subject of such treatment from a group of people who have zero right to lecture anyone about things like social climbing or being desperate for money and titles or acceptance. There’s no number of paintings and art and fancy country homes that could make up for that.
@A, great comment. And I so agree with your last paragraph. I feel quite uncomfortable to see the gleefulness with which some very disgusting classism towards Kate and the Middletons has been received, just because they are disliked (or should I say loathed). We should detest all these people and their outmoded ways of thinking, not be getting excited that they’re “taking down” some social climbers. Ugh.
@June, tbf, Kate and Carole deserve a fair amount of the heat for the desperation with which they’re trying to ingratiate themselves into the in-crowd. I don’t like that they’re so insecure in their status and their background that they see such acceptance as a prize, when inclusion into those crowds is predicated on inequality. They were fully willing to engage in that same sort of othering and condescension as the aristocracy when it came to Meghan, even though, if they’d chosen to challenge those attitudes and assert themselves, they wouldn’t have such problems in the first place. But if they made those choices, then the fact is, Kate might very well have decided not to marry William to begin with.
Also forgot to add about Rose Hanbury–her sister, Marina, was originally dating and, I believe, engaged to her husband’s son, who she is closer in age to. They broke things off (for reasons I have yet to find out), and then she got with his father. The quote from one of the articles I was reading on this basically said, “It’s all a bit incestuous,” which I think is fully apt and something of an understatement.
@A, oh I absolutely agree. I don’t admire these people at all, they are fully ridiculous and useless in my opinion. I just felt like we should *also* be disgusted by the classism you know?
Additionally, no matter what Kate has done, I still don’t like criticisms of her that are sexist, commenting on her ageing face, her weight and alleged eating disorders, etc. There’s enough to criticise without going there, I feel.
I can only imagine being Meghan, dealing with the classism, sexism *and* racism. They definitely made the right choice to leave.
And yes, I read somewhere that Rose’s sister first dated her husband’s son! I mean, I know the aristos are “different” but yikes. Awkward.
I agree, this specific aristocratic crowd is really full of it. It doesn’t matter if they are “outsiders” or not – treating others with basic human compassion and decency is something they clearly lack. I can’t really blame Kate for trying to fit in with these people either because she’s been around these types since her schooling years (due to Carole?) and like someone else mentioned – everyone wants to be able to fit in and have friends, after all humans are social creatures its just part of our nature. That being said, she should probably give up trying to fit in with them or befriend them, its just not worth it, don’t spend your precious time trying to gain approval from people who will always think less of you for really stupid reasons – life is too short.
I would feel bad if Kate didn’t desperately want to be one of those classist, racist, sexist D-Bags. She knows what kind of people they are and still surrounds herself with them. She doesn’t have to. Meghan didn’t.
@A & @June – Rose Hanbury was dating the Earl of Durham’s son not Marina.
Rose and Fred Lambton, Viscount Lambton broke up for reasons not in the public domain. Much later Rose meet David Rocksavage at Villa Cetinale (her BIL Italian Estate).
Thanks, Bay, I was coming to add that. Marina was platonic roomies with the son, that’s how she ended up meeting the husband. After you shared that tidbit? I’m still wondering if Bea’s wedding party next year will take place at Durham’s italian estate.
I mean, Rose could have talked to Pasternak. Don’t you think any Tatler journalist worth her salt would have tried? Rose could be one of the quoted visitors to Anmer that talked about its decor being very Buckinghamshire. We all know Rose has been inside Anmer, and Houghton is the gold standard of aristocratic grandeur, so she knows how to compare the two. Maybe she didn’t talk about the affair or Wills, but she was willing to dish on the interior of Anmer.
I would love to see Pasternak’s private notes as to who said what. Lady A = Anmer visitor #1. Lord B = another visitor to Anmer. Mrs. So and So = Country Grandee. Joe B, trusted plumber to the Toffs = skilled craftsman that worked on Anmer Hall.
All the sources are anonymous, which means that Pasternak may possibly be trusted in the future to pour out even more Norfolk tea, if necessary.
