On Day 11 of their tour (April 17 day in OZ; April 16 night in US), Prince William and Kate Middleton visited the Blue Mountains where they met families whose homes were destroyed by the local area bushfires in October of last year. They then visited with the Girl Guides where they planted a tree (and by “planted” I mean they each threw one shovelful of dirt on the already planted tree) and had lunch, meeting firefighters and more bushfire survivors. Next on their agenda they visited Echo Point and the Three Sisters where they took in the view and watched some abseiling. There were walkabouts mixed in everywhere.
While watching the abseiling, Will stood next to the cliff ledge and looked down. That move probably gave his handlers a heart attack, but I bet it was a great sight to see. Will and Kate received some gifts while in the Blue Mountains, they received possum skins from three Aboriginal Elders, and George got a kangaroo skin. While meeting the Girl Guides, William asked if they enjoyed school and the older girls said they didn’t; to which William said, “That’s all right. I didn’t really like school either.” I could see that, he did want to leave university after one term—but if he hated school so much, why did he go to that “bespoke” Cambridge course? Oh yeah, PR and to get out of royal duties. You know, I could also see this comment as something nice to say to make the girls feel better about not liking school—trying to relate to them.
At one point, Kate told a girl in the crowd that George is “cute but very, very loud.” They really need a new talking point. Both Will and Kate have been complaining about how loud George is since he was born. We get it, Cambridges, he’s loud and you don’t like it. It’s called having a baby, deal with it.
After the day’s appearances, William had a meeting with the Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, where they discussed the bushfires that affected the region and the Rural Fire Service. During their meeting, they had—what I feel as—a rather strange bit of conversation. When talking about his visit to the Three Sisters, William said, “It was a beautiful area.” To which Abbott replied, “It would have helped to remind people that it’s still a fantastic place to visit.” William then laughed and said, “Well I don’t know about that.” What? Does he not know if it’s a fantastic place to visit, or does he not want to actually tell people how fantastic a place it is to visit? If it’s the latter, then what is the point of him? The whole point of the royals is to promote stuff, if he doesn’t want to promote something then there is no point in him going there. I don’t know, it’s hard to tell. William has a strange sense of humor.
For today’s appearances, Kate wore a blue and white print Diane von Furstenberg dress, the “Patrice” style ($325). It’s a wrap dress with ¾ length sleeves that comes to above the knee on Kate (oddly enough on the model on the site it covers the knees; don’t know if Kate had it altered to be shorter of if she’s just taller than the model). Kate accessorized the outfit with her Stuart Weitzman clutch and the Wedges of Doom. For jewelry, Kate wore her sapphire and diamond earrings, Mappin and Webb necklace, and Cartier watch. Kate wore her hair down.
I’m not in love with the dress. I just don’t like an all-over print; it’s too busy for me. The same pattern comes in a skirt option, and that paired with a solid top would be nice; it’s really just the all-over print to which I have an aversion. She looks okay (except for the wedges), but it’s not my favorite. Also, when she was exiting the helicopter, she had to hold down the dress lest she have another “Marilyn Moment”. Hem weights, girl! Invest.
There was an incident while the Cambs were in the Blue Mountains. Two men were detained by the police for “behaving suspiciously” close to the car carrying Will and Kate. They were allegedly harassing the crowds and talking on headsets. They weren’t arrested, but they were searched and told to leave.
Question: Is anyone else getting Cambridge fatigue? Don’t get me wrong, I’m so glad they’re actually doing something, but do there really need to be 8 new articles on the DM every day? Not to mention the multiple articles on every other British site out there. One article with way less random people saying how awesome the Cambs are and more actual reporting of what they did would suffice. I feel like the coverage hasn’t been as extensive in the US media. Hm. The constant coverage isn’t enough for some people, though. Check out the photo below of a British man’s letter to the Times. By the way, Tuesday was their off day, so there wouldn’t have been any new photos to go in the papers the next day. Homeboy needs to chill. OR he was being sarcastic because there is so much coverage (thanks Lazykins for pointing that out). I didn’t pick up on that because either A) I’m an American and we don’t always get British humor, or B) sarcasm doesn’t always translate well in print, or C) some combination of both.
