245 thoughts on “Ingrid Seward calls out William and Kate; KP defends Kate’s St. Patrick’s Day no-show”

1. Great summing up of Ingrid Seward’s comments KMR.
   I’m afraid to say that I don’t think anything will change as I have come to the conclusion that Kate is not able to change. And with Kate by his side (and Carole in situ at home) it will be William and Kate going from one disaster to another.

   In the meantime I will be thinking of the people in Brussels and Belgium.

   1. I agree with you, Cathy. Nothing is going to change with William and Kate. The criticism they are receiving seems justified to me. How she knew “Months” ago that she needed to be with her children on St. Pat’s Day is odd. She could have been with them and presented the shamrocks. It’s not an impossible feat.

      I am the last person in the world to criticize a woman for wanting to spend time with her kids. I stay at home with my baby and my stepsons so I know that it is a job. The monetary rewards are not there, but the other benefits are so positive. Still, I don’t have a nanny and Kate does. She may think she
      ‘s a full time and hands-onmom by driving George to school every day, but if she is so hands-on, why not a part-time nanny? Why full-time?
      I have just begun an assignment with Mary Elizabeth which is allowing me to work a bit and add to the family’s income. It’s tough because I’m working in my home office and still watching my daughter (and my step-sons, when they come home from school). It’s not what I want to be doing 100%, but we need the money, like so many families do.

      So, I am torn. It bothers me a lot that I am not able to focus 100% on my daughter and the boys. Thankfully, my aunt is stopping by later to watch Maddie and will be here when the boys return from school. My “unpopular to many” choice would be to stay home until Maddie was in school. As she grows, I would feel better about taking on part-time work, but it does not seem like that will be the case and I am still adjusting to my new role. I admire women who work outside the home and still are concerned, caring parents. When they have limited income and limited help, I admire them more.

      I just am sad by Kate’s lack of understanding what her role is in the Royal Family. All this talk of modern royals makes no sense to me. Modern, or disinterested! Which is it?
      She is allowed to get away with such laziness! I’m wondering if anyone really thinks that will change when George and Charlotte are grown?. She will be so accustomed to doing so little and not really showing genuine interest in those she visits, or the charities she champions, that how can one really think things will change?

      As for the people in Brussels and Belgium, my thoughts and prayers are with them, too. Sad day for them and others who care about their safety..

      1. So, months ago (do they mean during the three month period from mid-December 2015 to March 2016) when Kate was doing nothing, Kate decided she needed to spend more time with her children. Huh?

         1. Hang on a minute….months ago …wasn’t that when she was asking for her diary to be filled up?? She was so KEEN .

            Honestly I simply give up.

            1. That’s right but it is not exactly brimming to full is it? Just hopeless.
               I would love to know how ‘hands on’ these two actually are with their children, but I’d bet not much. I’d say nanny Maria, the night nurse, and Carole (if she is living with them) do the bulk of the work.

            2. I know, right. Months ago, when Kate was supposedly telling her peeps to fill her diary, she told the Irish Guards she couldn’t be bothered.

            3. I think that was a misunderstanding…she was telling them to STOP filling up her diary, as she was keen to continue being available to her husband at any given moment. Really hard to accomplish when all these charities and whatnot want you to show up looking fab and interested and possibly eat the horrid food they set out and omg it’s just too much…

            4. Ray actually I think she had cancelling the Irish Guards and whatever other duties she was going to undertake on her calendar to be cancelled and/or declined. That’s what she meant by filling up her diary. One must keep track of the times and excuses given for not appearing.

      2. hi Jenny. I hate hearing women beat themselves up for having to make impossible choices. Work, stay at home, be judged no matter what. Kate perpetuates a stereotype mothers have to be home, yet all she is doing is using that as an excuse for her laziness, anxiety, whatever the issue du jour maybe. It turns my stomach. If it is such a struggle for her, why not make it one of her issues? Work life balance, child care etc. May not be sexy but men and women would relate

         1. Well said, Reilly. This whole attitude makes me see red. They are not going to change, no matter what people think?? Keep deluding yourselves, you spoiled brats, your tune in is coming. #teamKingHenry

      3. Jenny:

         I’ve had many conversations with you and Mary Elizabeth over the months about stay-at-home versus working moms and at this point my opinion is this: I don’t care what one chooses as long as one does not insult everyone else.

         To me, the issue with KP’s framing of this issue is that they are seemingly insulting every working parent by claiming William and Kate can’t work full time because they are prioritizing their kids. If William and Kate want to spend time with their kids, KP needs to frame the issue in a way that is not insulting to everyone else.

         Some parents would love to stay at home with their kids and they have the funds to be able to and do; some parents would love to stay at home with their kids but don’t have the funds and have to work; some parents enjoy working and don’t want to stay at home with their kids regardless of having the funds or not.

         Some parents who stay at home with their kids spend quality time with their kids; some parents who stay at home with their kids don’t spend quality time with their kids and ignore them instead; some parents who work spend quality time with their kids when not working; some parents who work don’t spend quality time with their kids when not working.

         Every person, every parent is different and even if their working/stay-at-home circumstances are exactly the same, they will treat their kids differently.

         Some kids of parents who stay at home will have problems; some kids of parents who work full time will have problems. The parents working versus staying at home is not the deciding factor for whether or not the kids will have problems.

         There is no one right way to parent.

         1. Well said KMR. Sorry to jump in if there is previous history here, but there is a difference between quality time with children and being in the same house with them while not engaging them at all. People will have their opinions, but I enjoy working and would be a terrible stay at home mom. Each family unit has its own way.

            I also believe that children do well when they have exposure, be it to teachers, other care givers, etc. W&Ks kids are so closed off that if the monarchy is around for them to inherit, they are going to be as workshy and anxious as their parents. You can do this as a working or stay at home parent.

            1. “W&Ks kids are so closed off that if the monarchy is around for them to inherit, they are going to be as workshy and anxious as their parents. You can do this as a working or stay at home parent.”

               This is why I really like that Mary and Frederik has put their son in public school instead of the posh private school that Fred went to. Granted, the school is in an affluent district but Christian will still interact daily with a people from a larger pool of social strata than at the aforementioned posh private school.

            2. Big +1 KMR. It sucks to be a parent. No matter what you do, there’s always someone telling you that you “could have, should have” when we all have to do the best we can, and it’s about loving our kids and trying to juggle. I’m beyond sick of this narrative out of KP. They need to dial this back before it turns into a huge blowback on them because this is a sensitive issue that millions of working women don’t have what Kate does, so for her to use being a mom as a shield isn’t going to fly.

            3. I agree with you Sunny. In addition, think about what “normal” people have to juggle on a daily basis aside from the kids. I know those without kids easily resent the argument that kids give you special permission to make excuses and neglect duty. It is such a self centered narcissistic way to live when you are in that kind of position.

         2. katemiddletonreview you said that before and I agree so much with you! It’ s only about quality time, not how long you stay with kids!! The point is that Will and Kate want to do nothing and have the perks of their title with no responsibility at all.

         3. KMR, if there was a definitive right way to parent, the book would have been written long ago. And even then, there would still be people who would do as they please.

            You are right about the statement being insulting and it ties in with Kate’s little speech and her seeming belief that having a wonderful childhood is a way to ward off mental health issues. Does she think that by being a “hands on” mom with G&C they will turn out to be rays of bright sparkling sunshine because to be honest considering the dysfunction in her family and the personal issues that she and William carry I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they turned out to have a rebellious streak in them. But in their minds if that happens it will be George and not the little lady Charlotte because George has been difficult from day one.

            Maybe they have this incredible home life, but based on the way they look in public, with cameras on them I think that behavior is amped up even more at home. And probably includes a few heated discussions between the parents. Hopefully Nanny Maria keeps them away from whatever may be going on, but I know how relationships between parents who may want to be elsewhere can affect a child. The tension and stress are like a white noise and it is very wearing on children. Even if they try to put on a good face when the kids are in the room it can be sensed.

            Let’s nope these two grow up and act like the adults whose bodies they currently inhabit. Otherwise it’s going to be a long, rocky road for the whole family. And heaven help them all if something were to happen to Carole.

            1. I do hope George and Charlotte turn out to be the opposite of their parents. It would be marvellous if by some miracle they were really grounded. Hard, though, because there is nothing but dysfunction around them on both sides of the family.

               Kate is uncomfortable with children and it shows. She is still too much a child herself for it not to impact on how she behaves as a mother, with an unhealthy dependency on her mother.

               My observation of families that claim to be oh-so perfect is that behind closed doors, it is another not so pretty story altogether.

         4. With all due respect, KMR, why am I being dragged into this? Your comment makes me feel as if you are the teacher and I did not hand in my home work again. You know something along the line of,” We’ve had plenty of discussions about this, now why will your assignment be late again?” Why are you including me in your reply? I am curious.

            This motherhood stuff is a touchy subject for many and it is very disturbing when peers don’t support one another. I agree with the comment pointing out that in this day and age it is a shame that women must defend the choice that works for their family. Was that you, G? If so, thank you! If it was someone else, and I did not get the name right, apologies and thanks to you.

            I am from the point of view that Kate uses her mother title when it suits her. Like when she wants to get out of doing something she does not want to do. I don’t think any of us really know what goes on behind those walls of the estate, but one thing I will bet on: Kate doesn’t drive George to school everyday. Oh, she may get into the car occasionally, but someone else drives (a chaffeur). Wouldn’t we have tons of photos showing her behind the wheel? She might even be part of a car pool! Wouldn’t that be fun?

            At any rate, with sincere respect, I ask that I not be included in such a discussion again. Not until, I have posted, at least. Thanks.

            It’s been a rough day so far. I guess I did not need more bumps in the road.

            Smiles and good wishes to all. Special thoughts and prayers to those who suffered and may still be hurting in Belgium.

            1. I apologize, Mary Elizabeth, I didn’t realize mentioning our conversations was not okay. Rereading my comment, it is clear that I did not word my comment to be clear enough what I was trying to say. I’m sorry. I wasn’t intending to be rude or condescending in my comment. I didn’t word it quite well, but what I meant was: Over the last however many months, I have had many conversations with both you and Jenny about the stay-at-home versus working mother topic and through those conversations I’ve learned a lot and I now have a new opinion on the topic than I did before those conversations. That new opinion is: What works for one person doesn’t work for everyone; there is no right way to do things; live and let live as long as we don’t insult others. That’s all I meant by my comment. Again, I apologize for the confusion. Next time I will not mention you.

      4. jenny,

         In my day, back in the dark ages, mothers were simply that- mothers. Back in the very dark ages, my mother worked outside the home and loved it especially because of my grandmother, who always lived with us (two queens, not so good) and who also often worked outside the home. My mother actually secured a business loan to open her own shop as I reached adolescence when that was almost unheard of.

