265 thoughts on “KP misspells ‘Middleton’ in press release about Pippa’s wedding”

1. The James whatling quote is the best and echoes my sentiments from the other post. Having announced that George and Charlotte are in it guarantees crazy media frenzy since they are hidden away 99% of the time. I have more of a chance of seeing a yeti than them.
   This sets a terrible precedent for KP and am glad they are getting backlash. Rightly deserved. There was no need to make any such announcements since this as been quoted over and over again as a private affair.
   Why does pippa need a pr person for this wedding anyways?
   As for the spelling error it’s the best. They once misspelled ‘posies’ in their twitter feed too. A bunch of numpties working for them.
   Jason gots to go

   1. I really don’t know why they announced it, we would have seen them all on the wedding day. Oh, I can’t say how much I feel repelled by this whole bunch of people,especially Pippa’s smiling face and their whole hypocrisy. Of course, they want a big day with media!
      This only shows that the Middletons already infiltrated Kensington Palace and this sheer audacity is getting on people’s nerves.

   2. I love that the Royal reporters have gone after this sleazy misuse of royal resources. I hope they go hard on this entire farce of a *simple* wedding.

      1. I agree! Taxpayer funded employees should not be doing PR for private, extremely wealthy, citizens. Please do correct me if the KP team’s salaries are privately paid by the Cambridges, that may change things. If this is such a simple, private ceremony why put out such a statement? Seems like classic Middleton attention mongering to me.

         1. I don’t think releasing a statement that Pippa is getting married cost the tax payers anymore than if they had phrased it to focus on the royals’ schedule – “On May 20th, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be attending her sister’s wedding to James Matthews. Princess Charlotte will be a bridesmaid; Prince George will be a page boy.”

            I mean, they clearly didn’t pay for a proofreader. 🙂

            1. Regardless of the pennies involved in putting out this press release. Govt employees should not be working on the private matters of private citizens.

            2. ? exactly. I like the way you phrased the statement

2. I still don’t understand why anything needed to be said at all either by Pippa or KP? Why would KP need to confirm their attendance, especially because it was pretty much assumed that all of those people would be there? I could see them giving an unofficial briefing to the press pack. You know the old “a member of the royal household says that blah, blah, blah…” I am always amazed at the incompetence of KP.

   1. I think it was safe to assume that Kate would attend her sister’s wedding. And that her kids would be involved. So unnecessary.

   2. Yeah, I’m not buying that this was a “no win” for Pippa. She doesn’t need PR for her wedding. They could have put a simple announcement in the paper about their marriage date, location, and that family and friends would be in attendance. Then KP could have released a statement that the Cambridges and Harry would attend. But the way they did it makes everyone look bad.

   3. That’s what I thought too. If they are private people and this is a private affair, and the attendance by the Duke and Duchess is not a royal engagement then why should this be announced at all? This discredits William’s desire to be seen as a private person when not fulfilling royal duties. I wonder why he went along with it? I guess Ma Middleton is powerful indeed, or Kate is more powerful behind closed doors than we know.

3. There was no need for a PR announcement of the Pippa wedding period. She isn’t a royal and taxpayers already fund the Cambridges they don’t need to do free PR for the Middletons. Terribly rich James Matthews can afford to pay for separate PR.

   Also, people would find out anyway that George and Charlotte would be in the wedding, no need for a KP press release. Was there ever a similar thing when William and Harry were in weddings of private citizens?

   This could have been handled by a Daily Mail story, just like everything else Carole does.

   I am surprised that Harry is going though. He doesn’t have any connection to that family. Pippa is the sibling of his sister in law… normally the sibling of an in law doesn’t attend a wedding. This just screams desperate for attention and I also don’t know why Will has allowed the Middletons to hijack KP for a press release and further exposing his kids to paparazzi attention. He is a hypocrite on all levels here.

   I kind of hope Harry attending this is to get a quid pro quo for something Meghan related.

   1. Because William sees himself as a Middleton, not a royal.

      Pippa will get all the PR and KP help she ever could want because William will force it.

      1. This will backfire badly. No one except William thinks the Middletons are normal and taxpayers shouldn’t be funding the UK version of the Kardashians.

         1. But, but, but… privacy! Surely KP will be reprimanded for releasing details of a private engagement? There can’t be images of the the children because privacy! Or of Pippa because it’s a private, family wedding!

            I agree Nic; it will just disgust people even more.

            1. Jen: in response to your question from the last post regarding Pippa refusing to leave the stage, the answer is yes.

               If anything proved that theory about Pippa and by extension the Middletons, this press release proves it.

            2. It most certainly does. They’re a brazen lot, emboldened and shielded by the armour accompanying William’s position.

               I don’t wish Pippa and James a bad day, though it would be a kind of wild justice if only very few photographers turned up.

            3. totally agree.

               That release is a warning to carol pippa, and how they got approval of the kids to be included from HM POW/RF (who G and C belong to) – no selling of photos! Of course whiny middleton may have threw a tantrum to please carol…the royal kids photos are not to be old ‘since private’ distributed except by the royals. Carol pipa meddletons are warned.

               The kids are whiny carol waity the middletons graspimg PR TOOL go to strategy for all middletons and is for pipa aristo look.

               God give us King Henry or another Line!

   2. Nic, To your Harry point: the Midds need Harry to add aristo luster and charisma. W has neither. I also wonder if other aristo have sent their regrets. I do wonder if it’s a bit of quid pro quo: go to Pip’s wedding for at least a glancing acceptance of H’s significant other, which would be emotional blackmail. But I won’t go down that road.

      Amid all this hype how is Pips looking any better than her bil to be reality star and all round steroidal creep Spencer Matthews? Carole and Pips are appalling.

      I also wonder if this entire amateurish media push will affect Jo Milloy’s career. She must see that all efforts to promote the tacky Pipps only highlights her awfulness.

      1. Pips has only pursued those with money, influence and titles so if they are still friends they’ll attend, I guess. I’m surprised Harry would attend though he may be great friends with them behind closed doors. Who knows.

         1. Pips really is a craven aristo seeking mess. The articles that you and other linked recently leave no room for anything but to conclude that Pips is desperate for aristo and wealth connections to fill the void of her bland but anything for a price personality.

   3. Yes, Prince Harry should stay away! This release is all whiny do carol climbing (disgusting and HM and POW seem shy in pulling in whiny!)

   4. Harry was surprised by the engagement announcement of W&K and the use of their late mother’s ring.

      Wouldn’t it be amusing (in an “Of course Bill and Carole Middleton did this” sort of way), if they put Harry in the press release to force him to show up? Shades of the bait-and-switch Christmas football match as I wrote before.

      1. In that case, Harry would have been wise to timetable a meeting on Friday 19 May far enough away that traveling to Englefield the following day was, so sadly, not feasible.

