192 thoughts on “2016 in Review: Kate’s hits and misses + 2016 prediction results”

1. KMR, you’ve totally forgotten her skipping the St Patrick’s day Irish Guards. She took more stick over that than almost anything!

   Otherwise this is a great roundup, thank you for all you do.

   1. Good catch! I totally missed that. I’ve added it in now.

      1. I wish i’d kept a screencap of the initial reasons given to reporters for why Kate skipped the Irish guards.

         That appointment was in her diary until a few days which clearly shows it had been scheduled.

         Then the reporters tweeted the infamous reason that she didn’t want to create expectations that she would do this event every year.

         After that blew up, KP sent out this second excuse thst she wanted to spend time with her kids ahead of India

         1. You know, I cannot for the life of me figure out how KP thought that that initial excuse would be acceptable!

            As far as you can remember, have any other members of the BRF dared to use such an excuse or something similar over the past few years?
            Was any old excuse accepted without question in the past?
            If so, when did this change and what is prompting the change media coverage or the standards to which royals are held?

            1. No royal has ever given out this excuse before.

               Cancelled? Yes. Gave a BS reason? No.

            2. I think the young royals were helped by the media fall-out of the phone hacking scandal and attendant Levenson enquiry that followed in 2011-2012.

               The immediate result was that we came perilously close to losing freedom of press.

               The media fought hard to get the govt to agree that they could continue to self regulate.

               In the meantime, everyone in the public eye was treated with kid gloves, especially newbies like Kate. It’s taken years for the press to start reporting more robustly, but it’s not to pre-scandal level of reporting.

               The public remember the WHK were hacked, so any articles that criticise them gave to show receipts otherwise they might be taken as bullying and trigger the aforementioned legislation.

               There are other factors as well, but i think the Levenson one contributes to the lack of robust reporting even though by now the press realises the young royals are not going to make them the sort of money previous royals did.

         2. Statement released by KP, ” The Duchess has very much enjoyed the occasions when she has been able to attend, but the Duke is Colonel of the Regiment and is looking forward to presenting the Irish Guards with their shamrocks. The Duchess looks forward to marking St Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards many times in the future but won’t be doing it every year.”

            1. The ‘she doesn’t want to create expectations she will attend every year’ was given by royal reporters on twitter in further response to the public asking them about the KP statement you’ve posted.

               Ps: Thanks for posting it.

               Once this statement and further explanation blew up in their faces, they trotted out the ‘she wants to be with her children’ statement.

               Honestly, what good is a publicist if they can’t craft a PR statement that doesn’t land their client in hot water the first or second time time?

               Jason has been such a terrible PR agent for them.

         3. Wondered why that part of the statement was different from the in times version!

2. The misses, for me, are not so much about particular events but are more to do with being willfully indifferent (along with William) in serving the nation professionally from their positions. That said, not attending the Irish Guards event was a huge faux pas that continues to linger negatively in people’s minds.

   Looking to improve, Kate would benefit from ongoing coaching in speech delivery and modifying her current veneer of an accent to something more natural. She clearly finds it difficult to enunciate; the forced accent makes her scared of tripping up.

   The Vogue cover was another misstep – the ‘country farmer’ myth didn’t fly with anyone. Pics of George are like anyone’s snaps. Always nice to see the kids but don’t appreciate the blatent manipulation of them; can’t blame Kate entirely for that. Overall, the bar is set far too low for her and she should be be judged to a far higher standard.

   1. Totally agree Jen.

   2. I honestly will never understand why she doesn’t get help with the public speaking. She’s so clearly uncomfortable with it that you’d think getting help and getting better at it would make her feel better.

   3. +1000

      Jen, You said it all. The bar is set so low for her that we really should just give her a pre-school performance report rather than the always well written, well researched overview done by KMR.

      She is someone who is on the world stage but she looks and acts as though she is wounded and in need of extreme care when she does venture out. And yet when she’s with Ben the sailor man she minces and frolics through that engagement.

      Still, she will continue to receive loads of tash from C and the Queen no matter how lazy she is. I don’t think there is any hope for improvement. She has made it very clear who she is and who she is not.

      1. I agree 100%. The bar is always set so very low for Kate. So, when she gives a speech or an interview, it’s a plus. She has been Duchess far too long to get such applause for doing so little. I am not in the most charitable of moods, I am afraid. I feel very sad that a woman who has such an enormous platform for good actions lets things slip away time and time again.

         If I were to give any applause to Kate this year it would be for her daughter, Charlotte. William will get credit, too. I think Charlotte will teach her mother a thing or two about inner strength, determination and joyful living. Maybe, her dad, too., Kate seems to be locked up inside herself. The real Kate is in there somewhere. She does not have to be a reincarnation of Diana. No superstar! Just a woman with her own interests. A woman with compassion and understanding of others. It will be nice to see some of that in 2017. If not, what a waste it will be. Another year of frustration for people who want to see the Duchess take off and fly!

         1. The real Kate is what we are seeing. She did nothing of value before she got engaged and barely does anything since the marriage. She is that lazy and will never change. She is going to be 35 shortly. Your personality has been long formed by then. The only change that will happen will be through threats of removing clothing allowances or other privileges. It will not be as a result of internal introspection.

            1. +1

            2. I agree. I also think that we saw the real Kate at the engagement interview too. Fake hair and fake smile, though at times she was smirking away imo. As for her dress sense? I don’t know why I expect her to improve as that Issa dress seemed wrong to me, I don’t know if it was because it was a cocktail dress when I would have expected a day dress or a suit (if she was channeling Diana?). There was that last photo KMR placed on her post about the interview a couple of months back where Kate is staring down at Big Blue. IMO that’s the sort of look a girl gives her engagement ring when it’s newly on her finger, so just when did she get it?

            3. @Jen

               KM just doesn’t have the same calm, warm exchange that, say, Victoria or Madeleine have with their children. Also, did you see the video of W barely attempting to retrieve George from his car seat this Christmas just before the pap walk? He called for Carole who had to walk up from behind to unbuckle the seat belt. Very odd behaviour for a supposed hands on dad.

               Also if you watch KM with Charlotte reach the car after the service, she seems to fling open the car door and stick Charlotte into the car. There was definitely tension during the church pastiche. KM’s face looked puffy as though she had been crying.

            4. @Indiana Joanna
               I just don’t get the hands-on vibe from either William or Kate. George always looks on tenterhooks with his father, Charlotte seems oblivious to her mother. Yes, I had noticed the points you mentioned. W+K don’t look very practiced as parents.

            5. That may just be Charlotte’s personality. My mother thought I was autistic when I was young because I didn’t want to look at her the way she expected me to.

            6. Cathy, I think the Issa dress was payback to the designer for the years of freebies she provided to the Middleton family. Sort of “You helped me get here, here’s your reward – I’m promoting you publicly.” KM has only worn ISSA one other time since the engagement interview that I remember (first Canada tour).

         2. But you are assuming that Kate actually raises Charlotte actively. I highly doubt that-her kids are her meal ticket to a good life and photo op opportunity.

            1. I do have a question and it’s to do with the way Kate carries Charlotte. If I pick up a small child I carry them so one of the child’s leg is toward my front and one leg towards my back so the child is hugging me. I feel it’s safer and more comfortable for the child, but imo Kate carries Charlotte all towards the front, like she’s carrying a bag of groceries, and that must put her centre of gravity off? Kate walking down stairs, in high heels, while carrying Charlotte makes me feel very nervous
               !

