160 thoughts on “Prince William and Kate Middleton will visit India and Bhutan April 10-16”

1. As Tanna tweeted, this has been released to bump negative Wills stories.

   KP playing tricks again. Hence, I don’t care. They’ll go, they’ll pose, she’ll gurn & flash, then they’ll hide away until summer.

   I’m more interested in why they have nothing planned for the next three weeks before St Patricks Day. Lazy sods.

   1. Nothing planned because kate had such a strenuous day yesterday. If she goes with wee willie tonight it’s 2 days in a row of engagements EGADS the stress. So she needs the break to rest up for that exhausting task of sipping sherry and handing out shamrocks. Plus overseeing the staff preparing for the overseas trip is very taxing to one who already works so hard

   2. Oh come on JL you are being grossly unfair. For a start they need a holiday before the gruelling trip. Then there’s all the shopping for the outfits. Please don’t forget she worked for a whole 6 hour day this week, and will need to recover from that before she can even think of her next commitments. Sounds like 24 hours in Bhutan – what a waste of an opportunity. They or she will be photographed in front of The Gateway to India in Mumbai and the Taj – please god lets not have an attempt to copy the iconic Diana photo. There will be lots of manic grinning because she will be so far outside her comfort zone -oh yes she will need a dentists touch up so the teeth really glitter.

      Gosh it’s been a long week , and W & K are turning me into a bitch. I love the Bhutanese family and really hope Kate can bond with their wonderful very young queen who has made so much more of her education.

      1. Birdy: I am not up on the Bhutanese family too much.
         Could you enumerate what The Bhutanese Queen has done with her education?

         Thanks.

         1. I’m no expert Ecelos but she works hard, has her own causes specifically environmental which is so critical to Bhutan which is currently so undeveloped so there are real opportunities to get things right, she supports her husband very professionally when abroad, and in all the photos you see of her with the Bhutanese people she looks engaged and interested. In addition instead of two very expensive homes they live not in the palace ( which also seems to house monks and the government) but in what is termed a cottage. They use social media to connect with their people in a balanced way, both are internationally educated and they both seem to have a passion for putting Bhutan on the map. And they seem to enjoy what they do instead of making everything seem so hard.

   3. After William’s rugby thing today, none of them (William, Kate, or Harry) have any engagements scheduled. We rag on William and Kate a lot, but Harry hasn’t done anything since February 5. All three of them need to step up their game. I’m really disappointed in all of them, but especially Harry since he gets put on a pedestal as “the good one who cares”.

      1. Absolutely I have commented a few times that Harry needs to do better. We hear that he is doing this charity work under the radar but we don’t really know what or where and why is it kept quiet especially when the young generation are getting so much criticism?

         1. We may not have an exact location for Harry’s volunteering (2-3 days a week), but we know he is attached to the Ministry of Defence’s Recovery personnel programme unit in London.

            Every so often, the royal reporters have tweeted a confirmation that he is doing this, just as they’ve tweeted about his unannounced visits to various places around the UK.

            Further, he seems to be involved in the behind the scenes work of Invictus which is going to take place in May.

            As someone else mentioned, Harry’s abscence from the CC doesn’t mean he is sitting at home like WK. Infact, we are more likely to know what he is doing off record when he isn’t appearing on the CC than the blank space when WK aren’t on the CC.

            I really wish people would stop tying Harry to WK’s laziness.

            Especially because when Harry announces something, he follows through. This volunteering was announced when he left the army. He would spend Summer in Africa followed in September by an ongoing volunteering situation with the Ministry of defence. The unit he would be volunteering with was announced, ditto how often he would do it.

            He doesn’t lie or scream ‘privacy!’ like his brother nor does he announce his intentions and not follow through like Kate.

            In terms of the 2 tours, once again we see the lightweight nature of WK vs Harry.

            WK have announced a tour with extremely vague word salad about their intentions which is all platitudes.

            Harry has announced his tour with solid information about what he is doing during the tour and what he hopes to achieve from it.

            It’s not a question of supplying us with detailed itineraries – times and places, but about why they are going.

            Based on the press releases, I have a clear idea why Harry is off to Nepal.

            with WK, all I can gather is they are off to India, will definitely visit the Taj Mahal and then a word salad about special relationships that tells me nothing about hopes or meaningful achievements of the trip.

            It’s like when politicians harp on about the special relationship between Britain and USA, but can’t articulate what that really means beyond the fact that we both speak English.

            1. +10000!!! He seems so more genuine and down to earth than W and K.

            2. Are WK still going to include the Virgin Islands in a tour? Because a top vacation spot sure needs to pay them to visit.

            3. Him handing out cupcakes to the crowd pretty much sums up his personality. If one he had been born first!

            4. My thought is that all these low profile works Harry is doing, and the low number of engagements despite reports of him doing unofficial visits and volunteering are because the “spare” MUST NOT do better than the “heir”. So Harry actually does a lot of unofficial works which are not counted as royal duties. Plus he has Sentebale that he has strong attachment to and any work done there will not be counted to his number. From what I see, Harry’s number of engagements is meant to never surpass Will’s. If this is true, then it would have been really sad, because that means in addition to Wills laziness, he ensures that his brother will never do better than him.

            5. I’m with you on this one Herazeus. I do think that Harry is doing a lot of work with the vets and getting the next Invictus games going. Could he do a few more public engagements, yes, but if he does that it’s going to shine an even worse light on William and Kate and that would create even more tension behind the scenes. I imagine it’s not a very happy place to be at the moment with these articles coming out nearly every day.