         What I remember about my mother is the yummy lunches awaiting us on school days (I had a key, so proud) even though she wasn’t there. I remember all the clothes she sewed for us. The birthday parties, the fabulous cooking. Being there in sickness and in health. Brushing and plaiting my hair. All the while working outside the home.

         I come from a family of strong and nurturing women and there was never any question about their love and care. The idea of being “hands on” is an artificial standard engendered by god-knows-who. But society has bought into it. Don’t buy into it.

         1. MavenTheFirst,

            Thank you so much for this. You have no idea how much comfort and encouragement you have given me.

            I grew up in a very conservative home and was never exposed to “working” mothers. When I became a mother myself, and needed to continue working – and also found out I enjoy the few hours away from my son and outside the house – I have struggled with guilt.

            1. Liz B don’t feel guilt. The worst type of mother is an unhappy one. If you need to work or just love work then do it, enjoy it and stand proud. I learned very early in my married life not to judge other people’s marriages – different things work for different people. It’s the same with kids – do what works for you and makes most of you happy most of the time. My boys are all grown up now and it is so funny – they struggle with the fact that although none of them live at home all the time I have had the temerity to go back to work! when you look back you think I could have done this or that differently but the reality is for most of us we just do the best we can at the time. Having little ones is such a precious time just enjoy it and ignore anybody who criticises what works for your family.

         2. This is by no means a comment against stay at home mothers, but I came from a family where my grandmother and mother either had a business or was working her way up in a large company.

            I am not saying this only happens with children who have stay at home moms, but when I started university the eighteen year old female who lived across the hall asked me to teach her how to do laundry. I had been doing my own laundry from the age of ten.

            Many of us believe Kate (and Will) use the children as an excuse to not work. I think many SAH mothers (and fathers) are teaching their children a ‘laundry list’ (sorry, I could not help myself) of life skills. I think the reason the whole family comes first pile of BS from W&K/KP is troublesome, is because it is a lie and because the people of the U.K. do not want W&K to raise a child as spoiled as the two of them.

         3. Don’t buy into it, Raven? What does that mean? Don’t buy into the fact that I want to spend the first few years of my daughter’s life being a full-time mom? That I won’t be satisfied if I do that? I don’t want to accuse anyone of insulting me, but that came across a bit odd. My mom stayed home until I was six. Then, went to work. She was a great mom. Both in the years before she worked and after. That is the type of mother I want to be.

            Surprisingly, there are many young women in my town who are opting to stay home until their kids reach public-school age. If that offends anyone’s idea of what it means to be a successful woman, I can’t agree when it comes to me. Let others do what they want.

            And, KMR. I hope that you were not saying that I was offending anyone by my words. My initial post — and so sorry it seemed to have bothered you that I brought the subject up again (that’s how I read it, so forgive me if I am wrong) — was that I did not like KP using hands-on mothering as an excuse for Kate not attending the St. Paddy’s Day event with the Irish Guards.

            Feminism is all for supporting women as long as the individual woman’s ideas match the ideas that feminists think are right.

            Please don’t lecture me, anyone. And, I felt as if I was being lectured by several of these comments..

            In the last few weeks, my husband’s ex-wife has moved in with her boyfriend and decided that the joint-custody arrangement of care for their two boys no longer suits her. So, while lawyers work things out, the boys are living with us full-time And may be doing so in the future. I love those kids and don’t want them hurt in any way, but it is also a bit scary to be taking on the role of full-time step-mom, when I am still getting my feet wet about being a full-time mom to my daughter.. And, yes, even if I work, I am a full-time mom because the children come first.

            Call me old-fashioned, call me crazy, but I don’t want to have to defend my feelings here or anywhere else. I don’t criticize any woman who works at home, works outside the home, or just calls motherhood a full-time job. I think parenting is all about the individual’s style and commitment to her kids. But, there is a real feeling among many that stay-at- home moms are huritng women everywhere.

            think it was totally unfair to call me out, if that is what you were doing, KMR. You sounded quite exasperated that I brought the subject up again. While others can bring up their feelings about other issues at any time.
            I believe I try to be caring and kind to others on this board and I, frankly, don’t like being dismissed by others because my view is different from theirs. Again, there is not one way to parent . I don’t want to judge anyone else.

            Forgive my snarky emotions this am I am tired, overwhelmed and feeling at odds because most people are so dismissive of a woman’s interest in staying home with her children (Not saying that is only coming from here, but it’s out there. Don’t kid yourselves).

            Have a good day, all.

            1. jennyt, you sound like you’re doing a damn fine job at parenting and step-parenting. Be proud of yourself – parenting is HARD.

               Best wishes from another knackered Mum.

            2. I really find it sad in this day and age women are put in a position where they feel they must defend a choice which works for THEIR family. The choice to parent a certain way is extremely personal and should not be open discussion for people to criticize one another.

               No wonder couples decide to keep their list of baby names private. People can be rude about giving their opinions about something which is not their business. It starts from pregnancy, to the birth and then to parenting where people (well meaning or not) think personal decisions are open discussion time.

               I feel for parents. I admit, I was probably thirty years old before I realized I didn’t need to answer a question just because someone was nosy enough to ask one. The thing I find sad is the woman is probably the one who gets the brunt of the discussion. Do the men deal with this? Just asking.

            3. I consider all mothers to be working mothers. Their place of employment just differ. Both are hard jobs. I think both have more in common than they realize. Hugs to you.

            4. I’m going to copy and paste some of what I wrote to Mary Elizabeth here because it applies.

               Rereading my above comment, it is clear that I did not word my comment to be clear enough what I was trying to say. I’m sorry. I wasn’t intending to be rude or condescending in my comment. I didn’t word it quite well, but what I meant was:

               Over the last however many months, I have had many conversations with both you about the stay-at-home versus working mother topic and through those conversations I’ve learned a lot and I now have a new opinion on the topic than I did before those conversations.

               That new opinion is: What works for one person doesn’t work for everyone; there is no right way to do things; live and let live as long as we don’t insult others. That’s all I meant by my comment.

               I was not insulting you or anyone else. I was not “calling you out”. I was saying that our conversations have changed my mind on this subject. I was trying specifically not to offend anyone, but say that I don’t care what path people choose. Clearly I was not very clear on that.

   2. I think it’s not so much that she isn’t able to change. It’s that she isn’t willing to change. This has nothing to do with her abilities… unless there’s something about her that we haven’t been told about. She’s just entitled. They both are.

      1. The whole thing boils down to her blowing off 115 years of tradition because she didn’t want pictures of her root regrowth taken. How vain and stupid is that! She could get a box hair color and do a fast touch-up just on the roots, and straighten her hair or ponytail like Sophie does and go. I wish Sophie got the press Kate does. It’s depressing that this shallow child-woman has the world stage rather than someone with substance.

         1. sunny, I love your comment about her.

         2. Given that she has hours each and every day to have her hair done before big events, and has a hairdresser come to her on demand, why couldn’t the hair appointment be scheduled before the Commonwealth service?

      2. To all who posted supportive words to me, thank you. It’s been a very rough time and I appreciate the kind thoughts. KMR, I am sorry if I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I believe, as you said, that we all need to find and embrace what makes each of us comfortable. Thank you. JL in England, G and Rhiannon, my hugs are being sent to you, as well.

2. I was, and remain, deeply shocked that Ingrid Seward is openly criticising them. She’s the ultimate apologiser – almost as regal as the Royals. There must be truth in Emily Andrews initial reporting that behind the scenes there are serious rumblings of discontent with W&K. Seward would not criticise without good reason, nor would she jeopardise her cosy position with the Courtiers. She’s speaking because someone (HM?) wants it to be known that the criticisms have credence.

   I didn’t study America in history classes, nor do my sons. But even William understands the Commonwealth, I’m sure.

   I don’t think they’ll be able to manoeuvre out of this Patricks Day mistake. Lying about the paralympics was bad. Lying about HG was bad. Disrespecting our Armed Forces? Unforgivable.

   1. British history classes leave out the American Revolution? I can understand not wanting to emphasize a war lost but it is at least a part of British history which I’m surprised is left out of the curriculum.

      1. I can only speak for my time at school (up to 1993 when I finished A Levels) and since my sons have been in school (last 12 years).

         There was an A Level available of American History back in my day – not sure about now.

      2. At GCSE (16 year olds) most schools teach WW1 and WW2, Russian Revolution etc. Before that it depends but most schools do Romans, Tudors etc – the fun bits to get kids interested.

         At A level there are much broader choices, often made by the teacher not the children.

         All my sons did learn a little about American History but not a lot. To be fair we have a long way back to go just concentrating on our own small island!

         That said I don’t know any adults who wouldn’t know a little about American independence, the Civil War , slavery etc if only from the movie

         1. We are rich in our own history, its true!

         2. The thing is, I’m not talking about US history in general, I’m talking about the American Revolution as it relates to British history. Because that war is British history, too. But I guess I was wrong on that, so nevermind.

            1. Of course it is British History but in schools we tend to concentrate on the good bits, the fun bits, and losing a major colony is not something we are proud of.

               Slavery is one thing they will learn about because British ships were at the heart of the slave trade and of course many slaves went to the Caribbean islands which were Britiish.

            2. You have raised an interesting point KMR. I never got anything about the American Revolution at school, not even something about England losing a colony. Is it meanof me to say learning New Zealand history was easy as European have been here only a couple of hundred years and the Maori have only been here 600-700 years. It would help to understand how countries work together now if you understand how they related in the past. I learnt a lot of my history by reading Victoria Holt and Jean Plaidy! (Blushing here, good thing my Mum was a history major at university and made us look things up!)

            3. I’ve had quite a few conversations with British people and it initially surprised me that they knew so little about British history re: American Revolution.

               In France, they don’t teach the history of France in North America and how the French explorers and missionaries were the first pioneers. France claimed/”owned” incredible swaths of territory. They lost it, through bad stewardship, losing wars to the Brits, etc. So now, they don’t talk about it when teaching history.

               I chaulk it up to society editing out the parts of their own history that aren’t the most flattering lol

            4. I started learning a lot of history from historical novels as well. It made me read up on the real events. Sometimes history is stranger than fiction!

               I have chosen to specialize in the nationalromantic history painting of the 19th century – and it is very interesting to see how the past was interpreted in visual form.

               I’ve also studied the evolution of History as an academic discipline and it is really interesting to see how the way we approach the past changes over time.

            5. About history in French’s school , I speak as History teacher (ok I am teacher since little time)… There is a difference between the program and the reality (because we have a limited number of hour to each thematic…) The American revolution is evoked very fast in order to present the context to the French Revolution. But it is difficult/impossible to speak about the integrality of French history, so there is selection of moments. But some thematic are difficult to discuss with some students (genocide, slave, conflict between Israel and Palestine)….

               Sorry if I am off topic.

            6. Due to my parents job, i grew up mostly in Africa, and was truly shocked when we finally came to Britain with regards the education system.