         1. The Victoria Day long weekend in Canada is at that same time and the filming crew on Suits will have the Monday off, so Harry has an excuse to visit.

            1. Well, then… perfect.

            2. Throw in a last-minute emergency Invictus meeting, and he’s off the hook.

               Too much to hope that W&K were being kind to Harry? Deliberately lying in this press release so nobody would be looking for him on a Toronto-bound plane that weekend.

            3. If it’s in an official press release I would count on him planning to be there, regardless if he wants to be there or not. If he goes to Toronto after telling the press he was going somewhere else (again), the press will go nuts. The only thing getting him out of this is an emergency of some sort. That’s of course assuming he somehow doesn’t want to be there, which I think is not the case.

            4. Carter, my point was, it might not have been him telling the press he would be there. It would be his brother and his Real Royal Family announcing it to force his attendance. Doubtful Harry would go against his petulant brother and prove it was a Middleton PR move, but would be great if he did. We’d discuss that for months!

               He has shown no interest in a relationship with the Middletons for the last 15 years. Why would he want to be at this wedding?

      2. +1

         Shady for sure – whiny carol forcing Prince Harry to attend – hope he show backbone and head off to his Invictus Games in Canada with Justin! POW will approve duty over climbers….both are excluded from G C lives anyway, so why would he mingle with climbing carol and middeltons without Meghan…

   5. The Middletons want Harry there as a sign of how much they are a part of the larger Windsor clan and, I bet, because they want to be a part of Harry’s own wedding, whenever that may be.

      Doesn’t Pippa’s social set overlap Beatrice’s and Eugenie’s a bit? It will be interesting to see if the guest list in a mean girls sort of way includes everyone they have in common except for those two.

   6. I agree 100%. I was hoping Harry wouldn’t attend.

      1. I would have thought better of him if he didn’t. He Isn’t a known associate of either of them. When have we ever seen him out with either of them. GF/BF’s of your guest aren’t allowed but someone you don’t hang with is because he’s a Royal.
         I guess Harry is used to being used so no biggy to him. I guess maybe we’ll finally get some Harry with George and Charlotte pics? Maybe, if we’re lucky =)

         1. I feel like he is going to bank some goodwill to be used later for Meghan. I just can’t see why he would attend the wedding of a sister in law’s sibling when they never associated outside of the wedding and one of the christenings.

            Is Harry going to also show up to James Middleton’s wedding too?

4. I agree with comments above .What is the need to release such statement ? She isn’t a public figure as such .How much publicity do Middletons crave for ?? This statement not only depicts how opportunistic the Middletons​ are but also confirms such behavior of W&K .
   This move may give them the opportunity to be photographed widely and they might be even pleased .But being photographed is not supposed to be the objective of royals . They​ are creating a blunder for themselves in long run .

   1. She isn’t a public figure at all.

   2. We will see a replay of this whole scene when Pippa has children. Any guesses for godparents?

      1. Any aristocrat who says yes.

         1. I expect George Percy to be top of that list. Competing uber-wealthy godfather for the Middleton cousins.

            1. Is it wrong for me to admit that I have mini crush on George Percy? **whistles innocently**

            2. Not wrong. So long as you love him a little bit more than you love his family’s castle 🙂

            3. Just think Kimothy if you and George marry you will be where they filmed Harry Potter. That really is in incentive. Can you post the link for me about Beauty and the beast please? If that is ok with KMR. I like Mirka Federer. I think she was and always is sweet.

            4. Of course nota!! I love what George’s mother has done for the castle regarding tourism and learning about the land. Also, as long as we have Ed Sheeran performing the first dance (to his song, “Perfect”…sigh…), I’ll be a happy Kimothy! 😉 🙂

               Oh, and George stops smoking waaaaaaay before I even kiss him for the first time! My lungs and I aren’t a fan of cigarettes.

               Laura: what link would you like? Movie review? The official site? The castle? Let me know please!!!!!!! 🙂

      2. Also look toward uber-wealthy tennis royalty: With the way Pippa has played up to Mirka Federer recently (is Roger a client of Terribly Rich James?), I fully expect the Federers to be invited to this simple, private wedding (held conveniently the weekend before Roland Garros) and wouldn’t be surprised if they later asked Federer to be a godparent.

         1. I did not know that George Percy smokes urgh.

            I think it the real story about Beauty and the beast Kimothy. Thank you in advance.
            Federer did keep Mirka waiting a long time though. The Middleton’s would not be allowed all these privileges if Kate and Pippa were with wealthy and titled guys.

            I am guessing it was a sloppy error too. They could not be bothered to proofread. What exactly do they mean by society wedding? Is it only for the aristocracy? Because the Middleton’s are still middle class. I would have thought Kate was the only Middleton to actually be in the aristocracy.

            1. Laura:

               Oh! Here you go! It’s a very interesting documentary from the Smithsonian Channel. Enjoy! 🙂

               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcBevXCRDnk

            2. Thank you Kimothy.

5. Was that a subconscious error misspelling Middleton?

   Or just plain sloppy work? I’m a graphic designer and after years of experience I know it’s so important not to spell check your own work as the brain will rectify the mistakes your eyes see. But then running a spell check would have picked it up anyway?

   Having KP press office release this message just smells of desperation in my opinion. A last attempt to appear like it’s a society wedding as everyone is mocking attempts to do that via Daily Mail? Bet there is someone in the background trying hard to get someone from Tatler magazine to attend?

   1. I’d like to think the spelling error was a passive-aggressive Freudian slip on the part of KP who would have been instructed to act on behalf of Pippa Middleton. Sure, they’re notoriously incompetent but it’s a smirk-worthy mistake. You know, like Pippa’s many smirks.

      Jo Milloy’s PR strategy seems to comprise the release of a suffocating amount of breathless ‘stories’ into the ether about her dud client. Surely she’d know how the Middleton’s are perceived? The best advice she could give Pippa is to leave the stage quietly and lap up a life of luxury she’s hunted after for so long.

      The mixed messages are extreme:
      • It’s a small family wedding… but it needs an experienced PR person to devise a campaign to advertise its private nature.
      • Pippa squealed last year “Don’t call me a socialite”… but then advertises her social credentials with a KP press release.
      • And if it’s private, we shouldn’t expect any photos at all, because it’s private…yet we are inundated with almost daily articles about private Middleton business. Surely, they’d complain to a media watchdog for such intrusions… because privacy. I’m sure William is onto it.

      1. I honestly don’t think so. I’ve made the same spelling error so many times when typing quickly. It really is just an honest mistake with no underlying anything.

         1. If I were a professional tweeter for KP I would write my tweets in MS Word first and use spell/grammar checker because you can add custom words to the checker’s dictionary such as Middleton. That way spell checker would catch the vast majority of errors. Bottom line is I could see this as incompetent in 3 ways. 1. They don’t proofread very well 2. they don’t know how to use spellcheck or are too lazy 3. they don’t know how to add a custom word to their personal dictionary. 2nd bottom line is what a bunch of dimwits.