      2. yes, definitely.
         I’ m starting guessing hat : same brothers, same genes:
         both lazy lazy LAZY to death.
         Harry looks more genuine at ease with people though, the one looking concerned.
         But lazy as well as his brother

         1. What is this based upon?
            His tours in the military infantry?
            His involved part in bringing Invictus games to his part of te world? His always following through on his engagements and goals even without public awareness?

            Harry does a lot. No one can accuse him of being lazy with the facts known.

      3. I’ve wondered if Harry isn’t allowed to do more so that he doesn’t upstage W+K

         1. Me too… I don’t understand why some engagements of Harry (like in February at St James Palace) are not publicized. If it was Kate’s or William’s, all the press would speak about…

            1. I can see Harry being asked to be more undercover.

            2. rhiannon, my mind is warped and considering the current campaign to get you next to Harry, well….lol

               But taking it at face value, I think you’re right, he’s probably been encouraged to work on a more covert level.

      4. I agree with you all, Harry should be doing more, not only because he genuinely seems to care but also because he seemed determined to work more for the firm on his last interview.

         However we have not known his whereabouts since Feb 8th.

         To those interested: On Jan 21th he visited a rugby practice or something rugby related (while there he also made a skype call to @leglessrowers).
         On Feb 3rd he visited Full Effect and The Community Recording Studio in St Ann’s, and Coach Core (all connected to his Royal Foundation)
         On Feb 8th he had a meeting with apprentices of Coach Core at St James Palace (he meet them on feb 3rd).
         None of these counted as official engagements, even though he has patron ties to all.

         All that been said he has not been seen for more than two weeks, it is rumoured he is in USA helping with invictus, but the lack of evidence makes me think it’s wishful thinking from some people.

         1. I’ll repeat this here. As frequently confirmed by royal reporters, he volunteers 2-3times a week with the Ministry of defence’s recovery programme unit in London.

            He is not hiding like his brother.

            1. Yes I know Herazeus, I didn’t mention it because I was under the impression people knew about it, apparently they don’t.

               We used to have the joy of seeing a few photos of his work from people he meet, due to lack of those in this few months, I think people were discouraged from doing it. It’s also very curious how the press did not report on it but suddenly as soon as William is caught near a heli he gets full coverage – that is not a coincidence!

               When Harry started voluntering in end of 2014/early 2015 we were told it was a “extension of his army duties” and so the press ignored it.

               Even though now the circumstances have changed the press still does little to bring it to someones attention, he has been doing it since getting back from Africa and only now the press has confirmed it in an article.

               In my opinion is very telling we actually get confirmation of private visits from *people* Harry meets, while on the other hand when it comes to W&K evidence is mainly publicitized by KP.

            2. I wish I knew this before I started to question Harry this morning. I am feeling a little guilty for even thinking he may be lazy like his brother and sister-in-law.

         2. Thanks! I started to worry about Harry, but now I can relax and love the handsome prince.

            1. G I think we all love Harry but for his own sake and that of the BRF they should make the public more aware of his work . This benefits the Firm and the only reasonable excuse for not doing it is one mentioned here often – not allowed to upstage the Cambs. Not a good enough excuse frankly.

               He is not young he should also insist now on his own office and his own staff and advisors.

            2. I agree, Birdy, but when I’ve put that point (not outshining W&K) to Royal reporters, its been roundly scoffed at. I can’t think of another reason though and it certainly fits with William being a git.

            3. Harry? Lazy? I read that in one of the articles about waity and wills, implying that he fits into the same category. Not buying it. At all. Seems that KP is determined to elevate the two losers and slackers at any cost. He’s awesome with kids, and if anyone seems down to earth and unimpressed with himself or his title, it’s Harry. I don’t think any pr machine could create that sort of image, he’s just who he is. I suspect, as others do, that they’re keeping Harry under the radar to focus the spotlight on the Duke and Duchess of Do Nothing Unless We Have To. Just a thought, and isn’t it pathetic that Bill and Cathy need such holding up, if that’s the reasoning. Pathetic and disgraceful. I’m betting that we get some lovey dovey shots of the Cambridge’s in front of the Taj Mahal. Honestly, I don’t think that waity would have the guts to pull a Diana pose.

      5. Herazeus has said everything I wanted to.
         Harry rarely has anything “scheduled” but he’s constantly doing something.

         1. Every time William appears in public, it’s counted as ‘work’. If everything Harry did in public counted as ‘work’, his numbers would cause William to have a blood clot. The way KP defines ‘work’ and who does it shows that Harry is not allowed to ‘work’ more than the Cambridges.

            1. Yup.
               It’s shameful. Like how Kate’s (and William’s to a lesser degree) events were counted early on. She landed, shok hands on a tarmac to a waiting car and they counted it! The crossed a courtyard to enter the same building she was just in for the same event and it became a seperate events. Amazing.

      6. I realize that most of you disagree with me, but I just cannot count Harry’s private work because there is no way to quantify just how much he does privately. That may be “unfair” because Harry does more than he is getting credit for, but that’s either KP’s fault because they are not making Harry’s work public, or it’s Harry’s fault because he does not want his work made public. Either way, unless it’s made public, I can’t know for sure it happened or how much it’s happening. So I cannot count it until it’s made public. And that goes for all royals. If their work is not made public, then I can’t count it.

         I’m rooting for Harry, I really am, I would love for him to do more because I do think he is the better Wales brother, but I need him to make his work public and do more public work.

         1. That makes sense KMR.
            But how about keeping a running count of the number of seemingly work-related things that he does in his private capacity that we get pictures/confirmation about? Of course we won’t get a true reflection of what he does or how he spends his time but would be interesting to compare how many of his appearances are counted in the CC versus how many private things we find out about.
            What do you think?