               In general terms, the classes may not be state of the art facilities or have the latest teaching schools, but my goodness those african kids are thoroughly educated. World education. I remember being so pissed off at my first history class in Britain that i knew so much more about the subject than the teacher allowed to discuss. Not because i was particularly interested in history at that point, just that the education in africa required you to have the thorough grounding.

               I knew about American history, European History, Asian History as well as African history. Not just the trendy parts of those continents’ history, but a thorough grounding. At risk of a caning from the teachers if you didn’t know your stuff.

               And i was miles ahead in all other subjects. The only subjects i was behind on were art and drama because those aren’t prized. What people see as african art or drama or dance or music is actually cultural tradition which you learn at home, not school.

               The reason African education doesn’t follow through to adulthood is that there is no investment at university level.

               Education is highly prized and thoroughly given at the younger level, emphasise on intellectual education rather than vocational, and then many people go to usa or europe or asia for university. The ones who can find a way have to make do with the few universities in Africa which try their best, but aren’t as invested as the rest of the world.

               My young relations, born and raised in Britain are shockingly illiterate through no fault of their own. The school curriculum skips topics and doesn’t always give a thorough grounding eg. History, when it’s taught skips from 1066 (sort of), to the tudors (only Elizabeth and Henry) to Victoria and finally to the two world wars. There is a bit on the colonies due to Victoria and Empire. Everything in between is skipped.

               The American independence falls in the Georgian period and that is rarely taught in schools.

               One of my cousins, age 25, started learning about history after the recent spate of historical dramas starting with the other bolyen girl. That has awakened her curiosity and she’s now going to do an open university course in history. I’m still agog that i had to tell her that the other bolyen girl was fiction!!!

            7. @historian – I cannot get enough historical fiction and I often follow it up with research. I am surprised that education has not changed to include more perspective and diverse issues. I see it in my children’s education (Elementary and middle school) and I am so frustrated about how little they learn about the world outside on the U.S. and frankly what they learn of the U.S. is weak.

               I am surprised British education does not cover the revolution. I know my courses covered US and European history, but that is perhaps because our history begins in Europe.

            8. There is A LOT of British History to cover, there’s barely enough time to fit in Britain’s history with Norway and Denmark (who we were invaded by), so there certainly isn’t enough time to go over a few years in America (during the same time as colonising the majority of the rest of the planet).
               But you don’t need a history lesson to know about the commonwealth, it’s part of British culture. Willnot should know that much.

            9. Reilly,

               Allow me to make a couple of recommendations then.

               Susan Holloway Scott has written some rather good novels about Charles II’s mistresses as well as one about Sarah Churchill (who was, if I recall correctly, an ancestress of Diana).

               Anything by Sharon Kay Penman

               Iain Pears, An Instance of the Fingerpost

               Sena Jeter Naslund, Abundance (about Marie Antoinette)

               Anything by Edward Rutherfurd

               Barry Unsworth, A Ruby in her Navel

            10. I second the recommendation for Sharon Kay Penman–“The Sunne in Splendour” is one of my favorite books. You’ll find that all of her books are beautifully written and researched; they really demand to be savored.

            11. thank you so much for the book recommendations. I am loading them on my kindle now!

            12. I recently finished the girl on the golden coin by Marci Jefferson. It focused on Charles II and his mistress Frances Stuart. I believe the Spencer line can be traced back to the Stuart’s through Frances. If Wills becomes King it will be the first time the Stuart line has the throne since William and Mary, I think. According to the novel and my quick fact checking.

            13. I really like the Sunne in Splendour, even though it gives a rather romanticized portrait of Richard III.

                I especially like Time and Chance, which takes a look at Eleanor of Acquitaine and Henry II.

                I’d also recommend Rosalind Miles’ “I, Elizabeth”. It is a written as a fictitious autobiography of Elizabeth I. It gets a lot of the history (and the symbolism connected to QEI) right and the language manages a nice balance between the anchronistic and the modern. It is a good read.

                Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is a particular favorite of mine. Not only is it a historical novel about art but it is written in a way that incorporates a lot of insights from the last decades of feminist art history.

      3. I grew up going to school in three countries. And I can tell you that all three countries teach their own history with a smattering of other countries’ history as it pertains to their own.

         You get more specialized later, perhaps later in school but definitely in college/university.

         1. You said what I couldn’t. Canadian history was all about Iroquois and Hurons, the French v the English, the Coureurs the Bois, beavers and pelts and Jesuits, oh my.

            Frankly, even though the American border was right there, we had other fish to fry. And this is me talking having hated history (but I did love the story of Hannibal and the elephants).

            Which leads me to wonder what Americans learned of Canadian history ….

            1. Basically nothing.

            2. I don’t remember much about Grade 10 Canadian History and I am Canadian. It was a compulsory course that I had to take and pass.:))

            3. Yep as a fellow Canadian here, we start off by learning about the Natives, French, British, Metis and then American focused with boer war and the two world wars, Cold War thrown in.

            4. Oh yes, I remember studying Louis Riel, Wolfe and Montcalm, and a little about the Vikings being early settlers on the east coast…a lot of European history, and maybe a small mention of the War of 1812. Mostly WW1 and 2 making up the bulk of my history studies, now thinking back.

            5. I got a lot of early Canadian history (New France) because I went to Catholic schools.

               Plus, I was an Anne of Green Gables lover, so not understanding references in those novels led me to independent research!

            6. French and Indian war and then nothing.

3. It seems that KP is forgetting about the Maldives trip when W&K left George at home, thousands of miles away, for ten days. Also, it seems to me that while W&K were in London for this recent batch of events, the kids stayed behind in Norfolk. Did Kate stay in London over the weekend, didn’t she need to go back to Norfolk to see her kids?? Or did she need to get her hair done instead? Either way I don’t really care just don’t play the kiddie card when it suits you and then dump the kids when it doesn’t.

   I have to admit I getting rather weary of all this back and forth, between the media and KP over W&K’s laziness. They’re lazy, they’re entitled, they’re not PR geniuses, etc, etc, etc. let’s just acknowledge these facts and move on. I’d much rather the press focus on Harry’s tour and the Invictus games or focus on the royals that really do care and put in the effort. I don’t know how others here are feeling but I find myself looking more forward to posts about the other royal ladies and gentlemen then I do about W&K, I just don’t really care about them anymore.

   Thanks for all the hard work you do KMR! Please know that my complaints aren’t with you or your excellent site, just the mainstream media and KP.

   1. I see your point, but as a Brit taxpayer I want the media to maintain pressure on W&K in the hope they change. I want value for my money, although I agree this squabbling is tiresome. It’s driving me bonkers that they take all senior Royal perks for little to no Duty. It’s not right & I want media pressure to build until (hopefully) something happens. If it’s not kept up, W&K will get away with it again. DO you see what I mean?

      1. I didn’t mean to use capitals in my last sentence “Do”. I wasn’t shouting the word DOOOOOOO at youuuuuuuu. 🙂

         1. 🙂

      2. Hi JL, I certainly appreciate your view point and totally understand that you want value for your money and would like to see these two change. I guess after hearing William say that criticism is part of his job, it doesn’t seem that he or Kate pay it any attention. While I would hope that someday W&K realize what an honor it is to be royal, to inspire others, to be of service to others, frankly I don’t see it happening. William and Kate have shown their true colors and I think maybe it’s time we start believing them.

         1. Lauri, the royals don’t change without public pressure. It took decades and several recessions, not to mention a windsor fire, for the govt to stand up to stand up to the royals in the 90s to take some of their toys away or refuse to give them replacements, and to force the royals to start paying income tax. The queen qnd charles only make changes when the media pressure gets too much. They’ve rarely taken the initiative without that pressure.

            We are used to social media forcing instant changes and so everyone wishes this story dies because it isn’t new and therefore doesn’t hold our attention, and that is how the royals get away with these things. Keeping this story alive will force a change.

            Ps: imagine how much worse public reaction would have been in the age of social media to the queen’s response to diana’s death. Print media held her feet to the fire for a week and nearly started a revolution.

            1. Absolutely agree with what you are saying Herazeus and JL. While I admit these stories of WK’s lying and laziness are getting tiresome (KMR you are doing excellent work in reporting on this, so this is in no way a criticism of the passion and work you put in), I do believe that media and subsequent pressure and criticism needs to kept up on this duo. Sustained media and public criticism may force changes.

               And with today’s attacks on Brussels and unfortunately many that will probably follow on Europe, will lead to further discussion on whether a free and open-border Europe is even viable, or desired? So Willie making that gaff about staying in the Eurozone will come back to haunt him and put more pressure on him, I hope.

               And these attacks also highlight the fact for the public that more money needs to be spent on security services, to thwart these attacks and save lives. I believe it will become harder for the BRF to justify the hundreds of millions that are spent on them in light of this money needed elsewhere, when the senior royals like WK hardly ever work for the public and come up with lies and excuses!

               My thoughts are with the people of Belgium. I feel sick and sad that every week something like this is happening in some part of the world. Earlier this week, there was an attack in Istanbul, Turkey- a beautiful country with the most generous people in the world, that I visited earlier. And now Belgium, a green and calm country, whcih I briefly visited two years ago 🙁

            2. red Tulip. Their 15 mins of superficial fame should be over. This world needs serious leaders who understand their citizens and the impact of world events and politics. Enough. Today brings perspective. If you cannot stand up and do your duty, get out of the way.

               I wonder if they have given though to military running head-on into danger in Brussels and Kate’s flippant excuses for taking away a tradition that likely brings joy and honor to the Irish Guards.

      3. I’m with you, JL. I’m happy to see the press finally putting the screws to these wastrels, and exposing their workshy ways and the lies that are as automatic to them as breathing. If it changes the national consciousness, finally, it will be revolutionary. I doubt that will happen, but I live in hope. After all, Edward VIII got kicked out.

         This is more than a petty squabble. There is a social context, and possibly a burgeoning historical one. I’m guessing, however, that if the press are mollified, they will drop the ball as usual. Alas

         @Lauri,

         I believe them. I want to see them removed. They will never change and Workshy Willy will drain the coffers dry with his profligate ways. Wait until he gets his hands on the Duchy. The guy’s a megalomaniac, and I believe, readily corrupted. He could be politically dangerous as king.

         1. Maven, how would an ordinary citizen go about getting William removed from the line of succession?

            1. Lauri, we do have the no 10 PM govt website. If someone started a petition and galvanised the *republicans to sign it, we might have some hope in removing William.

               *doesn’t have to be republicans. Petition could be worded in such a way that removes William and his line, and propels Harry into place.

      4. I agree with you that the media pressure needs to be continuous and increasing. They are going to be King and Queen! They have to be held accountable.

         1. Agree with you all about the necessity of media pressure on them.

      5. Value for your money? The royal family costs roughly 35.7 million pounds per year or 56p per person. Now I know that some studies put that cost much higher if you are to include security and overseas trips, etc. Even as high as 200 to 307 million. But…. they generate over 500 million in tourism revenue. I mean seriously, there are plenty of things to complain about in regards to them but getting your monies worth is not one of them. The economy would take a serious hit should the Royal family cease to exist.