         2. I think the tweet has been deleted…I just went look for it and it’s not there anymore..

            Oh wait! Found it again!

      2. Perhaps Jo Milloy is using a similar tactic with Pippa that she used with Victoria Beckham. With VB, Milloy played her up as a loving, devoted mother….perhaps with Pippa she will push the doting auntie image. Those two poor children have become tools for the PR desperate Middletons (and that includes William).

         1. Except Beckham was trying to segue a pop music career into that of fashion designer. What’s pippa trying to segue to/from? That’s the only reason I can think of needing a pr person besides image control type and she had no career that needed image help.
            Another attempt at a writing career? I don’t know what her degree is in. We of course got the she’s worked in party pieces bit it who k own if that’s real. What’s she qualified to do?

            1. Notariety. You have to keep your name in the public forum or else work (financial opportunities) dry up. Every time a celebrity gets photographed outside doing…something…assume it was a planned PR stunt. Doing a good deed? PR stunt. Why do you think charity events are so heavily publicized with red carpets? What is the point of giving to charity if no one knows about it?

            2. But her 10-plus year “career” as a socialite/partygirl/layabout desperately needs image help. And, like Beckham, Pippa has failed at earlier attempts to change her public perception.

               Her degree from Edinburgh was in literature, but wasn’t she most recently supposed to have been studying nutrition?

   2. From now on, we should only call them “Middelton”. They deserve it.

      1. +1

         I agree above thread -‘mixed’ contradicting phony messages. This is whiny middleton doing. The Firm POW may have also insisted the kids in the wedding is not to be sold and distributed by carol PR.

   3. Poor Jason knows he is deep bs no no….
      and so subconscious hoping they would go away and make his work with whiny that much easier!

      1. I thought it was snark also. Spelling their name wrong is the ultimate ‘f you’ surely? Jason has been long enough in the job by now to know what is and isn’t ‘done’ and IF pressure was being applied and my advice ignored I may have made such an innocent mistake just out of frustration. Luckily I’m self employed, I couldn’t last 5 minutes in the same room as Constipated Bill without… resigning.

         1. …never fails…our SUB give us awayO:-)

         2. While Jason Knauf has had time to learn how communications for the royal firm should be handled, he obviously hasn’t had enough time to develop a backbone or the self-respect to stand up to William.

6. Well – apparently the Royals don’t pay well . . . . if you want an A Class result you need to hire and pay accordingly. Of course Willnot and Waity were going as were the kids. I’m surprised about Harry – but maybe he and Pippa socialise with the Mids behind closed doors – or Wills wanted someone of almost equal status to talk to on the day. I’m guessing Waity won’t be Matron of Honour – Pipps with have a single female friend carrying her train into the church.. Hopefully the “happy couple” enjoy their day.

   1. If Prince Harry attend he was asked by whiny middelton and would be supporting his whiny brother – hope he backs out from attending or poor Jason misspelled as well as misinformed.

      The photo with Prince Charles and Wales sons, show how much struggle ongoing with POW RF and his middelton son – whiny looks as if he wants to be someplace else – sking!

7. This will be less than a footnote in time.

   1. The wedding, the statement, or the misspelling?

      1. probably all of it

8. I said this on twitter but I’ll say it here as well. I definitely see this as a case of what is done for one must be done for all. They made a statement in Meghan’s defense and spoke on her behalf, so why not make one for Pippa? I’m really hoping that this day goes off well! I’m hoping she doesn’t go for a boring lace dress like the dozens we’ve already seen lol. I wonder if Charlotte will go off course as she’s going down the aisle haha, she looks to be a little rebel.

   As for the misspelling, at least they didn’t spell it Middlebum! Lol.

   1. That’s true. KP spoke on Meghan’s behalf. So maybe William or Kate thought it was only fair they speak on Pippa’s?

      1. Exactly, KMR. Maybe KP sees it as making more room under their umbrella when they think it’s warranted. It may be unprecedented, but times change.

      2. I see that as apples and carrots. Not even closely related.. Why would a statement about who Harry’s dating have anything to do with a press release for Kate’s sisters wedding? I thought the Harry/Meghan statement was word jumble and handled poorly but she was getting some terrible racist hate.
         Pippa is a private citizen marrying another private citizen. What’s warranted about needing a statement from KP about that. We don’t get statements for anything else they do on their private time so why this
         No tit for tat needed.

   2. I don’t really agree. KP was speaking on behalf of Prince Harry, who expressed his feelings and wishes with regards to the treatment of Meghan. They were literally conveying Harry’s thoughts and feelings.

      In this case KP is making an announcement on behalf of Pippa and James. Totally inappropriate.

      1. I don’t think either of the statements were appropriate, but I totally understand your point in the differences between the two.

      2. That’s how I see it too. It was Harry’s press release about a relationship he (a royal) is in. This is a press release that gooses the media about the wedding of two private (not royal) individuals – one of whom is extremely fame hungry.

   3. Totally different!

      Meghan is no carol pip or middeltons in laws to a marry in…..

      Meghan is the 2d son and spare/’heir’ (similar to HM father) to the heir serious partner – to the point of living at KP! where have you seen heard, pip or the middeltons allowed to stay, live at KP (as an example)…

      1. Because William whines about everything. I could totally see him using the statement as a way to get what he wants. If Kate wanted an official KP announcement for her sister’s wedding I really don’t see anything holding back William from using this as leverage to get his way.

   4. Charlotte will really be a treat for us. I’m sure Kate will be monitoring her every move!

      As for the hoopla surrounding the day, it is rather ironic that they want privacy — the couple — and then out comes a press release from KP. That, and hiring a PR firm of their own.

      One thing that my first boss in PR always did was have several people in the office read through every single press release before it went out. As people have said, when you write, you see what you want during your own proofing and even spell check can make mistakes.

      Maybe, this was a Freudian slip. Middleton, Middelton, whatever. How about Meddlesome. That’s what they are.

      I will admit, I am looking forward to seeing Pippa’s gown and I am really eager to see George and Charlotte! As said above, if those children were not kept out of public view so much, this would not be as big as it is now. Never seeing them and then placing them in a wedding party?! Wow, now that is a way to get PR — positive press! W and K make me sick how they use those kids. Yes, Pippa is Kate’s sister, but they are playing this for their own benefit. Writing on too little sleep. Baby up all last night, so if this is not as clear as I want it to be, sorry!

9. KP’s statement is poor etiquette, in my opinion. Emily Post would have been appalled. Yet the whole distasteful kerfluffle could have been very easy to avoid via coordinated scheduling.

   The Middleton parents (at best), possibly combined with the Matthews parents, or Pippa, or her PR manager (at worst – what is she, an orphan?) should have published the announcement in a newspaper, like any other self-respecting citizens. No mention of attendees – that is never the point of such announcements.

