I was going to include this information in another post, collectively with other news, but I started writing and wrote so much that it needs its own post.
The Queen’s cousin, Margaret Rhodes, has given an interview to Christine Amanpour of CNN about the new royal baby. Margaret says she is “not terribly” excited because “everyone has babies”. Oh my goodness, I love this woman. I have been thinking this the whole time. It’s not like Kate is the first woman to ever go through pregnancy and give birth, but the press seems to treat her as such. It’s ridiculous. I understand that this child will be the third-in-line to the throne and whatnot, but it’s not like it’s baby Jesus–it’s a baby just like every other baby ever born, or ever will be born, on the planet. Kate is not the first woman to have a baby and she will not be the last.
I’m obviously interested, and covering the pregnancy/birth, but I’m only doing it because I love British history and the monarchy–and the family dynamics of the monarchy–intrigues me. However, I am not a sycophant. I don’t think Kate should get special treatment for gestating, and I get really annoyed that the press isn’t calling her out for not working during most of her pregnancy. Most women work throughout their entire pregnancies and only have a few weeks of maternity leave; but Kate only does a handful of engagements throughout the pregnancy, then takes maternity leave a full month before the birth with a planned three and a half month maternity leave afterwards… and she gets lauded? I want to say something about stay-at-home-moms/housewives, the press tries to make out that Kate is a “housewife” right now or whatever, but that is BS, real housewives work hard to keep house, run errands, cook, clean, etc., but Kate does none of that. She’s not even living with William. She has a ton of staff that do everything for her, so putting her in a class with housewives and saying that’s why she should get a pass for not working, or whatever, is just ridiculous.
Seriously, all this woman has ever done in her life was go to university, wait around (on her back) for ten years, (finally) marry a prince, and conceive a child. She has never had a full-time job, did nothing with her degree, doesn’t work very much for the monarchy; spends most of her time with her mother, spends a ton of time getting her hair done and shopping, goes on many vacations a year. Why is she being praised? Why does the media insist on shoving Kate down our throats as some sort of modern woman when she is the antithesis of the modern woman? I don’t get it!
I’m really glad someone has finally said what I’ve been thinking for so long, and not just anyone, a member of the royal family (not a high-ranking member, but a member nonetheless) and a confidant of the Queen–which means that this interview had to have been approved by the Queen or else there is no way Margaret would have been able to give it without losing the Queen’s favor. Yay, that makes me happy.
Hm, that turned from a post about Margaret Rhodes’ comments to a rant about Kate and how the press treat her. Oh well.
What do you think: should Margaret Rhodes be more excited about the birth? Do you agree with her comments? What do you think about how Kate and her pregnancy have been treated by the press?
