Kate Middleton has an engagement today, she’ll visit Action for Children in Wales. I’ll have coverage of that tomorrow. Until then, the Daily Beast has an article about how Prince William and Kate haven’t changed their lazy ways.
For space, I’m cutting out the beginning where it lists all of Kate’s activities from last week.
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“However, anyone who thought this burst of activity signified a newfound work ethic for the Cambridges, who are often accused of over indulging in their leisure time, was to be disappointed.
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“The next day the shutters went up, Kate and William retreated to Norfolk and, astonishingly, Kate only has three public appearances between now and that trip to France. The first is next Wednesday (February 22), when she will undertake her first engagement as the royal patron of Action for Children, visiting mental health projects for children in Wales. Kate has another engagement on the last day of February in London, opening the Ronald McDonald House at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. Aside from a church service on March 9, Kate will otherwise be out of public view until the Paris trip.
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“Despite extensive counsel to the contrary, it seems William and Kate are not yet ready to give up the leisured life they have for some years been enjoying with their ‘Turnip Toff’ landowning friends in the backwaters of Norfolk, a hundred miles from the capital and any serious, sustained press scrutiny. Their argument is that they are busy working behind the scenes, and raising their kids, and that making sure the next generation of royalty is as sane and balanced as possible is just as important work as cutting ribbons.
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“There was initially some sympathy for the Cambridges’ position among the public and the press, but it is starting to wane. Working parents, for example, find it deeply galling when Will and Kate start talking about how hard it is to be a mom or dad.
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“As one well-informed British commentator who wished to remain anonymous told the Daily Beast: ‘Whenever he talks about how hard parenthood is you realize he has no idea how his choices come across.’ The commentator says this is, ‘partly because no one dares tell him that doing so little looks pathetic; they surround themselves with yes people including staff and friends. They are very spoiled and indulged.’
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“Certainly, the persistent chatter among the journalists who cover the royal beat is informed by constant disbelief of how little the Cambridges do, despite regular admonishments in the press.
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“There have been regular hints by the Cambridges’ team that the couple will do more once their children are older. Many had expected that process of stepping up their game to begin this year – a process given new urgency by the queen’s Christmas health scare. But on the currently available evidence, that is not happening.
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“The Daily Beast inquired of Kensington Palace whether Kate’s engagement schedule for the next few weeks represented the frequency of engagements we should expect from her for the next few years. The palace responded by re-sending the Daily Beast a press release from January, which stated that the Cambridges were, ‘keen to continue to increase their official work on behalf of The Queen and for the charities and causes they support’ and that ‘from this autumn’ they would ‘increasingly base their family at Kensington Palace,’ in order to allow for this.
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“Being ‘keen to continue to increase’ one’s workload from the fall is better than nothing, but it’s a far cry from a solid commitment – and understandably many observers are skeptical that anything will change much when the couple is living in London. Kate will almost certainly have another child next year (or even this year), which could well be another excuse to spend another three years out of the spotlight.
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“If William and Kate do slip up, the press, who have showed Olympian levels of restraint in their coverage of the royals in recent years, will eat them alive, so heavily built up is the resentment from a series of sleights, non-co-operation and attempts to cut them out of the picture.
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“William is headstrong and doesn’t listen to his father (mind you, who can blame him?) and only hires youthful advisers who will agree with him. Which means there’s only one person who can tell William to jump and be asked how high. Your Majesty?”
I’m going to get yelled at for this, but I have to point out that, as of time of posting (so not including Kate’s engagement from today, February 22), both Kate and Sophie have worked 8 days in 2017: Sophie did 5 days in January and 3 days so far in February; Kate did 3 days in January and 5 days so far in February.
Anyway, this article is pretty standard, and things we already know and continue to talk about: William and Kate are lazy, they’re never going to step up, the press is upset at the treatment they’ve received from William and Kate, William and Kate’s comments make them seem out of touch and entitled, Kate will have a third baby, William hates his father. Rinse and repeat.
Oh, here’s an article from the DM about William and Kate’s thank you replies to people who write to them. It talks about how the typed response is the same for almost every occasion, is identical for the same occasion each year, and how the responses are very similar if not the same to Charles and Camilla’s responses.
I’ve never sent a letter to any royal, but I do like looking through the responses over at Gert’s Royals. And yes, the typed message on the responses from William and Kate, Charles and Camilla, and Harry (whom the article didn’t mention for some reason even though the same thing that is true for William and Kate here is true for Harry as well) are virtually the same every time. Sometimes they just reuse the same exact card from previous years. Charles and Camilla’s, William and Kate’s, and Harry’s mail is all taken care of by the same team, which is a part of Charles’ press office. Clearly that team is quite lazy in terms of changing up the typed message and changing up the photos used for the cards.
KMR, No yelling at you. Peace and harmony.
My only quibble is Tom’s surprise that W&KM quickly battened down the hatches (or shutters) after a couple of appearances. Don’t know why he sounds dismayed about their usual behaviour.
Thanks, KMR.
Don’t all the royals disappear between engagements? Like, Harry disappears between engagements and no one says anything. No one is calling Sophie out for disappearing between engagements. Disappearing between engagements is not just normal behavior from William and Kate; it’s normal behavior from all the royals.
What does it matter if William and Kate disappear to Norfolk versus disappearing to Kensington Palace between engagements? Charles heads out to Highgrove. The Queen goes to Windsor. The problem with William and Kate is not Norfolk and it’s not them disappearing between engagements, it’s the amount and quality of engagements they do.
I wouldn’t particularly care if they disappeared between engagements if they actually worked as they ought for the amount of money they take. Or acting as if their meagre engagements are honoring us plebeians with their presence and off they go to their estate to hide away from the rest of the world and pontificate about mental health in bad press releases and how keen they are to work. 😉
Agree Ellie. Harry once said that he hates when the press focus on his private like instead of his work, but he must first work so the press, and the public, can focus on his work life. The royals can’t separate their private life from their work life. You can’t have it one way, you can’t only use it to your advantage. The media has its negatives and positives, if you engage with them your agreeing to letting them in. You can’t simply use them when it suits only one party. As a RF member you’d be foolish to think you can use them.
Amen!
Nothing is new with these lazy entitled waster of…. this is the usual for the first part of the year. And no one should hold their breath of any move from Norfolk, what was meant as HM gift to use as holiday mansion/Christmas home in near Sandringham. This move will be pushed back to Christmas at carol and stay in place AH. especially with pips wedding.
