Surprise! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released their Christmas card. The photo was taken on a family trip to Jordan “earlier this year,” according to Kensington Palace. When were they in Jordan? Perhaps they made the trip during their mysterious summer “away” from public events, when Kate managed to not do a damn thing for two months and four days. Or maybe the Jordan vacation was the trip they took in October, when they were mysteriously pap’d at Heathrow. Curious.
Anyway, the Christmas card or holiday card isn’t very Christmas-y. It’s… well, I’m not going to bother trying to describe it. I like that Charlotte and Louis are wearing blues and the kids don’t look hyper-coordinated. Louis is absolutely ALL Middleton, he’s practically got Kate’s whole face. Charlotte looks a lot like her dad in this photo, which is weird because I’ve always thought she took after Carole and Queen Elizabeth. George is cute too. Does he have a Harry-esque gap in his front teeth?
Kate and William touching each other legs… it’s just funny, my goodness. “Look at us, we’re cautiously showing AFFECTION!” I could have gone an entire lifetime without seeing William’s pale-ass legs. And Kate’s wearing a new dress!
Is this better or worse than last year’s WOOD card? And did they have to reveal the card this week because the press was mad that the kids didn’t come to the Christmas carol special?
Card courtesy of Kensington Palace.
Literally everyone predicted the Cambridges would do this as soon as the pic of Epstein and Maxwell at the queen’s cabin was everywhere.
I think it has more to do with the government being in hot water with their Xmas party scandal. Like kaiser said: the pic isn’t christmassy at all. Seems like it was a last minute thing.
Yep.. Today Dominic Cummings said pictures of the Christmas parties will get out.
Wow. They’re not all wearing blue. Love how Willy and Kaity are wearing the same color as the oldest and the spares are wearing their own color. Sure there isn’t at all a message with that.
This is exactly what I noticed! The “important royals” are wearing olive and the spares are different.
YES! That was my thought as well! Subtle as a heart attack.
Yep. That was my thought also. The pose also makes Louis look like an afterthought. Why couldn’t the children all have been together?
And take a look at who is being visibly touched, embraced. It’s obvious that Kate is got her hand on George, but although William is touching Charlotte his posture and the photograph don’t make it easy to see.
Also, is that an animal pelt rug, and are they all seated on camel saddles? What an incredibly odd choice for members of the British royal family, who live in England, for their Christmas cards. Were they trying to invoke Lawrence of Arabia vibes? The 3 wise men traveling on camels to visit the Christ child? Was it just an excuse to share Williams’s bare calves with the world? (Please spare us)
I didn’t even notice the color coded kids until you guys mentioned it, Wow. Now I can’t I unsee it. Yikes. The kids are cute. Not going to make me unsee Epstein lounging on the throne and in the queen’s rocking chair. Louis has definitely got the Middleton genes. What I did notice was the oldest on the highest perch, the first spare on a lower perch and poor Louis on the ground….
I noticed that too.
Why in the HECK is William sitting on a gold looking ball that has some typ of rivets in it. Also the illuminati sign of the triangle on both sides of the picture. It is very very suspicious and I’m so over the agenda of the world. I have all brother and sisters in my prayers and guys we need to stay united in Jesus and NOT COMPLY but work together. Amen
1-2-3 everyone touch someone else! Of ffs kids, cooperate please.
Except Louis.
Bwah hah hah!
That was the first thing I noticed! In the WOOD photo, Will’s arms and hands are hidden. He may have his hands on Keen’s and George’s backs, but if so, we can’t see them. But in this most recent photo, his left hand is on Keen’s knee, and her hand is on his knee. It’s as if they were screaming, “Look! Look! We do so love each other! We’re just like that couple in SoCal who shall remain nameless! No — BETTER THAN!!!”
it was the most AWKWARD of posing that emphasized how out of tune with each other they both are. It felt like they were ready to remove their hands as soon as the photographer said they were done.
” And did they have to reveal the card this week because the press was mad that the kids didn’t come to the Christmas carol special?”
Bingo! It seems very early for the release of their Christmas card and I’m sure the royalists are swooning over William and Kate touching each other’s legs after years of being outraged about Meghan and and Harry doing it. Apparently, the trip was during the last half term, the one where they purposely got photographed outside the VIP Lounge at the airport.
Well at least we know William did actually go on that trip, lol.
Haha. True. But then if it was a trip to Jordan King Hussein would have spared no expense for them and he won’t pass that up.
good point Nic. I bet it was a completely free vacation for them and you know they are not going to pass that up.
It is King Abdullah II not King Hussein. Hussein is Abdullah II”s father.
You are right. Abdullah II spared no expense on the Cambridges.
I don’t know, it’s two weeks before Christmas. Like, when do you think they were supposed to release it? And none of their cards are ever Christmas-y. I don’t see the big deal on this.
In 2019 they released the picture almost two days before Xmas and last year a week before Xmas, so yes, it’s early for them.
I hate myself for looking this up, but last year it was released on December 14th. A difference of 4 days. I’m not even a fan of theirs, I just think this a nothingburger of a story regarding the day they released it. I sent my cards out the day after Thanksgiving. .
@Amy Bee @Nic19 it could be that they’re gonna wait to see what Harry and Meghan do and then immediately copykeen it closed to Christmas. why else would they release their official Christmas card TWO WEEKS EARLY
wood pic is better, more seasonal and relaxed
Yes. Everyone looks happier in the wood one, it looks less forced. This one is very “Look at us, Still Colonizin’ 2021! Go British Empire!!!!”
Not a cute look for the British royal family to be posing on camel saddles in Jordan. It might work for other white families on vacation to use this as their Xmas card photo, but the BRF has a looooong history of colonization and racism, and they just chased out the only black members of the family and continue to smear them horrifically in the press, and actually work against them in court cases.