Links: Getty Images. Popsugar. ITV. Express articles 1, 2, 3. Mirror articles 1 and 2. Daily Mail articles 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Photo credits: Photo 1, Tony Abbott twitter. Photo 2, Rebecca English twitter.
Wow! These two are more & more of a joke. I can’t believe how rude Willnot was at saying he doesn’t know that the Blue Mountain Area is a nice place to visit! If I were a member of that community, I’d be highly insulted. Why are they there if not to promote these areas as well as to continue the “close relationship” as part of the Commonwealth? Further, it is very telling that Kannot continues to complain about baby George. It seems her lack of experience at any type of work is catching up with her, as she has absolutely no idea how babies are. Most females by the age of 30 have some experience with babysitting for family,friends, a part-time job, etc. Since taking on the full-time nanny, I am eager to see if Kate will now increase the number & quality of her appearances, or just have the nanny because she is tired of taking care of George – once they return from this tour. My guess is the latter. Both of their demeanors and decorum during this trip have again been underwhelming. There was so much anticipation for this tour, but it seems to be turning out more of a dud for us, while they clean up on the attention and gifts.
Two things: kate had the dress shortened for her. I’ll bet $100, I’m that confident. William is a doofus at making small talk. Yes, Kate is no better, but she has the excuse of being a commoner. William would’ve been trained in diplomacy and tact from a young age, so he should know better than that response.
Also, I think the last point about the man’s letter is a sarcastic joke. British humor-he’s pointing out that the coverage is excessive. At least that’s how it came across to me. 🙂
I would have a hard time believing the model is shorter than Kate. Kate is actually fairly short when she’s not wearing four inch heels. I’d say 5′ 6″/5′ 7″ at most. So yeah, Kate probably had it shortened.
Yes, William is crap at small talk. And he tries to be funny but it doesn’t work and ends up either awkward or rude.
Re the paper thing, you’re probably right. Nice catch. Sarcasm doesn’t always translate in print, or I’m a stupid American, so I didn’t pick up on that.
You realize that was sarcasm, right? “It doesn’t translate well” – ha. Humor deficient, more likely.
Correct.
DVF Dress has been shortened for sure; I have one of these wrapdresses. They fall below the knee – unless one is quite heavy around the waist/hips/behind which would cause it to sit higher.
Thought the ‘anxious royalist’ clipping was funny – thanks for that bit of humor.
Due to high sugar levels I’m off the DM for a few days. Jeez! Why can’t people see this is a massive pr stunt – they don’t give a s–t about anyone. They have only been playing on the joys and sorrows of others for publicity. There’s something creepy about doing that.
As well as a massive PR stunt, I also think it’s an excuse for Kate to vacation in New Zealand and Australia for three weeks on the taxpayer’s dime. She keeps saying how she’s always wanted to visit and this trip is such a great opportunity. It’s like how their trip to Hollywood was totally just an excuse for Kate to go visit movie stars.
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I think waity is trying to make bill look bad, she does not know it will
backfire on her! I think by doing this smear campaign lazy shows
people that she is very devious and cunning! Do you agree?
Yeah, she’s kind of playing a passive-aggressive game with him isn’t she. She’s gaining confidence.
This is my interpretation of William’s comment: Tony Abbott was saying it would have been helpful for people to hear William say that the Blue Mountains area is nice to visit…helpful simply because it’s William saying it. And then William’s response was that he didn’t think his endorsement was any more influential than anyone else’s. I don’t often defend William, and I may be wrong here, but I’ve heard him be somewhat self-effacing in public, and that’s what this seems to me. If I’m wrong, he’s a complete boor.
I hate defending people I don’t like, but sometimes it’s necessary. Your interpretation makes a lot of sense. I like your interpretation more than mine. Without a video it’s hard to tell since I can’t see his expressions or hear his tone of voice. Hopefully you’re right an he was just trying to be modest.
One thing though, and this is more of a criticism of Will, if his endorsement isn’t any more influential than anyone else’s, then what’s the point of it? The whole point of royals is that they have a voice to promote things, so if his voice isn’t that helpful, then there is no point in it. I do hope he was trying to be modest, but it’s like, you have a voice, Will, own it.