These two continue to waste tax payers funds, no regard to HM/ PP HEALTH AND AGE, POW and the rest of the aging BRF who work so much harder than these two wasters of duties – service to the needy- that b andk/carole and the middletons ever gave back.
Lets hope Prince and Princess (in waiting) Henry remain at Canada Invictus -and away from middletons.
True. They all disappear to their respective homes when not working. And it is very, very part-time, easy work badged by their PR machine as busy, busy, busy activity and their sole justification to receive buckets of public money.
William and Kate’s behaviour rightly draws critique but then, inevitably, this turns to intense scrutiny of all the Windsor’s. People have soft spots for one family member or another but the hard fact is that none of the royals do enough to warrant the public money and lifestyle lavished upon them. Monarchy has diminishing value, both societal and economic, in a modern world.
Should the monarchy be retired, there would be nothing stopping the Windsor’s from continuing with their charity work as private citizens – as indeed many other private citizens do, though they do the actual grunt work. The Duchies’ profits would be returned to the State, along with other palaces that no doubt, would be fully utilised. Security to the tune of 100+ million pounds per year would be saved, including that paid by local councils whenever royals visited. Finally, William and Kate would gain complete privacy and relative normalcy, as they desire. The downsides for the couple (and all the Windsor’s really) is that they will need to self-fund their lives and get used to no-one grovelling.
Jen, how much is security for the Cambridge family?
Kitty, ‘Republic’ estimates the annual cost of security to be 103 million pounds for the BRF. This is based on figures reported in the media, including The Daily Mail, May 29, 2011 and The Mirror, July 11 2010. It includes an element for inflation, though how much remains unstated. Source: republic.org
Since there is so little transparency of the true costs of maintaining the BRF overall, it is impossible to know how much the Cambridge’s cost the public.
+1
And it is ludicrous and perverse to be paid (in the millions) for doing ‘charity work’.
If the lazy duo shines the spotlight on the rest of the undeserving royals, may the power of the Sloth keep them strong and determined.
Because Kate and Will are in line to be Q&K. Harry and his line don’t/won’t cost as much for clothes, etc nor is as much expected from him. Ditto Sophie who is only a Countess rather than Duchess of Cambridge. She’ll be lucky to see Duchess after PP if Charles goes his way.
This comes down to Charles. He’s the one putting K&W as the stars, and this life is what Kate knew it to be and wanted. William isn’t saying no to the spoon.
Somebody always has to pay for the pleasures. It doesn’t matter if their friends can be idle. People should blame Charles more because it’s obvious K&W need a supporting cast rather than star billing.
Point is: what does it matter what W&K do in their private time and where they live? The only thing that matters is that they get out and do a significant number of engagements and do a good job at them. Let them have their downtime in Norfolk and their vacations as long as they do a good amount of work in between.
I think W&K are doing better this year. Unfortunately, the past years and royal behavior have made an enemy (not all but a lot) of the media– with reason. So they’ve found that bashing W&K gets clicks/$ and they’ll do it. Easier to stir the pot then chase after W&K and hope they can get a picture or positive comment.
All I can see for Will is rough(!) times ahead. His desire for privacy, even a normal private day will be ripped by the media.
The only way to combat this is giving advances to the press with a solid line of engagements and then for Jason for get off his bum and defend them after they’ve worked harder. Jason is the worst.
Thank you, KMR, for all your work towards this website. I really enjoy all the information and reasearch provided! Been reading your blog for a while now; although I have not commented yet.
Started being interested in Kate Middleton since the wedding. Should say about a year or two ago really. Heard on the radio at the time of the wedding that Kate and William were the new innovative/modern faces of the British Royal family.
But, after a couple years into the marriage, hadn’t really heard/read anything really innovative (except Kate’s fashion). Guess I had my hopes up to something really amazing from their part, and a bit disapointed. Really do wish William and Kate to succeed!
About your point: “The only thing that matters is that they get out and do a significant number of engagements and do a good job at them.” My grandmother used to say: do your homework and do it well. When your job is done appropriately, a lot of thing may be looked over (hope am understandable!). By that, I mean if William and Kate are engaged into their engagments/well prepared for them, their private time would not be scrutinized as I seem to see it.
I agree with Ellie. I don’t care if they hide in between engagements and i’ll even say that i don’t care if they go on vacations.
What i care about is the number of engagements and the quality of engagements.
Sophie may be at 8 engagements at this point, but her engagements had substance, and her average totals every year are always closer to the overall average of the BRF numbers.
In that way, i do not begrudge Sophie and i do not compare them.
100%
+1
I think the key issue is that people are willing to give certain royals the benefit of the doubt because they have built up a reputation that they work. Sophie may be at 8 engagements now, but her totals at the end of the year for the last few years have been in line with what we usually see for working members of the BRF. William and Kate haven’t shown us that yet. If they show us that for a few years, I’d be more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I bet CC didn’t count all Sophie’s training time while she was getting ready for the DoE bike ride.
But W&K get credit for Charlotte’s christening (Sophie may have too back with the kids). Point is, Sophie demonstrates she reads the briefings and knows what’s going on. W&K always seem surprised and needing “updating” when they attend. Perception becomes reality if they don’t provide much else. Knowledgeable interactions would be a good start.
“Like, Harry disappears between engagements and no one says anything.”
Well no. Harry’s been on at least two vacations (The Northern Lights and that hunting trip) and taken I don’t how many “weekends” since November and no one says anything about THAT. But it’s ok. Because clearly Harry’s super busy doing work of which there’s no evidence of and there’s no way to confirm… (It’s another topic but man… Let’s see how people also feel when William and Kate start putting a dozen or so meetings on the CC for their work with Heads Together.)
+1
Completely agree!
I criticize Harry, he’s no better than the rest of them except he has charisma and comes more prepared than William and Kate.
I agree that people say he does all this off the book stuff but as you say not provable and he’s clearly not consistent with it if he’s able to jet off whenever.
Charles, Camilla and Anne all seem to be workers I don’t know enough about Sophie’s numbers to comment how she fares with the rest of them
Sophie is not close to being queen, is she? Who gets the lion’s share here? If it is up to PC who reportedly wants a slim down monarchy, she is not gonna “work” at all, in the not too distant future. Now what then, the Cambridges gonna collapse under the workload, or do they choose to be so normal and concentrate on their growing family again.