            1. That would be interesting to see how much private stuff that we hear about that he does. But I don’t follow his movements on Twitter that much, so I don’t think I would be a good person to keep that tally.

         2. Personally and in my opinion KMR I would not fault you regarding Harry. There is too much secrecy surrounding the royals other than yes they are entitled to private personal lives. I have no doubt that Queen Elizabeth has gone to an office setting and worked.

            But we have no idea what constitutes the behind the scenes work. We know Harry, William and Kate have office staff..PR, personal assistants, and ???. It is only too in the visual sightings that we feel like we can really begin to number count.

            I appreciate your view point in this complicated subject.

            1. “we have no idea what constitutes the behind the scenes work”

               Exactly. We hear about him being very involved with Invictus, but what does he actually do? I had the same question in 2014 when everyone said Harry was instrumental in putting the Invictus Games together, but what does that really mean? Because there is a full team behind that organization so what exactly does Harry do versus what do the rest of the team do? We don’t know.

         3. I totally agree I said earlier I cannot allow for it because I don’t really know what he is doing or where or indeed why. I don’t understand why it needs to be kept so secret given he is now a working Royal.

            1. I can understand your stance on this, BUT if we can accept that WK took a private meeting with their charities forum (as an example) because the royal reporters tweeted it or someone put it on twitter, then by the same token you have to accept Harry’s private work when royal reporters repeatedly tweet it or some random person puts it up, either words or pictures, on twitter.

               For what it’s worth, I don’t necessarily trust Richard Palmer because he is easily bought, but I do trust Camilla Tominey. She’s never been afraid to tell it like it is, and when she talks about Harry’s volunteering, I believe her.

            2. Herazeus:

               It depends. If something shows up in the CC that we didn’t see photos of, I count that as a non-press engagement in my running tally of Kate’s engagements. If we only have Twitter confirmation or something, then I put it in “Out and About in the UK”. So it would have to be the same for Harry.

2. This will probably be William’s 3rd royal event because he’s been “working so much.” And a comp trip smiling and waving is incredibly taxing. I don’t know how these two pull through dealing with these heavy demands. Kate needs some R&R shopping.
   Sad that George might be emotionally older than his parents in a year or two

3. I love how snarky Tanna gets. I’m hoping he jumps into this and releases some details on his dealilngs with the Midds.

   William and Kate are really going to have to be on their best behavior on this tour. Not to mention they are going to have to attempt to come across as warm and caring. If there are any fly-ups or William stomping off because he doesn’t like a question…well I think we can imagine the responses.

   As for Harry, I have no doubt her will knock it out of the park. He’s probably learning as much as he can about Nepal before he gets there and he’s got the warmth and caring naturally in spades.

   Can’t wait!!

   1. it’ll be interesting to compare the two tours, Harry’s and W&K’s. As you said Lisa, I expect Harry’s tour will be so much fun, with lots of genuine laughter and warmth. All he needs is to have Rhiannon by his side to make it truly perfect. I feel rather snarky for even thinking this but I think W&K’s tour will be filled with crotch clutching, poor posture and wringing hands on William’s part, with maybe a butt flash or two just to round things out.

      1. Lauri, you made my morning. Having problems getting info I need from a client for a report that is due later today. Feeling stressed, so I jumped on this blog for a bit.
         Your words made me roar with laughter. Oh, if there is a butt flash (or, two), Kate will really be toast! Shall we place our bets now?

         Thanks for lifting my mood.

         1. +1

      2. I’m ready for these tours. I personally guarantee that I will study my recce ahead of time and be prepared. My wardrobe and demeanor will be respectful to both my host country and my country by marriage.

         See that? My one small paragraph was way more work than Kate has pulled in 5 years.

   2. I agree. But I’m really having a tough time seeing wee willie and katie as warm and caring

4. I’m really looking forward to Harry’s visit to Nepal, as I too have always wanted to visit that country! I’m a bit surprised though that he’s only going to be there for 3 days, I hope that’s enough time for him to really see this land and interact with it’s people.

   I’m a bit undecided about W&K’s India/Bhutan trip. I hope that it will contain more substantial events than the Aussie/NZ tour, heck even if it included more events than that tour would make it better. Since they aren’t taking the children there really shouldn’t be an excuse to not include evening events or more than one event a day. Of course, this means they won’t be able to carry out any “work” from about mid-March to the end of April in order to “prepare” for the tour (read mini-vacy and shopping) and then of course much needed R&R after the tour.

   I have several friends who have traveled often to India and really speak highly of the cultural aspects of India. It’s a country I would love to visit but I have a fairly sensitive digestive system and the thought of all the curry and rice makes me wonder if I wouldn’t be spending most of my trip in the loo. Not meaning to gross anyone out, but how do the royals deal with food that they aren’t used to but are expected to eat, wonderful meals prepared to highlight the best of local cuisine? Of course food allergies are taken into consideration but what about spices and such? Again, as someone who has to really watch what I consume I’m always fascinated by how the royals, politicians, rock stars, any one who travels a lot deals with strange foods.

   1. My good friend visited India last summer and hated it.

      1. Yeah, I don’t think it’s for everyone, either you love it or hate it. The friends that I know went to either visit their gurus or to stay at ashrams, maybe having a set place to go and set things to do made it better? I don’t know.

         1. The royals won’t be visiting the real India, they’ll be visiting the “clean & beautiful” India.Everything will be whitewashed for them.
            They have to travel incognito to feel the real essence of India. I think this trip will be too overwhelming for W+K.
            The world saw the real state of Charles & Diana’s marriage during their visit to India. It was the beginning of the end for them. Will history repeat itself??!!