@amy too lol!!!
this was my issue, too. i think the pic is fine as these things go, but the saddles and fur were really bad choices.
Weren’t Charles and Camilla in Jordan this year as well? This is bizarre. I mean, in a time of COVID they took the kids?
The wood picture is far less forced, especially from Kate and William. Kate looks ridiculous here, like she’s trying to sell something. Oh wait she is…
What is that metal object William is sitting on?
I was wondering the same. Did he insist on sitting on something golden for engorged with rage reasons?
Brass balls?
Just thinking about how cute those kids are (especially Charlotte and Louis) and how the press is going to hound them once they are teenagers.
The kids really are adorable!
The card is fine, looks like an ordinary family Christmas card.
Ordinary families weren’t travelling to Jordan this year. They also wouldn’t have the props in this photo.
Their children really are lovely.
I wish William had worn a darker color shorts
I wish The Bitter Brother had worn pants, but we all can’t get what we want!
And, is there EVER a time when Kween Laziness shuts her mouth? Seriously??? Like, WTF!! Got to have that hyena laugh/smile working overtime!!!!
Her unhinged manic jaw laugh NEVER changes. She’s so crass…
Is that Petra? I was there in college. It’s absolutely magical. Though I wouldn’t think to associate this ancient wonder from the BCE with XMas. 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve always thought Char was William’s double, except for *one* pic when she was about a year old (that was pure Carole). Let’s hope she didn’t also get his personality and “smarts”. Louis looks *exactly* like Mike Mid, down to the brows. Pure Middleton. George… George is looking less like Mike and more like Louis Anderson. Where was he when Kate conceived George??? 🤔
All of them are dressed for summer, except Cocker Spaniel Kate, with her fall, olive green lonnnnnnng dress.
And the leg touching fools no one. Read the memo.
That’s her colonizer olive green for when she’s in scary places that need the civilizing force of the BRF to come in and save them.
All she needs is a pith helmet to complete the colonizer cosplay.
Hahahah Amy Too spot on!
Melanie T. did it best. Remember her outfits when she went to Africa, priceless.
Brings to mind another long olive green dress worn by a certain other Duchess when she visited a mosque on the South African tour, right down to the shirtwaist style. Honestly…🙄…the Cs are visiting, possibly in the summer, and I can still remember the walloping Meghan took at Louis’ christening in July, when she wore a beautiful olive green ensemble, and everyone else was in pastels. We can surmise she wasn’t notified of the color theme, and the press was merciless. But yet, here Kate is, wearing an identical color, at roughly the same time of year, and it’s fine. The double standards were in full play early on, and now Keen can copy Meghan to her heart’s content, and no one says a thing.
Yep when I saw this I immediately thought of the olive green shirt dress Meghan wore.
Khate never wore olive until Meghan wore that gorgeous sheath with the boatneck to the christening.
Kate stocked up on olive green this season as soon as Meghan’s Time magazine cover shoot came out. That was mid-Sept and if this was the Heathrow papped trip then that was at the end of October. We should have predicted this.
@harper: it was definitely when they were papped at Heathrow. It was taken when the kids were on half term right? That was from 25oct. to 29 oct. they were papped at the airport on 23 october.
Nobody, and I mean nobody looks like this hanging in the dessert. Fresh blowout and sausage curls and a dress to trip over the rocks. Like where exactly was she going? A pair of cool cargo pants on her or jumpsuits on both her and Charlotte. Charlotte one could have been shorts and Kate’s long. It would have made so much more sense and not like they went to sears for the annual Christmas card. And have these two forgotten that travel abroad during a pandemic when you are in the position they are in is a really bad look. So many brits haven’t been able to travel up then again this is mr and mrs Covid choo choo train so never mind me and my grumbling
The touching is so weird, lol. What would have been less weird if is W&K were sitting closer together and he had his arm around her or something. Why are they all spaced so far apart? It’s poorly staged, I wonder who took it.
Kate looks like she’s holding onto William’s knee for dear life. It’s absolutely not natural along with the car salesperson smile.
And as mentioned by others, why not have the whole family in shorts? Who treks the desert in a dress? Why not let Charlotte wear shorts like the boys. The imaging is so retrograde and sexist. Which I suppose works for the audience who actually won’t roll their eyes at this.
Charles and Diana released a Christmas photo that was so similar to this it’s almost ridiculous. I’m not sure if it was their last ever Christmas card together, it was a pseudo picnic and Diana is wearing jodhpurs and a blazer and everyone is touching someone else. At the time it was described as an aristocratic picnic and was widely slammed for the sham that it was.
I see a little bit of Spencer features in Charlotte but she looks a lot like Carole. I hope the boys look more like Middletons considering how their father’s looks changed as he got older…
George looks a bit like Charles Spencer as a child.
Kids are cute!
That’s all I got
How exactly did they get to Jordon? A friends private jet perhaps as we haven’t heard of them making this trip on a commercial jet
Yeah, so much for as the “FFKQC of the UK, they will no longer take international vacations” because they’re regal PR. During their nearly three month summer, the rota swore up and down that W&K were staycationing on Scilly or some other UK destination, only for it to come out that they made all the way to Jordan and then some.
While the rest of the world was in pandemic lockdown I guess they had time for an international vacation. So far for their “stay vactions” or whatever they called them.
I suspect the King of Jordan sent them a private jet because he’s looking to build up his allies in the west. I also think this trip happened when they posed for pap pictures at Heathrow because they don’t think the peasants are aware of the VIP entrance that would have kept them hidden away entirely if they wanted to be hidden.