Kate is just lazy. She did absolutely nothing with her life prior to getting married. Laziness is unattractive in a person unless the person attracted to them is also lazy, which is why she and William ended up together. That will never, ever change. William will sooner see the monarchy abolished than do an inch more work than he wants to.
I don’t think we will ever see another monarch like Queen Elizabeth for the UK. She and Prince Philip are work horses and have a real sense of duty that I don’t think has passed on well. I can’t believe she’s 90 and still going. I wish Princess Anne was the heir because she seems a lot like her mother, hardworking and as down to earth as is possible for someone born into that station.
Charles is a pretty hard worker.
He is indeed a hard worker, but he ignores the constitutional limits of his role as a royal. And for a lot of British citizens that it is a turn off. I love the causes that he stands for, but he alienates people with his politics
To be fair, only the monarch is constitutionally and legislatively bound in their role.
It’s an urban legend that has mutated into fact that the rest of the family, including the POW, are similarly bound.
Technically, apart from being heir to the throne and the recently developed, unwritten, social contract between the royals and the public in exchange for tax payer funding and forelock tugging, the rest of the family are free to do as they please.
Being bound by the unwritten social contract, it behooves them not to bite the hand that feeds them. And they all follow the Queen Mother’s dictat not to rock the boat. To that end, the Queen strictly doesn’t rock the boat and is resolutely silent even where she has some power to affect anything.
Once Charles becomes Monarch, he will be subject to legislative and constitutional dictats that require him not to interfere in government and to keep his opinions to himsrlf and not to lobby for special interests.
Until then, he can speak out as he likes though people don’t like it because being POW still puts him at a better advantage than a common or garden lobbyist or person of influence.
In the Georgian era we’ve had POWs and their Princely siblings that publicly influenced politics and openly supported one party over the other.
Victoria was a disastrous politician who more often got it wrong when she directly interfered and in the end had to be flattered into acquiescing with the govt of the day. She was never meekly quiet.
The silent dictat worked wonders for George 5 and 6, but they were faced with crisises that rocked the boat and they had to minimise any potential damage. HM is following their footsteps, but she hasn’t really faced that kind of crisis and in the end it has served her well.
Unfortunately for tjose that follow, including Charles, the example set by the Queen, her father and grandfather has become the norm and the public expects that kind of behaviour rather than a more dynamic monarchy.
Btw, both the Queen’s father and grandfather barely had time to be POW since they never expected to be higher than York. Grandfather spent most of his time in the navy until unexpectedly becoming POW and then shortly afterwards HM whilst father was never POW at all. We shall never know how opinionated they might have been if they had many years as POW before getting the top job.
Herazeus, I Love your comments. There is so much I’ve learned from you. Thank you!
Your comment reminds me of the second episode in the BBC’s House of Cards Trilogy. Michael Kitchen played a Charles like figure who was very high minded socially but hopelessly obtuse because of his privileged position. The episode is To Play the King. I love that program. (I’ve never seen the American version.)
Hi Lilibet,
I agree with you about the idle “growing up” years aka Failure to Launch type pleasure drifting, but I do think both W&K could do more if they were given an ultimatum. I really feel like they are both the product of permissive parenting on both sides. It’s noteworthy that Charles & Diana, and Carole & Michael are/were all hard workers.
I completely agree. They act like this because they can. There are no consequences to their actions. Their family won’t call them out, and the press keep puffing out their chests and hinting that they may call them out, but they never do. If the Queen or Charles put their foot down and said no more money you have to live off your inheritance, they’d step up.
They have let William hold all the cards aka he is the future of the monarchy. If he has threatened to walk away in the past and I’d be surprised if he hadn’t, his family caved. But they never called his bluff. William would never walk away from all the deference an privilege. He and Kate are completely unsuitable for any leadership roles. Bottom line: neither are intelligent, reflective, or have empathy for others, let alone have a decent work ethic.
+1
Well Jen, anything is possible. Anything can change. William better be careful.
Right, so that problem–perception–underlies KMR’s point, which I agree, they should have time off. But the problem of public perception that W&K do minimal engagements, spending upwards to an hour (hour and a half) at said engagement, and that’s all they did for that day as sub par. The public feels like “why don’t they do a couple engagements back to back” or spend three plus hours and really dig in to the event. Do that a couple of times per week and IMO people would feel lime W&K were more in line with them relate-wise.
Kate was hailed largely because she’s middle-class, so was inherently going to bring a non-pampered elite spouse as future Queen. People feel like they aren’t seeing much for their buck, which is their right.
Idle rich life is not selling well these days and Will’s public visibility makes him a big target.
I don’t see Anne as down-to-earth. She’s the reason why HM did the first big re-write of the Order of Precedence, because Anne didn’t like being overshadowed by Diana and Sarah. The Princess Royal title also came at the height of the Diana&Fergie years.
Anne had an extra marital affair, got caught publicly (cover of People), ended up married to the man she had an affair with. She may currently be having an affair with Camilla’s ex. I don’t see how that’s better than Charles.
Her “private” estate was fixed up with public money. 5-10 million in today’s money, all of which benefits her personal bottom line. Her adult kids and their families live there rent-free, with the entire estate secured with taxpayer money. Don’t see how that’s a great example of how not to cheat the taxpayers.
Anne is as brusque as her father and often says inappropriate things. There are racist and hurtful comments in her list of public utterances. She’s sworn during engagements, told a pensioner the gift they’d made for the Queen was a waste of time, etc.
Overall, she does far less work for the country than Charles. She may top him in engagement totals every so often, but then she goes home to her private estate. Most years Charles does more engagements than she does plus The Prince’s Trust, The Duchy, taking over duties for HM, and taking over the management of Balmoral and Sandringham from Prince Philip.
I’d be willing to bet none of the royals, including the Queen, are down to earth.
Anne gets away with all that because she has built up the perception that she works hard. If William understood that he’d not be in the position he is currently in.
Anne is most certainly not “down to earth”. She not only looks down on but is outright rude to the people who show up to Sandringham with flowers for the royals at Christmas. Just because Anne isn’t overly girly or flashy doesn’t mean she’s “down to earth”.