   Then a bit later KP should have issued a discrete statement that the Cambridges and Prince Harry would be attending the wedding. They could have coordinated the timing appropriately, so that it’s not immediately after the wedding date announcement (much haste, poor taste), but not so long after as to give the impression that it is an afterthought (they are family, so it’d be a little rude).

   No need to mention the children being part of the bridal party. That just seems like a shameless “come on everyone, it will be so cute, you just have to come and gawk”. Again, did I mention poor taste? Yes, I believe I did.

   1. That’s what they want, though. Let people know the kids will be there, allow the preferred photos and media to be given the information so they will show up like the Christmas pap stroll. All choreographed.

      1. Sure, they want it, and we want it too.

         But it would have happened anyway: folks bring their kids to weddings, it is par for the course.

         That’s what makes it be in poor taste: stating it explicitly that kids will be there, and therefore selling them off.

         Some things just don’t need to be said. They are understood.

         1. Not necessarily. Young kids George and Charlotte’s ages are not always brought to weddings. Anecdotally, from my experience, kids that young are usually left at home.

            1. I’ve been wondering about that. George might be able to hold it together, being nearly four, but Charlotte at just two will not have a clue. Their ages are very young for such roles. Even little Grace van Cutsem was a grumpy miss at three years of age at W+K’s wedding. And William, when four, was a right little shit as pageboy at his uncle Andrews wedding.

            2. And weren’t Grace’s ears hurt by the flyover? Man, that picture of her grumpy face while W&K on the balcony was screaming to be created into a meme. Please don’t think I’m busting the chops of a then-3 year old. I felt bad that she was hurting but the expression on her face (especially during the kiss) **is** amusing to me.

               Also, didn’t Harry give Eliza Lopes (Camilla’s granddaughter) a little toy to play with during the carriage ride to keep her entertained? I think it’s in one of the official pictures….

               Yup! Here it is!

               http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/04/article-0-0BE4FC2400000578-630_634x774.jpg

               Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing George & Charlotte in the wedding of their auntie and new uncle and I hope that the same spirit we saw in Charlotte in September is still there next month.

            3. Isn’t the reception at bucklebury? So once they do their bit in the wedding Maria can swoop them off to there.
               Let’s hope they’re allowed some toys for some distraction for the actual wedding lart

      2. Some want happy photos with a lot of sun and smiling, others want disastrous photos with a lot if rain and ruined clothes. Why could we not have both?
         They make smiling pictures with sun and exactly after it, it starts to rain. So that everyone would be happy 🙂

         1. Wanting someone else’s wedding to be ruined isn’t a good look.

            1. Yeah.

               I may not like their schtick or their PR hungry ways or gold digging but I wish Pippa and James all the happiness and blessings in the world and a lovely day. Just like I would anyone else. Even W&K. 🙂

            2. Yes, it may not be appropriate and I don’t wish them a rainy wedding at all.I think they already planned for this scenario.Everyone does, especially for a wedding.

            3. Quite honestly, I’m hoping a little storm cloud just hovers over Carole’s head the entire day. Everyone else can bask in the sun.

      3. I have an alternate theory. I think KP announced this only for the purpose of advertising that it’s a private event so Willy can sue anyone who tries to take a photo from the public sidewalks nearby. And Willy will sue just like the time he won the claim against the plebe who took a photo of George on the motorcycle sitting inside KP gates. The plebe IRC was standing on public land pointing the camera to George on a driveway inside KP grounds.

         1. Good theory, alluded to by some of the press. The Christmas pap stroll photos were at the same church but nobody was sued. Billy Boy warning the press again? if you dare photograph my children without permission I will sue all of you (sometimes, but not all the time, and only when it doesn’t fit my PR spin of the day).

            I thought weddings in some Christian denominations were legally considered public events? That you aren’t allowed to ban people from being part of the community of witnesses.

            1. Nota: True, but this church is on a private estate so the owner had to be asked by KP to allow reporters/paps onto the estate to photograph the christmas pap stroll.

            2. Which verifies William gave permission for the Middletons as the Real Royal Family Christmas pap stroll? Interesting.

         2. Hi MinnFinn, as I stated below, I believe this is less about invasion of privacy and more about image control, which I sincerely hope the French judge sees as well.

   2. I said the same thing above, I just didn’t read far down enough to realize you’d already made this point.

10. Yesterday morning I wondered why KP will insist of announce the future engagements of H, K and W : the answer is in this announcement of Pippa.
    I wonder if they will be on KP’s twitter official photo (with Pippa, her husband, children, K, H and W) with the pretext to thank for vows of happiness.
    I hope that C. Jackson will be paid for his pictures.

    1. Jackson will get paid when people/press buy his photos.

11. So the first public appearance of Prince George and Charlotte since Christmas with the Middletons will be the Middleton/Matthews wedding? Interesting!

    On the one hand, the statement is really unnecessary. On the other hand I am a sucker for a big society wedding and all the related fashion and gossip. Will Kate wear white? How good will the hats be? Will anyone try and upstage the bride? Is there any spray tan left in South East England?

    1. Lol @ the spray tan! ?
       Have they really not been seen since Christmas? Holy crap!

    2. I never saw George and Charlotte on photos alone with Charles, are there any?

       1. These are the only ones I know of. They showed up as framed photos in the background of videos Charles made. They are both with George from when he was under 1 year old.

          http://katemiddletonreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Prince-Charles-holding-Prince-George.png

          http://katemiddletonreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/photo-of-Charles-holding-George-in-WWF-video.jpg

          1. Thank you, KMR.
             This is sad.Perhaps, they are more often with their grandfather but we don’t see any photos of it?
             If not, it would disturb me.I know, Charles did a lot of things wrong, but he doesn’t deserve to not see his grandchildren.I think he is a nice enough man for them and his own children. There should be more photos of Charles and his grandchildren.

             1. I am not sure that they are with their grand-father without Kate or William

          2. Do you think there’s an outside chance that Charles and Camilla might make an appearance ?

             1. I think hell would freeze over before PoW would pander to the crass vulgarity that is the Middletons. Just who do they think they are? This rival court will end in tears. They have neither the nouse, the intelligence or the connections to pull it off no matter how driven Carole is.

             2. Why? Pips is less than nothing to them. It’s like playing 6 degrees of separation.

    3. Or Easter Sunday this weekend.

12. Wow, when I thought the family couldn’t be any more desperate and grasping they manage to get a press release from KP. That PR firm deserves their weight in gold…I’m still somewhat underwhelmed and dreading the PR pre-wedding.

    1. I blame William as well since I’m sure he gave the go ahead and told KP to release the statement. They wouldn’t have done it without a royals say so. William is not subtle at all when he tries to play the media game

       1. Which baffles me, he can’t have it both ways!

          1. Isn’t it pretty standard for William? How often do we see him wanting things both ways? The world according to William. Bless His Heart!