            1. Exactly! I would be really impressed if they visited lepers or recovering sex trafficking victims, but no real life troubles will be allowed anywhere near them, at least not without some serious whitewashing. I have a good friend that was in India for a wedding and even she was sheltered from the poor because she was the guest of a very wealthy family. She loved it, although plans to go back to see more of the real India.

            2. Exactly. My friend went there for work and he was telling me how grungy and run down the airport was, how terrible the cab driver was, how many bums and addicts were hanging around the airport, how terrible the service was at the hotel, etc. William and Kate will not experience any of that.

            3. William might be able to deal with meeting people like that and come off in a good light if he wasn’t with Kate during the event. He met different people through his mother’s determination to expose them to different walks of life. Kate has been coddled since day one and would not have anything to do other than pull her concerned, caring face and mutter something inane. It would be a waste of time and could possibly do more damage to their image than good. A good PR person is not going to put their client in that position.

      2. My brother went there on business and could not wait to come home. He also hated it. Apparently there are aggressive monkeys roaming the streets and even the best hotels aren’t up to standard when it comes to cleanliness.

         1. My friend got really pissed at a farmer who let his animals be in the road and would not move them for my friend’s cab. He also was mad at the subpar wifi connection.

   2. The bands I worked with all had riders that were attached to their contracts and specified what food they expected to be waiting for them (and what they wouldn’t eat). Part of it was to ensure they would have something they could eat and it was also a way of making sure the promoters read the contract thoroughly. There’s usually be some really silly request that we watched for (like the famous Van Halen specification for what color M&M’s they wanted)

      Trust me things are cleared way ahead of time. If I recall correctly they had organic produce and fruit on hand at Kate’s request. Hope that helps!

      1. Lisa that does help. It would seem one would have to be careful what they ate in a different country to prevent digestive problems. After fasting (a long fast) for example one has to very slowly introduce regular goods back into diet or be making many trips to loo. Going to a different country that has a totally different diet one would have to ease into that kind of foods I would think. And they are only visiting for one day less than a week. It makes sense to have access to foods one would normally eat.

      2. From other tours we do know Kate’s diet requests.
         Organic fresh fruit and veggies. More veggies than fruit. And salads for almost every meal. No bread. And 1 salad a day will have a small amount of chicken. And much of the fruit/veggies get blended.

      3. Brown M&Ms are the best. I swear they are more chocolaty than the others.

   3. I travel regularly internationally and often to developing countries and I don’t get sick. I swear by probiotics when I travel. India was amazing, though definitely different than home (the US).

      1. I spent 3 months in India, wandering around pretty much by myself during the weeks since my husband was working 12 hour days. It was a fantastic experience. I honestly think you have to just wander around at leisure, taking it all in. I don’t know that I would have enjoyed being a “famous” person who attracted attention. Of course there was the occasional city (we tried to go to other cities almost every weekend) where I had moments of feeling rather conspicuous in a not very comfortable way. But I never felt unsafe and there was so much to see and do. I would return in a minute if I had the chance!

   4. @Lauri from Ca
      I’d love to visit India too but with a sensitive stomach plus a bad peanut allergy I’m a little wary.
      You could always take your own food? I have a friend who toured India as a player on NZ’s cricket team, he did the tour with a suitcase filled with cans of baked beans!
      As for the time of year to go? if you can’t take the heat? I’ve been told the best time in visit India is in Winter.

      1. I always think one shouldn’t have expectations when you travel beyond making sure you stay in first class accommodation if you are unsure of service the country you are visiting. At this point, first class hotels are like McDonald’s ie the same all over the world no matter the name of the hotel.

5. The W and K road show will be as glib as it can get. Harry, on the other hand, will win hearts and minds in Nepal, I bet. And, oh if Rhiannon could only join him!

   1. I would love to go. Harry and I would make a good team. I’m a bit introverted and I think he could get me out of my shell. I’m quite focused and structured, which could help him a little. We would have a good balance.

      The backdrop of the Cambridge tour will be lush and vibrant. Same for Harry. Sadly one tour will be handled with heart and grace and the other with petulance and indifference.

6. What a totally lame move from KP. We already know about the tour so how often do we have to be reminded? Pretty obvious “new details” were released to deflect all the bad press around this lazy couple.

   No Jason, I don’t want to hear more about Bhutan and India. We want details of their work schedule between now and the trips if you want to impress!

   1. Exactly Yorkie, let’s hear about their work schedule between now and April 10th!!!

      1. Well we know they’ll pass out shamrocks and sip sherry for Saint Patrick’s day. That should take 2 hours tops. Then back to the strenuous trip planning. Oh and I’m sure wee willie will work another 20 hours at his flying job between now and April 1st (since he’ll need recovery time before the tour)

   2. It’s sad that they try to distract with the foreign trip when I think their most meaningful work should be the work that’s done back home in the UK. These are the people that pay tax dollars to support them.

      1. +1

      2. +1

      3. +1 And it’s a fun-filled vacation for them, no less

      4. +1 And it’s a fun-filled holiday for them, no less

      5. +1

      6. +1
         but I guess it’s the only way to get them out of their mansion. No fancy trip = no W&K

         1. Precisely. AND their annual numbers would be be down around 25!

      7. +1

7. The King’s mistress and a monstrous deception: How British newspapers and the Establishment conspired to hide Edward’s affair from the public – while it became the talk of the rest of the world

   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3464755/The-King-s-mistress-monstrous-deception-British-newspapers-Establishment-conspired-hide-Edward-s-affair-public-talk-rest-world.html

   Why is the DM publishing a story NOW that concludes with a few paragraphs condemning the press and insiders for hiding royal info from the UK public?