@nic919. You got the nail. Jordan does need to strengthen allies and what better way than a freebie trip for the Do Nothings. Didn’t Kate live in Jordan as a kid for a while?
Jetting off to Jordan during a global pandemic when they were supposed to stay in the UK.
My first thought when I saw this pic was “so they did leave the UK this year and they have the balls to release this picture and announce it to the world after insisting they weren’t going to vacation outside of the UK for a while….”
I don’t know what they’ve said specifically with regards to travel, but my company has been sending people on international business trips since people started getting fully vaxxed in early summer, and I know several people that have taken international vacations. Unless they promised not to leave the UK, this doesn’t seem strange to me.
When politicians right and left are being called to the carpet and required to apologize for driving 100kms much less leaving the country? A luxe foreign holiday, via private jet, while the country is cripped with a pandemic and the economic fallout from it. Yes, this is absolutely another big PR mistake on W&K’s part.
All those politicians are being taken to task for violating specific stay at home orders or other travel restrictions. If this was towards the end of the summer, Europe was pretty much opened up. People have be traveling internationally for over 6 months now, I don’t know where you’re located but here it’s not seen as a big deal. I don’t know about Jordan, but I imagine with a valid covid pass it wasn’t difficult to enter the country.
There was an article in August of this year where they claimed they wouldn’t be traveling abroad so they could focus on being future future king and queen. So yes they did claim to not travel internationally and broke that promise within two months.
Besides they travel at the taxpayers expense so making any comparison to people with actual jobs is meaningless. Had this been a tour then at least there would be the pretence of work. But this was a holiday pure and simple.
Thank you Nic919, for bringing the logic and facts. This was the time they were caught at the airport in October. They lied, they travelled. They are meant to be role models in the midst of this crushing pandemic. But hey, that would mean less posing and frolicking outside the country.
@ Harla, how sweet of them to throw this picture into the faces of millions of families that haven’t been able to see their parents, loved ones or attend the funeral of a loved one due to the pandemic. But WE can go to Jordan, on a private jet, as we were “invited” and it was “officially” a work trip. But we are very serious in taking on climate change as a serious issue. An issue that those of you who are our peasants must adhere to, but we will start recycling our glass bottles, I guess, now that we are so conscious.
But as you can all see, we are very much not an unhappy couple!! Quite the contrary!!!
Unless they start adding entries to the court circular right now, they can’t even say it was a work trip. Besides the kids showing up to anything official would not be kept quiet for long.
Is… is William sitting on a bomb?
That or a golden egg. I was trying to figure out what they were all sitting on.
One can only hope.
It looks like a golden egg.
It matches the fur(?) rug?
My first thought; is he sitting on a golden ball? Is he trying to send a message? Is he thinking he has golden balls or something?
I asked the same question above.
That’s a pouf / hassock / ottoman style little cushion for seating. I’ve seen them in magazines and usually they’re associated with Morocco there but maybe they’re common throughout the region.
The knee touching looks incredibly awkward especially William.
It kind of stands out to me that William, Kate, and George are all coordinated, while Charlotte and Louis are not part of their color scheme. A subtle nod to the kid that “counts”? Why wouldn’t they coordinate all their outfits?
It’s very sad. There is no reason why they couldn’t coordinate all of the children and it would have actually made a better photo as well. Those bright blues against the soft greens is kind of jarring in my opinion. And didn’t they just put out some fluff that they are going to treat all of their kids as equals? So much for that. Once again George is the one being singled out as the most special, on equal footing with the future king and queen and here are the spares in blue. They learn nothing.
That stood out to me too. The kids all look cute, but George and the parents are obviously coordinated and the other two are coordinated with each other but not the others. There is a way to set up clothing for family pics where not everyone is completely coordinated (like George and his parents are) but its not chaotic either. Either they were trying to not look like they were totally coordinating (and failed) or – they had a separate photo shoot with George and his parents and wanted them to match more than they wanted the whole family to match.
It’s weird that neither parent is coordinating with the two kids. William couldn’t wear blue slacks or jeans? Kate couldn’t find an olive green and navy dress? The thought process with these two is just weird. You can tell they’re raising “the heir” and then they have the spares.
Not sure why but I’m getting “all they need are AK-47s” vibes.
George in camo and his parents in green. I do like the shades just reminds me of recent pics of a few whackjob USA govt peeps posing with their families and guns.
So much this ^^^. Lol
Haha. The camo really threw me too, I consider wearing camo to be a really blue collar/lower class thing to do, to see it on George on a Christmas card of all places really was strange.
The ONE time theme dressing is appropriate and called for… The ONE TIME.
/Smdh
I was just about to say the same thing. THIS is when you theme dress. Maybe I’m old school, but Christmas cards should be Christmasey. This just looks like a random vacation pic.
Cause it is a random vacation pic.
The thinking behind this escapes me. As you point out this is the ONE time for theme dressing.
Lol!
Wow. Wear the same shade of olive green as Meg and style your hair the same way, Kate. And wear a delicate gold necklace representing your children.
Just because you’re surrounded by giant rock formations doesn’t mean you can make us believe you’re living your best life in California.
The “earth mother” hair 🙄
Did Kate ever wear her hair that long before Meghan did?
No she didn’t. And certainly not styled in the beachy waves. The hair was always worn straight once she got the ring.
It’s pathetic and frankly a little scary how blatantly Kate copies (kopies?) Meghan and thinks no one will notice. Although the British media always blows smoke up her ass about how regal and queenly she is every time she does it, so I guess as long as they keep encouraging her, there’s no reason for her to stop.
Last year’s was better. Kate looks a little silly posing with her mouth open like that when the kids are barely smiling, but her look is cute. Will looks happy too. And the hand placement looks *totally* natural.