            2. It’s all about the photo op with her children thus the weird way she holds them. She doesn’t even know how to hold a baby; their head droops! It freaks me out.

            3. Kate carries Charlotte as if the child is a ventriloquist’s dummy. It’s odd. I notice that Charlotte does not look at her mother or reach out to touch her, though this could just be just the little we have seen. Kate is not naturally warm, and still need her mother to take care of her so I can’t see how she can be an effective mother herself. Plus she’s dead lazy.

            4. Ellie: that head droop when she was carrying 2month baby Charlotte really freaked me out.

               To make matters worse, she was bouncing her!!!

            5. KMR, my mother thought I was autistic because I once had a headache and didn’t look at her. I also didn’t say I love you to her until I was five years old. Love is different with a child and I think that is where things have gone wrong.

         3. Nota, I think she probably hasn’t worn Issa since then is that the label has been bought out by Camilla al-Fayed.
            Pure speculation of course

            1. I don’t think William has a problem with Camilla al Fayed. The hatchet, if there was one, was buried years ago.

               http://us.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2007/07/20/al-fayed-royal-party/

            2. I wasn’t even figuring in Williams’s thoughts! Seeing how he dresses, I don’t think he cares much about fashion in general. I was thinking along the media headlines. I remember all the stories about it when she bought the label out so can only imagine what they would be if they continued wearing it.

   4. Yes, I don’t think Kate needs to be compared to anyone. The fact is, by any standard she fails. What’s worse is that she doesn’t care.

      1. +1

         1. Me, too.

      2. le sigh
         +2

   5. I remember a discussion at KMR where personality types were a part of the conversation. As an INFJ I guess I cannot understand Kate.

      1. I was part of that conversation, G! I had mentioned that I had read that Kate (and Charles) are ISFJ’s and, as an fellow ISFJ, I was confused that the media put her under that MBTI. Charles? He’s definitely an ISFJ (or maybe an ISFP? I see him more as perceptive than judging but that’s just me 😉 ) and Camilla is (more than likely) an ENFP (something like that, she’s totally an extrovert).

   6. I so agree! I think in the beginning it was okay that she wasn’t a great public speaker but now she has no excuses. She does f**k all most of the time, as seen by her #s, so easy to get lessons in. Way past time to hire an allocation coach and drop the posh accent. I think part of her bad speaking skills is her trying to remember fake accent.
      Is it a hit when no one can understand portions of what you’re saying?

   7. Jen do parents really take photos of kids for manipulation? I can’t believe that.

      1. I agree with Jen that they use the kids whenever there is bad press and need a diversion away from something. The actual taking of the pic may not be for manipulation but the releasing of them usually are.

3. Thanks KMR!

   Am I the only one who doesn’t think she wrote the forward or the article? It sounds like the same sort of language her office writes when they do form letters and the like for Kate which she just signs.

   1. I agree. It would be very unusual if she did write it. She signs these things; she does not write them. If it is better than usual it is because the books publishers wrote it, rather than her office. I take that back, they have an electronic signature -she probably doesn’t sign anything.

   2. I doubt she wrote the forward; there’s a press office as well as the publisher to massage text. Same with other notes, letters and speeches: press officer work. Just a signature on letterhead required.

   3. I have my doubts that she writes most of the things she’s claimed to write.

4. Does anyone and be honest think Kate life wasn’t supposed to be a royal and that’s after 5 years she still does not get “IT”?

   1. My guess is that becoming “royal” wasn’t her original idea but her mama’s. Kate doesn’t have the “IT” factor, that something special that makes that person sparkle. Diana had it in humongous amounts, Fergie had it too and Sophie can be quite lovely as well. Kate? Bland, boring and blah. There is just absolutely nothing to her and that genuinely surprises. I’m curious as to when this whole “catch William” game started amongst the Middleton women. Was it when Kate was in Marlborough College or earlier than that? I’m curious as to what child-Kate wanted to be when she grew up. If she wanted to be royal, I’m sure that, five years later, she’s received a rude awakening. (Sorry, my mind wandered a bit….)

      1. Kimothy did you get your tattoo?

         1. Yes m’am!

            Let me know if this link works!

            file://dfstlhhqfp1/dupusers/JacquesK/Pictures/tattoo.jpg

            You’re going to have to highlight, copy and then paste onto another web tab to check it out.

            P.S. You bet your sweet patootie it hurt! You would think that, after getting poked and prodded since forever, that it wouldn’t bother me! Yeah, right! 😉

            1. I couldn’t get the link to open.=(

            2. Drat! Let me try something else!

               https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15781460_10155515705014237_3605823545619467706_n.jpg?oh=5a40c0ddf73cfb54a2c3133d08a80b6f&oe=58DA8A60

               How about this?

               https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155515705014237&l=cb8ce51086

               Or this?

            3. Woohoo!
               That’s cool!

            4. Very nice, and that is a tender spot, no wonder it was painful.

            5. Looks painful, but well done.

            6. Yay for you! Looks great and kudos for being brave enough to follow through. A friend and I went to get one (she has many) and I had to wait while she got hers done. Seeing how much pain she was in I completely chickened out =)

            7. Sarah,

               My sisters made sure I went first so that I wouldn’t chicken out haha!! This was (technically) Mel’s 4th tattoo and Sam’s 2nd. 🙂

      2. I have a theory about why Kate appealed to William, aside from all the theories frequently discussed.

         As a child and later a teen, he was always distressed by the star quality of his mother because it always attracted attention – ignoring her status or pap antics.

         So, he went the other way when choosing Kate. Someone the exact opposite of Diana. Who was least likely to attract any attention because she is completely forgetable and without obvious drama.

         Bonus? She was absolutely and loyally devoted to him. The centre of her world, something he has taken to complaining wasn’t the case with his own parents, particularly Diana. I doubt the kids changed that focus for Kate.

         Of course he frequently broke up with her for being suffocatingly attentive and devoted ( snd various othrr reasons), yet he could never quite break away because that stuff feeds his ego.

         A case of loving someone for loving him. Not necessarily reciprocated mind. I’m sure there is a greek myth that explains this brand of egotism.

         1. What goes along with it, sadly, is that she was devoted to The Prince. She and her family wouldn’t have done all they’ve done to land him if he was Billy the Plumber. And he can’t see it.

         2. I believe that it’s simply because she clung to him and because he thought she kept her mouth shut. I also believe he was being pressured.

         3. So in your opinion. in the future will they be King and Queen.

         4. And don’t forget that Kate has a very forceful mother who was not going to let a prince slip away Herazeus!

         5. I completely agree with that. That’s why I can’t get too worked up about her being dull as dishwater: that’s exactly what W wanted.

            I am perplexed, though, about “the Firm” being so gullible. The monarchy is an important family business as well as a main government institution. How could they let William slip in this woman with no skills, and permit her 5 years of slackery? The Queen is older and maybe tired, but Charles?

            1. Charles didn’t know how to deal with Diana, he doesn’t know how to deal with the son who shares her whiplash temperament. In short, he’s afraid of his son and how his son might lash out (against him and the monarchy).

         6. I will add my two cents. I think he wanted someone as equally lazy and unsuited to the job for support and company.

            I think on some level, William tells himself he is being a protective husband/father, to squash his conscious for being so lazy and unfit.

5. I’m trying to stay positive and keep an open mind but unless this lazy and entitled pair hit the ground running in 2017 and are consistently out and about, I’m over it.