   1. Wallis coined the phrase ‘ you can never be too thin or too rich’ which Kate seems to agree with.

      1. LOL Birdy!!! +100

      2. LOL, Well we know who Kate wants to take after ;). Wallis is not a good role-model Kate.

         1. She had better taste in fashion and jewels.

            1. Yes she did! This is a little sample

               http://www.sothebys.com/en/news-video/videos/2013/11/duke-duchess-windsor-jewels-2013.html

            2. Great link My2Pence, thank you. I find the story of Duke & Duchess of Windsor fascinating and the jewels are beautiful.

            3. Wallis’ jewellery collection was wonderful – and in some respects quite avantgarde for the time. It was allegedly she who inspired Van Cleef and Arpels to make zippers into jewellery!

               http://www.jewelsdujour.com/2014/09/unzipping-the-past-van-cleef-arpels-zip-necklace/

               She was also a patron of the wonderful French jeweller Suzanne Belperron whose jewellery had a simplistic yet elegant and modernist style.

            4. While I use to love their story. Man gives up throne for true love. Woman against all odds finds love with his country against her. I’m now more clear on those details… Still! The fashion that came out was stunning. And she was a woman who knew how to dress to her strengths. You can say a lot bad about Wallis, but her taste in style! No. There was nothing wrong there.

            5. He didn’t give up the throne for love! Why are peole still saying this when the truth is out there. It was just spin that he couldn’t marry her because she was divorced and so that’s why he abdicated. Duh, he was the heir, royals change the rules to suit themselves – if he had wanted to marry a divorced woman and still be King he would have had the rules changed so it could be done.

               What couldn’t be changed though was his well-documented friendship with Hitler. The Windsors knew they had to massively downplay their German connections after WWII if they were going to survive in Britain at all. The Wallis-divorce-abdication thing was just the cover story. And millions bought it.

            6. Alis
               What i meant was the love story version. It was not reality. It was the variation of the story. The romance. Not literal.

   2. My2Pence
      Do you think it is a thinly veiled hint to the BRF/handlers that the press today has many stories they could run to ruin royalty’s image in the public’s eye? That they are tired of being treated as extensions of the PR machine? After all, there is no news value in the Wallis-Edward story.

      1. Probably.

      2. It makes me wonder what conversations royal insiders (staff) are overhearing!

8. More fluff and puff. Sounds like a tourist’s itinerary, nothing more. On someone else’s dime.

   1. Exactly. This is simply their annual spring vacation.

   2. Their reward for giving up Mustique….boohoohoo

   3. Neither India nor Bhutan extended an invite; it was HM who requested the visit. Basically, they invited themselves over. The itinerary, as MavenTheFirst mentioned, is all fluff, very touristy, devoid of any substance, just great photo ops for this very unpopular couple.

      1. Didn’t China not even want them? They were willing to take Harry over them?
         I remember some talk about the White House prefering Harry over William also.

      2. And now India is stuck paying for the large security bill for this wasteful couple. Thank Goodness at least they are only having a short visit.

      3. I saw that as well and thought the same thing. They once again invited themselves and it sounds like just as you said ‘touristy’.

      4. HM and HM’s Government are different. It wasn’t The Queen who asked for these two trips, it was the British government. Both William and Kate’s and Harry’s tours are at the request of HM government, not just W&Ks.

         1. The India and Bhutan tours allow W+K to bump up their numbers considerably with bulk engagements. But as you have pointed out, KMR, the counting of engagements is flawed. I’m not so much concerned with numbers only, but rather the outcomes of these engagements. Do they raise more money, lead to grants and so on? Can ‘awareness’ (if any) be measured? Even when reported in the press, the point of a visit is subsumed by whatever Kate is wearing, plus the obligatory padding about her role as a ‘hands-on’ mum, though we have no evidence of it.

            1. The problem is, a lot of times there is no way to know that type of outcome of the royal’s events. We can’t really quantify “awareness”, and the charities don’t release information about how much money they received post-royal visit versus pre-royal visit.

9. What I don’t understand is why go to Bhutan only to return to India a day later to visit Taj Mahal? It sounds to me an excuse to reproduce a certain famous image, not to mention the PR excuse to visit it is to ” allowing them the chance to thank the people of India for their hospitality by visiting their most iconic landmark.”. Why couldn’t they do that before going to Bhutan and enjoy a couple of days in that beautiful country? Why there is always something fishy about their visits????

   1. 100% agree. I “love” the PR excuse!! I’m not sure that Indians are happy about Kate and William visit.

      I’m really want to know if the Will’s scandal has affected his image or not.

      1. It’s not good for the carbon print too…

   2. “What I don’t understand is why go to Bhutan only to return to India a day later to visit Taj Mahal? ”

      For the drama, of course. Last memory for royal watchers will be of WK probably sitting where Diana sat; done at the beginning or middle, it would lose its effect. It’s all about pulling powerful emotional strings by invoking dear, dead mummy. He needs something to salvage his image so he’s going for the tried and true (loathsome prat). All the while, Waity will be flaunting Diana’s ring. All in all, what a climax!

      1. I hate William for this. He wanted his mother to be left alone, “to protect her” and now whenever he feels he needs the love he will start reminding everyone who his mother was, because *he is Diana’s boy* and will pull her and benefit from the public’s goodwill and love for her.

         He could just honor her memory at home, in private. Isn’t he such a private person? Why invoke her so much?

         1. i agree!!
            Will is showing he has no dignity at all invoking his mum anyttime.