         1. It is a myth that the RF are responsible for the tourism economy. It has been debunked so many times, with facts and numbers, that I’ll just leave it at that.

            1. Yes, the 10′ most visited monuments in UK have not a link with royals. Victoria Murphy post the link of an article on her TTwitter

            2. The royal palaces would generate more money as they could be open year round.
               The police protection officers could protect the airports rather than the royals, oh this argument is all sorts of naive. Sorry it’s not personal this is an argument brought out again and again and is simply wrong.
               Shakespeare generates huge tourist dollars but people don’t actually come to see the man.
               Imagine a tiara display in the Tower of London, for example!

            3. That 56p nonsense is just tosh. It doesn’t take in to account

               Security
               Duchy of Cornwall millions that would be returned to the people
               Duchy of Lancaster millions that would be returned
               Increase in year round tourism from Residences being open
               Sales of non-tourism properties
               Many other areas too.

               56p is offensive in its inaccuracy.

         2. My guess is many people visit the U.K. for the architecture, gardens, landscape and people. It isn’t as though I will get a chance meet HM if I visit the U.K.

         3. They cost 430 million pounds annually and that’s a low estimate. As other have written, the official tourism agency does studies and those official studies prove royals do not have a positive impact on UK tourism. Some studies have shown that the W&K wedding cost the UK economy billions. Cost billions not raised billions.

            An oft-sited example is the Louvre. Tourism is doing just fine without royals there to get in the way. If the British Palaces were opened up as museums and to tourism year-round, the income would be much greater than the limited opening times allowed now.

            1. I would kill to hit the British palaces. But they have squatters.

         4. Sure, each person is paying relatively little for the lifestyle of the royal family. However, it isn’t the per person amount that matters; rather it is the opportunity cost of the entire amount that is truly important. 100 million pounds could purchase 250,000 computers for students EACH YEAR. The job of the royal family is to promote the culture and history of Great Britain. If they are not willing to do that job, the money spent on them could be better spent elsewhere.

         5. Please look at France the Palace of Versailles in particular. France is the most visited place in Europe, with Versailles being a large part of that draw. They got rid of their Royal Family, who too were arrogant, lazy, workshy and disconnected from the people, in the late 18th century.

            1. Yes France is the most visited place in the world (more than 80 million of people), USA and Spain follow.

         6. Just so people know, there are multiple Jennifers on this board now. I’ve posted on this blog for a long time now as simply “Jennifer” and this is not my comment. It’s a different Jennifer.

            1. I’m a Jennifer too!

         7. It is a lie that the royals cost just 56p per person..

            The palace colludes in this lie and the public is brainwashed into believing it.

            The true figure is closer to £450M per year, and that’s only from the few funding streams we can guess at. The Queen’financials are excempt from FOI so we can never have a true figure.

            The 56p or approximately £36M per year is the sovereign fund figure. That is only one of many funding streams the royals use.

            The other is travel – not always covered by the sovereign fund, so the transport dept covers it.

            Security – covered by the police dept budget and estimatedvto be £200M+ annually

            There is a building fund – tops up whatever is isn’t covered by the building maintenance portion of the sovereign grant.

            And most egregious of all, if they were truly only funded by the sovereign fund, they deliberately mislead the public as to how they arrive at that fabled 56p.

            Calculation they use = £36M / every living human being in the uk

            There is an obvious glaring error in yhe denominator. Every living human being includes babies, oaps, retirees, sick, mentally and physically disabled, teens, employed and unemployed, tax payers and non tax payers alike etc.

            The correct denomitor should only tax paying public which throws out a number in pounds NOT pennies.

            As for whether they bring in tourism, another lie to justify their continued state funded lives.

            All the uk tourist boards dont list the royals or royal heritage in their top ten reasons for visiting the uk.

            The most recent survey that had a royal associated site listed in visitor attractions had it listed at no 7, and it was the tower of london, a site more often thought of as a prison and infamous for it’s tudor prisoners and drama than the fact that it is a royal palace.

            Non of the british royal palaces are top ten in any tourist boards’j list of palaces visited. The palace of versailles in france, the winter palace in russia- now the hermitage museum, the forbidden city in china, the alhambra palace in spain all attract more visitors annually than thoe that come to see the british palaces.

            1. I’m speechless. Bring on the republic! After reading this, I despise the lot of them.

            2. Just as a complete aside last summer I spent a day at Hampton Court Palace while one of my sons was at an interview. It was stunning and wonderful. Royals haven’t lived there for centuries. I also accompanied my husband on a business trip to London and snuck in a visit to the Tower. I’ve never been . I went as the gates opened and went straight to the Crown Jewels. Usually you go in with crowds but as an early visitor off season I stayed for over an hour as a Beefeater took me round telling me stories of who had worn what crown when. Art Historian would have been in seventh heaven. Again to say the Tower is Royal is wrong surely! The poppy display at the Tower was astonishing . Made me so proud to be British.

   2. I’m with you Lauri. Kate’s failings make me want to stop reading anything about the Royals. Then I read something KMR has written about one of the other royals, or posts pictures of cute Royal babies and I find it is very easy to forget Kate and I put aside what I think.
      Thanks for the great reports you research and write for us KMR. I do wonder if you ever sleep what with work, study and working on this blog? I have a little vision in my head that we must sometimes seem like a nest of baby birds squawing away going… “More, more, give us more information”. So I think it’s time for me to say ” thanks Mama Bird!”?

      1. I completely understand where you are coming from, and we do rehash our frustrations on here. The problem is, and I think JL would agree, it is only via the press that we can put pressure on them.

         We all love the Royal babies, when is Sofia’s going to arrive! What a lucky family that they’ve all had children so close in age.

         And like everyone I else I am in awe of KMR’s hard work and research. Thank you.

         1. Last I looked, this blog is a “A *critical* blog about Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, and the rest of the British royal family”. The other happy or fluffy stuff about other royals provides a nice balance and reality check about royal families.
            There are lots of blogs with happy/fluffy stuff without much critique. This provides both.

            I absolutely agree, Birdy, that pressure from the press (since the queen and Chuck sit on their hands) is the only thing that can effect change whether for good or bad, hopefully good social change. They deserve to be called out every single day for their corruption and shameless mendacity; it matters.

      2. Hi Cathy, I’m not giving up on the other royals or even the BRF, just W&K.

      3. Great comment, Cathy . Yes, thanks to KMR from her baby birds!

   3. Agree with you, I prefer to listen and to see other royals : they love what they do, they are genuine. I really want that the press cover much Harry and not Kate.
      Personnaly, I think that it is too late for W and K : they don’t see touched by the critics, they only do the minimum.
      They have a bad image stucked to their skins (work shy) and not only two weeks of work will change that.

      I agree with KMR : the excuse of child is RIDICULE : being absent during 5 hours (max) is not being a bad parent, the quality of time is much more important that the quantity of time.

      I love the discours of KP : I have the feeling that when they says “William is the colonel” they want to show that William is more important, Kate is “just the spouse”. Maybe there is jalousy?

      I know that the comparaison between Sofia of Sweden and Kate is not valable because they have not the same position to the throne : but the difference are signifiant. Sofia seems more engaged, she starts a charity, she give a speech in a foreign language in front of an audience….
      For me in general “being a princesse in a modern society” is not just having the wardrobe, but doing the work and being happy to use their influence in order to change the world.

      1. Clean – I got the impression that sending Wils alone was less about putting Kate down as much as an attempt to make it look like Wils is able to be fun and charming and is beloved by the troops. The pics were overkill on the sugar. the handling of the Irish Guards was and is appalling. In light of what happened today in Brussels, honor and respect for military and those on the ground risking lives to try to protect us makes Kate’s snub all that more atrocious.

         As a working mother, I have many stay at home moms as friends and we all face our issues. Raising children is hard, if you work, if you stay home. What galls me about Kate is that she has a great responsibility because she is raising future heirs to the monarchy. To me, teaching children that while they are the center of your world, they are not the center of the world and in their case duty to country has to come first and that you cannot pick and choose duty. Duty, responsibility – they are not optional.

         Sorry this is so long. I just want to send out my thoughts and prayers to anyone hurt or impacted by today’s events. My heart hurts.

         1. I agree! “Duty, responsibility-they are not optional.” W&K think they are SO smart, but I think they have insulted too many people and may have underestimated the media and the people in the U.K. I hope this is only the start of this issue in the media.

            I thought Ingrid Seward was a friend or friendly with Prince Charles (?!?). If so, this is a way for Charles to ‘put the screws’ to his lazy son and D-i-L. While I have never been a fan of Charles, I respect his hard work, his duty to country and respect for tradition. I can really understand why he has wanted to spend time with PG and teach him about what lies ahead for him. Will isn’t going to teach him anything except bad habits.

            I wonder if Will knows he made a mistake marrying Kate. He never wants to admit he is wrong, so standing stubbornly strong (and wrong) with her takes precedence. When this whole thing blows up; the fireworks with Diana and Charles will look like children playing with sparklers.

            1. I’m curious to know why you think he made a mistake marrying Kate. If he does truly love her, I don’t think it’s a mistake. As for her suitability as the future queen consort… well, that’s a whole different story.

            2. Miss K, in response to your question about why I think it was a mistake for Will to marry Kate, I have quite a bit to say about the subject. Of course, no person can know the relationship between a couple, except for the two people in the marriage/relationship.

               First, while dating for ten years is not the main issue, it does make me wonder when you put the whole ‘stalking’ by Kate, the public break-up, the obvious effort by Kate to regain his attention, the ‘talk’ between the Middleton’s and William concerning the future of the W&K relationship, the public rudeness displayed at times by Will to Kate all adds up to not being the most positive relationship.

               We are all after different things, and I am by no means an expert, but I have only been happily married one time (for thirty years so far). It didn’t take us ten years to decide if we wanted to get married, nor did we ever go through a big break- up. Didn’t William drunkenly scream, “I’m free!” Charming! I would love to get back together with someone after this happened.

               I think you should marry the person you cannot live without, not the last person standing. Your partner should be critical of you in a loving way and bring out the best in you. We all need to grow and change over the years.

               This was only my opinion. Kate had little going for her when Will married her. No real work history and little charity work in her background. I think a modern royal should have a CV filled to fit the future role. The marriage and royal role come as a package deal.

               Will may love Kate. I do not see them as helping each other mature and grow as individuals. I think this is important in a long marriage.

            3. Thanx for the honesty G.

               For me, I’ve been with my boyfriend for 7+ years. Known him for 10. While we’ve had pressure about marriage from outside sources for a while now, we’ve discussed it and agreed that marriage is not one of our top priorities. We own a condo together. We both have careers we’re invested in. And having children together is higher up on our priority list than marriage. We’re very happy. We have our issues, but then again, what relationship doesn’t?