I miss when I didn’t despise them and could enjoy their family pics without snark lol
She always has her mouth open in that exact same pose. It irritates the life out of me.
Same here.
I’m kind of surprised she chose this one. Her open mouth pose looks stupider than usual. It usually looks stupid when she’s photographed like that on engagements but at least we could assume that she was maybe joking/laughing *with* someone. This is just her holding it for the camera in a posed portrait. We know that she’s not chatting with anyone, we know she’s not looking at something funny, we know she’s just staring at a camera. It looks more fake than usual, too, like she’s toned it down to 50% hyena grin. I also don’t get why she chose this picture when her posture is so bad. She’s hunched over so far that she’s created a large shadow under her bust.
Cute picture of the kids,
So did they go to Jordan ahead of Charles trip there, before his visit? Or join him on the same trip, but secretly? Wasn’t that when QEII was ill?
I can’t make sense of the timeline, but it wouldn’t completely shock me if the Dolittles tagged along to Jordan and either treated it as a straight up vacation, or embargoed any events for use at a later date.
I find it hilarious that both of these Christmas cards look like those fake backgrounds from Sears studio portraits back in the day.
Omg you are right they do look like those seasonal/location screens they use in those studios 🤣 right down to the cute props for the kiddies to sit on😆
Exactly. They say it’s Jordan, but it could be anywhere
Becky English said it was in Jordan during the half term break. She’s a Middleton mouthpiece so we can take that info as accurate.
Why is she squatting/kneeling? The adults just look so awkward together, they remind me of flat soda on a hot day..
It really is not a very Christmas oriented photo at all.. have they ever done one with lights or a tree to celebrate the season? Just curious.. this just looks very “summertime”
Guess it is a good thing the kids are cute, and the kids do look happy and healthy.
I think she’s sitting on a stool but you can’t see it due to the long voluminous dress. Whatever William is sitting on (the shiny metallic looking stool) is probably what she’s sitting on.
Can people in UK take vacation outside of the country in early 2021?
William had his vaccine in May 2021.
Can anyone answer this?
people have been able to travel since last summer, albeit with different testing and/or quarantine requirements on return depending where they’re travelling and their vax status.
even so, the FFK holidaying in Jordan is a terrible look given a) there’s a global pandemic still raging, b) a lot of Brits still haven’t travelled abroad since the pandemic started and c) FFK did a whole song and dance about ‘holidaying in Britain’ last year. glad that lasted /s
Maybe the trip to Jordan will be part of K’s Who Do You Think You Are episode that we speculated about a few months ago?
Let’s just watch interest in this boring pic compared to when Harry and Meghan release their Christmas card.
Midwest trump couples. Seriously nothing about these people looks anywhere near royal. All look average and again spares are left alone. The average couple does average things. Nothing looks retable especially since many brits didn’t get to go for a vacation with ever-changing rules.
But why is he allowed to show his knees and she’s stuck in a long-sleeved, floor-length gown in what must be quite oppressive heat? And Charlotte’s dress is pretty and at least it has short sleeves, but why doesn’t she get to wear shorts like her brothers? Poor Charlotte is not getting any good role modeling with these folks. And I can now fully believe that Miss Kate had a temper tantrum about the flower girls not wearing tights at the Sussex wedding.
The kids are so darn cute. Charlotte’s hair is so beautiful. The kids look great in blue. I miss Louis looking like a baby though. Goerge is still a cutie. I don’t know who he looks like more.
It’s a nice photo and I give credit to the photographer. Kids look great. Ok thanks.
So during a year when almost no one could travel abroad because of COVID and/or economic distress they not only went on a trip but used it for their Christmas card?! If the Sussexes did this they’d be despised.
Exactly this. W&K should be condemned for this not praised.
It’s super tone deaf to set the photo in another country when most of the population has stayed home either due to travel restrictions or just not being able to afford travel with the new measures in place. Place that photo in their back yard and it comes off way better.
And it was a holiday not part of a royal tour so they couldn’t be bothered to do any work abroad but they could go on vacation abroad.
Yeah a photo like this if they’d been on tour would be different. This is both tone deaf and blah. If you’re going to flaunt you were in Jordan during the pandemic at least make it more than a genetic backdrop.
Kate is incapable of looking natural while consciously posing for anything, my god.
Kids looks cute and normal. If Louis’s luck holds out, no one would ever guess in a million years he has a shred of Windsor in him.
Kate’s let her hair/extensions grow much longer in the newer pic. Hmmm, any other duchess let her hair grow really long this year?
Louis looks exactly like her father.
That dress is not a desert vacation dress.
If anything shows out of touch couple not having experienced the pandemic in the way the rest of the world has it’s the Cambridges taking their family holiday photo in Jordan. Maybe if they had gone on an actual tour there then it would not be as ostentatious but this is another reminder that this family has massive privilege and special breaks and they will do whatever they want whenever they want.
Kate looks utterly ridiculous and awkward here as well and it’s also obvious that she and William aren’t connecting here as a couple. She’s like a carnival barker with that fake veneer smile.
George and Louis seem to be the only ones actually smiling with their eyes here. Charlotte already looks kind of annoyed with all the pretence.
Posing at home in the UK would have been a far smarter thing to do. But no one ever said the Cambridges had any clue about the smart thing to do. And while Charles has used photos for his holiday card from abroad, he’s always used photos from when he was on a royal tour and not just a regular holiday.
I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and think that they chose this photo because everyone looked the best in it, despite Kate’s open mouth smile, which is awkward. It’s so hard to get kids to all look good in the same photo. And the kids look so cute. I do think they highlighted Charlotte’s hair, though.
