Duchess Kate doubles her engagements in 2014, but is still the least active senior royal

51 thoughts on “Duchess Kate doubles her engagements in 2014, but is still the least active senior royal”

  1. Hmmm…even though the numbers have doubled I’ve come to expect so little from the DoC’s that I’m still not impressed. And I swear they keep Harry’s numbers low on purpose.

    As for Camilla, hasn’t she had a couple of health things this year? That could be why her numbers are lower.

    Overall, the elder royals are kicking major butt. I really wonder what’s going to happen when they are not around. Kate is going to have a nervous breakdown and/or go into seclusion. She just can’t handle those kinds of numbers.

    1. I might be wrong on this, but I think a lot of what Harry did this year doesn’t count on his numbers. I don’t think the Invictus Games counted, and I don’t think his Sentebale work counts either.

    2. Doesn’t Harry have a full time army desk job or something? Does he still do that? I know he did a lot of work making the Invictus Games happen, but since a lot of it would have been behind the scenes, it probably wasn’t counted. I’m sure Harry did way more work than Kate. With Will going into hiding and Kate taking extended maternity leave next year, I hope we get more Harry in 2015.

      If Charles streamlines the monarchy and only he, Camilla, Will, Kate, and Harry and his future wife are doing engagements, then Kate will be expected to do a ton of them and she will have a heart attack and probably a mental breakdown (if she doesn’t before then). She’s never had to work that hard.

      1. Yeah, it doesn’t bode well that she’s really going to have to start working. I see excuse and excuse and pushing it all off onto Harry and his prospective wife.

      2. I would hate not having Sophie out doing events. Sometimes people really shine up like she has. I don’t think Anne would know what to so with herself. She probably get super drunk daily and shoot at reporters.

  2. KMR, may I suggest a welcome post to Jason the new Spin guy for the Cambridges? He starts soon and could probably use some advice. Mine is this –
    1/ Have a psychiatrist teach you how to manipulate William into thinking that working more is his idea. Less vacations, more work! Any work! Air ambulance? Fine, as long as its full time, and not a few shifts here and there in between hunting weekends and tropical effing second honeymoons.
    2/ Have Kate pick a single cause and dedicate herself to it. Something “close to her heart” that she is “very keen” on. Anything. Sailing charity for millionaires? Fine. Shopping charity for WAGS? (sigh) Fine. She lacks substance, gravitas, but if she could change people’s perceptions of that if there was at least one subject or project she was an expert on.
    3/ Don’t lie. You can fool the sugars and the casual news consumers but you can’t fool the hardcore royaloonies. Lying will encourage more blogs like this one. You don’t want more blogs like this one Jason!

    Already the whispers about Kate’s laziness and Williams petulance are coming out into the light. There is no “spinning” them.

  3. Woot Woot!!! So very, very true. Bring your A game Jason, you’re going to need it. And keep it real or suffer the consequences.

  5. I think Princess Anne, Prince Charles and Camilla take their royal duties seriously. Kate turns up mostly looking like she is going to a funeral and shakes a few hands and mostly turns up at evening outings where the press are. Kate is not contagious and will probably go on extended maternity leave. Not a strong work ethic by any account and not a good example to George either of them.

    1. Oh yeah. Kate will hire a night nurse, have two nannies (one per kid), and still say she needs a year of maternity leave.

  6. I would like to add that Prince Harry going after that lady’s hat was the most uplifting piece about the Royals I had seen in months. Harry might not have many official engagements however he acts like a true gentleman in public.

  7. This is so sad. You would think that they would keep up the ruse of being senior royals especially in light of their appearances during the Diamond Jubilee.

    1. And Charles wants to streamline the monarchy, too. I have a feeling that he won’t be able to because he’ll have to call on his siblings to take some of the workload that Will and Kate refuse to do.

  8. Oh, I am so so happy to have found this website and to know that there are others out here who feel the same about waity as I do.

    I have read just about everything written about Diana and I was a great fan of hers, but not blind to her faults ( she was human just like the rest of us). I think that at first Diana would have been thrilled about Waity, but as time went on and she continued to do nothing I think that she would have been having words to William.

    I also think that there is no way that Ma Mids and family would have such a strong influence on William if Diana was still around. I have read that Ma Mids extracted a promise from William about marrying Waity when they got back together after breaking up. IF this did happen ( and I find it hard to believe after what Philip said to Charles about Diana and the nightmare marriage that happened after it) then William’s advisers need to be shot. Diana would have seen straight through Ma Mids and her intentions and Ma Mids would not have the influence over William that she does now.