               I totally agree that Kate has no personality and isn’t her own person. She’s never worked a day in her life. And that’s a total waste seeing as she had all the opportunities at her door step to flourish in the working world. I’d die to have some of those opportunities myself.

               I personally think that if they do love each other, they should be together. I just think the should do it in private and not as leaders of the world.

               PS – I really hope you weren’t offended by my question. I read it after and it came off sounding like I was defending them.

            4. Miss K – I lived with my husband for five years before we got married and we just passed our 16th wedding anniversary. I think an important point is that as their to the throne, William did not have a choice but to marry.

               All I can say about W&K is what I see – they seem utterly miserable when they are together give or take a few moments of tolerance(at a loss for the right word, as affection and genuine don’t see to fit these two)

            5. Hi Miss K, I completely understood where you were coming from and I did open my big mouth.

               Also, I meant nothing about the length of their relationship (or any relationship). What I question is the behavior which happened within that ten year period. They seemed to have some immature behavior and not as much stability and respect which I tend to feel helps for the long haul.

         2. Reilly, I think William doing the March 17th event was about throwing expectations under the bus. W&K will not be dictated to, and that includes the expectation that she (or he) will show up to this every year.

            1. yea, I agree. They are showing the public that they are in control and will not live a life governed by duty above pleasure, rest, kids, etc. I just felt like the pics in the press were trying to prove that Wills is not an Ass, that he is a nice guy. The story about him visiting the guards had little traction it seems so I may be reading too much into it.

            2. For some reason I get the feeling William and Kate think they are playing this long game that will result in a monarchy the way they want it, with very little involvement from them. Only the key events and such.

               What I don’t think they realize is that the monarchy has been around a lot longer than them and they could very well find themselves on the outside looking in. Do you have any idea how much I would enjoy seeing them bow and curtsy to King Harry and his Queen Consort? They may just move to Mustique or some island permanently if faced with that choice.

         3. Clem. Sorry for the typo. Fat fingers. It drive me nuts every time I school down. Clean/clem. Oops.

            1. No problem!!! After my week of exam, I had blister and writing was an horror.

   4. I immediately thought of the Maldives trip, too. Their PR is amateurish – how could Jason not remember the flack over leaving infant George for 10 days?

      1. Exactly. Their 2016 Royal Tour will require fewer than 10 days away from the kids. Will works his job only part time – the rest of the time he (presumably) can be home enjoying quality time with the kids.

   5. +1

4. Absolutely Cathy this mornings news is shocking.

   I think modern, normal parents often have both parents working full time. For heavens sake the trip to India is a week, and they’ve been on private holidays without George for a week. George goes to nursery and she drives him – wow ! Does she then do the supermarket shop, meet a friend for a quick sanity break coffee, get home empty the washing machine and dishwasher, make the beds….. Ok you get the picture. They both seem to be more attached to Charlotte in a very public way which makes me mad.

   They say essentially people don’t like it and we don’t care. How arrogant can you get? The Irish Guards excuse is nonsense and hugely disrespectful yet they don’t get it.

   And yes the more they try to blank out the UK media the bigger the hole they dig, and by going to the US media they just make that hole bigger.

   1. KP make it sound revolutionary that Kate drives him. Diana, Anne and Sophie both drove their kids to school – then went out to work.

      1. Ah happy memories Diana winning the running race at Sports Days! She was always there for them, but it didn’t stop her working. But – big but – she lived in London in the week so she could do school runs, hair and gym visits, AND work.

         1. Norfolk is the crux of this. It should never have been agreed to – they’ve been overly indulged by Charles & HM. KP has suited generations of working Royals & they chose the biggest apartment for heavens sake. Now it’s a £4.5m glorified changing room for Kate before she hops back on to the chopper.

            Anmer should be a weekend retreat only.

            1. +1000

            2. + 1000 too!

            3. Add me in for a +1000, too. Excellent comment!

            4. Aaaand another +1000

            5. They should not have it at all. A weekend retreat would give them license to stay three days a week, then four and before you know it they would be back to full-time country living and no work in return for the perks.

               I know I sound like a stupid American, but can’t HM take the Anmer away from them?

            6. HM owns Anmer as part of the Sandringham estate. She can take it away from them if she wants. She can also deny him access to the properties at Balmoral, because he doesn’t own any of the houses they stay in up there.

         2. If W&K think they are popular in the U.S.; they are very wrong. Generally speaking, Americans value hard work. There may be a group around Kate’s age who like to watch her, but most Americans are not interested or impressed with these two.

            Diana was loved here because of her hard work. Even my husband was sad the day she died. I remember watching people in London on the day of the funeral and they interviewed some men at a sidewalk cafe. One man said, “We all fancied her.” “We just didn’t want to admit it.” In the years after her funeral people cannot understand the impact she had from 1980 until her death. It was her interaction with people which kept interest in her alive.

            Diana admitting emotional issues did not help her memory. I think ‘mental issues’ have been used against her. So many from Charles camp have perpetuated the ‘Diana is unstable’ talk. Is Will behaving the way he is (partially) because he is upset with Charles?

            Anyway, I don’t understand the U.S. media over the U.K. media. The love for Diana isn’t automatically transferred to W&K. Sorry you two, but in America you have to work for it.

            There is love for Harry!

            P.S. Love and thoughts go out to Brussels and the rest of Belgium.

            1. I want to mention one thing about emotional/mental instability. Diana was accused of it and most people believe it. Historically it is the common resort used to diminish and invalidate challenging women.

               I don’t know what Diana’s mental state was like, and how does anyone else? And why is it that you never hear that about a man? Dolittle is endlessly analysed for emotional disturbance and hints of mental illness yet Workshy Willy never is, except for trauma. Why is that? His mental state is never used to invalidate him. Thanks for bringing the subject up.

            2. There has been a lot of discussion about William’s mental state and possible mental illnesses in the comments on this blog.

      2. JL, I think you are missing the point. Kate manages to drive George to school and be invisible while doing it. This makes her special. The others got caught doing the driving. Frankly, this makes me wonder if she really does drive him every day. I would be willing to bet this is another PR fairy tale.

   2. Yes the news of attacks in Bruxells are shocking, the terrorists attack in Paris were just 5 months ago…. That makes me realise more and more that we can die any time…

      1. We are all born with only one guarantee Clem. Make peace with yourself and those around you as best you can every day, and don’t spend every day fearing the end or you won’t be able to fully enjoy the life you have. I sure don’t mean to sound preachy, but terrorists want you to live in fear. Don’t ever give them the satisfaction

5. I know this is impossible, but I would like several people in the line to be skipped so that George can have the throne and Kate could be regent. I think William is a bad influence on her, so if she’s in charge she could be different.

   1. I could not disagree more. Sorry.

   2. Oh Mri surely not. She doesn’t believe in tradition or hard work , she doesn’t even know there is such a thing as duty. Who is going to teach George that being Royal should be a lifetime of devotion?

   3. I don’t think Kate has neither the work ethic nor the intelligence to inhabit such an important role. I’m not British so I couldn’t care less who sits on the throne or whether the monarchy ends. However, IF I were British then I’d like to have both Will, Kate and their family booted out of the Succession. Will has made it plain that he dreads his future role and that he couldn’t care less about fullfilling royal duties, Kate takes his lead (but she has never had a proper job but have always been taken care of by others). I seriously doubt that either of them would be able to instill the proper work ethic and attention to duty that is required by a RF in today’s modern monarchies.

      1. I agree with you AH. Kate Middleton has shown no work ethic in 15 years in the public eye. William and his line need to be removed as a lost cause.

         1. Oh Goodness no. That would be a nightmare. With Kate and Carol running the show for poor George. It would be terrible

            1. First and probably all on the to-do list would be to give each of the Middletons titles! Maybe even commission paintings of themselves to be hung in buckingham palace when they ALL move in.

   4. It’s best for everyone – including George and Charlotte – for William and Kate to be pastured off. They have no work ethic, are sly, dishonest and greedy. Their families can provide for them from their own private funds but the public should be spared the expense. They provide, however, a good reason why a hereditary monarchy should be dismantled.

6. I don’t even have words for the bullsh*t excuses trotted out for the DoC and how they seem to blithely throw every parent in the freaking world under the bus. Do they think we are idiots?

   I can’t comment on it now. Too much anger, I need to cool off. My god.

   1. I agree with the comment several hours ago about the hidey-hole in Norfolk being the crux of the problem. And I also agree with what has been said about pressure from the media.

      I think that taking to Her Majesty’s government Web site with the following proposition is also indicated: “that William leave Norfolk altogether, get rid of that phoney helicopter co-pilot job and take on reasonable full-time royal duties immediately OR he will be called upon to remove himself from the line of succession.” The right words in the right place can be very powerful. And as MaventheFirst said, there is precedent with Edward the VIII.

7. The Cambridges do not seem to be bothered by the criticsm.

   1. William did say criticism is “part of the job”, so I doubt he or Kate care at all about what the press or public says.

      1. They might not directly, but HM & Charles do and they control the purse strings. The public do and we can call for an Act of Parliament to remove William from succession without his approval.

         They’re not invincible, despite what they may think.

         1. “They’re not invincible, despite what they may think.”

            I cannot wait for the day that dawns on the lazy duo.

      2. I actually think he does care in private. William is accustomed to being the big kid on the block. He’s used to the world dropping at his feet because of his mother and his place in line. Before he lost his looks, I’m sure he threw that in there too.

         He will never publicly admit that this bothers him. It would prove him wrong in so many areas from how he’s chosen to live his life, to his work ethic and his choice of employees among others. So William will never blink on this subject. He’s going to hold out until hell freezes over or they call his bluff and boot him and his “normal” family out of the succession.

      3. What job?!? What does William think that his job is?

      4. He may not care about the press or the public, but I would hope he minds what the Queen thinks. That’s why this Ingrid Seward piece is so important. This article has BP’s fingerprints all over it, meaning the Queen herself is sending a shot across the bow. I guess disrespecting the Guards is the line that must not be crossed. Who knew there was a line anywhere? Not me. The bullshit about the Guards being informed “months ago” may or may not fly with the public, but BP knows the truth. And is not happy.

      5. In a way I get where William is coming from since HM has hit bumpy spots and so has his father. Remember, all the talk years ago, about people saying they wished Charles could be skipped in favor of Will? He figures people are capricious and this will pass. The part Will forgets is it takes work, good PR and responding to public opinion to get people to change their minds about you.

         1. Completely agree. He/they could turn this around, but they have to make a real effort.

         2. Good point G. When all of Charles foibles were made public, social media wasn’t a factor. Times and attitudes have changed drastically, the world is a much smaller place nowadays.

