102 thoughts on “Prince William and Kate Middleton to visit Bhutan, Prince Harry to visit Nepal”

1. I actually saved that photo calendar to my desktop last week. Gorgeous picture, but we get lots of beautiful shots from this country.

   So do you think there will be lots of comments and advice from the Cambridge’s on how to raise their new son? It’s going to be an interesting visit. I truly hope they both read up on the country and it’s traditions before they go. I’m keeping positive thoughts about what Kate might wear. I’m actually a little nervous, they don’t do deep v-necks and miles of leg there.

   As for Harry, I’m sure he’ll do great in his visit to Nepal. Seems they BRF is covering that part of the world on tours so far this year. I wonder if this year is going to see an increased workload from W&K?

   Thinking positive thoughts for this tour!

   1. I love their desktop calendars, they’re great. And it’s such a great PR tool, too, without being overtly PR.

      I’m sure there will be banter about kids, but I’m hoping they focus on more than that. I don’t know what W&K are going to do on their visit to Bhutan, but considering W&K are all about mental health now and Bhutan is one of the happiest countries in the world, they could do something with that.

2. We are being spoilt with two posts in one day. Thank you.
   I was going to comment tomorrow on the list about Let, lovely jacket.
   I do want to comment on this post now. I’m intrigued by the timing. Won’t the Queen be rather preoccupied with the birth, either just had the baby or be just about it? Beautiful couple and you can tell they are in love!
   I’m very very nervous about Kate making clothing mistakes.
   Harry will be great on the Nepal trip, will there be a military connection and will he meet up with Gurkha servicemen while there? Nepal is very beautiful and there are close connections for NZ with the country due to Sir Edmund Hillary.
   I don’t know how many of you have KP instagram feed? I have wondered, in the past, if William was really trading on his mother’s good name and wondered if it was something created by the press. So I was shocked to see a photo of Diana being used in the announcement by KP. Was it just chance they used a photo of Diana or was it done deliberately to engender some good will for William and Kate? I can’t make my mind up on this one.

   1. The photo of Diana was her 1993 trip to Nepal, rather than a trip to Bhutan. So I guess it would have been used to garner good will for Harry rather than William and Kate.

      1. Thanks for clearing that up for me KMR.
         And can we have the hot guy of the month continue too?
         I also agree with you about the calendar page, lovely subtle pr and a beautiful country, William and Kate are very lucky to be able to visit.

   2. KP overuses the Diana pr angle.
      She has been gone for two decades. Both will and harry should be able to stand on their own two feet without using the mummydiana crutch. (harry can and does.)

      1. Kip I am one of Diana’s biggest fans yet I totally agree with you here. Those of us who want to continue to love her can do so, but the BRF need to move on, whilst still of course honouring her memory.

      2. Yeah, the BRF didn’t want her whilst she was alive; now she is dead they trade on her image. Bad.

         1. It’s not the BRF. The NRF could care less about Diana.

            This is all William.

            KP is strictly William, Harry and Kate.

            Of the 3, it’s William who is most obsessed with Diana. The other two simply follow his lead.

            As he told us at his engagement conference, he doesn’t want his DEAD mother to miss out on all the excitement. That’s not limited to wedding, that’s part of his life that Kate and the kids are burdened with.

            In as much as I also thing Kate panders to him on this point, I also think it’s a very important point with him.

            Harry rarely invokes his mother without a proper reason to do so, which means on this occasion i’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

            However, if he starts invoking her as well, i’m going to side eye him too. Especially because he doesn’t need her to for good PR as he is doing well on his own on that front.

            Ps: how sad or should I say how much has William misused the Diana public goodwill that a simple pic of her to accompany the announcement for Harry’s visit immediately gets people’s backs up.

            1. What’s the NRF?

            2. Typo. Sorry. Meant to say BRF. Didn’t notice the typo until too late to change it.

            3. You are right Herazeus. William’s obsession with his mother is alarming. One thing is you miss your parent, other different is you be obsessed with him/her. It’s not wholesome.