    Diana was much younger than Waity when she married into the family, but she had been working from a lot younger age. Yes they were not what you would call stressful jobs but she did at least work and not hang around waiting for something to happen. From what I have read the Queen was also worried about the fact that Waity did not have a job.

    Diana would have been the first one to ensure that Waity weighted down her skirts/dresses/coats the first time that it happened and would have not been thrilled that it kept on happening and would have had a word in waity’s ear if it did happen again.

    The hair, if you are not going to do anything with the hair then cut it shorter. This fly about hair business is getting as old as the flying clothes. You are in your 30’s grow up and do something with your hair. You have a hairdresser, take their advice on doing stuff with your hair. The sausage curls don’t really work when you are in places with huge winds, and learn to read the weather forecast the night before. Diana would have been advising her on this one.

    Diana would also have tried to get Waity off her butt and doing some work. The amount of duties that she has carried out has been shameful. Yes she had a child in July 2013 but she also has a full time Nanny and Ma mids is there all the time, Even if she did two engagements a week it would be better than what she is doing. Lets face it, it is not the most stressful job in the world to turn up, be adored, pretend to be interested in something for an hour and then leave.

    Her HANDS when she is out and about. As someone else said it looks like she is trying to land a 747 in her crotch, which I LOVED. She has no idea what to do with her hands she needs to do something with them.

    Diana would have been the first one at the hospital, not Ma Mids and family when George was born. She would have been a fantastic grandmother.

    I know that Diana would have wanted what was best for William, and at the same time she would have been jealous of any woman that William fell in love with, as she would did have a jealous personality BUT she would have been happy for William and she would have given him advice, which I think that he would have listened to.

    The Queen has a history of not interfering in her children’s ( and I think now) grandchildren’s marriages, but someone really needs to give these two a tap on the shoulder to wake them up to their responsibilities. Waity is uncomfortable around the Royal Family but seems to have the men of the family wrapped around her little finger ( much the same as the Queen Mother did when she was a lot younger). The ladies of the family are not blind to what she is doing and I think that you will find that Waity knows this and this is why she holds hands with William when she is at events where the Royal family is together. I get the feeling that Harry is starting to see through her ways and I hope that he manages to find a lovely girl to settle down with. I would like to see him with a strong woman.

    As for William with his cutting remarks about Harry not having a degree, his Mother would be so disappointed. She was not the most intellectual person but you do not need a degree to do wonderful things in the world as she proved.

    Sorry for the long rambling post, I needed to vent about waity and have been waiting a while to do it LOL

    1. What a great and insightful post. I agree with you. William, Kate, and Ma Midds wouldn’t have made it this far if Diana were still here.

    2. I think it would be very difficult to be Diana’s daughter-in-law. Diana probably would find it hard to share and eventually relinquish the spotlight to a new person. (It was said that the Queen Mom found it hard when her daughter took the spotlight when the Queen ascended the throne.)

      1. Hi Beatrice,
        I disagree that Di would have had a hard time sharing. She would have enjoyed having a “daughter” to shop, share activities and handle the day to day. I’m one of a group that doesn’t think Will would have married Kate if his mother hadn’t died. I actually think Di would have talked him out of proposing if it went that far because she would have seen that, if Will had lost his crown, she’d be gone. Do idolized Charles, in part because he was a prince, but she understood that it means daily work. Kate acts lime she played a game, won, and what??? she has to keep working.

      2. Didn’t the Queen Mum hate having to courtesy to her daughter? I thought I read/heard that somewhere.

        1. In public the Queen Mother did curtsey to the Queen. There’s video at the Coronation of this (the QM is in the royal box. You can see her ‘bob’ briefly in the middle top of the video). The Queen Mother had been used to being Her Majesty the Queen, which she was as Queen Consort. King George VI always shared the confidential papers and memoranda in the ‘Boxes” from the Government with the Queen and she was devastated not just by his death but by the loss of her position. She had to leave Buckingham Palace and move into Clarence House, which is tiny compared to the Palace and which she called “that horrid little place”. She was upset the Queen (at first) didn’t consult with her. She bought the Castle of Mey in Scotland (Charles and Camilla still use it for about a week in the summer) and was made a Counsellor of State when the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were abroad in 1953 and 1954 on the Commonwealth tour. Eventually the Queen had identical boxes created with copies of all the governmental papers she received, so that the Queen Mother could feel she was still useful. She also changed protocol to exempt the Queen Mother from having to stand or curtsey when she entered a room. Churchill increased the Queen Mother’s Civil List allowance. And of course to differentiate her from Her Majesty the Queen, she created her own style as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, so she could be a Queen twice over and no one would call her ‘the Queen Dowager’ (which she is said to have LOATHED).