This is a family that is photographed so often that they have their own in house photographers. It’s not like the only photos they could choose from were the one that grandma took of them all last Easter but oops someone closed their eyes, and this one that they asked someone to take of them posing on camel saddles while on their summer vacation. Their entire existence is constantly photographed. They had a minute long professional commercial video of the family made with multiple scene/set changes for their wedding anniversary. They could have taken random screen shots from that one video and ended up with more professional quality family photos that most people get over a 5 year period. They’re not like us, they could have had 200 professional family portraits taken this year alone if they wanted to.
So I really don’t know why they chose to highlight the fact that they took an international, non-working holiday vacation in the middle of the pandemic, likely on a private jet bc no one spotted them on a commercial flight this year, with at least one kid that is too young to be vaccinated. Just all of that makes it really tone deaf, but then you add in the fact that they’re the British royal family, of the former British Empire that they’re still so insistent exists through the commonwealth, dressed in military olive with their heir in camouflage, posing with a collection of vaguely “middle eastern tribal inspired” props? And then it becomes not just tone deaf but also icky and inappropriate in a colonizing way. I don’t think we can excuse all of that, especially for a family that so tightly controls their image and is all about royal symbolism, by saying “well maybe this was just one of the only pictures they had this year where the whole family was smiling and looking at the camera.”
None of the kids are old enough to be vaccinated, especially not in October when half term happened. I am not sure if the UK has even opened up vaccines for the 5 to 12 group yet. Canada has only done so recently several weeks after the US did in November.
And it’s pretty expensive to travel to Jordan just for the sake of a cute family photo. Doesn’t seem like UK taxpayer money is being used wisely if that’s the case.
Pretty sure Chris Jackson could have done something pretty decent for far less than a trip to Jordan.
Didn’t Sophie say on sheikhgate tape that the government uses the royal family as distraction? This early card released to the rota (I reckon there will be another one released closer to Christmas Day) smacks of deals with tabloid/distraction. William’s ex aide Simon case is also caught up with partygate so wouldn’t be surprised if this card is an attempt by number 10 to get that scandal off the front pages. Maybe William was at a party too
@ABritGuest: I think you’re on to something. Charles and Camilla has also released their Christmas card today. I think Downing Street called in a favour from the Royal Family to distract the country from the Christmas parties scandal. I don’t think it will work though.
C and C’s card was on the odd side. His having to help her put a mask on. and the Cambridges do not wear masks. Both odd card choices.
Yesterday Boris Johnson welcomed a baby as a distraction. Today, it’s the Royal Xmas cards as a distraction. At this rate, the Queen will have to do her part and be admitted to the hospital over the weekend to keep up the farce.
The only thing missing is nr 10 expecting the queen to be admitted to give birth, and present the new love child at the steps of the Lindo Wing.
I did not need to see a Prince William crotch shot today. On a Christmas card no less!
Elegant Bill should know better than to put his crotch and butt cheeks-outline front and center of this pose.
All I see are balls and teeth.
I know! It’s objectively a bad photo of them!
I know, my first thought was, “Behold! The Royal Package!”
William was right in the center also in that awful pose. How come royal men are not required to follow protocol when they sit for a picture.
Surprised at Jordan. It’s not a holiday destination I associate with the Cambridges.
The gap below William’s legs/waist is the first thing my eyes are drawn to when I see it and not in a good way. It just makes Charlotte seem disconnected from the rest of the family. I would have placed her there tbh. Also they seem really distanced from the camera. I’m NOT a professional cameraman so these are just things that I, as a viewer, I’m noticing. So if it turns out these are stylistic photo elements that I’m not educated enough on to appreciate I apologise lol.
As for good things, I like that they’re not all colour coordinated. Too much olive would have blended them in the background. And the kids are cute as always.
Apparently Kate lived in Jordan for a couple of years as a child when her father was based there for work, so maybe she feels some kind of connection. But yes I thought it was not the sort of holiday destination I’d associate with this pair
She was 2-3 years old at the time, it was for around 18 months. It isn’t like she has long-standing, happy memories of much of her childhood there. I doubt this had anything to do with her living there for a brief period, rather because it was a freebie holiday somewhere.
The living in Jordan story was beaten to death by the RRs when William went to Jordan and posed next to a cardboard photo of kate as a toddler.
Kate has no actual memories of Jordan and no sentimental reason to visit. This was an all expenses paid holiday by the king of Jordan who is working the soft diplomacy for his country’s relations with the UK. And Billy never passes up a free holiday with a private jet.
True, she was young at the time of living there. But because of Mike & Carole’s jobs with BA, they flew to the ME for vacations. There’s a photo of a teenage Kate & Carole sunbathing by the pool at a resort in Sharm el Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula. I have no doubt the family is comfortable & familiar with the resorts in that part of the world. K & W likely went to Aqaba for some sun & sea, maybe visiting nearby Wadi Rum. My first thought was Petra as well, but the interiors of the tombs are all flush, straight sided walls, while what we’re seeing in this photo seems natural.
For two decades, the only Middleton holiday spots have been skiing, Mustique, and recently taking advantage of freebies at the Matthews sunny hotel. They haven’t been traveling to the Middle East on the regular, and they never travel for edification or education. It is always to drink and bake themselves silly, not to visit museums or places of cultural interest. But nice try?
William does not look good in those shorts.
Also wanted to add re: Aqaba. There’s great snorkeling & diving, both activities that K & W enjoy.
Charlotte’s highlights are growing out. Bill is posed the exact same way, including the angle of his face (almost could be photoshopped from last years, if not for the awkward sitting pose. The kids are and always have been, all Middleton.