3. That is good news. I adore that picture of King Jigme and Queen Jetsun. Not afraid to show affection to each other. I look forward to he coverage of both tours. I like how Harry is getting into his stride with his engagements on his own. I think I can echo the nerves.

   Positive thoughts all the way.

4. Oh, by the way, YES to the continuation of the Hot Guy of the Month!

5. Pity that the UK flood victims don’t even warrant a “howdy” from the cambridges and harry.

   Is there a large enough pool left for Hot Guy of the Month? It’s slim pickings when it comes down to Bill and Andy.

   Maybe another monthly feature highlighting a different subject for 2016?

   1. Any suggestions for a different feature?

      1. How about Royal babies?

         1. I would like to see a Best Dressed or something like that! Rather than “hottest.”

            1. How about Royal Couples? I also like Tessa’s idea of Best Dressed and Cathy’s suggestion of Royal Babies! 🙂

      2. Royal dwellings? Where, what type, how many, how old, historic interest, etc

         1. Ooooh I like that idea too Ray.

            1. A feature of royal expense comparisons. Who are the most expensive royals and where is the money spent on them going? Would be interesting but difficult to do I imagine as the real accounts will not be made public in most if not all countries I expect.

            2. Yes, please!

         2. Great idea, Ray! I’ve always found the dynamics of Kensington Palace so interesting. So many members of the extended family in one place. I’ve always wondered what that relationship is like. Are they basically just neighbors or do they spend time together?

            1. +1 for this idea!

      3. I think we just haven’t explored the pool of Royals yet. For example, Saudi Arabia has 4000 hahahahahahhaha.

         If you’d do an alternate, I’d prefer to read about jewelry. Like that the Order of Splendor does on tiaras

6. I hope we get to see some interesting photos with all the royalty in one shot!

7. That desktop photo of King Jigme and Queen Jetsun is beautiful, especially the close-up….wow!!

   I know Harry will do great in Nepal (he always does well on his solo, overseas tours) but am apprehensive about Will & Kate’s trip to Bhutan. Canada went well (except for her “Marilyn moment”) and Oz and New Zealand too (for the most part, though the crowds weren’t as large as they would’ve liked) but…..I’m apprehensive about this one.

   Kate can’t afford to make any mistakes or slips during this tour. She’s been a royal for almost five years so I don’t see the press giving her a free pass. We shall see. Fingers crossed that the hemlines are low!

   As for Will? Well…..we all saw Japan and China and that didn’t go as well as everyone expected. Here’s hoping they succeed during this tour!

   1. I am Canadian and noone on TV talked about her bum when she came here. One of our “trashy” newspapers ran the pictures and that’s how I knew about the Marilyn moment.

      But I have positive thoughts for the Duchess going forward since we haven’t seen anything major in the last year.

      BTW! Just wanna let you know that I stand 4 feet 8 tall too!!

      1. Beatrice~WOO HOO!! Shorties united!

         I truly want Kate to do well and am envious of the fact that she has this amazing platform to do a whole lot of good but, so far, we’ve seen very little and that’s disappointing to me. Being a recipient, I would love to rock the world regarding organ donation but I’ve got zip power (though I’m slowly getting there via social media and whatnot).

8. Oh I am so envious I would just love to go to Bhutan. I am lucky enough to have visited Tibet and it was a fabulous though difficult trip back in the 1980’s. We have this couple and the Minaco couple with age differences, yet I think both couples look contented and happy in their own skins. I imagine this physical showing of affection is somewhat modern and daring in Bhutan, but his intention was always to be a modernising influence.

9. I read that the Bhutan King first proposed to the Queen when he was a teenager and she was…7

10. Why are the KP office using a photo that looks like it was taken on W&K’s Australian tour back in 2013(?) for an announcement about a tour in 2016?! Why not a recent photo. They don’t even look like that anymore.