She was girly and flashy in her youth, quite the fashion plate. It still comes out sometimes in her outfits for Ascot, weddings, and evening events. In fact, she’s had a fair number of flowery, girly outfits in the last few years.
https://peopledotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/princess-anne-435-8.jpg?w=435&h=580
https://vg-images.condecdn.net/image/Ay840XG1jAZ/crop/405
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http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/06/15/15/354FE4AE00000578-3642602-image-a-113_1466002179636.jpg
My point was that Anne is not “down to earth”. It doesn’t matter how she dresses, she’s not a “down to earth” person. She is quite rude and looks down on people.
Anne doesn’t seem rude to me. Brusque, and matter-of-fact, but she’s just not a warm, cuddly personality. She’s like her father that way. She just comes in, does her job, takes it seriously. I uploaded the documentary Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work on YouTube, and there are quite a few bits in there talking to Anne who discusses public work, her personality, and stuff. She just isn’t a warm, fuzzy person but takes it very seriously and has a good sense of humor. I think being a woman people expect her to be affectionate, warm, outgoing, princessy.
None of these people are down to earth. Why would they be. They’ve been raised to think they are above the rest of humanity, live lavish lives we could only dream of, etc. Not even Diana was down-to-earth. You can be kind and compassionate to people without being down-to-earth, though. Diana’s an example of course, and Charles cares greatly for other people, just isn’t as openly showy about it. Camilla and her work with women, you can’t say she doesn’t care, etc.
If Kate had an ounce of compassion in her bones or a dose of Anne or Charles’s sense of duty I’d feel a lot more sympathetic. She isn’t that breath of middle class fresh air, she’s part of that elite circle because she wormed her way in there with a goal in mind and her parents funding it. You’d think that getting into a family like that would mean you’d understand what you were getting into and would put in your weight.
Anne not being warm and fuzzy is not at all why I think Anne is rude. It think she’s rude because of some comments she made to people who wanted to give flowers to the royals outside of church on Christmas some years ago. I don’t have time right now to find the link to what she said, but it was along the lines of the woman was stupid for waiting and wanting to give the royals flowers. That is not just not warm and fuzzy, that is outright rude. I also think Philip is outright rude and racist a lot. I don’t give his comments a pass because he’s old.
I’ve never heard of Anne saying that, but yeah, that’s rude. It doesn’t surprise me – if people are waiting for you, you are kind and nice to them or at least accept it instead of saying whatever you want. Without those people, the monarchy would be in deeeeep sh*t.
Some of Philip’s comments made me laugh, like him swearing at the photograph thing a few years back. I was horrified then watched the video and it was humorous and people laughed, but some of the other crap he’s said has not been cool. When you’re 96 you can get away with a lot, for sure.
I think Philip comes closest in the “born royal” category. He was born on the kitchen table, spent his youth as a charity case, and married HM with one suit to his name. Really his only other clothes? The naval uniform he wore to the wedding and still wears today.
Queen Mary apparently thought he was a socialist, based on the way he talked about the monarchy. I don’t think all of that has mellowed out in the ensuing 70 years.
So, this is how it stands: the entire family is not particularly likeable and sometimes downright rude; is immoral; is totally hung-up on awarding itself self-made titles because ginormous egos need stroking; is gluttonous in its use and abuse of public funds that should not have been accessed at all; is secretive and dishonest about how said funds are spent; is sneaky in attempting to siphon off public resources (Duchy of Cornwall) for private ownership; is dishonest in the actual amount of ‘work’ it does in order to make claim on public resources. Remind me again why this family deserves respect along with the public’s money.
This isn’t really about the the quantity of their engagements, IMO. Quality is an issue too. William admitting he didn’t read his briefing notes, never seen a Bollywood movie, etc. This is also about goodwill and the squandering of it. Since they married WK have thrown away all of the goodwill they were given with both hands. That’s on them.
BTW, did you notice the reference to ‘Olympian levels of restraint’ [by the press]? Commenters on Celebitchy think its a coded reference to the upcoming trial in May, the Para Olympics lie. WK have a lot to hide. They should be nicer to the people keeping their secrets.
I read that phrase as the press has sizeable evidence of stuff they wish to hide and has decided not to publish instead. It also implies that WK have pushed the press to limits that came close to breaking the pact and it’s been a very close thing not to break said pact.
Sorta like Heather Mills MacCartney. The press was marginally interested in her as a single, amputee charity worker, and when she married Paul, it became fawning and syncophantic as befits the wife of a national treasure.
The minute the divorce was made public (publicly they skipped the separation / mediation stage), all the dirt the media had been keeping on Heather was published. It was a 180. Unsurprisingly she called it a witchhunt because she was so used to the soft, lauded approach to her press clippings.
As Piers Morgan once said, the press keeps a file in a drawer for every famous person. That file remains unpublished as long as there is positive mutual benefit.
I don’t think it is anything to do with WK’s future, only their past and present.
Your comment made me consider what *exactly* is wrong? I agree that it’s part quantity, part quality – but I also feel it’s the frequency, or rather inconsistent timing, of their engagements. When engagements are so sporadic, it makes them seem that a public appearance is an exception, not a norm. For W&K to fall back into favor, IMHO, they need to become more reliable. For example, do something, anything, at least weekly to start, and build from there. Not to compare, but I feel that is part of the key to success for others in their position – consistency. Unless at some point they decided that Kate should not be more accessible than William, which keeps her bar very low while he works outside of royal life.
Someone asked what keeps the more positive blogs so satisfied with Kate. I think it’s simply that they do not have high expectations for her workload. They enjoy whatever she does without expecting more. We will actually never know what goes into planning Kate’s schedule, or how she feels about it. She might be fine with everything, or she may be absolutely mortified that she is not “allowed” to do more. Maybe someday some assistant will go rogue and treat the public to an inside view.
I follow one of the Kate-positive blogs as well and I agree with you Karen. The bar has been set so low for her that any public appearance (really, any, even if she just walks down the street), is hailed as amazing and wonderful. They worship her with a little-girl sense of wonderment that I fail to understand. They treat her like a fairy-tale Disney icon rather than a flesh and blood adult with responsibilities.
Mic drop*
Yes, they seem to believe in the college sweetheart romance angle and how intelligent, articulate, well prepared Kate is PR. To them it’s just a Disney princess show and she’s the number one Princess. A fantasy. No work is ever required of snowflake princess Kate.
All members of the BRF set their own schedules. Both royals and the courtiers have confirmed this through the years.