      2. Can I barf now?

10. Poor things better rest up for the next six weeks.

    I feel sorry for the King and Queen of Bhutan. It isn’t like Will and Kate’s reputations haven’t been noticed by these two intelligent royals. I can’t imagine the young Queen having much to discuss with Kate. It doesn’t appear C.P. Mary struck up much of a friendship with Kate years ago. After ten minutes the Queen of Bhutan may be rushing to find an excuse to get away from Kate. “Sorry, I hear the baby crying.” (OK, I know she probably has a few nanny’s.)

    Kate will probably be stuck at Will’s side for the entire Taj Mahal visit. The last thing she wants is a photo like the one taken of Diana alone on a bench. Diana sent her message, but Kate will want to continue the ‘we are so in love’ message.

    I know this idea will probably bring some flack, but I think Will should have cancelled his sport event for Friday and sent Kate in his place. He should have been seen working at his pilot position. After being photographed, KP could have released a statement about how others have covered for Will in the last few weeks and Will wanted to cover for another staff member. They want to seem like they are “normal” and normal staff members pay others back when they cover for someone. At least this is how it was at all the hospitals I have worked at over the years. I think when the people start to complain, the royals look best when they appear to be listening. (i.e. like HM responding after the death of Diana.)

    Lastly, Harry get busy. We love you. Do not let us down.

    1. Why are they going to India? History speaks for itself, they don’t like British.

    2. I have a close friend who got to meet her when she was in college and he didn’t know who she was until later. Apparently, she is breathtakingly beautiful in real life too, but is totally down to earth, warm and not arrogant at all.

    3. The idea of Kate covering for William’s engagement because he needs to cover for EAAA colleagues is an interesting one, but after all the negative press he has been getting, we would have seen right through that as the obvious PR ploy it would have been. And William would have gotten even more negative press.

       1. KMR, you are probably right. I was remembering how angry many people were after Diana died and HM was away. People wanted her back in London. I remember when she got out of the car, people showed their respect, clapped quietly, handed her flowers and all in all showed they were glad she had returned.

          Whether she returned because the people wanted her to or it was on her own schedule, it looked like she responded to public wishes. Kmr, you probably remember the whole thing much better and have all the facts, but this is how I remember this incident. It appeared making a gesture when the public was unhappy worked in favor of HM.

11. I post this link here : http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/richard-palmer/647803/Royal-Family-popularity-Britain-Duchess-Duke-Cambridge-Harry-Queen

    Interesting article, the critics remain, Operation Save Willy has not really succeed…

    I would love to know the popularity of Royal member now

    1. About Kate…”she comes over as bland and dull.” I think that is what was written in the article. It does sum up Kate.

       I wonder if she is really as boring as she comes across (at least to me), or if it is part of the Will and Kate Master Plan. Master Plan: Rule #1) be so boring the public will completely forget about us and we can do whatever we want.

       1. I don’t know G. William allegedly broke up with her because she was so dull and he wanted a girl who was more “exciting”. Kate didn’t spice it up until he dumped her and she went on her win William back campaign. I think that after she got the ring and over the initial excitement of the marriage, being a new royal and having the heir to the heir to the heir, she may have felt secure enough to go back to her own dull, boring self. Look at how her clothing has changed. She’s obviously still got access to the funds because what she buys costs quite a bit, but she’s gone way down in the fashion game. I wonder if she worked more with a real stylist those first two years and then just put Tash in the position of “stylist” who is really more a get what I tell you I want girl. A person’s genuine nature tends to shine, even if they are really nervous. Just look at Queen Maxima, Sophia of Wessex, Harry or any other royal. They aren’t pulling faces to come off as they aren’t. Even Princess Anne, she goes from clearly being happy to showing her get over yourself and get on with it face.

          I just think that dull, bland girl is what Kate’s nature is. She had facades put on her by her mother and the press but at the core this is who she is. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not a persona that plays well in public.

    2. Thanks for sharing this link Chem! What a great article from Richard, he really laid out the reasons why the younger royals need to step up to the plate and step up now. It seems that the press and the public is starting to catch on to all the things we’ve been talking about here for the last couple of years.

       Another blog talked about this article and some people are saying how whiny Richard is and that he’s only interested in preserving his job. The author of this blog however is taking a more even sided stance on this issue, agreeing that the younger royals do need to step up and do more and even mentioned how bad the relationship between KP and the press is. I can’t quite wrap my head around the thoughts that some of the die hard Cambridge fans have. How can they really believe that someone is so perfect that they can do no wrong, how can they ignore the evidence, like Kate never holding down a job or William’s threats to photographers, that changes need to be made within the snowglobe world of Williamsville?

       Having read various books on the royal family I realize that they have survived mad kings, bad kings, scandal and strife before and have come through it all. However, people now are more involved in the world, are more unwilling to believe everything that they’re told and the reverence and deference once shown for members of the royal family has fallen by the wayside. Given these reasons (and more) I don’t know if the royal family will continue on once the Queen has gone, it might stumble through the reign of King Charles II but I really doubt we will see a King William and Queen Catherine and sadly I don’t think William really cares.

       1. Which blog? I’d like to read the author’s thoughts.

          One of the reasons the BRF survived those past horrible kings is because there was not a huge 24 hour media presence like there is now. Also, most of the public was not literate then as they are now. And even then, major changes were made during those king’s reigns.

          1. KMR..You have said this before and I do concur. I remember in the 80’s and early 90’s, you have to rely on the news, TV documentaries, buying magazines, trashy newspapers or books on the royal family to read up on them. Most of the time, you see perfect pictures, perfect lives etc…

             I never spent money for this “hobby” and only relied on books, magazines I borrowed from the library and TV documentaries. Only problem was, a lot of them don’t tell the truth. So when Charles and Di fairy tale marriage came apart, I was quite shocked.