    1. The photo is from their Australia tour in 2014 (their zoo visit to be exact). I’m assuming they used that photo because it’s the last overseas tour William and Kate took together. And it’s for an announcement of their next tour together. It makes sense to me.

       1. Glad it makes sense to someone!

    2. Okay I’m going to be snarky…maybe because it’s one of the few where they are actually next to each other and smiling.

       1. LOL Lisa! That’s snarky but sadly true.

       2. That seems more like it Lisa.

          1. Trying to give the new tour some legitimacy? Like KP are saying ‘Hey we are sending them on tour again! So please say good things about it like you did the last one. That’d be great. In fact – here’s a photo of their last one to get you all in the mood…’

11. I for one am happy the Cambridges are not taking the children. George’s tagging along to Australia was a PR stunt to me. If we saw more photos of the children in their home country, I think everyone would be happy.

    Also wondering if the young Queen will be so busy with her newborn that she may not be able to appear too often with the Royal visitors. It’s hard for me to imagine Kate sharing the spotlight with a young and bright and beautiful Queen.

    I also loved the loving photo of the expectant couple. Very charming.

    As for Hot Guy of the Month, I so agree, slim pickings, indeed.

    Harry’s visit to Nepal will be stellar, I bet. He will continue to make positive waves wherever he goes.

12. I’m most looking forward to the comparisons between Harrys relaxed tour & W&Ks tightly wound one. Harrys tour of Australia & NZ was a breath of fresh air compared to the Cambs. I’m hoping for more of the same – not because I’m mean, but because I’m sick of my taxes paying for this lazy couple & want something, anything to happen to force them to change.

    Bhutan looks bhutiful 😉

    1. Agreed.

       1. +1

13. I’m excited for this trip and their trip to India. I think some of the best outfits we’ve seen from the DOC have been outfits on these tours that try to fuse the local fashion with her own. For instance, I adored her outfits in the Soloman Islands and Tuvalu. They are still some of my favorite pieces from her closet. I hope to see some more of these great outfits.

    1. Many gorgeous pieces, but also her weirdest hat (imo) to date. The one she wore with the Jonathan Saunders dress…looked like an old fashioned dutch cap/nurse’s cap pushed way back on her head. She hasn’t worn it since. I think she may have given it a burial at sea.

       1. Hahaha, “burial at sea.” I do agree the hat was weird. I did like the dress, though!

       2. Ray, she did wear this dress to Wimbledon once. I agree about the cap, very Amish.

14. I cannot wait for these two tours. The landscape and people are beautiful. Fingers crossed.

    I live whatever you bring us!

    1. Brilliant for the tourist industry in Nepal after the horrific results of the earthquake. Harry will be in his element. Rhiannon why don’t you go and share the experience with him?

       1. I would love to go. Everyone who I know who’ve been have loved it. Plus, the earthquake was devastating and it would be an opportunity to raise funds, awareness, and help out.

          I’m ready, Harry!

          1. Can you take photos we could do a crowd sharing thing for you to go as the official KMR photographer on the trip!!! Once he’s seen you there will be no turning back.

15. Cambridge Lovers Knot tiara on Kate. Now Harry in Nepal. Diana’s picture on KP feed. Strange

    1. Don’t forget naming their daughter after her as well.

       1. I think the name was a good thing – not the first name which would have been creepy, but even if he takes it to a new level honouring your mother who died so young is not unusual. Hated her wearing the tiara – she hasn’t earned that honour yet IMO.

          1. The Queen is the one choosing the tiaras so it’s pointless to criticise her for wearing it. Either you wear what she says or you go without one, in fact I doubt that she would have chosen the tiara associated with her husband’s dead mother if it had been her choosing for herself don’t you think? I thought it made sense for her to wear it given that she is the Duchess of Cambridge, the Queen probably thought so too even if I think that she had considered the public’s reaction to it and judged Kate strong enough to handle it.