Twitter Spring 2012
Richard Palmer @RoyalReporter
@sofia09870 Kate’s office says she is dictating her own pace and is happy with it.
Richard Palmer @RoyalReporter
@HMtheRedQueen She is dicatating the pace and her office says this how she wants to do it.
Richard Palmer
@HMtheRedQueen
One Sunday broadsheet claimed llast weekend there was concern Kate was doing too much. But there is no concern on that score.
I’m not sure it’s fair to compare Sophie and Kate; only one of them is the future Queen, after all. And only one of them spent the entirety of her twenties living off mum and dad’s money while waiting for her wealthy (titled) BF to propose.
I’m surprised the parenting angle doesn’t get more play. Most people who have kids also have full time jobs. Quite a lot of them also manage to raise well-adjusted kids without moaning about ‘OMG it’s so harrrrrd’. Most of them don’t have full-time, highly trained professional nannies.
The sense of entitlement on these two is offensive.
Sophie worked for some time til she just couldn’t anymore, along with the minor scandal she was involved in, so there we go, full-time royal for Sophie. I find she gives more value for money than Kate, though she unfortunately doesn’t get as much press coverage because she isn’t the future queen consort.
The parenting angle annoys me. I stay home. It is work, sure, but them railing on about how hard it is when they have a full staff, two nannies, her mother to raise their children–and judging by how they interact with their kids they aren’t very involved, IMO, just using them as photo opportunities–is off-putting at best. And it coming from William who is so privileged, and known to whine about how hard his life is… Well, stuff it.
Lol, I saw your comment once I scrolled down. Completely agree! My son wants to be a Hollywood actor; he still has a restaurant job because money doesn’t come from a tree (although the paper does). Have a good day!
+1
+2
You would think that the Duchess would be full of drive, ingenuity, keen and eager to get out there and make a difference. Build up a resume or portfolio so to speak. Show some interest, goodness how many charities, organisations could do with whatever assistance the Duchess affiliating herself with them could provide.
You only have to look at Williams mother, god rest her soul.
She did have work ethic.
What would be the harm in visiting little ones in hospital for example, or any one of any age for that matter.
Whoever is advising the pair of them leaves much to be desired. Or as some of you have rightly mentioned yes men and women.
Lilibet rightly mentioned the Duchess track record before marriage. I was shocked at the time of her work history, it still amazes me! I believe it is a reflection on the mind space of her right now.
Many women have families and just get on with it all. How many of those would have assistance with childminding, housekeeping etc. Laziness I’m sorry not a fan of at all!
You need to be able to accomplish things in this life and do what you can, to make a difference. You only get one shot at it.
There is no better feeling in the world. A sense of achievement.
KMR, thank you for all the effort and hard work. This is a very interesting and informative page.
It depends on nature and nurture. We can only imagine what it is like to have no ambition beyond marrying well, and not to bother with others, unless they are useful. The Middleton’s impress as a very tight family unit, united and disciplined in their quest for social and financial status. I don’t understand what they thought would happen beyond marriage in that most public of families. That Kate balked at royal work indicates either she was unaware of it (which would make her incredibly dim) or had been promised a life of complete leisure and pleasure.
I think each person should and could do more to help others, but so many people don’t have your good heart and your spirit, Sophia Pitt. I wonder how much Carole and Mike did for others in need when their kids were growing up. What did the three Middleton children see and who did they decide to emulate?
Raising good, happy, children is a job in itself, but I wonder how much W and K are involved in that, too. Of course, none of us really know what goes on behind the closed doors of their home.
Adults who feel entitled to do as they wish and get what they want are never really appreciated, are they? For others who work so hard and do things for others, as well as for their own family and friends, just cannot help but feel a bit resentful of those who never — or rarely — pull their own weight in life. When one has been given so many advantages in life, how can one not want to give back? I guess I ask, because it’s how I was taught to think ever since I was a kid. I feel lucky that I had parents who understood that. My husband and I are passing such thoughts on to our children.
I really would like to know what organizations Carole Middleton champions. Oh, writing a check to a cause, doesn’t count, please. Has she ever really rolled up her sleeves to champion a cause? And, has her husband?
All best wishes to you and your daughter, Sophia. I agree with what you said in another comment of yours. This site is a nice escape from reality for many and the thoughtfulness of others who comment is an added perk.
I would hazard a guess and say the only charitable offerings the middletons do is offering up their daughters to the most eligible of bachelors =)
If they did any sort of giving I’m sure the press would have reported on it ad naseum. They don’t strike me as the type to do it discretely. We see how Kate is, I said it before that if she found it difficult to work during the girlfriend years, she could have started doing charity work but we know she didn’t do that. Pills really on,y got envolved with her charitable side when it was clear she needed a image change to get her an eligible man of desirable means.
Pippa did the same in order to snare her man.
Ha Jen that was where I was going, my ac changed pippa to pills oops
Carole attended some charity event of W’s (sorry, too lazy to look up the name) last year. But I think it was to keep an eye on W because Jecca Craig is on the board and was said to have attended. Also, I doubt Carole ponied up any of her own money to attend. Most likely attended as W’s guest.
The Midds have never been prominently attached to any charity. Their ambitions are their own charity.
Indiana, your last sentence made me smile. They are their own charity (Midds), indeed!
Thank you very much Mary Elizabeth, your kind words mean a lot.
You raise a good point about the Middletons.
It would be so lovely to see them affiliated with a charity.
As you say to give something back.
They may well show support to a organization or charity, but I have never sighted anything yet, and I think that is very sad.
I’m amazed (jealous) at how long it takes most royals to get back to anywhere near full time working after Christmas. Is it too late to be adopted by some obscure (but minted) cadet branch and skip out of work until spring?
I’m genuinely curious as to why people write to the BRF, only to receive a perfunctory response. What else would tell you that your letter is of no import? It’s a romantic notion being noticed by people at the top of the tree, and being able to say, “I wrote to the Queen about x and she wrote back”.
Staff would intercept all correspondence and pass on only those deemed of interest. In Australia, all those holding office are obliged to respond to all correspondence; if the same applies in the UK, the BRF would also be obligated.