             Now a days, things are a mouse click away. So the royals now are at quite a disadvantage since they cannot hide. One step, one word wrong and it goes around and it gets around the world.

             1. I was not shocked when the marriage fell apart. I live in the U.S. and since I was born about the same year as Diana, was interested in watching the TV coverage of the wedding.

                The announcers on the day all commented about how it was not a love match, the difference in their ages and how she was an aristocratic virgin who “fit the bill”.

             2. It was much easier to sell the story that royals wanted the public to believe when the public did not have a ton of access to information.

       2. Various kings and many others loonies in power survived, but who payed the price of their inadequacy?

    3. I’m going to cover that tomorrow.

    4. What a delicious article Clem — thanks for this! I think this is the best critique yet on these lazy, spoiled royals.

       “Kate’s natural reserve” is doublespeak for someone who has no personality and presence.

12. For anyone who is interested – looking at you Rhianon……Richard Palmer has posted an opinion piece in the Express about the failing popularity of the younger royals. As in, they aren’t delivering to a level that will sustain the monarchy and that is begining to worry the powers that be.

    However, he confirms, in print, again, that Harry is volunteering 2 days a week, so whatever criticism is being levelled at Harry’s work ethic, please bear that in mind.

    Officially he is on the par with WK for royal Engagements, but he has put in engagements that were public and private that were not counted officially AND he has done work behind the scenes for Invictus and the volunteering job.

    WK…..crickets except for their official engagements. And that is the only work they have done.

    1. That seems like double standards to me. H might be volunteering in private, but W is also working more or less for his ambulance job.

       1. William has done 12 shifts since November, plus his 3 royal engagements – He is definitely working less!

    2. To be honest, even Harry just volunteering twice a week, is still a pretty light schedule. What is he doing the rest of the time, the other 5 days? He too is light on his royal engagements and does not have a job to keep him busy. Even William can pull the excuse that he is playing “Happy Family and Hero Pilot” and Kate can pull the “Mother of the Year” excuse (their excuses make me want to vomit in disgust btw). What is Harry’s excuse, just volunteering twice a week?

       1. I agree. There is no reason why all three shouldn’t have 250+ engagements at the end of the year.

          What exactly did they spend £4,000,000 on? That was the outrageous figure spent on the kp office in 2014.

       2. Kate’s volunteering with the Scout’s was counted in the CC every time, even though she wasn’t Patron, and her office said she was there in a private capacity. Harry volunteers twice a week, confirmed by journalists, no photos, and he gets no official credit. It will not count towards his year end numbers at all.

          1. Not all of Kate’s 2012 Scout volunteering made it into the CC. She stopped volunteering after 2012 and then every Scout event she did counted in the CC. A few 2012 Scout events counted in the CC, but there were other that did not.

             1. Thank you KMR for making sure of accuracy in our accounts. Mistakes can easily be made.

       3. The 2nd in line to the throne is supposed to do more than the 5th in line. If Harry did loads more engagements that counted in the CC, he’d take it on the chin from his jealous older brother.

          1. That argument doesn’t stand up to scrutiny – Princess Anne is now ( with changes to the law ) 6th in line yet she does more than almost anyone else, is hardly ever given credit for it, you rarely see photos of her, but she clearly does an exceptional job or her charities wouldn’t keep asking her back.

             1. The law is not retroactive. Anne is not 6th in line to the throne she’s 12th.
                http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/Successionandprecedence/Succession/Overview.aspx

                I dare anyone to try to stop Anne doing anything! Anne and Charles have roughly equal royal engagement numbers. Anne does engagements, Charles does engagements PLUS The Duchy, Prince’s Trust, red boxes, estate management for Sandringham and Balmoral. He’s doing more than Anne.

                Up until the middle of last year, Harry had a full-time job – one he showed up and worked unlike his brother. He took the summer off. In fall he started volunteering 2-3 days a week with wounded veterans. William is only working 1 day a week, so Harry’s working more than William in that way too.

                Harry is loyal to William. That means he is used to being used for PR, like he was used for his father’s PR. He cannot be unaware of the comments about his brother and sister-in-law, so he’s doing things under the radar so his brother looks “less bad” IMO.

       4. No offense meant Red Tulip, but most working people (myself included) get 2 days off in their work week. I know that some take on second jobs (myself included) but you are allowed a little down time.

          1. I agree with you Lisa and no offence taken :). Working people do get a weekend or at least 2 days off (most anyway), but that’s also because we work hard in other aspects of our lives (such as taking care of household chores), apart from our full or part time jobs. But the royals have staff to take care of every aspect of their lives and they do not do full time 40-50 hours of work per week. I personally think that it is not unrealistic to expect them to work 7 days a week-even if they put in only 3-4 hours per day, that still comes down to 21-28 hours total- which would be considered part time work for the rest of us.

             1. 3 to four hours a week is’t even a hobby.

    3. Is it really surprising that William and Kate have lost popularity? Both are bland and dull, do not exude any intelligence, interest, or warmth, and have achieved nothing much in life thus far despite immense privilege and opportunity. Why on earth should they be respected by anyone? Why should they be funded from public funds? Surely the age of indiscriminate forelock-tugging has gone the way of the dodo?
       Richard Palmer’s article laments the loss of particular specialist reporting in the 1950’s and then the 1970’s; what he fails to understand is that the need for such expired. And so to royalty: William and Kate demonstrate that the ‘best by’ date has expired.

    4. I read that and had some concerns. Yikes!

13. Will has just been interviewed at the rugby so he is definitely there. But he didn’t come over as being very knowledgable about the team.
    Is this work? The atmosphere is buzzing the Welsh can certainly sing. Most people would consider it an honour and a privilige to be there not work….most people.