             1. HM doesn’t choose Kates tiaras. I doubt she has the time or inclination to care, tbh. She may have overall approval of what is loaned, but the request is very much led by Kate, not HM.

             2. I disagree. As far as I know (perhaps I’m wrong of course), the Queen chooses all the tiaras. One cannot just waltz into the vault and help itself. I have a hard time believing that she has no say in the matter of which tiaras Kate can have access to and which to wear when, given that we are talking about rather important and precious pieces. There must be protocol to follow…

             3. The tiara is called the Cambridge Lover’s Knot. Maybe the Queen thought that it was natural to give it to Kate since she is the Duchess of Cambridge.

                Yes, the Queen is in charge of assigning who gets what tiara since she controls the vault. The protocol or procedure isn’t known but I think that the Queen takes into account one’s taste in jewelry. I’m guessing Diana was very fond of pearls (she wears a lot of pearl necklaces even during her single days) hence she got the only tiara with permanent pearl fixtures. Kate prefers dainty jewelry hence she got the Halo and Lotus tiaras. Camilla is the only one who can pull off immense jewelry hence she got the two biggest tiaras in the collection (the Delhi Durbar and the Honeycomb). I don’t know anything about Sophie and the tiara to make any guesses and Fergie was bought a tiara that she liked. I’m also guessing that the women have personal assistants in charge of clothes who requests jewels in advance if needed.

    2. I can’t see Dianas photo on KPs twitter. Was it on their instagram or am I being an eejit?

       1. https://www.instagram.com/p/BARqroxKZLx/?taken-by=kensingtonroyal

          1. Tyvm!

16. I think the Bhutan Royals are a beautiful, loving couple. Lovely photo of them, KMR. Thanks!

    I am also wondering if the beautiful young Queen will be able to attend to W&K’s visit as much as she would have if it came at a better time. Not so close after the new Royal baby is born — or before.

    I’m also wondering about Kate sharing the limelight with the charismatic Queen. I hope the two women can develop a nice rapport with one another. The men, as well.

    Here’s to a positive trip for W&K with no major mishaps in the fashion dept. Hem weights and proper necklines work wonders. So does studying up on the countries and people one visit. I’m sure the staff is doing just that, but someone better make certain the Duke and Duchess do their homework, too.

    1. To be fair to William and Kate, these tours are planned a year in advance. So the tour and when it would take place would have been scheduled long before the King and Queen announced the pregnancy. So I would actually put it on the King and Queen that they were the ones who didn’t plan for a better time – that is if they planned the pregnancy.

       1. I may be wrong but I don’t think BRF visit will be a critical part of their decision making of when to have a baby. Britain have no real links with Bhutan ( unlike India) and this is just another part of their royal duties – which they do very well.

          1. Oh I agree. I just don’t think it’s fair to say William and Kate should have chosen a better time when neither they nor KP would have known about Jetsun’s pregnancy when they planned this trip.

             And honestly, this trip isn’t going to be long – probably just a couple days at most. So I doubt it’s going to be a problem. It’s not like William and Kate are going to be in Bhutan long where the King and Queen will have to entertain them. The King and Queen will probably participate in a greeting and/or a dinner and that’ll be it.

             1. Yes quite agree I assume it is just a bit of a tag on to the India tour – lots of photo opportunities!!

             2. I was not saying that W&K should have chosen a better time for the visit. I was merely commenting that it would be a tough time for the Bhutan Royals as the new baby might have recently made entry into the world.

             3. I don’t think it will be a big deal. W&Ks visit will only be a couple of days. I doubt the King and Queen will do much entertaining. When William visited Japan he stopped by the Emperor and Empress for a short visit but that was it. I would expect something similar in Bhutan – a greeting, dinner, or short visit. An hour at most, maybe. I don’t think it will put too much stress on the King or Queen.