   Is anyone else aware of internet rumours that the Queen is seriously ill and there is a media blackout? I’m hoping it’s just a silly rumour and not true.

   1. If 2016 takes the Queen, I will riot.

      1. Jesus, I hope not. I’ve been thinking about her.

         1. Oh, I pray not. I hope they are feeling better and that the New Year brings them good health and happiness.

      2. I know it’s an unpopular view, and I don’t want to start a war or anything, but I think she’s a terrible, selfish, incurious queen who has had her head up her butt for far too long. I know she made a vow to never step down. I think that the UK and her family are poorer for it. I don’t wish her dead, but I can’t wait for her not to be queen anymore.

         1. Red Snapper, I feel the same. Elizabeth has been blessed with a long life and she has done nothing of note.

         2. I agree a retirement would have been good. Think how it might have affected Charles’s life. I think part of the appeal of the Spanish, Netherlands and Belgian royals is having a young attractive royal family. It might have even been a wake-up for WK, who would not have had the luxury of a years long gap year.

            1. I’ve read somewhere that the reason Charles doesn’t go to a lot of the other Royal ceremonies is becuase his contemporaries are the rulers and the heirs are more around Williams’s age. That’s why the wessex’s are sent. Don’t know if it’s true or not but makes sense.
               I do think he’s done some great things while waiting tho.

         3. +1

         4. Thank you for saying that, I thought I was a nasty person for thinking along the same lines. I wish her no harm of course, and certainly not ill health but the same time the word ‘figure head’ applies to her, she really doesn’t have it so tough. She is in my opinion selfish and not really being ‘patriotic’ by hanging on to the throne, such as it is. It’s time for a new generation and to make Charles wait and wait while the country’s traditions are being trampled on one by one is unfair to Britain, its people, and to Charles. I’ve often thought how hard it must be to wait for somebody to kick off before having a job. (please don’t throw rocks at me, I know Charles does a lot). Seriously, the queen travels, does she pack, plan, carry luggage, arrange for meals and housing? Nope, it’s all done for her and she just gets on a train or whatever and appears. KMR , it’s your blog but I just can’t work up any feelings for the queen other than she’s a relic and a figure head.

         5. Wow, this is harsh. The Queen has devoted her entire life to service to her country. It pains me to see her criticized like this. Having said that, I truly think that when Phillip dies the Queen will abdicate. I don’t think that this will be done selfishly so that she can go into retirement but rather as a way to save the Monarchy. Most of the country, even anti-monarchists have respect for the Queen. If she abdicates and is seen to support Charles in his role as King, I think that he has a better chance of being accepted. Where that will leave Camilla, I’m not sure but I doubt it will be Queen Camilla.

            1. +1

         6. Isn’t that how a modern monarch is supposed to be? To be staid, unchanging, and apolitical? To that end, she’s done what she was supposed to do.

            A monarch isn’t required to be interesting, flashy, and like a celebrity. That would end a modern monarchy faster than anything else. It doesn’t matter that W&K are dull as dishwater. It benefits them. What doesn’t benefit them is 1) their laziness 2) their overall petulance and 3) their blatant, public enjoyment of the celebrity good life as paid for by the taxpayers.

            HM lives a very good life, but she keeps it quiet. Ditto Charles for the most part. The trouble comes in when they become flashy about it, like Andrew, W&K, and to some extent Harry (when he is caught skiing in countries he shouldn’t visit).

            I don’t think Charles is longing to be king. Diana had it right, all those years ago. The “top job” limits what Charles can accomplish, will be like a leash on him. He has far more freedom now, and has accomplished more than any other POW in history. Dislike him or not, but the Prince’s Trust has been a huge, direct, positive influence into the lives of hundreds of thousands in the UK.

            Charles is the one who celebrates and upholds the country’s traditions, from loving and saving the huge estate of Dumphries House to his countryside pursuits, contests related to rural life, and his love of English wool suits. He does far more to preserve the UK-ness of the UK than HM has ever done.

            1. I agree that she’s been a bad Queen, yet i agree with Nota.

               People forget that only the monarch is supposed to shut up about their opinions and activities and the POW and the rest of the family are free to do and say what they like.

               The moment Charles becomes King, his views and lobbying activity will have to stop.

               As POW, he is free to write and espouse on anything. He hasn’t sworn any oath to do otherwise and he is not the Monarch who is bound by constitutional laws to keep their views to themselves and not to interfere in govt.

            2. She managed her family badly. She is long past her expiry date for anything. I doubt that, being raised in another era her opinions are anything she would authoritatively share with the public, probably irrelevant. This is not like Charles, from my generation, who has crafted a role for himself with strong leanings and a proactive temperament-very contemporary.

               She was okay for her time but her time is long gone. After those endlessly costly celebrations for her jubilee and beyond, it’s clear this has become about her and her clinging to the throne till death. Yay, she beat Victoria’s length of reign, give her a trophy. She’s not keeping an oath at this point.

            3. ….She’s not keeping an oath at this point. Giving up the throne would kill her I am sure, because she places that above all else, above family, above her subjects, she transcends them all as G-d’s chosen one. Oddly, I can actually sympathise but it doesn’t make it right.

            4. The idea that the “top job” is limiting is because TQ has fostered that idea. Like Kate, she could have done so much more with her platform to improve her subjects lives. She could have found a way to combine her role with doing good works. She chose not to. She chose her red boxes over her children. Watch one of her speeches sometime. You could compare it to watching paint dry, but that would be an insult to paint. Her greatest achievement is not dying. Big whoop.

            5. I think Charles will be a fantastic king, whenever the time comes; it’s a shame he’s had to sit on his hands a bit, but he has created a major role for the heir to the throne that I wish could be followed after him. He proves one can have such a position and really use it to do good, despite the questionable choices he’s made otherwise with other things; it makes me more well disposed towards him because he has the country’s interests at heart and genuinely worries and cares about everything and everyone.

               HM did make a vow before God that she will serve until her dying day. That is not some sort of vow you can just throw aside. That and her perpetual fear and hatred of the word abdication makes it all make sense to me, IMO. I think she has been a decent queen insofar as putting duty ahead of self, but you could balance it better; I think it has to do with her temperament as a shy introvert and someone who really struggled in the beginning because she had to, it seems, kill off anything that was Lilibet in order to be HM. It’s sad, really, and makes me have some sympathy for her.

            6. The Top Job is limiting because, as Herazeus says, once in that top job you are a cipher. No opinion, nada. That is not Charles’s nature.

               I don’t think humans have expiration dates, and I’m appalled that some think she should step aside merely because of age. She isn’t mentally infirm, and as long as she remains mentally “all there”, she’ll be Queen.

               She isn’t allowed to be an advocate – for whatever it is you think she’s supposed to be advocating for. She let her adult children run their own lives and make their mistakes. Some learned from them, others didn’t and never will.

               I don’t think she chose red boxes over her children. Only Charles, who needed to be the center of someone’s universe, has ever complained about her as a parent. The others appear to think she did a great job.

               If she had been the heir for 20-30 years as an adult, we might have seen her do things like Charles has done. Philip has certainly done his share of those types of things, from his Commonwealth Technology institute and Duke of E awards. Instead, she became queen at 25 and became the required cipher at that time.

               Her oath was to serve the people, and she continues to do that. The way she is supposed to, keeping her mouth shut and not espousing political opinions. Why should she stop, when as a religious woman, she made a vow to her God to serve the people until she died?