There’s a little Diana type features in Charlotte but she has Carole’s eyes. Never saw her resembling the Queen. George and Louis are Middletons.
Kate looks like she’s going to a different party. As always…
Cute picture. I really like her dress, though probably not for strolling around sight seeing.
I always use a random candid from sometime during the year for my holiday cards — I’m not at all down for the whole fussy get together, match clothes, go do a “photo shoot” thing, even when my kids were little. I take pictures all year and hope for one lucky shot where we don’t all look like a mug shot lineup.
This has been their color scheme for their cards for three years now? Not the clothes, but the background – brownish and outdoorsy etc. Last year was the woodpile, was the year before the year when they were posed in the tree? So I guess the background at least fits with that.
But holy cow, what bad optics to release a vacation picture from Jordan during a pandemic year when they insisted they weren’t going to vacation outside the UK anymore. Like….its such stunningly bad optics I have to wonder if someone is trying to sabotage them from the inside.
@Becks Their fans have short memory span. Nobody remembers their “promise” to stay in Britain. As we know ROTA won’t remind this to public. So, they can do as they wish without the fear of being criticized.
Kids are cute, especially Charlotte. She growed a lot. But this is not Christmas Card. Nothing festive in it.
True, and even if their fans did remember, no one in the press dares to criticize them anyway, so I guess they really can just do whatever the eff they want and no one will say boo to them.
Lovely family photo!
I would have preferred if they had all sat on the damm rug on the floor and wore clothes people actually would wear in the dessert. Like this is way too try hard.
Then they’d be accused of cultural appropriation. Maybe they could have dressed like a Christmas pageant. Everyone is so casual. A little crushed velvet and pizazz in a palace is what the masses want.
Charles and Camilla take an official trip to Jordan. William and Kate take a private family trip to Jordan. IMO. This was coordinated as some sort of favor to King Abdullah and the country of Jordan. It made no sense that the first official tour since the pandemic was to Non Commonwealth countries. There is some sort of BTS deal making going on between the UK and Jordanian governments and the BRF is being used for propaganda. And I agree that the pictures canes out early to distract from the Christmas party scandal and the announcement of new COVID restrictions. But quite frankly the picture release doesn’t have the same impact because the kids have been so overexposed. Also. It will allow them to start writing stories about whether or not the Sussexes will release a pictures. Which is what the really want. Lastly I agree with everyone else the hands on knees/thigh pose by the Cambridge’s is just ewww awkward. Also the spacing between all of them is awkward. Louis seated by himself lower on the ground with no one touching him is particularly awful imaging.
No, they did not take this freebie secret holiday as a way to help out Jordan. They did it because they wanted a freebie holiday away from the the watchful eyes of unhappy taxpayers living under COVID restrictions.
Was this the trip they went on when the QUeen was sick?
Yes the story about her being hospitalized came out the day before they left and the pap photos showed up on the weekend stating they left on Thursday. Then they tried to pretend it was a photo of them coming back from holiday even though half term started the week after.
Didn’t William also threaten the press to yank the photos?
It’s a nice picture of all of them, but the Jordanian “theme” is really really awkward given the history of British Colonization. I bet William really wanted to pose on a camel dressed like Lawrence of Arabia.
True, I guess we must just be thankful that they didn’t put the entire family in brownface and “native dress” like their colonizer forebears. Small mercies.
It’s already Christmas card time? I’m late as usual.
Their hand placement is super awkward. You can tell the photographer (or someone) just said, show intimacy, put your hand on the knee. True intimacy would have been Kate’s hand on his knee and his arm wrapped around her with his hand holding her waist. (A la Harry and Megan.) It looks so staged. Like he’s a husband from the bad old days who is still in the closet or something. Just wrong. Fake.
Cue the outrage like when Harry showed his feet in the pic. Copykate isn’t the only one that has a playbook
I like the color scheme, blues and olive but I think I prefer last year’s photo. Kate’s dress is kind of awkward here and William and Kate with hands on each other’s knees thing is a bit overkill. Charlotte’s hair is getting long and I don’t remember Kate’s ever being that long this year. Her hair looks really nice here and I have to wonder if she did her own hair in the Jordanian desert?
Kate and Charlotte sport the Laura Ingalls look.
She got the Meghan special and probably had a hair stylist lurking in the wings for touch ups.
Will the “reporting without fear or favor” British press ask the questions that must be asked about these representatives of the head of state having gone on a private vacation to Jordan? Who paid for it? Where did they stay? Were they given special treatment? Did they meet with any representatives of the Jordanian government? Did they latch onto Charles’ trip and did that result in any costs being picked up for the Cambridges that would not have otherwise been borne by the government?
My only shock is it wasn’t taken exactly in the location Kate’s childhood photos were taken. Where William went by himself a few years ago.
Correct me if I’m wrong but it seems the Cambridge’s released their card before Charles and Camilla or is there just more coverage of the Cambridge’s. If they did. I’m sure we’ll be hearing from all the protocol police who constantly criticized the Sussexes for not respecting the hierarchy.
This is better than their anniversary photos which were painful to look at. When they pose with the children they do a better job
What’s up with Charlotte’s hair? You can not convince me they didn’t have a hand in it…
It’s odd that they are all so far apart. I’ve never seen a family photo with so much distance between everyone.
There she is with that stupid smile. Always trying to look like the odd man out, is she subconsciously vying for attention it’s disturbing what a nut.
It’s evident that Kate and William hire people based on who they know and not what they know. Their PR is shabby. Maybe the card’s border says Christmas, but the photo doesn’t. Everyone is in warm weather clothing, soft colors, except Mama Bear. They live in two tax-funded homes, but they take the holiday photo in a foreign country. They’re shoving themselves down the people’s throats. It’s a school visit, another visit to the museum, an emotional podcast, a Christmas concert attended by family and friends, the family holiday photo – exposure overload! Every day they anticipate the appearance of their imagined nemesis – the Sussex family. It must be tough living in the shadow.