8. I said it fairly recently re Diana. I think HM learned the week Diana died that the BRF ignore the press and the people at their peril. She will not be amused at this continuing press criticism, and at the Commonwealth service she could have gone out of her way to be seen with Kate and she didn’t .

   1. Agree. Add Ingrid Seward in to the mix and we are seeing signs of HMs displeasure. It’s overshadowing her celebratory year – those grey men will be very unhappy indeed.

      1. It is overshadowing her yr but it also undermines the monarchy and she won’t abide it. HM dedicated her life to duty to country. The Irish Guards was the tipping point. The attempts to overshadow it with superficial stories are failing. HM must appreciate that this blunder was real and insulting, it goes well beyond their superficial mistakes. It will take a lot more than a new coat and matching pumps to get people off of this story. Anger starts as a spark and quickly burns the barn down.

9. I’m convinced that William’s PR stragtegy is entirely driven by his emotions and resentment of the British press, which is pure idiocy since he’s going to be king of the UK, not the US. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

   1. Agreed. William is a tool. However, I do think he and Kate are smarting from the critique. Both do not take criticism well, and I suspect still bask in the post-nuptial goodwill and genuinely think they are fooling everyone playing the kiddie card et al when it suits.

      As JL said, Norfolk has become the problem, not in itself, but it is clear that William and Kate had intended all along to use it a remote hiding place. There is no reason why they could not carry out royal duties from that base; they just don’t want to. Surely there was a discussion when moving there that they would be available to work?

      I’m not impressed by the oblique communication, if that’s what it is, from HM to W+K via newspapers and favoured royal correspondents. How ridiculous. Enough turning a blind eye, burying her head in the sand, giving them enough rope etc or whatever is trotted out to excuse her lack of action. It’s weak behaviour and W+K play it for all it’s worth. And they are winning. If HM and PC are invested in their family continuing to reap status and privilege then it behooves them, and them alone, to clean up the muck in their own family.

      And for all his whinging about being born ‘royal’, I think William has his eye on that big bucket of Duchy money that will eventually come his way sooner than later. He and Kate will milk it dry.

      1. It’s hilarious. Will has a list of tried and tested methods for handling unpleasantness.

         -release pictures of the kids
         -remind people he’s a hands on parent
         -remind people he’s a hero helicopter pilot
         -remind people he’s been victimized by the press his whole life
         -MUMMY!!!!

         He must be dunbfounded that he’s done all these things… and it hasn’t worked!
         What the fuck?

         1. Ha – WTF. It should be the headline of the next story pulling back the curtain! It could be a WTF series since there is so much material.

         2. Actually Red Snapper I think his list reads like this:
            MUMMY
            release photos of the kids
            MUMMY
            remind people he’s a hands on parent
            MUMMY
            throw brother under the bus
            MUMMY
            remind people he’s been victimized by the press his whole life
            MUMMY
            throw father under the bus
            MUMMY
            MUMMY

            🙂

            1. And don’t forget….

               throws B & E under the bus
               MUMMY
               says Granny and Grandpa can keep doing the work
               MUMMY
               *finally* does something royal-related with/without Kate but looks constipated the whole time…..
               MUMMY
               gives interview with gritted teeth…..

               Sigh……

               Seriously? I’m surprised he hasn’t tossed his cousins under that bus just yet! That’s what he usually does and it makes me feel bad for the girls.

            2. Bwahahahaha!

      2. Meanwhile Madeleine of Sweden lives in London and still finds time to attend quite a number of official engagements. She has admtted it is hard for her because she is rather shy, but she still does it, because she recognizes she owes her lifestyle to the Swedish people.

         She has two small children, too.

         I’m so over The Cambridges’ arrogance. The way they act is an insult to all real life normal parents who have to juggle childcare, parenting and jobs to earn the money that then is taxed to pay for the Cambridges.

         1. You cannot buy class and dignity. Maddie is a natural. William is an a**

         2. Wow… Living in a different country and still performing her royal duties. Kudos to Maddie! She’s absolutely beautiful. Both inside and out. I think she’s found the perfect balance between royal life and private life.

      3. +1

      4. I disagree that this message in the article is coming from HM in any way. She seems too strong, too tough, and had to have learned from when Diana died that she needs to respond to the criticisms of her people. She may speak to W&K about it but I bet it is directly- not thru an article. Whether Will-not listens, probably not. I also doubt she would threaten to do anything to harm succession based on what happened to her family previously with her Uncle. I do believe William will wait until he’s in charge and try to change all the rules but it will backfire. Then he will get “it” but his monarchy will be gone. I also think the St. Patrick’s day disaster was the result of trying to make Will look better by his attendance and more press coverage of him rather than being overshadowed by Kate, who happily skipped out to bake bonbons in her kitchen. Whoops. Like Lauri in Ca., I had high hopes for them and I am so thoroughly annoyed by their lack of work ethic. I would love to get a chance to do something with the knowledge that I made a really good impact on my country. Ugh. Okay. I just had to get that off my chest. I feel bad for HM, she deserves better than what W&K are willing to give her and the country. Maybe sins Maddie is living in London, she and Chris can get voted in when the Cambridges get voted out!

         1. Agreed. But here’s an idea. Why not get W+K to outsource their gigs to Maddie and Chris? Of course, W+K may need to pass all the goodies on to M+C…

         2. Haha, we ALL had high hopes for them, and that’s how we ended up here. Many thanks as always, KMR!

         3. Kate in the kitchen(s) baking bonbons is in doubt. She makes chutney! I think there were no less than three articles (22-3-16) about Kate making HM chutney for the first year she was a member of the BRF.

            Whew, I’m relieved! I was worried about HM and Kate’s relationship, but Kate has cleared things up by making sure we understand she is BFF’s with HM.

10. Hey Wills, I have an idea. More history — sorry — but take a page out of your Great Uncle David’s playbook. He was an selfish bird too.

    From the NYT obits, David’s post-abdication quote: “I now quit altogether public affairs, and I lay down my burden,” Edward said in his broadcast the day after the act of abdication had been signed. Then, on Dec. 12, at 2 A.M., he left England. He married Mrs. Simpson six months later in France.

    Let the sweet brother be King once again.

11. They should really call it a day and become private citizens if they just want to be with their kids. They don’t seem to understand that they are living on pubic funds and that they are basically useless figures.

12. Maybe this would wipe the arrogant smirks from the Cambridges’ faces.

    “Petition to remove the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their offspring from succession to the British throne, by Act of Parliament.”

    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/

    If someone cares to start it, the mere fact that it is out there may open their eyes. They have a duty, if they do not want to do it, they should go away. They’ll still be rich and privileged, just not paid by hard working people.

    1. Exactly, Hyacinth. William wants his privacy, and Kate wants her money. Let them go live in Norfolk or France or wherever. Just quit taking up the space others would use to work.

       1. +100

       2. “But Wills you can’t do that. Kate MUST be queen!” says Carole

          Ughhh… so over the entire Middleton family!

13. KMR: today officially makes me Cassandra. Infact, since my username is all about Greek mythology, it’s apt. Cassandra was the girl in Greek mythology who was cursed by Apollo with the gift of prophecy that no one believed.

    Why am I claiming Cassandra today? Because I predicted that William and Kate wouldn’t spend much time in the private part of their mental health discussion despite the palace PR saying they would. The PR worded it as if they were being sensitive to more harrowing stories and they wanted to be a part of the discussion that would be closed off to media. I said it was an excuse for them to skip out and they did. Somebody posted to twitter that William and Kate spent exactly 20mins there before skipping out.

    Just like Kate made a big deal of blogging for a day yet spent exactly 45mins.

    I know you wanted to hope that they would engage that day in a more meaningful way, and the PR said they would, but as with all things, 20mins was the most they could manage.

    BTW: has anyone noticed that their engagements are now considerable shorter? They started out with an hour, back in 2011. Then they shortened to 45mins over the years. In 2016, they are averaging 20-35mins.

    Exception is for things they enjoy or are meaningful to them. Then they stay for hours on end.

14. I think Kate is lazy and odd and unfit to be a Duchess. Why can’t she speak? Why doesn’t she have friends? So I’m on board with KMR totally.

    However. I am not that upset with the family defence. The BRF have a brutal, absolutely brutal, history of child neglect. They basically had kids then forgot about them until they were adults. I can see how William would be wary of that family history and the screwed up people it produced.

    What I do not understand – and as a somewhat seasoned royal watcher albeit no expert – is why they choose the engagements that they do. If you are going to do limited engagements then pick the good ones. I am confused as to why you would turn up to a charity shop or some random engagement instead of ticking off your big ticket items like the Irish Guards or the BAFTAs. And why you would not have a photo call at the ski slopes.

    Call me a traitor but they can have their family life if they want. God knows the other style of parenting hasn’t really worked for the BRF. But they can do that and make good use of the limited time they give. They can be open with the media, let people in, Kate can speak, hit the important events and so on.

    If they gave quality when they did show up people might care a little less about the quantity….as it they show up briefly, look surly, barely speak, say nothing, look boring, and shut out the media. The media aren’t just mad at the limited shows it’s also the terrible quality when they do. They give nothing.

    1. Child neglect????

       Only Charles sings the song about not having enough time with the Queen. His sister Anne publicly smacked him down about it and said she had a great childhood and relationship with their parents. The three younger kids (Anne, Andrew, Edward) don’t appear to have big problems with parents who worked AND were parents. They’ve all managed to live relatively useful lives and produce functional offspring.

       Leaving the kids with the nanny to ski all day. Leaving the kids with the nanny to shop all day. Dumping the kid for 10 days to fly to the Maldives. She has no problem leaving them for hours or days on end to have fun. But work?

       Being a working parent means child neglect? It is not child neglect to work. W&K keep pushing the line that it is, which insults every person who pays taxes to pay for their frivolous lives. She had all day Tuesday and Wednesday to be with them, and most of Friday since she only worked for 35 minutes.

       1. George VI, foisted on a nanny who abused him
          Brother John?, epileptic and kept in seclusion. Died young.
          Those are two I can think of without doing any research.

          1. I watched the documentary about Prince John and he was very much loved by the King and Queen. When he died, Queen Mary I believe wrote in her diary that she missed “the dear boy very much”.

15. Have you read the discussion on tweeter (a great part in Tweets and response) between R Palmer and Kate’s fans : he gave his opinion, think that Kate has made progress (speech about her children…) but says that a radical changement about work is necessary.

    I love this sentence of Victoria Murphy about Kate speaking to the documentary about the queen : “I actually expected Kate’s comments to be more bland so she surprised me in a good way.” We can read this like a compliment, but to me it is very revealing about the perception of Kate’s quality of speech during engagements… when she says mundane sentences

    1. Maybe she’s set the bar sooo lowwww, that anything at this point is an improvement?

    2. Richard Palmer’s criticism is pretty tepid; he still bathes Kate in undeserved compliments.
       The bar has no business being set so low. Why do people tiptoe around this silly woman?