            7. To continue on this theme.

               CG has cheated on his wife for years. Scandals with strip clubs, prostitutes, mafia. What has he accomplished as a monarch?

               Juan Carlos cheated on his wife for years. Caught killing endangered species while off on a trip with his latest side piece. Daughter and SIL awaiting verdict for their corruption trial. What did he accomplish as a monarch?

               Harald of Norway. His daughter talks to angels and is divorcing her husband. His heir married a lazy woman who seems to spend more time “finding herself” than working. What has he accomplished as a monarch?

               Queen Margrethe is an accomplished artist, but what has she done as a monarch that would make her better than QEII?

               QEII’s job is to sign the paperwork put in front of her. People who scream that she destroyed sovereignty by signing the laws to join the EU? Of course she signed them, that’s her job. Other people do the work of government, she rubber stamps it.

               Grand Duke Henri of Lux learned the hard way. Voice a political opinion and refuse to sign a law? You lose the actual power you had and become a figurehead.

               What exactly is it that QEII has done that makes her so much worse than others in some people’s minds? (Personally, I think HM’s undying support of Andrew should have been overridden by her cowardly government. They should have ignored whatever she did and went full-on with any investigations. If they caved to her, that is their fault.)

               KMR, that would be an interested open post. I’m not talking about whether monarchies should exist or not, that’s not the premise. If the people of a country choose to be in a monarchy, what is the role of a monarch in a modern constitutional monarchy? What should they and shouldn’t they do that makes them a good monarch.

            8. I don’t want to be ageist, though if more and more work needs to be handed over to Charles, an argument exists that he may as well be King in reality rather than in de facto mode. I wonder if the Queen is also trying to hold the whole thing together, knowing Charles’s plans will disrupt the Windsor family? Elizabeth represents stability in an unstable and constantly changing world; most Britons know nothing else but her presence on everything from coinage to stamps to Trooping of the Colour. But it is also selfish to keep a son waiting well after his prime… However, simply being a ‘rubber stamp’ of government as HoS could be done in a much more cost-efficient way than propping up a monarchy? It’s entertaining but the family elevated to such heights becomes completely delusional as well as unfit for pretty much any purpose in real life. Much like the specially-bred birds they like to kill.

               Charles has some interesting ideas, some many ahead of their time such as organic farming, and others hopelessly staid, such as an inability to understand contemporary architecture. My big concerns with Charles (and Queen) are (1) the ongoing campaign to transfer the publicly-owned Duchy of Cornwall to Windsor ownership and (2) successfully campaigning to be excluded from FoI rules. Both smack of breathtaking greed and dishonesty (plus weak, no balls governments). If they are ‘sent from God’, surely they wouldn’t be so venal?

            9. Jen: i’m going to defend Charles’s stand on architecture for personal reasons.

               Granted he prefers neo-classical architecture as seen during the Regency period, but his view that buildings should echo their environment is sound.

               These 2 billionaire brothers bought a building in my neighbourhood, tore it down and built an appartment block that looked like a building better suited to futuristic tokyo. It would look out of place in any other city, even modern manhattan.

               My neighbourhood is 99% neo classic architecture so this building sticks out like a sore thumb. Not only that, it looks like a 60s soviet tower block so it’s already dated despite being less than 5yrs old.

               After unveiling that buildimg, the brothers bought a 2nd building lot in the neighbourhood, but this time we were ready. We came together as a neighbourhood and protested them, we wrote to Charles to help and he came through for us.

               The council turned down their building plans and they sold the building lot.

               Nothing can be done about the eyesore of their first building, but it may be sold and torn down because despite the publicity when it was unveiled, only a quarter of the flats therein have been sold.

            10. Jen, I am with you 100% on the FOI, plus the attempted land grabs for the Duchies and the Crown Estate. The government needs to show some spine and remove the FOIs. And never approve the handover of public property into private Windsor ownership.

      3. I wonder how awful K+W would feel if they missed the Queen’s last Christmas?? It was honestly the first thing I thought of when I heard they weren’t going. I always go home for holidays, as tedious as they are, because my grandparents are ageing rapidly and I don’t know how many more Christmases we will have together. Then again, I don’t know if Wil and Kate are capable of shame or caring for otheres, so maybe they wouldn’t care at all.

   2. Debra, I’ve not heard anything but i also think something could be wrong. There has been no reports or pictures anywhere about royal Sandringham, there is nearly always pap shots of the boxing day shoot, not even the ‘ alternative ‘ boxing day shoot in bucklebury! Has anybody else seen any reports? It could be the press are also respecting Zara & Mike’s privacy. To me its too quiet. Also the fact that neither of Margaret’s children & their families were present Xmas day either, that’s very unusual..! HM & the royals usually go to church for new year & also new years day is on a Sunday, the queen never misses church on a Sunday morning, so we’ll see!

   3. I haven’t heard of any media blackout and, like KMR, I’ll riot if something happens to HM or Phillip. Especially Phillip because I don’t know what he’d do without his Lilibet.

      I swear, every time I hear the BBC News notification on my iPod Touch, I get nervous.

   4. I hope not!! I feel as though given her age every time she is sick from here on out rumors will start that she is seriously ill at death’s door. I would seriously hope that if she were that ill William would not have spent Christmas away from her, but would have wanted to be with his grandmother and family.

   5. From what I can tell, that rumor was started by a fake BBC news twitter account and has been debunked.

      1. Yes, I wonder why BP doesn’t let us know if she is recovering, not in response to silly Twitter rumors, but just to reassure worried public? Or is the usual “never complain, never explain”?

   6. I am not normally a superstitious person but I have actually been worried about the Queen the past few days. 2016 has been an awful year. I hope we see her on January 1st.

6. Am I the only one that think that Meghan and Harry broke up already ?

   1. Nah. I think they’re just lying low after the media storms that happened in November and December.

      1. Yes I agree. I think they are lying low. If they were going to survive they were going to have to do this. The media storm was so intense. Things can only last so long like that.

         1. Its his and her fault though.

   2. Pretty sure Hiddleswift 2.0 has run it’s course.

      1. hahahaha I just snorted diet coke through my nose from laughing so hard at that. The dog is staring at me like I’m crazy…

      2. Oh I hope so.

   3. I’m with Kimothy. They’re biding their time and figuring out how to get away together when no one is looking.

      1. I would place money on a vacation in January. I find it odd that MM has come back to Toronto when the rest of her cast members are still on holidays. But being in Toronto makes it easier for Harry to visit because the RCMP already know how to deal with any visit by a royal. In the US that is harder to keep a secret and to arrange.
         There is also still less paparazzi in Toronto than LA. Much less.

         1. I thought the talk was that filming resumes January 3rd? Her being back in Toronto makes sense. A few weeks of work, then maybe a 1 week break with Harry out of the country?

            1. I believe she has a charity run to India in January. And I think I saw she begins filming Suits again in March?? Could be wrong. If laying low is having 3 to 4 pieces appear in DM daily that’s the most public laying low I’ve ever seen.

            2. Lisa, she’s not responsible for the DM writing about her going to yoga class or out to eat with her mom. She may be laying low and they’re spinning whatever they can find about her to try to create news where there isn’t any.

               There are 1-2 articles out there I can find that are directly related to things she wrote or interviews she was asked to give (Woman’s Health, Elle). Both of those would have been written and contracted months ago, perhaps even before she and Harry met.