The picture is nice overall, but:
1.) The knee touching looks forced. And awkward.
2.) Jordan seems an odd backdrop for a British Royal Family to take their Christmas photo
3.) Kate’s new favourite guffaw never improves. I wish she would just smile like normal, like she used to. This open-mouthed laugh/smile isn’t working on her.
On the whole, however, it’s nice to see. Prince George in particular looks so grown up.
*ugh* edit:
4.) Ditch the poor dead animal’s fur straightaway. That is GROSS. Colonialists sitting atop their conquests is *not* a good look.
Completely agree
My working theory based on the timeline:
This was never meant as a Christmas photo.
It’s from a shoot to update their yearly “family photo” and was likely taken a month, if not several months, ago. There was no public work visit to Jordan in the CC.
But, poor publicity coupled with turbulent exterior politics meant they had to release an image *of some kind*.
So we get this slapdash release of family pic (since it’s probably the most recent one they have with all of them in it), masquerading as the official Christmas portrait.
Also, why does it look to me like little Louis is crying in the pic? Or at least, being a typical child upset about something, which in itself is perfectly normal behaviour for a small child. Bizarre though, when one of the children is in the middle of a fit and everyone is simply smiling around him.
George is wearing the exact same clothes he wore for his birthday photo. Perhaps, the two photos were taken during the summer…they tend to take all their photos the same day (pe last year’s Christmas photo, anniversary video and Kate ‘s hold still photo.. ) . It’s difficult for them to be in same place for long 😉😉
They make the weirdest and dumbest life choices for people who can literally pay for the best advice and style that exists. It’s baffling to me in every way. Like this whole picture thing is a layup for good PR but instead they a) share a pic from international travel during a global pandemic b) manage to give off serious colonizer vibes in it c) have a child in camo in what looks like a cave where he could hold a gun (what in the world?) and d) everyone looks like they have the same face vibe except Kate who is smiling like she’s absolutely daft.
Like…how do you not manage this pic perfectly to make it look effortless and relatable? It’s not hard. Middle class American moms basically do this for sport around this time of year. These people are so damn weird and just…challenged to do the easiest thing in the world (good pr from a pic of an attractive family). This is BASIC.
The keenest Keen, the one and only who must always be embiggened, with an art education chose this particular photograph? Bless her little keen heart!
No just no! For once she cannot be accused of copying Duchess Meghan!
I can’t stop laughing at the olive theme overload 😂
The physical distance between them in last year’s photo vs this year’s photo is very telling. They do look bery awkward and forced. Keen is —as always —having a MUCH BETTER TIME than everyone else in attendance. Charlotte’s hand wrapped weirdly around that thing give me anxiety vibes.
I feel like the closer you look especially at the younger two, they actually don’t seem happy and carefree (aside from Kate who looks borderline overmedicated). Just sort of a neutral “say cheese for the camera but I’m not really into this” expression. Doesn’t really read as a happy family excited to be on vaca.
william in those shorts! Bad fashion choice.
It’s about IMAGE. The PDA is included here. Something that the Sussexes got criticized for. But apparently the Cambridges break “protocol” to show PDA. LOL.
So William and the boys get to wear Shorts. Charlotte and Kate have the “gingham” long dress look like Laura Ingalls or her sisters would wear.
Why does Charlotte have highlights in her hair?. Isn’t she a little young for that?.
Probably natural and it is growing out .
Charlotte’s hair color is nice in itself and does not need those highlights. She should get a shorter hairdo or a trim. IMO.
Looks like Kate found a version of Meghan’s mosque dress. At least she didn’t add the flower to her hair. If there’s a family message in the photo it gets muddled with the awkward poses.
I find it hilarious how they only show PDA during the ‘money shots’. If that marriage was as real as they say it is, they would be doing it every damn day. These people are so fraudulent and pathetic it’s laughable.
One thing that struck out in this photo that I don’t think anyone mentioned was where Louis is placed. He is purposely sitting not in the middle (which would’ve made sense) b/c they wanted the shot of Will and Kate’s hands on each other’s knees more so than a shot of a close loving family. That and the fact the spares are purposely in a different colour shows what the intention of this photograph was. To highlight the “love” between W&K (that they’re the focus of this photo) and to show how the structure of the monarchy and its slimmed down version is something W&K will continue after Charles.
I’m going to be in the minority and say Charlotte’s hair isn’t dyed. Some kids do have “natural” highlights esp those that swim alot. I don’t think they intentionally dyed her hair but I do think they do “help” the highlights Charlotte naturally gets (i.e. special shampoos), if that makes sense.
I agree, I don’t think it’s highlighted. Some people are born with blonde hair which gets darker with time but lightens up a lot after sun exposure, especially when they’re young.
Except look at the different colors, and the artificial striations. The harshness is not the look of young hair. Look again.
I’m sure I’m in the minority, but I think it’s a nice family picture. I hope that they are happy. I think that Catherine is doing the best that she can in the situation that she is in. I believe that this is truly what she wanted, but didn’t truly understand in what she was getting herself. Just my opinion and an unpopular one, I know.
Kate treated her sister in law Meghan terribly. I have no sympathy for her at all. She is in the situation she wanted and waited years for. She seems not genuine at all, she had to get into this “image” of being so “perfect” for the royals. She also was not nice to Harry. Kate really is not doing the best she can, she showed she lacks a kind heart after the way she behaved with Meghan and Harry. There is a lot more to life than following Protocol. She also has not learned considering the recent eye rolling and comments when Meghan and Harry were mentioned.