       2. It has William’s tantrums written all over it. He’s such a churlish tw*t. Stunts like this just reinforce how thick and entitled he really is,

          1. I’m wondering about how Harry will be ‘placed’ at this wedding. By rights he’s not family but I bet my house on him being included in the official family shot. And I’ll extend that to Donna Air NOT being included – do we even know if she’s invited?

             *Ah, I see it being discussed below!

             1. Fantasy, here, but, oh, would it be great!
                What if Harry and Meghan went off privately a la, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Besette and married at some out of the place Church on an island? Perhaps, the day before the Pippa nups and their happy photo exittng that Church hit the paper on the morning of the Middleton Big Day? A surprise for all, for certain!

                I know it would never happen, but talk about bumping someone off the front page!

                I am joking here and like many others, I do hope that the couple has a sunny and happy day. Every wedding deserves to start out on the best possible of days and happiness should be the number one rule of the wedding.

                The Middletons do get on my nerves, though. Carole, especially. She is a major player for making things happen for her daughters. I’ll give her that. But, in the course of such pushing, she really had done a number on Kate. Pippa, I think has handled her Mum better and yes, I believe Pippa wants the fame and fortune as much as Kate.

             2. I think Pippa handles Carole slightly better because she got a reprieve while Carole was so focused on Kate. Even now, Carole probably runs interference when Kate and Will have issues. Mama’s gotta protect her investment. So Pippa gets put back in the back burner. As for James. My guess is Carole will turn her attention to him next after Pippa’s deal is signed, sealed and delivered.

             3. I don’t know much about James except that he’s terribly rich =) but I wonder if Carole would have the same control over him. He’s in his 40s done well for himself. I think the only time I’ve seen his parents was the post of them going into his place for the prewedding whatever. So maybe he has a better relationship with them than William does with his family.
                Although he’s seemed to allow this circus of a wedding hype to continue so that doesn’t speak well of him.

13. They obviously want photographers there. You only announce this via KP if you want to draw attention. What a joke to push this wedding via KP.

    1. Totes

14. Devil’s advocate:

    Photographers would show up to Pippa’s wedding no matter what, and they might not be nice. Announcing the wedding and setting up a photographer area means KP/Cambridges/Middletons get more control over the situation. So this is a preemptive strike against crappy pap shots and potential negative situation for the kids.

    1. Except the church is on private land, so they already have control. The only way photographers could get photos would be by being allowed on the land like at Christmas. By announcing this more photographers may show up than originally would have. It’s like making sure the media cares and reports on the wedding. God forbid a Middleton girl’s wedding not be the focus of the media (thinks the family)

       Btw I can’t believe KP is the one organising an area for photographers since this isn’t a royal wedding. Royals attend weddings all the time without KP stepping in.

       1. Midd manipulation at its finest.

       2. This reminds me of a story that appeared in one of the papers during the dating years.

          The paps were camped outside a celeb-filled nightclub when William and Kate walked out the front of the club. Unlike previous occassions, the paps didn’t notice or ignored them.

          Anyhue, WK drove round the block and came back to the pap-filled front of the club, honked very loudly and drove off. This prompted some paps to follow them to take pics.

          The resulting pictures were of WK ‘hiding’ in their car being chased by paps.

          1. Oh, my Lord. I’d talk about addiction to attention-seeking but the optics of William and Kate in ‘hiding’ and being ‘chased’ by paps is in such bad taste, given the lead up to the conclusion of his his mother’s life.

             1. I agree. That’s a completely disgusting move on their part.

          2. It also resulted in W&K complaining they were being followed all the time, which meant the press were bashed and strong-armed into backing off for awhile. Bait and switch, bait and switch.

          3. Hera I had never heard that before. That is crazy. Thanks for sharing. I am not the least bit surprised.

          4. That is interesting. I hadn’t heard that before. Is there a news source where you go to find these things out? I would love to know because it would be great to learn the truth about published photos of the BRF.

          5. Didn’t they proceed to sue?

             1. Nope, they didn’t sue….but they whined about being ‘chased’ by the paps.

    2. Surely it is up to the Middleton’s to set up ‘media facilities’ for their ‘small, private family wedding’? It is the Middleton’s who are publicising this wedding for all it’s worth. They are the ones manufacturing ‘interest’. It looks as if the taxpayer will be funding this in the guise of protecting the Cambridge’s. Was the pap stroll at Christmas a dress rehearsal?

       If they want control and privacy, they could erect marquees to keep all from view. Pippa has sought the spotlight for the past ten years; given her failure to launch any career, she should have long faded from view by now. As Oz Shan said, at best, she is deserving of being a footnote, and an obscure one at that.

15. A friend reminded me how ridiculous the excuse of royals-in -wedding-party for this press release.

    Last summer, a Mountbatten cousin got married. Charles walked the bride down the aisle, practically every senior royal attended including the Queen, Philip, Kents, Gloucesters, Anne, Alexandra, Queen Sofia of Spain, Greek Royals etc.

    No press release ahead and after even if the wedding did make news. No PR build up. No magazine deals. Nothing. It was a private wedding that happened to have royals in it.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3660014/Mountbatten-girl-Alexandra-walks-aisle-Prince-Charles-society-wedding-father-Lord-Brabourne-looks-on.html

    1. Exactly. Excellent example. This whole KP press release for the Middleton wedding is ridiculous. Any last shred of respect I had for the BRF is out the window. We see who is in charge and the way things are going to be in the future.

       1. Nothing is sacred anymore today.
          Well, now Pippa will have a rich husband, who will we choose for her brother? He surely can’t stay unmarried. Who is the perfect bride for James in the eyes of his parents?She can’t shine out his sisters, that’s for sure, but she can’t be an unsuccessfull wallflower either. Rich parents? Sure.
          I hope he will choose someone he loves no matter which parents she has. But of course, he was raised by his parents without own interests or life choices, so the chance will be low.

          1. I think it will be interesting to see if Donna and her daughter are invited as James Middleton’s guests given there is no ring there either. Apparently Pippa has instigated a ‘no ring, no bring’ policy. God could these Vulgarians get any worse?

             1. How does a ‘no ring, no bring’ policy make the Middletons vulgar? I totally understand a bride not wanting random plus ones or flavor of the month girlfriends at her wedding. Honestly, I would specifically invite the people and their spouses/partners I wanted attending and wouldn’t allow plus ones.

             2. Because it’s apparent intention is to prevent other women from upstaging the bride. If you need to adopt a policy to ensure you are the centre of attention on your wedding day……it’s control freak gone mad. In society some things are just left unsaid. I’m surprised she hasn’t insisted on a dress code just to be on the safe side. It really is very common to spell these things out. Etiquette is seamless and unsaid in British society.