I once wrote a letter to POTUS when there was a bill coming up that I wanted his approval on. I got some perfunctory answer with stamp signature. Threw it in the trash and thought what a waste of my civic duty! Can’t even imagine people doing the same with royals and thinking they wrote back personally. To each his own I guess
Check out most of hte replies one gets from Senators and House of Rep members in the US, too. Nobody really takes the time anymore, do they? A topnotch staff would be too much to ask, I expect.
I completely agree. In the 4th grade, we had to write the President. We heard nothing back. The most excited I ever was involved a movie producer in the UK liking one of my tweets because I praised her movie and upcoming sequel. I thought to myself, “Well, she actually read my tweet and liked it.” which is more that I can say for any celebrity or public official I would ever correspond to.
I’ve had responses back from Madde when I’ve made a comment on her Facebook page. Of course she could have employed someone to check her page or it could have actually been her? Either way I thought it was nice to have a public figure reply to my comment. 🙂
I’ve had replies from Madeleine and likes of my comments thanking her for sharing her children with us. It’s not super common for her to reply, so I think she has some control over it.
I worked in offices and wrote those boring form letters for politicians. I tried to be more personal when I’d respond to issues, usually through e-mail, though. Anything important I relayed to who I worked for. Otherwise it was read by us staffers and ignored, unless I was on the case because I enjoyed researching things to help constituents or direct them to proper channels for people who could really help them with whatever issue they were having…
I got an e-mail response from Prince Daniel’s press secretary last year when I invited him to the transplant games! 😀
I think Kate surely worked more since the beginning of 2017. But I think also that people are concerned about the future. Kate and William’s attitude towards being a royal, working for the public is totally different from the Queen’s and Philip’s. Someday, there will be no Queen Elizabeth, no Charles or Camilla anymore. William will stand almost all alone (Harry is on his side of course) and you get an uneasy feeling. Perhaps, I’m wrong and he will be a good king with the time, Perhaps, there will be no monarchy at all, who knows today.
Oh well a dim Brit trust fund baby with a barbie wife – the country deserves better
Correspondence and Communications are two different parts of the office, not related.
Correspondence Section answers the mail
Communications are press secretaries, who deal with media
I remember when Kate was engaged, she was touted as breathing fresh air into the BRF. That she was a solidly middle class girl who would set the world on fire. Instead, we got this. Lazy. Entitled. Ill prepared. All she has to do is work. My opinion about W+K changed when HM got sick over the holidays. No change in behavior or duty. That said it all for me.
Thanks for this post, KMR!
I agree with you Rhiannon! The only point I take issue with is that Kate was not brought up in a typical middle class family, her family was way too wealthy. Kate went to expensive private schools, her parents bought their children a million dollar flat in London, Kate drove around town in an expensive Audi and her clothing was very expensive even before marriage. When I think of middle class I think of growing up in a 7 room house, sharing bathrooms with my siblings, going to public school and actually having a job. Despite that, I too, had higher expectations of Kate, I bought into the myth that she was very intelligent and was more in tune with the outside world of ‘regular people’. I remember being impressed that she was the one who convinced WIlliam to stay in university. Now, I think that is all a load of b.s. I have come to the same conclusion as you, W & K are lazy, entitled, self-absorbed and have proven themselves to be not very intelligent (intellectually or street-wise).
@BostonBrahmin,I remember reading during the GF years that Kate got a cut priced deal with Audi because of William. I have always wondered how wealthy the Middleton’s are because there were numerous stories concering their wealth. A family trust for the kids schooling and William helping to buy their house.I maybe wrong but I think they kept up appearances while giving the illusion of great wealth till marriage.
During the GF years, much of what Kate had was heavily discounted. That expensive Audi was acquired courtesy of a royal discount which caused raised eyebrows all round because no one dating a member of the royal family had dared use their status to acquire goods and insist on the royal discount.
Most, if not all, her clothese were freebies. She also shopped at discount outlets alot. Her hats were from a hire shop (borrow a hat and return after use. As often as you need).
The Mustique holidays came courtesy of wealth friends cultivated because they happened to have a villa on the island.
The family home was discovered to be twice heavily mortgaged.
There was alot of smoke and mirrors as far as giving the impression of wealth.
At the time of the wedding, their wealth was estimated to be in the £3M- £5M range, but 2/3yrs later, estimates had risen to £30M based on increased success of PP due to being associated with the royal family.
Thanks for this information Herazeus, as I was under the impression that there was money inherited by dad Michael M. in trusts, and that these funds had appreciated over the years.
The money inherited by Michael was so little that it surprises me when people cite it as evidence of wealth.
The money covered the children’s education, but clearly not 100% because Pippa went to Marlborough on scholarship.
IIRC, the money was in trust for education purposes only, yet they were mindful enough to get a scholarship for one of the kids which speaks to how much money was truly available in those trusts.
Granted the money spent was still more than an average person spends on their children’s education, but it was not such a huge sum as to put them in a ‘wealthy’ / ‘grew up rich’ category.
That said, school fees can be a huge drain on family resources. Not having that elephant, Mike and Carole could afford to indulge their kids because it didn’t drain the family finances.
So they basically gave an illusion of them being wealthy? Are they really worth 30M pounds now?
People have sometimes a strange opinion what hard work is. Running an Online-Shop isn’t. They never did something for others, just worked for themselves, bought everything for a luxury life for their children. I don’t think think that the children asked for all this, Carole wanted her children to live such a life-style. If everybody would think in such a way, nobody would work in a normal job anymore.
I always thought it was oddly prescient how Kate’s maternal grandmother was known as the “Duchess”. Carole came by her social desires naturally and then obviously elevated them to a whole new level. She had all the tools in her box when the time was ripe, including two pretty, sporty “accomplished” daughters! Fast forward and here we are- by May her girls will be married to two of the richest high profile men in England. Damn, she’s good 😉
That narrative for Kate at her engagement was the press’s fault. None of Kate’s behavior prior to marriage would have suggested that she was going to be any of those things.
To me these royal reporters are just as lacking in their constant threats to blow the lid off of W&KM’s laziness and rudeness as W&KM are in their annual pronouncements they are keen to do more work. The royal reporters are passive aggressive towards the Cambs but don’t do much more to lay out how little W&KM do considering how much wealth and privilege they enjoy at the expense of taxpayers. Their threats mean next to nothing.
Good point. I’m surprised that a journo hasn’t gone rogue yet. Or is it that they are afraid of retribution?
It would be great if one of them were to go rogue. Even better if there was some one to step up to fill the role of James Whitaker whose every written word had credibility.