She chose this situation, she didn’t fall down a rabbit hole and find herself here.
I have no sympathy for Kate. She chose to cling to a man who cheated on her for 10 years. Chose to marry him knowing he’d keep cheating on her, as he has done publicly. She has chosen to be lazy, inept, unprofessional in this job for 10 years.
She and her family chose to be abusive, dismissive, and racist towards her sister in law. Kate is no victim, she deserves no sympathy.
They are not happy, it’s the world’s worst kept secret that their marriage is in name only and they are very likely spending most of their time apart. She’s reaping what she sowed in her despicable treatment of Meghan and, by extension, Harry.
From Philippians 2:3-4:
“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his [and her] own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Kate was perfectly fine with putting out or to be generous, not correcting, a completely false story which painted Meghan as an aggressor in the media and which was used to set the negative narrative for years. And she still has not corrected that false story. Three years later.
How mean of a person do you have to be to do that to your own sister in law? The level of cruelty to do that is astounding. I am sure many people here have sisters in law and some of them aren’t close. But to publicly castigate your sister in law so she is attacked non stop by the media to the point where she is pregnant and suicidal (keep in mind if royal reporter Valentine Low knew that Meghan sought help for suicide, then the family would have known) and still you remain quiet and do nothing to stop the false story? That is evil and sociopathic. And I didn’t even get into the commonwealth service snubbing which was done with all this knowledge. You have to be a truly hateful person to do this to your own sister in law.
She recently tripled down on it, with the leak to a Middleton tabloid hack a few weeks ago. The lie that Kate cried because of Meghan’s treatment of staff. That’s at least the sixth lie Kate’s camp has peddled about this.
JMONEY then you agree with the rest of us that their public displays of affection is performative.
Not catty: I like olive and blue together and George’s shirt ties the colors together. Aesthetically, this is fine with me.
Catty: JORDAN? Is that a good idea? Also, please wear pants and open mouth smiles UNLESS actually capturing a legitimate laugh look contrived.
Looks like everyone dressed up but William. He was playing golf and got the frantic phone call, “where are you? We’re waiting! The photographer has to leave soon!” 😂
I’m guessing the long dress is out of respect for local mores: women exposing their shoulders and legs is frowned on in certain cultures…(of course, seeing TOB’s legs is frowned on in mine.)
I think Charlotte’s the one to watch in this family. I have a feeling she’s brighter than all of them and won’t take kindly to “being less” so that her older brother can shine.
Honestly, it makes me physically ill when parents have favorite children, and the family dynamics in the BRF are truly grotesque. Here’s hoping Uncle Harry and Aunt Meghan have a guest room ready for Charlotte.
She’ll be treated as Andrew and Harry were before her. As the in-house scapegoat and public cover for anything the heir does. That is her place in the family, the role W&K are already shoving on her.
I think Charlotte will be okay. She is the only daughter and will likely eventually get the Princess Royal title. Louis is the one who already seems like an afterthought. I think he will be the scapegoat.
The “family” picture of Charlotte on the other side and the male children paid more attention to. Charles interacting with Louis and having George on his lap with no interaction between Charles and Charlotte is not a good sign of her future. She cannot be named Princess Royal until after Princess Anne’s death. And it’s not instant. Anne had to wait years after her Great Aunt Princess Mary (the previous Princess Royal) passed away to get the title. Charlotte’s grandmother saw her daughter’s accomplishment as marrying up. I hope Charlotte gets a good education and shows interest in work and charities.
Charlotte is already being treated as less than the heir. She will be the scapegoat and forgotten child will remain Edward/Anne. Harry has set forward the idea that only heirs will be working royals. The public has had enough of this monarchy. If they want to survive, they’ll wise up and state that neither younger W&K child will be working royals.
I guess Queen Rania of Jordan and the Duchess of Cornwall are not up on suitable dress since in CandC recent tour neither woman is photographed in long dress.
But also, they took this picture when most of us were STILL STAYING THE EFF HOME because the pandemic isn’t over? How is this not a terrible look for them – that the rest of us had a hard year and these yokels are globe trotting?
Such a gorgeous family!
Yes prince earthshot showing off on the skin of dead animal with overpopulated family! Bravo!
The card looks fine to me, a bit too stage managed, but fine with one exception. Why is balding posed like that? In addition to being slightly off putting, it just looks off and kinda I don’t know un royal. I have this theory that with the Sussex’s gone, Charles covered in scandal, and the queen literally out sick Carol and friends are trying to position Kate as head of the firm, even at the expense of William! I think the next year will be very interesting in that respect.
Kate cannot be head of the firm she has no authority whatsoever.. I think William just likes to dress like that. William chose that outfit.
LOL at the idea of Kate running anything. William will likely divorce her soon after QEII passes. He has shut down some of her more disgusting PR moves this year after her performance at Philip’s funeral. Midds are fighting back, so their PR war will sell tabloids.
Ok no one is still reading these but I don’t know what to do with this. I saw someone pointed out that Kate is squatting, not actually sitting??!?!? I think she actually is!! What?? Now that is awkward
Looks like she is sitting on a step type ledge, a bit higher than Wm, so they look the same height.
I can’t get past her Joker smile.
Stop with the mouth opened smile . That crap looks crazy asf . She/they don’t know how to be chill.
*** with the exception of Charlotte. She’s like “I got got this”
Is Jordan a typical place for royals to vacation? Beautiful background and it looks like a gorgeous place based on some of the films that have been shot there, but I never in a million years would guess that 1) they’d visit there, and 2) Take their Christmas photo there, lol.