       1. Jen, I agree, why does a 30+ woman need to be coddled so? Personally, it would drive me crazy to be wrap in soft blanket 24/7 but Kate seems to enjoy it, ugh.

          1. I don’t get it. I’m a few years younger than Kate and my mom knows better than to impose her opinions on me. Actually, scratch that. My mom knows better than to do anything for me unless I ask. Same goes for my boyfriend and the people around me. I’m a grown up independent woman. Hear me roar!

             1. You go Miss K!!

          2. Lauri, people like Kate simply expect to be coddled all their lives and sadly, others keep meeting that expectation. More fool them!
             Actually George’s stint at nursery school sees him ‘work’ more hours than his lazy mother on a weekly basis. Outdone by a 2-year old. Geez…

             1. Bahahahaha!!! You are so right Jen, George does “work” more than his mother. Lol

16. The PR people for the Duke and Duchess seem to have forgotten a week they spent in the Maldives without George in the spring of 2014. Or is prioritizing their children only an issue when it comes to deciding which Royal Duties to attend or not? I confess to being very surprised at the level of criticism expressed by Ingrid Seward. She’s been at this long enough to know from the inside when something’s up and I believe,that if she is commenting, it is a real concern within The Firm. And the statement that Kate drives George to playschool all by herself – OMG – it comes across as something revolutionary but it’s really kind of sad that something that mundane is being held up as the example of her devoted parenting. Guessing she isn’t having to coordinate getting Charlotte up and out of the house for the school run and instead leaves her with the nanny, doesn’t have to worry about the grocery store run with an infant and isn’t going home to clean, cook, do laundry , mow the lawn and everything else that comes with having a house and a family. Gosh, I wish I had a nanny , gardener and a housekeeper to take care of that stuff for me so I could prove what a good parent I am doing the school drive all by myself. Methinks the PR people need to stop trying to defend these 2 lazy, spoiled people – all they are doing is digging a deeper hole and piling on layer after layer of ridiculousness.

17. I was most offended by KP’s parting remark: “… that’s the way it is.” (In other words, “Stuff it!”)What an arrogant, in-your face attitude for those who operate in the public arena! There is no excuse for them to thumb their noses in such a manner at those in the UK and in other countries who have wished them well.

    1. Truly. I also found in interesting that KP admitted that “There’s some stubbornness about it”, are they subtly acknowledging how difficult it can be to work with these two?

       1. Good point, lauri. Interesting.

       2. Technically, I think it was “a royal source” who said there was stubbornness, but that source may well have been from KP!

18. I am mystified as to why not bring children with them to London. I thought this was reason for having a London residence. A lot of their events are in that area. The reason for not attending the traditional event made it sound like she had been away from her children for a very long time or was to be away in India for a very long time. This was not a good excuse for Kate’s absence. Thank you for some interesting discussions such as history etc.

    1. Yes, yes, yes, Kat!! That is the solution to this not-really-a-problem. Oh – going to be in London for events for three days, move into your town mansion with multiple kitchens and spend time with kids there. Then when you go to the Commonwealth service or to pass out the shamrocks the kids are minutes, not hours, away and you can do a little work. Then travel home together when you are done. Even if she “worked” five days a week spending the same amount of time at each event that she does now, then she will still spend more time with her kids than most working parents. It IS insulting to other working parents to presume that they love their kids less because they spend more time away. And the tone is very – well, we’re rich off your tax money so we don’t HAVE to work, and can spend more time with our kids than you can. We love our kids more, obvs.

       Complaining plebs? I don’t care – “it comes with the job. That I don’t really do. Or want to do. Yeah, that. Basically I don’t care what you think.”

       1. Oh, but that would be asking too much of Kate! To have to move the children down to London for a few days? You must be outta your mind!

          Ughhhh… I can so see her using that as an excuse. Even though we all know she can afford to have the exact same toys/clothes/whatever else the kids need at both homes. Such arrogance! My dad worked in Hong Kong for a few years when I was in elementary school. We live in Canada. That’s on the other side of the planet. And did I forget who my dad was? No. I’m a daddy’s girl. Him being a 15 hour plane ride away didn’t screw me up as a kid. If anything, it showed me how hard he worked to provide for us. It showed me what hard work means.

    2. Actually, the perfect solution to the St. Patrick’s Day problem would have been having Catherine and William both attend and to have George and Charlotte attend as well. It would have been a win situation for everyone involved. The Irish Guards would have the attention they deserve, the family had an outing together, the public got photos of the kids and George especially probably would have had a blast putting the shamrocks on the mascot’s collar.

19. “It still bothers me the way Jason frames this issue; like parenting versus working is some binary thing. It’s not. You can have a full time job AND be there for you kids. I’ve said this before and I will say it again: it’s not about the quantity of time spent with the kids, but the quality of time spent with the kids.”

    Yup… couldn’t agree more. My cousin’s baby was born the same day as Charlotte. And guess what, both her and her husband work full time. She had 10 weeks of mat leave. Her in laws take care of the baby while they’re at work. When they come home, or on their off days, they spend it with the baby. The just took their first vacation without the baby. And did the baby forget them? NO! If anything, the baby knows who her parents are and would rather go with her parents than anyone else.

    This is all just a load of bullsh*t to get out of work. You can prioritize family and still work full time. It’s their excuse for being lazy and that’s just insulting to the rest of the world.

20. I have not read all the comments so forgive me if someone already said this. But this is not Kate’s first extended trip without George. Remember her and William left him right after he was born to go on a vacation? So honestly that’s not prioritizing. I’m tired of them using the kids as an excuse.

    Plus Kate hasn’t always just attended with William. I remember her going by herself. So now they’re just trying to change the narrative. Their whole defense is actually pretty rude to the public. Pretty much telling them how dare they they have an opinion about the Royals and what they do.

21. Kinda off topic here.. I haven’t been a Kate follower for long and I’m definitely don’t follow the Queen. But from the pictures, it almost seems like Kate is mimicking the way the Queen dresses. It’s all coats, a dress under the coat and a hat. Could this be why Kate’s wardrobe seems so matronly? I liked Kate’s stuff from when she first got married. But it seems to me that as she’s settled into the family, she’s copying the Queen’s style. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s perfectly suitable for someone who’s 90, but not for someone who’s in their 30s.

    1. I agree. I think Kate looked much better in 2011. She is 34 years old and should dress AND ACT as such.

22. W & K are going to do whatever they want and justify what they do by saying whatever they want and I really hope they are not concerned with the public’s opinion of them because they are well on their way to becoming non-entities as people lose interest in them.
    They are totally underestimating the public by thinking we are idiots- this excuse is lame and insults our intelligence, but they do not care. As someone earlier pointed out they left George to go to the Maldives.
    “The trip will be the first time Kate will have left Prince George, two and ten-month-old Princess Charlotte for an extended period. She returned to the family home in Norfolk after carrying out engagements in London on March 10 and 11 and attending Monday’s Commonwealth Service. […]
    I guess all those parents who need to go on business trips for more than 2 days are just bad parents for leaving their children with a nanny or a relative. It is going to take a lot fr these 2 to reinvent themselves at this point as they are totally irrelevant and have nothing to say. Their actions mean nothing and their uninformed cliched platitudes around the causes they are so “keen” on bear no weight.

23. She wants to use her kids as an excuse? Fine. Just be more consistent and judicious with your choices. You want to prioritize your children over the military and a centuries’ old royal tradition? Fine. Then you should also prioritize them over box seats at Wimbledon and visits to the set of Downton Abbey. Just saying.

    1. 100% agree with you!!! Hypocrisy and stupid excuses have no limit!

    2. spot on!

    3. Exactly!!!!!

    4. Very well said Reba. But if she is to become President of the All England Club, watching good looking men play tennis will be described as work – it has been pointed out that she never attends ladies matches.

24. I completely understand why Kate would like to spend time with her children, rather than working, while they are young. But that is not the case here. My husband and I have a toddler and our second child is due in September. I have taken several years off work and do not plan to return until my youngest is in preschool. But like most normal families (how Will and Kate must envy us!!), we have made considerable sacrifices so that I can do so. We haven’t taken a family vacation since the birth of my son. We rarely use a babysitter. We can’t afford expensive clothes or to remodel our horribly outdated kitchen. (Obviously these are first world problems and we feel incredibly lucky that we never have to worry about how to afford to put food on the table or buy diapers or pay for a trip to the doctor.) For Will and Kate to take lavish vacations, private planes and go on expensive shopping sprees and then claim they want to be “normal” is ridiculous. For Will and Kate to employ a nanny, a housekeeper and a cook then claim they want to be “hands on parents” is outrageous. The fact is they are members of the British Royal Family and they have a public duty to the people of the UK. If I want to take several years off work, that’s fine. I don’t have a public duty. They do. They enjoy all the perks so they need to step up. This is getting completely ridiculous with them. Kate has an incredible platform to actually make a difference and help people. She has the ability to really shed light on important issues and to impact the way we look at those issues. She is squandering that opportunity. I wouldn’t trade time with my kids for a career, but I would happily trade some time with them to make the kind of impact she has the ability to make. I know I’m saying what many on this blog have said before, but these two need to either stop using all the advantages their status affords or actually step up and do some real work! I’m very disappointed in these two. (I would like to add that my post is not meant to judge or offend anyone that has to or chooses to work while their children are young. I know lots of moms cannot afford to stay home or simply prefer to be an adult for 8 hours so they can give their best to their kids and I respect them all).

    1. The thing is Duchess, Kate doesn’t have to do all the things you do. Shop, cook, clean, change nappies, make beds, etc etc – so instead of doing that if she lived in London she could pop our and do a couple of hours work every day – some volunteering for her charities so she understands them better etc. This suggestion that full time mothers (which I was when my kids were young) sit around playing games with their kids all day, reading stories and taking them on fabulous educational trips is a load of rubbish. Especially when you start having to do the school run with the older one, but the younger ones have to be up, dressed, fed and out of the house too. I think ‘normal’ to Kate is what her exceptionally wealthy friends do who also have loads of help, but as their husbands earn the wages (or the other way round, don’t mean to be sexist), they have no real obligations outside the family.

       1. Yes. It’s this exactly. Kate and William are not friends with middle-class to even upper-middle class professional couples who earn money. They are only friends with massively, massively wealthy aristocrats and trust fund babies. When they talk about normal, that’s exactly what they mean. The kind of rich that is so rich that taking care of your children at all is a relatively recent novelty.

          1. This is super rare, but I’m a trust fund baby and I most definitely don’t sit on my ass and do nothing all day. I’m a medic. (Don’t get me started on William’s lazy ass being a flight medic.) I work day and night shifts. I work 48 hours a week. I busted my ass off in school. Worked part time since I was 17. I haven’t asked my parents for money since I started working. My brother is the same. He works full time and doesn’t ask my parents for money either. Same with my friends. I grew up privileged. I know that. By all accounts, I had pretty much the same childhood as Kate…. private schools and all. I also know the difference between me and Kate is that my parents were pretty much the opposite of Carole and made sure I knew what responsibility meant. So not that I’m defending them. I’m just saying there are some of us trust fund babies who do work for a living and don’t rely on our trust funds.