I remember he was on record stating that Kate was unsuitable. I wish that he were here so we could get his perspective.
So do I, Rhiannon. He knew these people so well and yet didn’t flinch in his reporting.
Wow! I never saw that. Did he say why he thought she was unsuitable?
And let us not forget photographer Niraj Tanna?
He must have a stack of stories about the Middletons stashed away after all those years of being closely associated with the Middleton family?
Well, they are in a co-dependent relationship. W+K need the press to give them visibility and therefore the illusion of relevance; the royal press needs W+K for click fodder. Both parties keep their ‘jobs’ this way. But yes, you’re right Indiana Joanna:expose the reality or shut up.
The royals and press relationship is a publicity racket. Occasional sniping isn’t journalism.
It will be interesting to see how the non-Brit press reports on William and Kate as this trial gets closer. Either that, the whole thing will be settled before the trial, to keep the lid on some of the more juicy details.
Yes, juicy details! Maybe the French press will do their job in relation to W&KM.
I suspect the Paris trip is for that purpose.
+1
I hope someone will do a scrupulous tic-tock of that trip. And I fervently hope the French legal system will resist any pressure to favour W+K.
If they sneak in a visit to a lawyer while there, I hope the press catches them and publicizes it. Private legal meeting while paid by the taxpayers to be in Paris, etc.
oh I hope so too!
Yes, very much like the parent who constantly threatens a punishment but then never follows through and wonders why their kid is a brat.
I agree. The press writes about lazy they are but as soon as something gives it’s back to Kate the fashion icon, Kate is empathetic she relates to everyone type of articles. When in reality nothing has changed. The Royal reporters may snark on Twitter but then turn around and write a completely sycophantic article.
This article is no different.
William, Kate and even KP need to learn the term symbiotic and apply it to their relationship with the press and while they’re looking up words they can look up work ethic too
I wish someone (Richard Palmer comes to mind) would have the balls to actually do what they’ve threatened for years: expose the dirt on W&K!
I too miss James Whitaker because he called the royals out on this, that and the other thing or he praised/complimented them if he felt they truly deserved it (rather than kissing their rears).
Sorry that I’ve been MIA for a while. Guess who was sick with bronchitis AND pneumonia? Yup, me. I was out of work for 2 weeks (ugh!) but, thankfully, am better now. 🙂
Me too, I wish someone would dish the dirt. But it might be the wrong moment. Harry is not married yet, the Queen is still alive…. Me thinks the Royal reporters are sitting and waiting like cats in front of a mouse hole.
They will wait when The Queen passes.
So glad to hear that you’re on the mend Kimothy, bronchitis AND pneumonia sounds horrible 🙁
Thank you Queen Lauri! It was not fun, believe me, and when you add the type of transplant that I received? Oy! I was frustrated and miserable!
**inserts emoji of angry/frustrated face**
At one point, I had sinus pressure that was so bad, I told my transplant coordinator that I felt the way Eugene/Flynn Rider did when Rapunzel whacked him in the face with a frying pan (from the movie, Tangled 😉 ). Thankfully, she understands my twisted/mean sense of humor and understood what I was saying! The doctor gave me the green light to take Sudafed and oh my gosh…..in less than 24 hours, the sinus pressure was gone! I was so happy because, at the time, I wanted to just rip my face off and yank the pressure off of me! (Yes, the sinus pressure was that bad.)
Hey, Kimothy, sorry to know you were so sick, but glad you are on the mend. So many different illnesses going around, but with your medical history, you need to take extra care.
So, be well and happy and know that you are loved. Among family and friends, for certain, but here on this blog, too!!
Glad you are back Kimothy and hope you are feeling better. Did they give you good antibiotics to help? I hope so. Take care of yourself.
My transplant clinic prescribed an inhaler! I was like, “whoa! This takes me back to 20+ years!” hahahaha! Yes, they prescribed stuff but, for the most part, I took care of myself, rested when I was able (laying down was suuuuper hard because as soon as I’d put my head on the pillow I’d have horrible coughing fits and, at one point, slept on the couch to sleep sitting up), and wore masks whenever I went out (supermarket/pharmacy and doctors offices mainly).
Well, take are and I hope you are on the mend.
ITA. Sound and fury, signifying bupkus.
Thanks KMR for these interesting posts the last couple of days!
I hear what you’re saying about how we judge Kate versus other royal women and I appreciate how you’ve highlighted, at least for me, my own prejudices and biases. I recall that a couple of years ago you posted, at the beginning of the year, that you were no longer going to compare Kate to other royal women and have so far done an excellent job sticking to that. I’ve tried to do the same but wow, it’s tough sometimes. My own prejudices and biases really get in the way and I have to say that Kate frequently gives my biases a lot to work with 🙂
Occasionally I pop over to some of the pro-Kate sites to see their take on a particular event or bit of fashion. I have to hand it to these bloggers for continuing, after all these years, to be so damn positive and upbeat about this woman. If I tried to have that level of optimism about Kate, her work ethic and her fashion choices I think my brain would explode. I’d love to find out what they’re taking and how I could get my hands on some it 🙂
I have to say that I agree with you and many of the other readers here, that it’s not that we begrudge W&K their time in Norfolk or their luxury vacations but there seems to be a prevalent feeling that they haven’t quite earned the perks they currently enjoy. And I’m sorry but their constant theme that they can’t work more in order that their children grow up balanced and happy really grates on my nerves. It’s a slap in the face to parents that have to or choose to work, parents that happen, through their tax dollars, fund W&K’s lifestyle.
Thanks so much for listening to me rambling on and on but these thoughts have been milling around in my brain for a couple of days and really needed to get out.
If Will and Kate skip the Irish Guards all hell is gonna break loose.
Cookie, I don’t know if it will. W&KM have been consistently rude and indifferent to criticism for so long that I wonder if people are becoming numb to their behavior. I will be surprised if they turn up. They don’t care about tradition or important institutions like the Irish Guards. If they give another lame excuse to opt out it doesn’t affect them, only the people who have faithfully served and willingly risked everything for their country. More than W&KM will ever do. I personally find their lies and games with the press exhausting.
It would be so unlike them to actually meet with the Irish Guard and then jet off to Paris. I would so like to see that and if they had any decency, or if they had really top notch PR folk, that is exactly what they would do.