            3. She may be responsible for calling the paps on herself. And she may be responsible for asking her family and people she met in Africa to talk to the DM about her. I’m not saying she is responsible for any of that, but she might be. I mean, her family went from attacking her to saying she’s amazing and will make a great royal, so clearly they had a talking to.

            4. notasugar, DM may write a few stories about her, but the sheer number of stories lately are definitely being driven by her PR company. It is something that celebrities do to up their profiles. Only based on the comments in this case it isn’t working very well.

            5. The DM writes what gets them clicks. Markle could be silent as a church mouse and they’d still publish loads of articles about her – because it gets them clicks.

               KMR depends on which members of the family you’re talking about. This is an extended family with older siblings who basically don’t know her. The sister especially was clearly in it for the money and attention IMO.

      2. “They’re biding their time and figuring out how to get away together when no one is looking.”

         William and Kate would get slammed for this.

         1. It is a Catch 22 in a way.

            William has always had the press protection of being the heir, plus the added protections of “leave them alone while they’re at university.” So he started his relationship with KM under cover with the press banned from reporting on it. And they treated the whole thing with kid gloves for 15 years.

            Harry never went to university, so was “fair game” from age 18. Chelsy was attacked from day one, mercilessly by the press. Chased down blind alleys by reporters screaming obscenities to get a reaction on film. And so that pattern has followed with subsequent romantic interests.

            Harry isn’t required to fall in love with someone from his own country, so they’re going to have to travel to see each other. Because of the nature of attack-the-spare, most eligible bachelor, and the fact that she is an actress? The press will hunt their every turn.

            They are all allowed to go on vacation. Trick is, whether or not they work more than they vacation or don’t work. W&K overall work less than Harry and seem to be on permanent vacation, especially when you add in Invictus, Sentebale, and MOD work all of which are done on personal time.

            W&K are required to do more than Harry because of William’s position to the throne. And that he will one day be king, the wealth of the Duchy that he will misdirect, the personal ownership of Balmoral and Sandringham he will inherit due to accident of birth. Yes, W&K are required to work more.

            Some say, “Well Anne does more than Charles and she’s lower in the succession.” Fact is, she doesn’t do more than Charles. Some years, she does more engagements but that is just engagements. Overall she doesn’t do more work for the country than Charles does.

            In addition to engagements, and taking over HM work? Charles revitalized and runs the Duchy. He created Prince’s Trust, which has impacted hundreds of thousands of individuals and helped them improve their lives. He saved Dumpries and put in place training and arts programs that have changed lives. Anne shows up for engagements, then goes home and pours her energy into her private property. Overall, she doesn’t do anywhere near the work for the country that Charles does, even if her engagements numbers occasionally are bigger than his.

7. I don’t see many hits for The Duchess, either In fact, KMR, I think you are very kind and charitable toward her. You are far more generous in nature than I am feeling at this point.

   The speeches? She needs lessons in public speaking and a better understanding of the things she discusses. Her solo trip to The Netherlands? Well, it’s not hard to get on a plane, is it? Once she got there, she looked totally lost! Totally! So, I would not refer to that trip as a hit.

   The misses just keep coming, as far as I am concerned. And, as others have posted, she doesn’t seem to care. The dress fly-up in India was too much! Once again, the Duchess not learning from previous mishaps.

   Her photography skills are no greater than any mom’s. And, her inability to step up to the plate, so to speak, in regard to the issues she supposedly has passion for, are just unbearable. She’s been doing this Duchess “job” far too long to be so “inexperienced.”

   Kate may want to be a wife and a mother. That’s fine. There is truly nothing wrong with that and if she is taking those roles on with passion, then good for her. However, please don’t tell me she didn’t know what she was in for when she married William. He may have tried to sell her a bill of goods about her not having to do much in public, but she wasn’t any 19 year old lass when she tied the knot. Closer to 30, was she not? If she hasn’t matured by now, I doubt she ever will. Kate wants to be taken care of by all. William, her Mum, her sister, everyone!

   Frankly, I am tired of her neediness and lack of a work ethic. I’d like to see things get better, but I have my sincere feelings that they won’t.

   1. I think Pippa and Kate should switch places. Carole pushed the wrong daughter. Let Kate be the rich man’s wife with no responsibilities and let Pippa be the Duchess. Pippa has hustle, and I think she would have done a good job. After all, Pippa has already done more for the British heart association than Kate has done for any if her patronages.

      1. An interesting idea, Carter. And, a good one!

      2. Not to be cynical but I think a lot of pippa’s work was to be seen in a favorable light to get a desirable man.
         If she continues with her work I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

         1. Sarah, You said it. Pippa obviously wants to be famous and receive accolades without the actual work or experience with the goal to find a man who will completely take care of her.

            She glommed onto extreme fitness for charity because she can–supported financially by mummy. Like KM, she never worked in her 20s and it shows. Just two party girls who mummy is still manipulating although they are well into adulthood.

            1. At the time of the wedding Pippa worked as an event planner for an outfit called Table Talk. It was a real job. She quit to “write” her book. Since then a lot of people have done everything they could think of to make Pippa *happen*. Pippa has not happened.

         2. Both sisters have been brought up to find the highest bidder. For a little history of the post-university/ pre-wedding thoughts of Tominey et all; makes for interesting reading: http://royalgossip.forumprofi.de/index.php/topic,2234.0.html

            I’ve never bought Pips as the charity queen, a narrative employed to attract prospective wealthy families with eligible sons. It also meant her abysmal media career could be firmly placed in the past. After the Nico split, she was doing the rounds of old boyfriends. Has she done much charity work since the engagement? Pippa has always seemed closer to Carole in terms of drive and cut-throat ambition.

            Success from both sisters and mother has always been seen in terms of attaching themselves to men’s success (status, family wealth) rather than earning it in their own right. Pretty sick.

            1. “Success from both sisters and mother has always been seen in terms of attaching themselves to men’s success rather than earning it in their own right”

               Jen, this sentence of yours really does make we wonder how Carole and Mike’s relationship came about.
               Has anything ever been written about their courtship?

            2. Uncle Gary once compared his life with Carole’s life in terms of ambitions and whatnot. He said Carole always valued or wanted the sort of life she led and set about achieving it. The implication was that she saw herself as lady of the manor type whereas he just wanted to be successful. 2 very different things.

               He said her wedding was very reflective of the type of lifestyle she was after which was very different from what they grew up with.

               Given everything that has transpired, it’s easy to interprete what he said to this:

               1. They both wanted success

               2. Carole saw her own success as more than monetary, but a climb UP the social ladder as well.

               In terms of how she went about it, in her own life and especially her children, she worked for an attainable goal as far as getting Michael.

               The Aristocracy would have been impossible were it not for a best selling book called ‘the Sloane Ranger’s Handbook’ by Peter York in 1982 which was a guide to being an upper middle class person. It gives details on everything from naming your children, schools, clothing, activities etc

               The archytypal sloane Ranger was Diana and rumour has it that Carole was obsessed with her. To have a guide to turning your life into one that resembled Diana’s life ( the good parts as you saw them in media)……heavensent.

               https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloane_Ranger#The_Official_Sloane_Ranger_Handbook

               Not forgetting their mother Dorothy who came from a long line of women eager to improve their social standing at all times.

               Dorothy was said to be so uppity that their neighbours nicknamed her ‘the dutchess’. I can imagine her pride that Kate fulfilled the family ambitions and they now have a blood princess in the family.