    1. Bill is in damage control. Hence the Diana india pr and the word salad bbc interview.
       Isn’t that pathetic. The press finally calls him out for being a lazy, petulant sod and he responds, by playing the poor mummy card and attending a rugby game. And… It works for now.

       It’s no wonder the monarchy/cambridges are losing their perceived luster. W&K are all smoke and mirrors. Propped up by the media, who will eventually turn on them because they aren’t dutiful or charismatic.
       He is curmudgeonly when forced to interact with the public. She puts on this fake, obnoxious duchess demeanor.
       (who is waitykatie kidding?)

       The younger generation are supposed to be impressed by them?

       Diana has been gone for twenty years and apparently still holds sway with people (the older generation at least).

       1. A pseudo engagement with former injured players which didn’t last more than an half hour… So in order to erase the critics he speaks about his children : “No broken bones yet, but they’re trying. Running around, pushing things, jumping. Please tell me it gets easier.” and Charlotte is very easy, very sweet, but all the fathers say ‘just you wait, when you get to nine, 10, 11, they go crazy’ (cf. Emily Nash)

          He is so predictible…

          1. Totally agree, Clem, and he’s using the kids for good PR again. They really are just PR boosters 🙁

             So we’ve had set up EAAA photos, added rugby engagement, added injured players for photo op, chatting to the BBC and quotes about the kids.

             He’s been firmly told to play nice. No doubt.

14. Of course we won’t see WK until their trip but there will be quiet the number of articles with official statements from KP on how busy they are preparing for this trip, studying, in meetings, etc. etc. Because since we hardly see them working, reporters have to write about how much they are actually working in private, yeah right…

    Hope Katie isn’t too tired to make it out of the house on St. Pattrick’s (you know, the kids, the endless shopping, preparation, etc).

    1. I made a case for the behind the scenes work as tweeted by the reporters upthread, but I will add a caveat, that it is more believable in Harry’s case because you see the results when he is in public. He is knowledgeable and can discuss the subject without any hesitations, allowing for nervous ticks. WK always appear unprepared, unknowledgeable and divert to the kids when they should be discussing the subject at hand. Even when they give speeches, it’s as though they’ve just seen the speech the second they started to read the words. Years later, they still show no improvement in specialist knowledge of their chosen areas of interest despite so many alleged behind the scenes work.

15. So Chris Jackson won the Royal Photographer of the Year award last night. Of course he did, he’s the only one the Cambridge’s will allow close to them.

    1. I feel like the palace has hunkered down protecting their royal stooge and amping up the fight with the press. No question that they are wielding power on several fronts to shore him up. All of this instead of reading Willy the riot act.

       1. True MavenTheFirst, but is this KP or Buckingham? I’m pretty sure it’s just KP at William’s demands/orders. And their first attempt to shore up his image backfired badly on them.

          1. Good question. That’s why I left it ambiguous. It’s probably KP, but why is BP so silent then? Silent consent, perhaps?

             1. Or BP continues to dole out that rope!

16. I wonder what they will present the little Bhutanese prince with? I mean, I hope they’re taking a baby gift. A toy replica of rescue helicopter would be cool for a little boy.

    1. Ray

       I agree it will be a toy helicopter but they’ll say George chose it. Or it’s just like George’s favorite toy etc etc

       1. HRH of Bhutan will be weeks old! A helicopter would not be appropriate surely?

17. This trip is just what Kate and William need. Kate doesn’t seem to smile genuinely as much unless she’s surrounded by crowds of screaming fans. I just want this to be the tour that puts the British monarchy back in the spotlight.

18. This trip is going to be a huge throwback. And a vacation. Let us not forkget about the devastating zika virus in South America and the Caribbean. Since Kate can’t get to the islands, this will have to do. I smell a hot mess of a train wreck now.

    ToI bad Harry can’t go to Bhutan. That would be a photo op for days.

    Thanks for the update, KMR!

19. I doubt it will be as crazy as Canada or Australia and NZ. They’ll be disappointed… No hordes of royal worshipers screaming with their iPhones for pictures!

    Harry’s tour sounds more interesting with a clear reason for being there.

    1. Yea and considering Britain had colonized and tortured the native population in India, I doubt the Indian people are keen on WK, the royal lazies and descendants of conquerors coming down and waving at them. I am from that part of the world and most of the people in my country only cared about the BRF so long as it had Diana in it. Diana had captured people’s hearts and imagination that transcended country, ethnicity and all.

20. Yeah this is what poor Nepalese earthquake survivors need: a pale posh boy from an extremely wealthy family in a far-away land come to visit them and ask how they’re feeling. That’ll help. Fantastic.

21. You do know the Maldives are just a quick flight away? My money’s on a (insert number here) honeymoon or some other ridiculous excuse for a vacation.

    We’ll have to hear how they’ve ‘always wanted’ to visit India ever since they read ‘The Jungle Book’ or something along that line. Even though, like everywhere else they’re sent where they ‘always wanted to visit’, they’ve had the time and resources to do so. But didn’t.

    Oh and that they idolize Mahatma Ghandi.

    The usual predictable nonsense.

22. DM has an article about the visit by K and W of the slum : commentaries are very negative :

    “So the poor in India are a tourist attraction? “for example. Critics about the lazy couple, the designers clothes, the hypocrisy of william, the emptiness of Kate during the visits….

    I love this one : Fixed the headline for you : “In order to improve their poor public image, William and Kate will take half an hour out of their taxpayer funded holiday to visit the poverty-stricken streets of Mumbai for a photo opportunity.”

    They really are not appreciated…

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