          1. Fascinating info, as always Seth. The Queen Mother sounds like a tantrum-y baby.

      3. If Diana had lived, William would not have ended up at St. Andrews. He would have gone to Cambridge or Oxford (if they could sneak him in to either of them with his grades), and he would have spent time at an Ivy league school in the US (Victoria of Sweden, Frederik of Norway) or UC-Berkeley (Haakon of Norway). Diana wanted him to have a modern, international education. The Middletons never would have happened if she’d been alive.

        1. I actually like Kate, but I do completely agree with this post. Everything would have been different, were his mother still here.

    3. Hi Tanya!

      I’m not sure how far Kate and William’s relationship would have gotten is Diana had been around. I don’t think it would have gotten to the marriage point. Diana would have seen through Kate and Ma Midds long before then, you know.

      I think William’s digs at Harry are out of envy. William wishes he had Harry’s life in terms of not having the “Heir” responsibility, and therefore feels the need to cut him down. I don’t know if that would be different if Diana were still alive. I feel like William would in some ways be better for having Diana still around, but in some ways he would still be the same since some of his issues have been around his entire life.

      1. The Queen Mum was not the nice person that she has been portrayed as. She even admitted that she was not a nice person. She HATED having to give up Buck Palace and being relegated to playing second fiddle. She and Philip didn’t get along because he saw through her and would not put up with any of her crap. I am sure that the
        Queen would not have made her mother curtsey to her, the Queen Mother would have trained her daughter very well. She was able to manipulate her way through the rest of her life to get what she wanted whenever she wanted. Whenever there was anything unpleasant going on ( the abdication crisis, Princess Margaret’s marriage decision to Peter Townsend) she always took to her bed but managed to climb out of it as soon as the trouble was over.

        As for William not getting the crown, unless something terrible happens he is going to get it and then George.

        If Diana was still alive being her Daughter in law would be awkward. She was very guided by her emotions so you would not have known where you were with her from one day to the next, which would make it hard for Waity.

        I think that Ma Midds and family have a tight family unit and this is something that William never had and wanted so they jumped on this and I think exploited it to show William what he could have if he married Waity.

        I agree KMR William might have been better of in someway if Diana was still alive and not in others, Sadly we will never know.

        I do know that we are stuck with two people who (unless something happens) are going to be King and Queen and who like all of the lurks and perks, but don’t actually like having to do work, which is wrong. Charles has his faults but he has always been a hard worker and I am sure that he would have tried to instil this in his sons.

        1. The Queen Mother sounds like a tantrum-y baby.

          I agree being Diana’s daughter-in-law would be difficult. Diana was overly emotional, and that would be hard to deal with as a daughter-in-law.

          I feel like Charles got caught up in guilt when dealing with his sons. The divorce plus Diana’s death might have caused Charles to feel guilty and indulge and coddle his sons more than he should have. Charles should have instilled a work ethic into them, but instead gave them everything they asked for because of guilt at them losing their mother.

      2. I completely agree, and I’d go one step farther and say that Will’s jealous of Harry’s naturalness with people. THAT’S the real gift Diana had, her heartfelt actions that people just fell in love with. Harry has it hands down. The pics you posted recently KMR of Harry with tribal people, and especially the one of him with the baby- that’s his mother right there. Will is uncomfortable in his role, he’s forgotten a lot his mother showed him and Kate has pulled him into a tight bubble. Like a kid in school, he resents Harry not having to study to get an A.

    4. Oh, my goodness. Thanks for such an insightful post.
      I agree 100% with you concerning how Diana would have reacted to Kate and Carole.
      Diana, as you so eloquently stated, had her faults, but bless her, she cared about people and wore that care on her sleeve. She would have wanted William to be happy and would have despised Kate’s laziness and the way she manipulates men. I also agree that Harry is seeing through Kate now. I think Kate put a wedge between the brothers. Look, a marriage of one brother will always do that to some degree, but William seems to resent Harry’s star power. Harry, just shines on!
      Carole Middleton would never have such influence on William and George if Diana were alive. Carole Middleton probably would not have been able to push Kate so far if Diana were still with us. And, as much as Diana had her flirtations and affairs, she would have been horrified, I believe, by the daring lingerie-look Kate modeled at the college fashion show years ago. The look that finally woke William up and had him say, “Kate is hot!”
      William and Kate need to step up their game concerning appearances.. Sophie puts them to shame, as to the senior Royals, bless their hearts, too.