   2. At first, I thought she was too charitable as well but then I took her words to heart. She’s comparing Kate to Kate. Kate is essentially at the bottom of any type of expectations. You’d think the only place would be to go up but somehow she still finds way to go even lower. Most/all of her misses are her own fault.
      *Terrible at public speaking? There are people who can work with you in that.
      *Dress fly ups? First time an accident and you learn from it but how many times is this now? 1)check and see what the weather is going to be like and dress appropriately (goes with fixing hair as well 2) if going to wear a billowy skirt anyways make sure it’s weighted like crazy
      *skipping a time honored trading so you can really get your hair done? Get it done on of of the other 302 days your not working.
      I so agree, I’m tired of the media trying to sell this woman as an empathetic style icon modern day Royal. When we know that she’s nothing close.

      1. They don’t want to improve because it would raise expectations. That bar has to remain low.

         1. When she skipped the Irish Guards because she didn’t want to create an expectation of attending every year, that is really the theme of her entire life. No expectations so that people are grateful if she deigns to make an appearance, and they will overlook her complete unpreparedness and vague speeches about nothing.

            Will is the same. Bizarrely they have the attitude of an absolute monarch in a constitutional monarchy. Reality will slap them hard one day, but not during the Queen’s reign. Maybe Charles will do it.

      2. IMO you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Moreover it makes me wonder if this encourages other slackers to expect a prize for moving their little finger. It’s like the trend to award all children gold stars for participating instead of meeting the standard.

         I think Kate is a lazy lame duck and all criticism should be heaped on her for doing nothing more than bringing the body. The fact is, she has adopted Willy’s idea that her mere presence swanning through the peasants is like being visited by the gods.

         I don’t think she deserves the charity. She should be doling it out.

8. Kate’s performance keeps getting worse as her and William continue a race to the bottom of public’s expectations. The only thing Kate showed any hustle or skill in was being the mattress to William and sticking like a leech for dear life. I don’t see her improving or getting better at her role, ever- she will get more surly and greedy however.

   A psychic made celebrity predictions and predicted that Charles will become King in 2017. This was the same and only psychic that predicted that Brad and Angelina would split. In 2016….so…..

   1. @Red, she was never meant to be Queen that’s why.

9. I know that the Irish Guards got the most backlash, but the worst for me was when she skipped the EACH gala. I think the reason why it upset me is because of the subject matter. This organization benefits terminally ill children, children that Kate doesn’t seem to actually want to visit. (I could never imagine Kate doing what Madeleine did, hosting a tea party for these kids and dressing up to give them a fairy tale experience. That was my favorite event of 2016.)

   If Kate is uncomfortable around sick children that’s Ok. She shouldn’t have made this one of her causes. She should have stuck with sports, art, or other topics she likes (Although I personally believe that a good royal will not just work with things they enjoy, that’s not the way it works in the real world. When you have a job you are supposed to do it. Period. Whether you like it or not. But I digress.).
   I just feel that Kate chose hospices as her big cause when she first got married because it seemed like a Diana thing to do. Then, when it was obvious that Kate didn’t like visiting these kids, she started to shirk her responsibilities with EACH (as she does with so many things) to the point that EACH complained about her lack of work ethic.

   This gala was a fancy event. All she had to do was put on one of her overpriced lace Dolce and Gabbana dress, grab one of her beige clutch bags, and smile for an hour. That’s it. To benefit dying children. And she couldn’t be bothered.

   That is just unacceptable. I have no words.

   Thank you for these roundups. I also enjoyed seeing you break down the numbers for how much Kate, Will, and Harry worked. I have criticized Will and Kate before for their lack of work ethic but this breakdown has convinced me that Harry should be criticized as well. Will and Kate use their children as an excuse for why they don’t work more. But Harry doesn’t have kids, so what’s his excuse? And I don’t believe that he has to work less than Will so he doesn’t overshadow him. Just look at Princess Anne. She is a workhorse and doesn’t get nearly enough credit for it. She doesn’t seem worried about overshadowing Charles.

   1. The dynamic between Harry and William is much different than Charles’ relationship with Anne.
      William always pulls rank and Harry falls into line.

      Doesn’t excuse the widespread apathy at KP, including Haribo.

      I saw an interview (can’t remember exactly which one it was), with either harry or william and they were explaining how they wanted to specifically focus on causes.

      Great. That shouldn’t mean passing off the dull bread & butter engagements on the old folks. They have nothing but time.

10. My biggest disappointment was when she blew off the Irish Guards. I always got the feeling she really enjoyed it, especially when solo(and surrounded by men in uniform). I almost think Kate took the brunt of ill will here for an executive decision made by her husband.
    Yes, in this one instance(and it was a doozy not soon to be forgotten) I believe Kate was thrown under the bus and told to grin and bear it.

    The rest of her misses, very much on her. I don’t think she is motivated or all that interested in doing a good job. But she’ll put her time in and be more or less animated depending on her mood that day.

    Yes Kate, get help with your public speaking, that should be #1 on your list-you will be speaking in public the whole rest of your life because of who you married. Give us something. Being a loving mom, doting wife, dutiful daughter, loyal sister and erstwhile simple country girl do not qualify you to be a queen consort. I’m sorry, but there has to be much much more and shame on Wills if he dumbed it down for you in the beginning. At this point you know the score, so giant leap forward is in order. Please try

    1. I think it’s all on her. I don’t care if she is cowed by her husband. I imagine she finds his purported vetos expedient keeping her away from work, and it gets her what she wants. I don’t think she should get a pass for anything. She’s in on it, 100%. She’s no victim.

    2. Kate is manipulative and has been for a very long time: refusing to work pre- and post-marriage, having her family infiltrate royal events to benefit their status, blowing off a number of engagements because she couldn’t be bothered. She’s responsible for her own behaviour. I agree with Maven: she’s no victim.

       1. @Jen not manipulative, just lazy.

          1. I agree with lazy, Kitty. If no one “makes” her do anything she hasn’t the gumption to do things on her own initiative.

             I still really want to believe the Irish Guards was out of her hands, because the alternative is me totally thinking there is no hope for her at all. And I don’t want to be there yet. Leave me to my magical Christmas thinking ladies, for a bit longer yet ?

11. Hits? Better shoes and more speeches; being marginally less awful than William

    Misses: The Tiger’s Nest Monastery debacle on the Bhutan leg of the foreign tour was one for me. The skin tight pants? That she was accompanied by her hair stylist and personal assistants? That her and William wanted privacy and no coverage from the press team accompanying them? Yep, it annoyed me. It was a week long tour with no real heavy lifting, cause-wise, but they were both inane, disengaged and constantly hoping to skive off on their own to enjoy a safari or spa treatment.

    1. God forbid they should watch a Bollywood movie before attending a reception full of…… Bollywood film stars. Also, Will prefers to read his briefing notes on the plane ride home, thank you!

    2. Hi Future Crayon, did you receive your red coat for Christmas??

       1. No – curse you, Santa Claus!

    3. I agree, she’s no victim. The sniping at each other in public, the dueling passive-aggressive treatment of each other in public, the behind the scenes stories of Prickly Princess, their reported screaming matches over Scrabble, her aggressive behavior towards any woman near William, the bullying of the Yorks.

       This is a contentious relationship between two strong-willed (and remarkably lazy and entitled) people.

       1. “screaming matches over Scrabble.”
          ??? When did this happen?

          1. At university, Cookie.

             Friends talked about how competitive they were and how they’d yell and scream at one another during Scrabble, or how William mocked Kate for being stupid to the point of making her cry when they watched University Challenge.