Jenny, If they show up, I will applaud them. Which is ridiculous in a way because it IS their job to honor the Guard. So I guess I will applaud them for doing what should be a no brainer in terms of fulfilling a royal commitment.
Are you going to cover day 2 of the Canadian visit? Because here are some ugly outfits that I think need discussing
Lol Sarah!!! I totally agree! I can’t believe what Sofia is wearing, ugh
I know! It’s like all of a sudden some one is dressing her in their idea of what a Royal should dress like in a more conservative manor! I liked several of her outfits before but thought they needed to be a size larger. When one can see your breast feeding pads through your clothes should be a first sign that it’s too tight.
The outfits from yesterday and her gala dress were all kinds of wrong
When did she turn into Miss Prissy? The high necklines with bows has to go, it’s not a good look on anyone. Do you think that maybe she’s taking a page from Kate’s fashion look book? Gawd, I hope not.
+1
Hi again Sarah, not all the royals are having a bad fashion day. I present to you, my posture guru and all time fav, Queen Letiza and a honking tiara!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4249318/Queen-Letizia-welcomes-Argentina-s-Lady-Madrid.html
Ooh look how resplendent she looks!! Love all the jewels??
And how faboo is her day attire?!!! Thanks, I needed this
Only the daily mail can manage to misspell her name in the article
Letixia-sheesh
You are welcome!! I love her day attire too, the pale pink certainly looks great on both women!
Wow, Lauri, thanks for the link. How lovely the two ladies are.
Leti’s tiara was amazing. The suit the next day was gorgeous.
The Argentinian First Lady is stunning. I loved her gown, but Leti won out, thanks to the aforementioned tiara.
Do you think William and Kate look down on people and think they are better than anyone else?
Yes, very much so which is sad and disgusting but also, unsurprising.
Really? That is so sad. The Queen of all people doesn’t even look down on people. This is shocking. Even Diana did not look down on people. I mean we are all going to die. You can’t take your status with you when you die.
I think the Queen (and Diana) have a different opinion of The Crown. I think they see it as a privilege to serve and an honor to be the Monarch appointed by God via birth. William seems to feel the privilege is with the commoners and it is an honor for US to view HIM. So sad.
That is sad and disgusting. I feel like Charles has the same sentiment like William but hides it better.
Definitely.
I don’t have anything to add to the many great comments here, but I can’t wait until tommorrow’s post on Kate’s visit today.
It’s gonna be good. Standing stiffly while kids hug her and can’t wait to get away! A mini-skirt!
A shame as this charity seems like it does great work for these children.
Thank you, KMR and commenters for the interesting posts. I’d love to have some historical context for the concept of royals working. That is, at what point in time did it become an expection that royals would perform a certain number of engagements in order to earn their keep, as it were. I imagine that in past centuries it was “enough” to simply be a divinely annointed monarch and family member. I’d be grateful to anyone who can shed some light.
George V started the idea of charitable works and visits to the common man as a way to keep the monarchy afloat during the dangerous times during and after the various revolutions that overthrew other monarchies.
As Queen Mary succinctly said: “We are always happy, we are never tired, and we all love hospitals.”
Thank you, Ellie. Very interesting to learn what the impetus was.
I was just thinking this morning “I wish Queen Mary were still alive, she would have put some serious starch on W&K&H’s backsides”. Plus, she had excellent taste in gems!!
Queen Mary- smart woman.
Constance: if you have time, this 2 episode documentary on George V and Queen Mary’s efforts to save the monarch. It discusses how they went about creating a different way of being royal including using charity to save themselves.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KnolZxfVRFA
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D6qwg-DIoP4
I do have time! Thank you for this thoughtful reference. I just watched the first few minutes, and it looks fascinating. I look forward to learning the full story.
Have been struggling with a bronchial infection for the past week and feeling guilty that I have had to take so many days off work, not being able to spend time with my son and also not being able to clean. So you know what: these special snowflakes who have nannies and staff on hand to take care of them and their kids can go screw themselves. These lazy layabouts shouldn’t be complaining how hard it is to parent. They should be more thankful that they were born into the circumstances that they are!
I hate their whole we can’t work because we want to be with the kids narrative.
1. They are tax payer funded so don’t have that luxury
2. Nannies
3. Carole
4. More nannies
5. How often are they really engaging with the kids
6. They aren’t “working” 8-12 hrs a day these are 1 hr maybe 2 (stretching) max engagements easy enough to pop in and still be with kids. Or as I stated before when they used William’s EAAA job as part of the excuse, they could tag team, on his off days Kate could do engagements or vice versus (moot point now)
7. It’s a real disservice to those parents who work full time and don’t have that luxury and shows how disconnected from the real world they truly are
My mom was a stay at home mom and I did love it. She worked up until she had me tho and was engaged/involved in the community at large and went back to work when I went off to college.
+1 absolutely. It’s a darn slap in the face to every parent every where; those who work and those who don’t. Not everyone has help, hired or otherwise. Not everyone lives in a lovely mason in the country and a mansion in town. Their ‘poor me’rhetoric is over played and offensive.
Please someone run and get the smelling salts, I’m going to swoon!! The day dress, the evening gown and omg, the tiara of my life!!! Have I died and gone to heaven??
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4249318/Queen-Letizia-welcomes-Argentina-s-Lady-Madrid.html
Okay, I love the tiara on Letzi but the gown on Argentina’s first lady is making me drool! OMG!! Soooo pretty, princessy but isn’t overwhelming! The day suits are wonderful too, especially the little bits of bling on Juliana’s shoes!
Also, I thought it was so sweet how Letzi and Juliana had their arms draped over each other’s shoulders, in a sign of solidarity and sisterhood.
She looks every inch the Queen today, Queen Laurie! Impeccable grooming and sharp tailoring. This is a lady who knows what works for her exactly. I love both of her outfits and I love that she made that insanely gorgeous crown the absolute focal point of her evening outfit. Perfectly played, Queen Letizia, and of course the ballet posture makes everything look that much better?
I’m swooning here 🙂 while sitting up tall and straight, lol
Oh thank you Queen Lauri, I didn’t see this until now.
Doesn’t Letzi look unbelievable, the complete package, gown, jewellery, makeup, hair, shoes, yes the tiara, her daywear equally as stunning, just beautiful.
Juliana looks equally stunning.
Now that is how you do it!!