      William and Kate want to have their cake and eat it, too. Harry is looking more and more like the heir apparent to me. He rocks. Hope he finds a woman who will not only make him happy, but one who will also be a gem for the Royals to count on.

      1. “I also agree that Harry is seeing through Kate now.” Harry agreed with the people in their social circle who openly called Kate Middleton “The Limpet” from early on. Harry saw through her from day one, it isn’t a recent development.

  9. Very poor effort on the Duchess’s part. Diana, pregnant and then with babies fore filled multiple engagements and certainly made a difference. The Duchess could do a lot more but chooses not to, just disgraceful., take on look at Prince Phillips ill health, age and the Queen her age and look at the multitude of engagements, The Duchess should be ashamed of herself

  10. First some caution – even the full time royals only work about 6 months. Let’s not get too crazy with how “hard working” they are.
    Second, the rumors are saying that Camilla is not well – it was unusual not to see her at Buck Palace at the luncheon nor at Sandringham. (That lady loves the camera). She’s 67 years old and not everyone is going to live as long as Elizabeth and Philip. There’s no need for her to be out and about if she’s not up to it. (Not going to effect the Monarchy).
    Third, do you give Kate credit for Wimbledon (2 days) – in which she has no official role, (would you give her credit for going to the races during Royal Ascot?) and family appearances (Trooping, Order) in which she does not actually engage the public? Did you give her credit for her press releases – taking George to Butterflies and Sitting at the Children’s Nursing Home? If so – cross those off and you are getting closer to O’Donovan’s numbers. She didn’t actually “engage” anyone at those events.
    Fourth, I love your photo captions.
    Fifth, Are we taking bets on how long it will be before we see her again?

    1. Clarence House said Camilla put her back out in December. I don’t know about any other health problems, but they did say that’s why she wasn’t at the BP lunch or Sandringham. If she’s having health problems year round and that’s why her numbers are low, then I’ll take back what I said. If you have any info on that, I’d love to read it.

      No, I did not include Kate’s appearances at Wimbledon as part of my final total. Trooping the Color and Order of the Garter are included in the online Court Circular, so I included those. And no, I did not include taking George to see the butterfly exhibit. “Sitting at the Children’s Nursing Home”? Is that the “private” visit where they released photos after the fact in support of hospice week or something? If so, no I did not include that (in fact I forgot about it until you mentioned it). I can send you, or post, a list of everything I included if you’d like.

      I think there’s a slim possibility we may see her a time or two in February (I say Feb because she usually doesn’t do anything in January), but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we don’t see her again until she’s leaving the hospital with Baby Cambridge 2. And then not again until Trooping the Color.

      1. And I hope that she has the sense not to wear a similar outfit as Diana did when she left hospital with Prince Harry.

        1. lol If she did at this point I’d just laugh at how try-hard she is. She tries so hard to court that Diana comparison without realizing that it’s not the clothes that made Diana “The Queen of Hearts”, it was her way with people and her charity work.

          2. So funny, Tanya. And, yes, KMR, it was Diana’s way with people and her charity work that made her the Queen of Hearts.

            I laughed so much when I read your post, Tanya. I have also wondered if Kate would come out in a red dress once Baby #2 is born. She channels Diana in color choices for certain events so often, but should try to channel her late mother-in law’s amazing way of helping others.

            Once Diana latched on to a cause, others did, too. She knew how to help others, make them feel cared for, and she had an amazing ability to use her position to bring well-needed change to the world.

            Kate does not have to imitate Diana. She just needs to make a difference in her own way. She needs to take her royal role seriously and stop being so lazy.

            Diana’s shoes are hard to fill and comparisons are always going to be made, but Kate needs to take on her responsibilities. They came with the territory once she said, “I do.”

            Everything she does is just smacks of Duchess Light. What a pity that she is not being shown what an amazing chance she has in life to make a difference. Instead, she seems to resent any responsibilities she has.

            Lazy Waity, when are you going wake up?