             3. James and Donna are hardly in a ‘flavour of the month’ /random girlfriend category. The purpose of the ‘no ring, no bring’ seemed to result from Pippa’s insecurity and need to preserve the spotlight. It is likely that G+C will steal the show: they are cute and also so rarely seen that sightings of them will be highly prized beyond a woman who parades up and down the street to get her pic in the paper. Overall, the egotism and control is in poor taste.

             4. I think it has more to do with James’ brother Spencer. Pippa probably doesn’t want his flavor of the month girlfriend at her wedding. I honestly think there is nothing wrong with not allowing plus ones at a wedding, and have no shade for Pippa on this one. As I said above, I would not let random people I don’t know come to my wedding either.

             5. God, I’m sure we’ll see a Cheshire Cat like smiling Pips wedged between G&C like some desperate groupie.

                And then there will be Carole clutching their tiny hands like two bulging money bags. I bet she focuses on the kids rather than Pips the entire wedding. They are her ticketing to aristo status.

             6. Spencer sounds like a walking STD. I’d put plastic down wherever he sits.

                Surely P+J would know whether their friends were with someone, just casually dating or seeing no-one and word each invitation with some discretion? If 350 people are attending, a high proportion would be couples of all ages, maybe with children in tow, plus some aged relatives, leaving a relatively small number of singles.

             7. Spencer is a walking disaster. He can’t keep it in his pants and has a well known penchant for cocaine. He’s also very indiscreet with gossip. He’s going to be a massive liability going forward.

                Donna is much maligned but has proven to be perfectly behaved. Rumour has is Carole doesn’t approve of her…..not from good enough stock apparently.

                And where does Meghan fit in with all this? Surely Harry should expect a plus one? That is what form should dictate and yet she also falls into the ‘no ring, no bring category’? It’s all a bit unseemly so I shall be intrigued to hear what actually does happen because as I say society behaviour does not need spelling out to society.

                Apparently they sent out ‘save the day cards’ in their Christmas cards. You couldn’t get any more nouveau than that. William Hanson would be spitting feathers. Bad enough to send a ‘save the day’ card but to put it in a Christmas card too? I mean why doesn’t Carole just add Party Pieces promotional flyers too and go the whole hog?

                These nuances of etiquette really do show you how middle class the Middletons are and how desperate they are trying not to be. And that is vulgar.

             8. Being middle class is not vulgar. There is nothing wrong with save the date cards. And no, Harry shouldn’t expect to bring a plus one if it was not specified in his invite.

             9. I think you are doing a disservice to the middle class; common and vulgar behavior is no-class.

             10. Lordy, how are women like Carole tolerated by anyone? Actually, I think I do know. They are so brazen that people of good manners are taken aback, dumbfounded by their sheer pushiness.

                 Maybe Meghan is working; maybe she and Harry don’t want a repeat of the Jamaica wedding media frenzy. That would be an understandable choice. Meghan might have the good sense not to want to attend! Geez, why would she? Honestly, I can’t think why Harry wouldn’t manoeuvre himself out of the Middleton wedding; he’s had since Christmas at least to do so.

             11. Maybe Harry is not attending the wedding, since Meghan is outside of the no-ring, no-bring policy. I wish he would announce his engagement to Meghan on May 19th. That would be a hoot! I did read that Meghan and Harry are going to Africa in October, and if this news is even true, I would not be surprised if they get engaged during that trip.

             12. Sometimes you just have to suck things up. Honestly wedded life is more than just one day and if you are asking people to shell out money on new clothes, accommodation, gifts etc then the least you can do is allow them to bring a partner. It’s got zero impact on Pips who attends, she can control her photos to include who she wants and count her blessings Spencer HAS his girlfriend in attendance and isn’t making a pest of himself with the other enforced singletons. It’s not like they can’t afford the extra people! This is pretentious and divisive and I can’t understand how Harry hasn’t told them to get lost. Imagine how irritating Pip’s single mates are going to be around him, he’ll prob spend half the evening on the phone to MM. I know I would.

             13. What I don’t understand is, how can Pippa/Carole get away with saying to Harry that he cannot bring a guest/Meghan? I mean if that isn’t the ultimate!

                 If I were Harry, I would politely bow out! He’s been the third wheel when attending events with W and K for far too long. What an insult to him that he cannot bring a guest — who would obviously be Meghan. Oh, well……

             14. Harry isn’t the be all end all. It’s Pippa’s wedding, she gets to decide if she wants to allow plus ones and which ones she wants. I get that people dislike the Middletons, but I honestly don’t understand why this is such a big deal.

             15. I had a friend that did the no ring no bring thing but it was because she had spent her budget several times over and it was her way of cutting cost. Also no kids, which I didn’t”5 have a problem with let se. It was a night wedding but that’s just another cost people have to spend by getting baby sitters and what not.
                 I don’t see the budget constraint as an issue here tho.
                 I thibk it would look bad if your brothers gf for some time wasn’t invited.

             16. I’ve never heard of such an interdiction. It’s the height of vulgarity. Allowing a singleton to bring a guest is common courtesy in my modest circles. Of course, my circle doesn’t include riff raff unlike the royals and Midds. And if a guest was from the demi-monde they would be treated with courtesy and tolerated at the very least. Manners matter as is the care of all guests- you’re not doing them a favour, you are inviting them to add to your joy.

                 BTW, didn’t Willy knock out a tooth falling down drunk at a wedding?

             17. Fifi: in Britain, what Mrs BBV says is true.

                 Mrs BBV: the trouble with Donna is tgat she didn’t cement her ties with the Aspinals/Goldsmiths/Rothschilds despite having a baby with one of them.

                 To that end, she’s worthless to Carole.

             18. Hera….Absolutely unforgivable in the eyes of Mrs M. No point having a connection unless you profit from it and exploit if ruthlessly eh? That Donna has behaved with discretion and grace really means nothing to that dreadful woman. She gets more like P & P’s Mrs Bennett (BBC adaptation with Alison Steadman) by the day.

             19. Beautifully expressed Maven. It is about sharing the family’s happiness and joy and as Sarah says if there are no budgetary constraints then it’s the gracious thing to do.