             1. Way to go Miss K!! If only Will and Kate could live up to your hard working example!!

       2. Birdy I agree completely! She has people to help with the cooking, cleaning, laundry, school runs, etc. These are the things that take up the bulk of the stay-at-home mom’s day. There’s no reason why she couldn’t devote several hours to work each day while the kids are at school, napping, etc and still be a hands on mom that’s there for the fun bits. That would be a good solution. Except for the fact that it would leave SO little time for shopping and general laziness! I don’t think these two will ever change.

25. Also this is not the first time Kate has left George for an extended period of time. Didn’t she and William take some lavish, tropical vacation while he was young?? I seem to remember reading that he started crawling while they were away. More KP lies.

26. I am almost wishing W & K would make a stand and just say: Listen folks, we are leaving public life until our children are in school full time (and with them, full time could be until the kids graduate from college). We will be living off of our own funds and not the taxpayers money.
    If W & K go this route I doubt they will be missed, it is clear they want to be left alone and I say go for it. I think Prince Harry is genuinely committed and there are other interesting royal families with people who act like adults, do the jobs their position requires and most importantly are actually trying to use their position to make a difference.

    1. I’ve been thinking of other PR crisis strategies I’d employ if I were in Jason’s shoes.* For starters: “Because they’re now based in Norfolk, the Duke and Duchess will be handing over the keys to their Kensington Palace apartment and will rely on the cottage on Kensington grounds whenever their responsibilities require them to be in London. The couple are exceedingly grateful that they had the opportunity to live in such a beautiful, historic residence. Because of the joy they had in living there, even for a brief period, they would like the public to be able to enjoy it as well.”

       *I believe these 2 are in such dire straits that EXTREME ongoing crisis management is warranted. Chopper Wills and Chutney Kate would NEVER, so I hope you all enjoyed my little fairy tale!

       1. Harry now lives in Nottingham Cottage on the KP grounds, so he might object to that!

          1. Give Harry the bigger apartment. At least he earned it. It won’t take long to paint over all that beige.

             1. G, you actually made me lol with painting over the beige. Too funny!!!

27. Wow, Kate spoke very highly on how kind and concerned for Kate’s happiness the Queen has been to her and her children in the birthday interview video that was released the other day. It’s appalling that this is how Kate treats the Queen in return. Where is the respect for the Queen, the Irish guards,the British people or the tradition? It looks like there is none. If that is the case, this is just the beginning.

    1. Oh yes indeed. This is only the beginning. It was the Royal Family itself that put the greatest pressure on Edward the VIII to step down and remove any heirs he may have from the line of succession. I see this happening very easily with WK. And I believe it should. This guy does not have what it takes to be Prince of Wales in due course, let alone King.

    2. Excellent point. I think many in the RF have bent over backwards to welcome Kate and give her support and advice so she didn’t feel like Diana. And how did she repay that? By taking advantage of their kindness and indulgence and becoming a lazy freeloader. Although Will is to blame. He sets the tone and she follows along. Wouldn’t look good for a commoner to have a higher sense of duty than the future king!

    3. IMO Kate wasn’t speaking highly of the Queen in that documentary, in fact none of her comments really seemed about the Queen. It was all about Kate. She was a grown woman on engagement with the Queen and all she could say was how the Queen made she was happy and looked after O_o All her comments said to me is that Kate is self-absorbed and constantly needs someone to be there to take care of her like a small child or reassure her or do something that shines a light on her.

       1. You’re right! Kate’s comments are always about wanting attention.
          The chutney thing is about Kate being hands-on and modest.
          Being teased about walk-abouts is really saying that Kate is caring and dutiful to the public while her royal relatives are not.
          The event with the Queen is all about Kate’s comfort.
          Presents from the Queen is all about getting stuff.

28. This has not yet escalated to the point where anything is going to change.

29. Does anyone think that in light of the recent press coverage of Harry doing a great job in Nepal, that Easter photos of G&C will be released?

    1. will be a St Patrick’s themed photo shoot by that keen photographer herself the Duchess! George and Charlotte will be wearing dollar store headbands with shamrocks antenna!

    2. I don’t see why, W&K ,nor their children, are churchgoers. Unless they go with the Queen on Easter like they do on Christmas,otherwise no. But they may post some with some colored eggs. But that is asking a lot.

       1. William is a future head of the Church of England. If he isn’t a church goer this is a real issue. Just for the record I don’t believe in any god but you can’t be head of a church if you are not a believer – surely??

    3. I doubt it. W&K just released photos of George and Charlotte a few weeks ago. They won’t release more photos of the kids until they release a photo of Charlotte for her 1st birthday.

    4. If they release photo, it will be during Invictus Games.

30. Who cares about these two, they want no attention.
    We should not give them any for 5 months, and see how they like it. We should be focusing on Prince Oscar he is sooooo
    CUTE 🙂

31. This whole brouhaha could be fixed if they worked. Consistently. They show no visible want or need to do so. I for one, think that they should be held accountable. HM, DoE, Charles, Cam, and Anne are all in their older years. They run circles around Will and Kate. Shall I mention Princess Alexandra who is still working despite health issues? These two are too much.

    I will say that I was surprised that Penny Junor wrote this. She is usually pro anything Charles. I think that Will and Kate have no clue and don’t care.

    Thanks for the summary, KMR!

32. I think Kate should really get the award for ”Doing Absolutely Nothing”, preceded by Patrick Star. And I don’t mean to be rude, but has anyone seen the video of her talking about Queen Elizabeth? Why does she talk like that? Is that normal? I cannot make out the words she’s saying. Even Stallone speaks clearer than her!

    I’m really bored of her and William. KMR, luckily you find the time to post about other Royals because I would’ve been brain dead waiting for miracles from The Flintstones! Thank you, KMR!!!

    1. I agree, the way she talks is very slury, like she has been drinking.
       I don’t think she is? It is very slow.

33. First comment from a lurker here…

    If it’s true that PW is controlling, is it possible he moved his family to Norfolk to isolate and control Kate? She looks like she’s fading away, and she’s never with anyone but her enabling family. I don’t understand why she looks so bad and with such bad body language. Sure, I’ve looked worse, but I am a working mother with no staff or help. If I had a household staff and work staff, I would hope to present a better image. Something is not right in that marriage.

    1. I think if you look over past comments you will find that many of us agree with you. Both she and Will seem to be getting worse not better, unfortunately.

       And welcome!

       1. Thanks for the welcome!

          Sometimes I wonder if Kate is being abused. Strong accusation, I know, but she has the look of it.

    2. If he really really really wanted to isolate her wouldn’t he give her mother/family the boot? Doesn’t Carole live with them at Anmer too?

    3. Welcome Piper Grits! Yes, many of us suspect that he is very controlling and that she has generally built her adult life around pleasing him, even before they were married. I get the impression that Kate doesn’t really have many friends. Since we’ve gotten some disparaging comments about Will and Kate from their social circle, I’d say they’re growing increasingly isolated from Will’s friends/mutual friends as well.

       1. I think her problem is that she has no friends of her own. I don’t have very many friends myself. But my friends will do anything for me, just like I would do anything for them. The number of friends isn’t the issue. Think quality over quantity. When it comes to Kate, I think it’s more like all her friends are William’s.

          1. I completely agree. I remember reading that Kate didn’t make friends easily with other girls (she doesn’t really seem like a girls’ girl does she?). But yeah, I think most of the friends she has left are either William’s friends or his friend’s girlfriends or wives. But it seems like their social circle is dwindling either way. There’s nothing wrong with quality over quantity but I think they’re isolating themselves because everyone’s probably getting sick of Williams bs.

    4. William’s an ass and I think he’s controlling when it comes to certain things but not Kate. After they married, whenever she’s around, his jaw is clenched so tight it’s a wonder it hasn’t broken yet. I think he’s okay with whatever she does as she’s not bothering or embarrassing him.

       Waity Katy has never had many friends and as soon as she got Diana’s ring she dropped the few friends she that she did have. The Middleton’s are a family of weirdos that played perfect to trap William’s non-bright self. Behind it all I have no doubt that Carole only hitched herself to Michael because of his family background and as of now she and he are no longer together. Pippa is a loser hopping from one monied man that isn’t stupid enough to put a ring on it while James spend his time hoping from one failed business to the next, and together they’re a pair of nothings that spend far too much time vacationing together like a bunch of weirdos. Kate is a infantile flasher constantly on the look for male attention.

       As for the way Kate looks, that’s because she’s reached the stage of ‘Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it’ two years into the marriage, though the fake gold paint was starting to chip off to reveal rust long before. I honestly think that she thought that, though William treated her like a lowly beck and call girl when they were dating, he was going to suddenly turn into Prince Charming after they married and that royalty was all about glitz glamour and fun. Now she’s seen that she was wrong on both counts and is miserable.

    5. I think she has what she wanted. She does what she wants, he does what he wants, and they both get what they want. Their relationship has always functioned best with lots of time apart, and that is what they do.

       He goes hunting with Jecca, she goes to Mustique. A week later, she gets 10 days alone with him in the Maldives. He’s likely headed to Jecca’s wedding in Kenya, probably without wife and kids. She got the luxury skiing holiday with him, he gets Kenya.

       She has the Prince she chased, the WAG lifestyle of her dreams, and an endless bank account. The only sticky matter is the occasional royal work, but since her husband doesn’t believe in working either, she doesn’t have to worry overly about that.

       I don’t think she’s a doormat. She had to have a steel spine and claws to be the last person standing. She wants the role and she’s okay with taking whatever compromises it requires. She got him, she wins, and she doesn’t have a problem with that. I don’t see her as abused, I see them both as dysfunctional. This relationship should have ended after Uni but they both clung to it for their own reasons.

34. The prioritising parenthood spin is so insulting to working parents everywhere. Are they trying to alienate their subjects? Actually she is an insult to non working outside the home parents too. Driving her kid to nursery is Kate’s devoted parenting? Not volunteering at the nursery? Baking cakes for the cake stall? Sitting on committees? Running Sunday School? That’s it?!

35. And Charles works today after a long tour!!! Shame on K and W

36. The explanation is tone deaf and makes matters worse.

    Time with kids isn’t like a bank account – you don’t have to put in a big deposit before you spend time away. But, when ‘time with the kids’ became their excuse, I thought “that trip to India must be, like, 3 weeks, right?” Wrong. 6 days. And with the media release you’ve just told working parents they’re doing it wrong.

    What ever happened to ‘never complain, never explain’? If you’re going to be so bad at the explanation, just shut up and leave it at that.

    1. +1

37. I’m not sure how “modern” it is for neither parent to work (much) while employing full-time help.

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