       2. And don’t forget her possessiveness of Harry at one point, where she was (1) openly flirting with him at events, and (2) actively pursuing who would be a good wife for him.

          She will be a nightmare to whomever Harry marries.

          1. @Jen, unless Harry marries a hardworking, independent, confident, competitive women, Kate does not stand a chance.

          2. I’m so glad Harry no longer is seen to interact with her in public. She was really flirting with him in public and in a suggestive manner that appeared to exclude W (not that I much care about W’s feelings). What kind of wife does that? Desperately neglected? Passive aggressive show of defiance toward W? Or someone who doesn’t give fig about behaving like a grown up?

             1. A woman who only values herself when she is getting attention from men.

          3. Any woman Harry marries will be treated like garbage not only by Kate but by the media. And Kate will be like Diana playing into it with the Diana v Fergie, where Diana was very involved in making sure SHE was the one with the spotlight and Fergie got the bad press.

             1. @Ellie I disagree. If anything the media are annoyed at Kate and criticize her a lot especially her laziness so if Harry future wife is hardworking, beautiful, comes from a wealthy family or has her own wealth. confident, independent, and COMPETITIVE, then Kate has losts.
                What did Diana do to Fergie?

             2. True, Ellie. The media will follow the traditional heir-vs-spare and extend it to their wives. Harry and his future spouse have to band together against it, instead of Harry deferring to William. This is why I keep saying his future spouse needs to create her own non-profit (a la Sentebale or Childhood), and be seen working at it publicly 2 days a week.

             3. Harry and wife will get a honeymoon period but the press will inevitably whip up comparisons between Kate and the new wife eg who is the more attractive, dresses best, works hardest etc. Plus the Middleton’s won’t want the newbie getting better or more press. It would be in the new couple’s best interests to set up an independent office, and as nota says, establish another couple of charities that are sealed off from W+K, like Invictus and Sentebale. That way they can control their own narratives, at least to some extent. The Royal Foundation is a little problematic if all four are involved, though each couple could focus on some aspects independent of the other couple. If Harry still under-performs in terms of numbers, and wife follows suit, they’ll be dead in the water very quickly. They have to do ample work each week and to be seen doing it.

             4. The Foundation originally started as W&H’s. KM was added in after the wedding. My hope is that Harry and future spouse will spin off their own independent foundation, plus creating the 1-2 additional private non-profits I think they’ll need in the future.

12. William and Kate are eternally disappointing as royals. They could’ve taken the world by storm, but chose not to. Now they only way they can stir up big publicity is to drag the kids along.

    There is still hope for Harry. He is fantastic.

    Have we heard any rumors as to the next tour destination? Probably gotta check the bucket list. A weeklong tour of the U.S.?

    Instead of artificially inflating their numbers by adding a second tour… All three should independently visit 30-40 different places in the UK!

13. I’d say that their whole heads together campaign is a miss for me.

    1. @Sarah, it was a failure.

       1. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a failure but a miss. who says They have a happy healthy childhood and that’s why they want to get involved in children’s mental health causes? Neither seem that engaged with it and initially I thought it might be a way for them to seek some help for themselves without actively doing it. Now I think someone chose it for them. the whole let’s end the stigma of mental health and their execution of it seems ambiguous at best. They don’t seem to come prepared, look bored at most of their engagements and they stick to the lighter mental health issues. They should have picked a different cause for her.

          1. I still have suspicions he reason they picked this cause is because W, K and H have their own problems and are seeking to use the charity and talking to people to figure out their own crap. Like how Kate does things and asks about how it works for her, or her children, or whatever is going on in her life; it’s never about anything but her. You know?

             1. @Ellie:The possibility of the trio focusing on mental health issues due to personal issues crossed my mind as well.

    2. +1

14. I will say it again, William and Kate won’t be King and Queen in the future.

15. I have no expectations that William, Kate and I have to include Harry, will increase their workload in 2017, unless it is forced upon them by major life events in the royal family.

    1. The Diana card has been used so often; expect it to be used even more in 2017, the 20th anniversary of her death, if pressure is applied to do more work. Kate.Will.Not.Work. Never has, never will. What will be interesting is when the French photo scandal comes to trial. That presents an opportunity for someone to blow Kate and William out of the water.

       1. Jen, do you think it will be brought up or whitewashed and hidden as everything else is? The poor nude Kate pictures, versus they were skiving off again and supposed to be working but said they were prepping for a tour when they went on holiday.

          And even more incriminating photos could be released, depending; the photographer siad a lot of them were X-rated. Ew.

          If you’re going to be naked on a balcony with view of a street, and you know people will be stalking you 24/7 and you have no semblance of privacy in your life, you kinda deserve it IMO. It’s poor planning, stupid, and a bit of karma biting them in the butt for skipping the Paralympics. Lucky for them the world defended them and forgot or just ignored the fact they were supposed to be working when they were on holiday. Again.

          1. Well at least we will see how Katie earns her keep if those photos do come out. She must be putting in “some work”…

             1. Yep!

          2. Well, someone like Nic919 (a lawyer) would be better prepared to answer this. But the trial will remind the public that William and Kate lied to everyone – blowing off Paralympics 2012 to frolic in France instead of prepping for their Malaysia tour (some ‘prep’, you might snicker). There are more nude photos – full frontal as well as Kate performing oral sex on William. Opening it all up again I’d think would be dangerous. W+K were still enjoying good press in 2012, but four years on, the lazy, work-shy label has taken root so people may not be so well-disposed towards them? A clever journalist could stir up a lot of clicks in the reporting of a trial.

             Just look at this post of hits and misses, where none of us can be bothered giving Kate the benefit of the doubt and can point to more misses than anything else.

             Just came across this: https://royalgossippsychotic.wordpress.com/
             Don’t know who wrote/writes this but it sure gives context. It certainly paints Kate as an exhibitionist.

             1. @Jen how dumb can they be to public perform Oral Sex!

             2. Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew.

                That gossip blog is written by someone who’s been banned from multiple forums for being over the top and making up a lot of crap, so I would take anything she writes with a grain of salt.

             3. @Ellie; I agree.

             4. I’d say the Cambridge’s are happy to litigate but times have changed since 2012 and the public may not be as sympathetic now as they were back then. The world is moving through a very distinct anti-establishment phase (Brexit, Trump) so it will be interesting to see how it plays out and how it is reported and received.

             5. I understand not being sympathetic to them shirking their duties, but no one deserves to have their privacy violated in that way and people should be sympathetic to that. But I doubt they will be. Too often people blame the victim in things like this.

             6. There were many people who were sympathetic. Others who were sympathetic for Harry, with photos taken indoors in the privacy of a hotel room sold off (because he is an idiot sometimes).

                W&K are high-profile, taxpayer-funded public figures. Other government officials would have been tracked on this type of trip too. Say, the Canadian prime minister and wife, and shown dodging work, lying, and frolicking while Rome burns. The photos would have been published, no mistake, and would have been their own kind of sensation.

                Just as Diana and Fergie assumed no one was watching, W&K did too. W&K assumed they’d gotten away with yet another of their secret vacations, as they so often do. Someone is always watching, fair or not.

             7. Just to step in here, the trial will be in France which runs under a civil law system and not common law so I can’t really speak to how everything will work. My understanding is that the judge is more active and inquisitorial than in a common law system.