             20. Mrs. Bbv. The BBC version is the ONLY version if p & p! That monstrosity that Keira knightly was in was a joke.
                 As an adult I now see a redeeming quality to Mrs. Bennett that Carole lacks. She realized they would be destitute if he died first, thus the need for good marriages. The Middleton girls have had excellent education should in theory be able to function on their own but is clear they can’t/won’t. So to me she’s even worse

             21. I agree with KMR. No shade from me either (And really I don’t think most people would care if they didn’t think this had something to do with Meghan.) It’s not uncommon at all to invite who you want to your wedding and make up whatever rules you like. “No ring, no bring” is just a catch-all no plus ones. Budget can be a concern for some. But in this case I think security and space is the issue. From the photos I’ve seen this church is not very big and the reception is back at the Middleton’s house. IDK about the size of James’ family, but if James and Pippa have a lot of friends, a lot of married friends, and I’m sure James will be inviting some his and his parents’ business collaborators–Making sure there’s room for people I don’t know, don’t like, and just don’t care about them coming isn’t at the top of my list here. This and Meghan was the story for about a minute around the Inskip’s wedding. But the focus has already shifted to Spencer and his ilk being the concern here. Perhaps it doesn’t add to their joy to have to make room for strangers and people they don’t care about, (especially when they already have an issue where they have to invite someone guaranteed to be a source of stress). And who knows, maybe certain people have been invited even though they are technically a “no ring” plus one. It’s also my understanding that it’s very common in the UK for people to be invited to the wedding but not the reception or something. Most UK weddings are in the morning, so you may have a breakfast brunch and then a break before dinner. Certain guest and/or plus ones may only be invited to the evening portion or drinks and dancing. That’s not so common in the US. But I love it and we should adopt it! It’s great that you can draw the line between important/less important guests and not hurt any feelings. Brits should copy us and get rid of the fruit cake and be more flexible about the open bar thing… Or maybe not. We don’t have the same culture of binge drinking in the US. Our princes alone have lost teeth and pantsed friends at weddings. So anyway how is “no ring, no bring” outrageously, offensively different from A List/B List guests? What’s so hideously vulgar about having one select group attending? It’s not convenient for some people when kids aren’t allowed at weddings. But that’s also a thing. If you can’t get a babysitter or bear to be away from your boyfriend or girlfriend for a portion of the day then don’t go. And if you’re that important to the bride and groom they’ll work it out. But then again, it’s not your damn day! I think it’s unfair to assume that Pippa simply doesn’t want to be “upstaged”. But honestly these comments wishing disaster or hoping the Meghan and Harry get engaged and overshadow this wedding would totally prove Pippa right, wouldn’t they?

                 I doubt any ladies will be buzzing around Harry at the wedding. This will not be anyone in the circle’s first time near Harry. Most of them are married. Correction. Most of William’s exes are married. None of them (except Astrid Harbord) even dated Harry. And if they didn’t want William and Harry then, why would they want them now? Btw, I love the desperation to separate Harry from this crowd and pretend that he’s so above it. There’s one circle, that Harry’s firmly entrenched in, and tons of overlapping relationships. It’s why they’ve all dated each other and all go to one another’s weddings. Like remember Thomas van Straubenzee, Charlotte’s godfather, whose wedding William, Harry AND Pippa attended. Carole and Pippa went to a memorial concert for his brother two years ago too. Pippa has never been as much of an outsider in this group as Kate. It is not beyond all imagination that Harry may *gasp* like Pippa and/or may want to hang out with their many mutual friends at this wedding.

             22. Dorothy Zbornak,

                 Speaking in general terms from this stance: You talk about A list and B list as if such artificial distinctions are a wonderful social binder. You talk about not caring for or about some of the people attending your wedding and therefore ensuring they don’t attend and forget that this involves a singleton you are inviting, but you want them not to have the comfort of a partner because your comfort matters more. You create artificial divides about who is valued more, in effect people who are “U” and “non-U”. You make it sound as if the event is going to be tainted by not the “right” people.

                 Instead of emphasis on hospitality and social niceties, sharing in one’s joy extended to invitee singletons as well and caring about their comfort, it’s all about you, control and no surprises. In having to make such distinctions it shows that you hang out with the wrong sort of crowd and that’s on you. Not a social circle I would want to be a member of, not someone I would want to hang with.

                 Sure, people can do whatever they want. This kind of laissez-faire reasoning is just not much of an argument, IMO.

             23. Dorothy’s reasoning is a very valid argument.

                 Your wedding is about you, not your guests. So there is nothing wrong with putting your own priorities above the guest’s priorities at your wedding.

                 Just because you are friends with a person doesn’t mean you like or are friends with their boyfriend or girlfriend. That is very normal. So while you may want your friend at your wedding, you may not want their boyfriend or girlfriend there.

                 There are, for a lot of people, different friendship levels. Where you are friends with a person but not super close, so they’re in the second or third tier or something. But then there are the friends you’re close to which would be in the top tier friendship level. That is very normal.

                 Nothing Dorothy said is abnormal for people, and her arguments are very valid.

                 PS. Please don’t insult other commenters.

             24. KMR being middle class is not vulgar but acting as if you are not middle class and some kind of aristo based on your daughter’s marriage is vulgar.

                 Save the date cards are just not done in UK society. They suggest a desperation and controlling element over one’s potential guests. In UK, polite society send a wedding invitation out 6 weeks before the wedding and RSVP’s are done within 2 weeks.

                 Harry should not turn up with an uninvited guest, he should never have been put in that position. A gracious host would ensure that they had invited his significant other and named them on the invitation personally not as +1.

                 These are very usual UK society ways of behaving re.weddings. This need to act in such a prescriptive and controlling manner is alien to society weddings and is crass. Not unlike renting out someone’s else land to shoot on. It demonstrates very clearly what they are and that they are not following etiquette no matter how hard they try to bury their middle class……which is the most vulgar thing of all. Brits hate people having ideas above their station, you are what you are. Own it and be proud of it.

                 Mrs M. Is behaving like Hyacinth Bucket which incidentally is one of HM’s favourite TV programmes. Keeping Up Appearances the show is called. I suggest anyone wanting to understand British middle class pretention watches it. It’s hilarious.

             25. Maybe it’s the American in me, but I very much dislike this whole described idea of what is acceptable at a society wedding and how people are insulted for wanting to and achieving upward economic momentum.

             26. KMR,

                 We’ll have to agree to disagree. This is really an argument about values, and never the twain shall meet.

                 ETA: I was trying to avoid insulting Dorothy by adding my preamble and addressing the argument. The “you” was a general one, not specific to Dorothy. I apologise for the awkwardness of it.

             27. Mrs BBV,

                 This is my understanding of gracious society and community as well. So, well said, and
                 +1 million.

                 A fine point about Harry’s GF being not included and not named in the invitation. Very bad manners.

                 And yet they want him to bring the body because -Prince.

             28. I think that not inviting the “plus ones” is acceptable and not in any way rude. There is a tendency in Europe to have long term, serious partners without being married, but I would think or hope that those people would be invited to the wedding by name and not left out. If I am close enough to someone to get invited to their wedding then I can attend without a date. I’ve done that before. If that would make me uncomfortable then I would just RSVP no to the invite.

                 Edit: I think that having a long term partner without marriage is perhaps more of a thing in mainland Europe than the UK or the USA. However, it’s becoming more common over here too isn’t it? Either way, I would hope the long term partners would be included in the invite. Having said that, I still personally don’t see what’s wrong with not inviting partners.