          3. Jenny, I understand what you’re saying and agree up to the point where you say, “What a pity that she is not being shown what an amazing chance she has in life to make a difference.”

            Kate is a grown woman. She shouldn’t have to be shown. She is not a child and in her position, she’s had the opportunity to meet people who have made a difference in others lives in one way or another. A lot of people, given an opportunity like hers, would see that they could make a difference if they throw their support in one way or another. Kate is either very simple or doesn’t care. Or worse, both. I’m sure she knows that when she wears something it (for reasons that still astound me) sells out. She knows she has a certain amount of influence. So she should know that she can make a difference if she wanted to put the work in. A prime example would be her alleged HG episodes. If I were “suffering” though HG like she supposedly did, I would be really, really interested in talking to doctors, other mothers, support groups to see how others deal with it. Something to bring it to light and get some focus on it to possibly find a way to not make it so devastating on the women who go through it. Yet, she just claims a miraculous recovery and goes on her merry way.

            I think the only things she wants to work on is staying rail thin and trying to keep William fairly happy.

            JMO, but unless she has a major revelation she’s not going to change. Otherwise I agree with what you’re saying.

      2. Thanks for the offer – but the numbers are so low anyway – it really doesn’t matter. My info on Camilla is just rumors on blogs – but the other side of the coin is what bumped up Sophie’s numbers? Was it perhaps the Commonwealth Games where Edward was in a leadership role? Aren’t they also the funeral and wedding family reps? Was it accompanying Edward more as he took on more of Philip’s work? We know the Queen prefers her company at State Banquets as well – did that increase?

        Just rhetorical questions – a Sophie blog might be interesting since she actually does stuff.

  11. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Diana would have pulled William up on his sucky, reluctant, lazy, stubborn attitude. Pulled him up by his bootstraps so hard his feet wouldn’t have touched the floor.

  13. Hi, Lisa:

    I agree with what you wrote, but still think Kate needs someone to show her the way. She is light weight and I doubt that she has enough depth to see this on her own . Someone needs to “show her.” At this point in life, she doesn’t seem to possess the knowledge, or even care, to want to make a difference.
    I think you are spot-on when it comes to an opportunity that Kate has to talk to other women who are experiencing HG, or other problems with pregnancy. If not up to it now, perhaps in the future. That would be amazing.

    I loved what you said about her realizing that whatever she wears will sell out and I agree with you, I often wonder why. Still, such a superficial way of looking at things shows us just how much character she lacks.

    Life may teach her lessons. Otherwise, it really is up to someone in the Royal Family to set her on the right road.

    Why she is cut such slack is beyond me.

    1. I’m pretty sure that by now one or more of the grey men have approached her and gently tried to steer her in the right direction. I’m sure it started when they gave her a list of charities to select. Problem is, Kate doesn’t want to do the work that is required. How many royal women out there get out and get involved in things and give speeches about things they are passionate about? the only thing we know she’s passionate about for sure is her hair and her clothes. I honestly don’t think someone trying to set her on the right road is going to help her. It’s going to take some kind of revelation/hitting bottom in the eyes of the public for her to realize she’s got to step up her game. And to be honest, I think she prefers staying at home so she’ll just use that public animosity as a reason to stay there.

      It’s a sad state of affairs. The up side will be she won’t have to spend too much money on wardrobe if she is truly a stay at home mom.

      1. Oh Lisa, I am sure that she would have the grey men incredibly frustrated and since William won’t have anything negative said about Waity ( I bet that there are some loooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggg silences) then they won’t be able to get too far with her. All this rubbish that William went on about with wanting to settle into her role is just silly. I bet that if you take away the perks of the job it would be great. She doesn’t want the job so she doesn’t deserve to get ANY part of it.

        1. William doesn’t want anything negative said about her because it reflects badly on him as he chose her for his wife. I say they call him for the idiot he is and lay all the cards on the table.

  14. I wanted to share a link from a blog that follows Sophie. They are really great at following Sophie, and have their own photographer who tries to get as many pics as possible for them due to the lack of press coverage.

    This link is their summary of each year Sophie has been a royal and her yearly totals for engagements. Everyone always attempts to argue that they want to ease Kate in, and that was how it was for everyone…but this shows sophie put in some series work even from the beginning when she had her company! Even I hadn’t realised she had done as much…even in her pregnancy years!!

    http://hrhcountessofwessex.blogspot.ie

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