17. Young Queen Jetsun is stunning. I hope too there will be lots of photo opportunities with Kate. The two couples should have a lot in common when talking about babies and growing families. I hear the Bhutan royals are considered the ‘William & Kate’ of their country, whatever that means. Maybe because they studied in UK but somehow they strike me as more interesting personalities than W&K.

    All the same, I have the feeling that Harry’s visit will be more engaging and worthwhile.

    1. Queen Jetsun – I know she is Queen not a duchess but of a much smaller country- has already achieved so much. Bright well educated hard working and an enormous asset to the King and her country. I think she is more like a happy Diana than Kate. Her marriage seems so genuine and they clearly already adore their unborn baby. What an exciting year for them – and I don’t mean W and K visiting.

       1. Good for them. Their country is beautiful and there are so many things they can accomplish with their people. I love Bhutan and the idea of measuring wealth in terms of Gross National Happiness.

          1. It’s wonderful isn’t it Gross National Happiness.

18. I just hope Kate does not resurrect those shirtwaist, belted 3/4 length sleeve dresses for this tour. That is all she wore on her last tour, different day, different shirtwaist. Like Lauri who is obsessed with Kate’s bad posture, I am obsessed with her wearing the same boring styles.

    1. And how will she compete with the beautiful queen’s stunning and elegant national dress? I do wonder if the western educated queen wears jeans and a jumper in private??!!

19. What a lovely picture! Very sweet and loving. I will be interested to see how Kate handles this trip. She won’t have the kids with her, so won’t have a built-in excuse to shirk her work. I predict she shows up in hideous, expensive clothes, grins and gesticulates maniacally and won’t be able to say anything relevant or meaningful. It’s sad that after five years of being in the family, this trip will be considered a success if she manages to not flash her private bits to the world. It’s really come to that. And I think they’re leaving the kids more because of George than Charlotte. They’ve already shown that taking a baby with nanny is doable, but I think George is now too much of a handful for them to deal with, even with nannies. I don’t get the impression that he is the kind of kid who sits and plays happily on trips and I doubt that either Kate or William are comfortable being around him for extended periods of time. Just a gut feeling and the impression I’ve gotten from photos of the Cambridges interacting with their kids. Oh, and randomly, I have a weird curiosity about curtsey protocols and am curious if anyone knows if Kate will have to curtsey and show deference to Bhutan’s Queen?

    1. A Duchess must always curtesy to a queen. Only a queen doesn’t curtesy to a queen. CP Mary curtseys to her close friend Queen Maxima – in public at least. I think I am right in that KMR?

       1. That’s correct. Kate will have to curtsy to Jetsun when they meet because Duchess is lower rank than Queen. Kate curtsied to Mathilde when they met in August 2014 for the WWI commemoration.

          1. +1 Can I add that Kate doesn’t do a proper curtsey? It’s more of a quick bob. Mary, Mette-Marit, and Marie have impressive and meticulous curtseys.

20. The Queen of Bhutan has had a sizable impact bringing a modern style while blending more traditional aspects. I’m looking forward to seeing the couples interact. Interesting fact about the Queen is she was the captain of her school basketball team. She and Kate will have sports in common too.

21. That’s a pretty photo of Harry.

22. I will be interested to see which photographers get to go on the trip to India and Bhutan with William and Kate.
    I’m thinking of the photos from the Anna Freud Centre visit and the walk to church on Christmas Day taken by Chris Jackson- never mind the Tash is his girlfriend factor – they will probably guarantee Chris a seat of the plane? Thinking back to that photo on Christmas where Kate is in the middle of the photo. She looks great. then I got the chance to look at the photo carefully on a computer screen instead of my tiny cell phone screen. It was cleverly manipulated so Kate’s face is in focus and the rest of the faces are slightly out of focus. I suspect a bit of Photoshop here and also Kate’s skin is brightened and the heavy handed makeup is toned down. The photo the next day of Kate IMO is probably what Kate looks like in real life. Niraj Tanna also took some great photos in the early days, which is why Carole would often ask Niraj for copies. Chris should be careful not to follow Niraj down that same path and be rejected by the Middletons (and Kate) too?
    I hope the other photographers like Mark Cuthbert and James Whatling will be given the opportunity to photograph more than just William and Kate’s backs on the up coming tour?