But if the article mentions Rose’s name and the affair then that would show Pasternak couldn’t be trusted. That throw in at the end was like a dagger. I think Rose would be “keep my name out of this” . Plus it would kind of negate all of William’s efforts to squash this on her behalf, especially if the affair is still ongoing. Why bring that sh*t up all over again? I still think this is a Charles/Camilla hand-grenade that got thrown at the Cambridge’s.
Maybe Rose doesn’t care. Rose might have thought it would be hysterical for the affair to be alluded to in the Kate The Great profile, thus dampening the piece for Kate. Maybe Pasternak said I’m going to mention the affair and Rose said to go ahead, it’ll be a good laugh.
I never thought Will squashed the news of the affair on Rose’s behalf; I always assumed Kate told him to make it go away or else their deal is invalid.
I think William squashed the news of the affair not to protect Rose (who can take care of herself) but to prevent The Sun and other tabloids from digging around and uncovering more dirt with an even nastier smell.
Maybe KP, The Cambridges, and the Toffs are all just super generous people who knew this was the diversion we needed right now. What lovely people. 👸
The reporter did her due diligence, was without a script but given the freedom to do her job properly. In this specific case she was treated as a journalist not the help to the editor. It resulted in a well written piece with a particular audience in mind, not a working class customer. Tatler respects its members and fulfilled their expectations.
Tatler and Ms. Pasternak certainly fulfilled my expectations and I am looking into taking a subscription delivered to my home mailbox.
Honestly, it’s an amusing and shady piece, but don’t think it’s that well written, and lacking depth and analysis. But it’s good gossip with shade and swipes. The fact that such a shallow article, which does have, if not inaccuracies, at least some incomplete facts, is treated with such gravity in the UK, and causing this much uproar, shows to me, that A) expectations for Will and Kate are super low and have always been. B) the Sussexes leaving haven’t changed that and there is disappointment in how they are dealing with rescuing the monarchy. They still blame their shortcomings and bitterness on other people and are still boring. C) the Royal reporters treat the Cambridge’s with kid gloves and are not journalists but propagandists and fluffers . They dish and analyze and excoriate the most mundane thing the Sussexes do, but are afraid to say boo about the other Royals. They have certainly told on themselves and they have some crappy friends. Anyway, this was fun and interesting.
The whole brouhaha about this article, especially the reaction from KP show that William and Kate have extreme thin skin – and shouldn’t throw stones at glass houses like they did with regard to Harry and Meghan. The Tatler article is nowhere close to the nastiness that Meghan was subjected to on a daily basis. She suffered in private until she and Harry decided that they couldn’t live like that and that they wouldn’t subject their child to that.
Now Jan Moir has jumped on the bandwagon about ‘tightsgate’. Apparently she asked her aristocratic friend about tights and she said something about being absolutely horrified at the children’s bare legs. Lol, it was such a reach I don’t even think Jan herself sounded convinced by her own lies. But what got me thinking is that Kate gave tatler the go-ahead to write about this, she wanted ‘tightsgate’ out there hoping everyone would be outraged by Meghans ‘disrespect’ for protocol. The fact that this is her third attempt to get everyone riled up by ‘tightsgate’ is really laughable. I wonder who else she will ask to trash Meghan over ‘tightsgate’.
Like your comment A. I think the classism the press& aristos have shown towards the Middletons is hypocritical& disgusting& always have. It’s a pity then they are apparently so in thrall& in bed with these jerks.
I’m sure Amanda Platell& Emily Andrews will also chime in with articles on tights gate over the weekend as well as some KP fluff. It’s a great distraction from U.K. government advisors breaking lockdown rules& having highest death toll per capita. As well as from royal reporting news perspective, good distraction from Epstein Netflix documentary.
It is ridiculous to go on about a three year old not wearing tights at a summer wedding when her mother has exposed herself more than once. If we are going to go on about shocking then let’s go after the adult who can’t properly weight her skirts on multiple occasions at official engagements.
I think they originally were going to lead with the whole ‘exhausted’ line first but that massively backfired. If it had been any other time it might have been different, but not during a pandemic when everyone is at home, and there are frontline workers risking their lives. She was never gonna get sympathy there. Then there’s the ‘Meghan and Harry have thrown our kids under the bus” line, just cos she ‘can’t do the school run, yet if you look at the CC she only worked 3 days in January and 2 days in feb. Using their kids as an excuse to get out of doing some work is nothing new.