                But regardless of the system used, it will be a reminder that Will and Kate lied about their whereabouts. And maybe we won’t see the pictures, but the lawyers for the accused will definitely be trying to get as many details on the record about how they were acting. It is my understanding that Kate was seen posing over the balcony in one instance and looking in the direction of the camera in the others. She also apparently changed her bikini bottoms in the open at least once. (Who does that?)

                That said it is probably unlikely she gets called as a witness. The lawyers for the accused will certainly try, but there may be shenanigans.

                Will and Kate better work really hard in the beginning of the year, because the media coverage of this trial will not be good for them at all. The fergie toe sucking incident will be nothing compared to this.

          3. I don’t know I don’t think she deserved it. The pictures were taken with a long lens. The photographer was apparently half a mile away. It’s not like she was walking around Times Square naked.

             1. The pictures are almost irrelevant other than to prove they lied about their whereabouts and were vacationing instead of going to the Paralympics. So even if the trial results in a conviction of the photographers, which I am not sure will happen, the press will still be able to add to the narrative that Will and Kate are lazy and shirk work consistently.

             2. There’s a road where you can see to the balcony so I don’t understand why they thought nobody would see them. Maybe I’m way too shy and prudish!

                At the time David Cameron made some statement about going after the photographer and if I remember correctly the place was ransacked by police.

                Not as bad though as the treatment of the press photographer who happened to get a picture incidentally of Kate’s naked rear when her dress flew up in Australia. The abuse of that woman was awful. It wasn’t her fault, she was there taking photos of them for her job!

             3. From what I remember, the road is a mile away and behind a line of trees. So it’s perfectly understandable that they would think they had privacy.

16. I don’t have great expectations for the Cambridges this coming year. She won’t be able to work because she will be helping to transition the children from living in Norfolk to being city dwellers. He won’t be able to work because it’s been 20 years since his mother died. There will be excuse after excuse and “private” engagements that no one knows about. In my opinion, they have squandered the chance to do good and anything they do from here on in will just be viewed as their having it done it to get the press (and people like us) off their backs. I was so excited when they got married – I thought them capable of so much. It has been one disappointment after another with the Cambridges.

    1. What I think is interesting too, is Kate gonna be bridesmaid for Pippa’s wedding? I can’t imagine it ,although I think Kate would love to do it for her sister, I think it would not be considered as appropiate.

17. I too was appalled that her and her assistants wore skin tight pants and spaghetti straped tank tops to a monastery, so unbelievably immodest and rude.

    Edit, sorry this was in response to Future Crayons comments.

18. Copying this idea down here in case it gets lost in the long thread.

    KMR, what about an open post about the nature of modern monarchy and monarchs? I’m not talking about whether monarchies should exist or not, that’s not the premise.

    If the people of a country choose to be in a monarchy, what is the role of a monarch in a modern constitutional monarchy? What should they and shouldn’t they do that makes them a good monarch. That would be an interesting discussion.

    1. I think it would be interesting, too. Did you see this article about Queen of Denmark on the same lines?

       http://cphpost.dk/history/the-art-of-being-meaningful-without-saying-anything-at-all.html

       1. Thanks, Fifi!

19. I can’t keep up with all of the replies!! 🙂

    I think Tash or Kate may have read the predictions post last year because of the lack of Sledge and Power Pump wearing. She even showed some spunk in the shoe game this year. Pretty much only had to beg for her to do it, but she did.

    I’d like to wish everyone a very happy, prosperous and safe new year. It’s always nice to come here and read everyone’s viewpoints. It’s a great environment and that’s due to KMR’s leadership and the examples she sets. Thank you KMR for all of your hard work this year. I’m really looking forward to more in 2017!!

    1. I want to end my comment on a positive note,so I’ll start with the misses first.
       1)Not visiting EACH a single time!Given the nature of the charity(helping terminally ill children) I would expect it to be given more attention than Wimbledon!!May be she visited one of their facilities in private,I sure hope so.Also,missed EACH gala.Really,EACH appears to be her most mistreated patronage.
       2)Missing the Irish Guards ceremony.Oh was this a big mess up.And the reasoning given for missing it showed lack of sense of duty and commitment.

       Hits include:
       1) greater frequency of Written messages and speeches
       2)Place2Be video released in Feb.
       3)Bringing George to an RAF air cadet event

       1. Kate’s most mistreated patronage is SportsAid. But EACH is right up there.

          Thanks for including some of Kate’s hits in your comment!

       2. I hope at least they bring George out to more events, and Kate continues in at least attempting to give more speeches.

          I kinda liked the Place2Be video. She seemed less stiff than she usually does and was more relatable.

       3. I find the written messages utterly useless and should be counted as misses. She does not write them and her signature is an electronic one. Her assistant is doing this work.
          Unless she handwrites the entire message I will never believe that she contributes anything to them. It’s not like they are that long anyway.

          At least with a video she is forced to speak the words written by someone else.

20. I’m scared that they both won’t be full time royals ever which is scary for the future of the monarchy.

    1. I think it suits our time. Many people from different financial backgrounds are lazy. As long as you have enough money, you can do what you want and nobody cares if you do something mindful. My opinion is, if you have money, you have the duty to give. There is an enormous amount of people who suffer
       because of the lack of money. Still in 2016! It’s a shame.

21. KMR this was a wonderful run down of the numbers in terms of appearances. For me, the most egregious was not going to Sandrigham for Christmas, particularly since HM was ill. It does sadden me that Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge do not pay more attention to the public reaction or consequences of their actions. HM QEII has been a magnificent role model and has truly embodied the meaning of duty. Her life was not easy (think of her age at the death of her father), yet she has continued on strongly at this age. Kate may want to spend the holiday with her Mum, but she has a role and a JOB now. Her Majesty may also have wanted to have the family together at the age of 90 and not feeling well. After all, given the work day totals above, it is not so much to ask someone to put in “overtime” ( tongue in cheek) and endure the rigors of a few days at Sandrigham (again tongue in cheek) in order to show the nation you are part of the Royal Family and are, if nothing else, providing support to the ruling monarch.

    As for the overall lack of appearances, I agree with everyone here. She simply must do more. If she compares herself to many other women in Britain and around the world, yes you have kids but you also have nannies, a butler, a chauffeur, press secretaries, etc. Please make the effort to dress up nicely and be driven to an event for an hour, where you smile and make pleasant talk based on your briefing notes. You do owe us all that much and it is not so much to ask for really

22. Not sure where else to put this.

    Kate and William are slammed for doing HALF the official engagements Charles and Diana did at the same age

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4077950/Kate-William-slammed-doing-HALF-official-engagements-Charles-Diana-did-age.html

    1. Expect a reaction article from KP throwing both parents under the bus for never being there for William growing up in 3, 2, 1…

       1. That’s the first thing I thought when I saw the headline.

       2. That is such a dumb argument because Harry isn’t as petulant as William and he was younger when he lost his mom. And the Middleton kids are pretty useless adults with parents who were around most of the time.

23. Awesome review KMR.

    It does seem that Kate generally exceeded our expectations, and yet we don’t feel satisfied.

    Would you be interested in trying to do the 2017 polling slightly differently this year? Maybe we could all vote on things that should be expected of Kate, as a royal 6 years into her role, who also is not yet PoW and has two small children, with plenty of help? Instead of what we bet she will do, we can vote on what we feel she SHOULD do based on reasonable capabilities and rationale.

    1. Hi Stephanie! I added a poll to my list of polls which is about what we want to happen. I included a bunch of options and allowed an write-in option for people to write in their own. I hope that’s the type of thing you had in mind.

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