23. This will be an interesting visit. On one hand we have a King that invites his people into his home (palace) for tea and a chat, on the other hand we have a future King that complains about his privacy at every opportunity. On one hand we have a beautiful couple who aren’t afraid to show affection for each other, on the other hand we a beautiful couple who have only held hands in public twice (Christmas walk at Sandringham). The differences between these two couples are so glaring I can’t imagine what they will have to talk about.

    Since George and Charlotte will not be accompanying their parents on this trip, what excuse will William and Kate use for their usual light tour schedule? Or do we think that they might use this time without the children to really work hard and do all they can?

    1. It’s an interesting thought Lauri, time will tell us the answer?

    2. Going by their pre-baby tours, they will have as light a schedule as possible and have vacation days built in too.

       Now that I think about it, their tour + baby didn’t differ from their pre-baby tour schedule, so really more of the same.

    3. +1

    4. + 1 from me, Lauri. It will be very interesting to see how they interact with each other.

    5. People talk about how the Brits show a stiff upper lip with public displays of affection, but the culture in Bhutan is arguably even more reserved–and those two just glow.

24. Request for Hot guy of the month: Crown Prince of Dubai, Hamdan. He’s extremely popular online and lots of videos of him too

    1. I just Googled him and OMG!! He is so handsome!! Warm eyes, sharp nose, and that beard plus he’s done a buttload of charity work!! Definitely a +1 from me!! 🙂

    2. Hamdan would get my vote as well. I remember something a while back about how his horse won in a race, and he donated much (if not all) of the winnings to a charity in Dubai that supports those with autism. It was over $1 million, if I recall. Of course, he’s already crazy rich, but that’s still an awesome thing to do.

       And his being pretty handsome doesn’t hurt either.

25. Why Bhutan?

    1. Why are they also going to India? Why is Harry going to Nepal? Who knows other than “request of HM Government”.

       1. Nepal is an easy answer we have very close ties and I think Harry will spend significant time with the amazing Ghurkas who have been such a fantastic branch of the British army. Bhutan ? Well they are going to India ( a commonwealth country so very close ties) so maybe the young Bhutanese royals invited them?

          1. If the Bhutanese invited them, KP would have said so like they did when Harry visited NZ: “at the invitation of the New Zealand Government.”

             http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/media/press-releases/further-details-released-prince-harrys-visit-new-zealand

             1. Ok just can’t see why the government would chose Bhutan we really have no ties with them. Oh well I will enjoy seeing the country , the amazing monasteries and the landscape as well as the Royal Bhutanese family and the people who are judged on their happiness.

       2. Well, India makes sense given its ties to the UK as a commonwealth country. It’s diplomatic and nothing is random in what HM’s government chooses I presume. Maybe, as Birdy says, they were invited.

26. Some humor.

    http://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/Pictures-Kate-Middleton-Queen-37867491

27. Not bringing George or Charlotte certainly makes it seem like they are plenty available when they can be used to “slay republicans” (George in Australia) as PR stunts, for a couple just desperate to protect their privacy, but not available in countries not chomping at the bit to get rid of the monarchy.

    1. How true!

    2. George is starting school and Charlotte is a baby. Maybe they just didn’t want to worry about the two kids while traveling. I suppose, it was easier with George because there’s only one kid to look after.

28. The Duchess of Cambridge turns 34 on January 9!

29. I noticed that many of the comments are about the concern with Kate. If she showed us maturiry we would not be worried. I think so because I don’t trust her potential, but I really hope she does well. It will be interesting to see her with the queen.

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