So it’s ‘tightsgate’ She’s going with to rile hate towards Meghan, but it’s so weak no one cares. I think they are scared something will come out in omid’s book so there are trying to get in there first.
Tightsgate is so stupid when you consider that the FGs are Zara’s wedding did not wear tights. Okay, she’s not titled and is much further down the line of succession than Harry, and her wedding attracted a lot less international attention, but she’s still the eldest granddaughter of the queen and if there was anything to be said about “protocol” it would have been said then.
I really feel a bit frustrated by the whole “Rose Hanbury was behind this!” because no, she’s not. None of the stuff people discussed in the article about Kate (and Carole + Pippa) are new. They predate the Rose Hanbury issues by at least a decade. The aristocrats and the posh crowd have always looked down on Kate and the Middletons, for at least as long as she’s been trying to ingratiate herself with them from the time she started at St. Andrew’s. That was long before Kate and Rose ever got to know each other personally. The whole issue of Kate being looked down on for her background has always extended far beyond her Turnip Toff circles, even though they would have been privy to the gossip through the grapevine over the years just like everybody else.
My guess is that all of the people who gave quotes and interviews went into the discussion fully prepared to say generically nice things about her. It seems more likely to me that Anna Pasternak just pushed the questions a little bit more than any other reporter intending to write a puff piece would have. I wonder how and why this happened and what path these discussions took to get to this point where all of her interview subjects gave her such frank observations.
But no, Rose Hanbury is not some evil genius mastermind for regurgitating what is basically old news. There was no particularly concerted effort here to bring Kate down. The stuff in the Tatler article are the things that these people, including the Turnip Toffs, have always thought of her. Even on her best day, they think she is a social climber with a try-hard sister and a conniving mother who has tacky taste in decor.
The Tatler is in the business of making money – and a slightly controversial article creates more interest than a fawning propaganda piece. I don’t think that there’s any deeper reason for them not doing the fawning puff pieces that we’ve seen from the Daily Mail.
One of the commenters on Pajiba’s website dubbed Kate’s new name : “Kensington Karen.” I love it!!
I just read the Tatler article and it’s so shady. It’s worth the read.
KP brought this upon themselves.
Maybe this is the wine talking, but I’ve seen that header image a dozen times and this is the first time I thought “Is Rose’s hair so mussed because she literally just got done banging Billy?” I mean, her dress is event-appropriate, and in her other public photos at events she appears polished. So why is her hair so undone here?
3 2 1 KAREN WILL ANNOUNCE BABY NUMBER 4 THINKING EVERYTHING WILL BE FORGOTTEN BUT I THINK NOT IT WILL ONLY BACKFIRE ON HER KARMA IS AFTER WILLILEAKS AND KENSINGTON KAREN BIG TIME
A geriatric pregnancy? Karen’s fans should be concerned.
Rose has such an unfortunate case of British face
What a disgusting comment to make
I 100% believe that they thought it’d be a fluff piece and didnt bother check the contents. The tatler statement kinda alludes to them getting a reply on the cover but not cooperating with the content hence why they choose to do it like this and not their usual embiggening pieces.
I think the decline in newspaper/magazine sales might’ve also influenced their decision too. I mean even daily fail is struggling to get clicks on their Meghan hit pieces. They are now on a average 2.1k (before was 6-11k responses).
I do think this is how Rose and the Toffs showing off their power. As another user pointed out, the aristo did not hide their distaste towards the middletons. Remember when the keenbridges attended EACH fundraising dinner @ Houghton? There was a DM article with headline “Rose and Kate have SO MUCH in common”. I think the journos were playing with fire and teasing GP, that Rose and Kate are bedding the same (balding) man! That article is also very shady. It has this tone of “Anything you can do (I can do better)”, with Rose pulling off her rank and deep connection in the aristo circle! They didn’t really tease the GP about Rose vs Kate because Harry and Meghan happened, but now the Sussexes are out of the picture, well they start again. FYI, in the same DM article, they pointed out the real Catherine the Great (of Russia)’s connection to Houghton Hall.