             29. Wow, Ok. That got super f’ing personal.

                 A List/B List is not my invention or language. If you Google “British weddings vs American weddings” you will see that exact term over and over and over. Literally dozens of links. (And I thought it was known when something similar happened with the multiple get togethers after William and Kate’s wedding too.) It’s not overarching or societal in the slightest. It’s not about the right kind of people. (What? What?) Nor does is say jack about the crowd you hang out with. It’s practical. Plain and simple. You do the exact same thing when you decide who’s coming to your bridal shower or bachelorette party. You don’t invite every person coming to the wedding to that do you? Just like KMR says, you make these distinctions in relationships all the time. When you decide who’s coming to your low key, intimate B-Day party. When you only tell personal information to a few people. Or when you make a list of who to send Christmas cards to. It’s anything but artificial. So I think it’s great that there’s an out to this expectation that you invite everyone under the sun to everything wedding related and it’s seen as perfectly reasonable to only invite your closest friends and family to the wedding and breakfast. While other guests and plus ones come for dinner or only drinks and dancing. Besides, if it actually is all about hospitality and sharing the joy and love, then guests shouldn’t be so consumed with concerns over their own comfort and people shouldn’t care if they were only invited for drinks and dancing.

                 I took a different perspective. What I meant if I wasn’t clear is that neither James nor Pippa, in fact, NO ONE should bend over backwards, rack their brains, break their wallet, and lose sleep over offending people for making decisions like this. It is also very common for this crap to cause drama at weddings. So people kill themselves trying to make everyone else happy to avoid that. (When weddings shouldn’t even be about the wedding itself, and everything should be secondary to what the couple wants.) Funny we have a term for “Bridezilla” but there’s no name for guests who harass, demand, and bully the bride and groom even though it happens all the time. In fact look around right now at the outraged comments over some people allegedly not being allowed a guest at a wedding. Now multiply that by ten and that’s an example of what I’m talking about in real life. In a vacuum of a perfect world it would be all about hospitality and joy. But it’s not… and things cost money. (And we know the Middletons are not as rich as they claim to be.) And space is an issue. (I don’t why Harry was invited. But perhaps it’s like I said. Maybe he likes Pippa. Maybe William and Kate insisted. Maybe he’s going because he’s part of the gang. And he will have the comfort of his brother, niece, nephew, and plenty of mutual friends. Sweet Lord, it’s a wedding! The man served in Afghanistan!)

                 So yes, explicitly, I think it’s etiquette, expectations and enforced behavior that are artificial and destructive here. And I can say that because the people in my social circle are not so self-involved, entitled, and petty and would be completely understanding about my wishes. You get to decide who shares in your joy… and you feed and fête. And I don’t need people around me who get bent out of shape over stuff like this. (Nor can I imagine acquaintances or people I wouldn’t give a plus one to actually being outraged or completely clueless as to why. I.E. The assumption that Meghan herself was ever even expecting to be invited.) But I do believe that I mentioned in my original comment that exceptions were probably made and if something is that much of an issue and you’re important to the bride and groom they will likely work it out.

                 And among all the comments here wishing disaster on Pippa’s wedding and trashing the Middleton’s vulgar, middle class arriviste attitudes, and how they aren’t doing the artisto wedding correctly… by not doing the aristo wedding correctly… you singled me out for my hostility and MY artificial social constructs. :D… Thanks for the apology over “awkwardness”.

             30. When I was in college I worked in a stationery store that did wedding invites/birth announcements. It used to be save the dates were only recommended on 2 occasions 1) destination wedding 2) wedding on a holiday/busy travel time and that’s as a courtesy to your guests so they could plan accordingly (travel arrangements and what have you) that was 10+ yrs a go and now receive them just for any date which I find weird.
                 You also were supposed to get the name of all the guests as the generic plus 1 was considered tacky. So if you/parents didn’t know their names probably not a big deal if they weren’t invited. Weddings have become more about the event and not what they represent
                 KMR I agree that there’s nothing wrong with trying to better your financial status but I think that should come from hard work and or education not by having yourself/daughters go after titled wealthy men. It’s that kind of upward economic momentum that I find vulgar. The Middleton’s aren’t the first to try and get it this way nor will be the last. They’re just blatant in their attempts. People will always want the easier way. I just prefer to make my own

             31. Harry has been dating Meghan for close to a year and they have been living together when they have the chance. She isn’t some cheap floozie one night stand and so if Pippa is going to pull the bizarre move of inviting her brother in law’s brother, she should invite his serious girlfriend. It’s not like she has only invited 25 people and is pressed for space. I still can’t figure out why the hell Harry would even attend this. Maybe it’s to see his niece and nephew.

                 Anyway for all the royal famewhoring the Middeltons are trying to pull off, they will end up getting hoisted on their own petard because the press is only going to care about George and Charlotte.

    2. +1000

       One word – CLASS!

       And a VERY regal dignified wedding that could have been mistaken for a royal heir. Much more than waity whiny middleton wedding.

       1. Lady Brabourne looked amazing at that wedding!! Absolutely impeccable.

          1. Given the family history that wedding was just beautifully executed with such dignity and class. It must have been quite difficult to have the old wounds reopened in the public eye. Yes and Lady B. absolutely nailed it.

             1. Mrs BBV: Off Topic – You know that rumour that Andrew may be a Porchester?

                I think the bride in this Mountbatten wedding disproves that theory. Here is why…..

                Many people don’t realise that the big teeth of William/Andrew/Beatrice/Eugenie and to a lesser extent Anne/Zara come from the Mountbatten side of the family.

                This Mountbatten bride has the same big teeth. Infact if you look at her mouth and nose, she could be William’s sibling rather than Harry.

                That very specific trait proves beyond doubt that Andrew is a Mounbatten and not a Porchester.

             2. You know I’ve never thought of Andrew as a Porchester. I’ve always seen too much of PP in him. I also never ever thought the Harry rumours were true either. From mid teens it was as clear as the nose on my face that Harry was PoW though and through. I was in hospital on a gerneral ward once with five other women who were all telling me that H. was not POWs but it was always so obvious to me he was. William has the Whig attitude but Harry has PoW mannerisms, philanthropy, emotional intelligence and looks. Xx

             3. Good point Herazeus. Thank god Charles didn’t marry Amanda Knatchbull. I thnk she was the Granddaughter (?) of Mountbatten. Their genetic closeness might have lead to a few misfirings.

                As it is, that bride looked like (a very pretty) William in a brown wig. Uncanny.

    3. yup, that’s the kind of good taste I was talking about

    4. Herazeus, I think this shows the clear difference in how BP and SJP manage their PR vs. KP. KP is a walking PR disaster, heck, they may be giving United Airlines a run for their money 😉 There have been multiple statements about Kate not wanting to “overshadow” Pippa on her wedding day. If this was true, KP would keep their mouth shut. This release is heavily hypocritical and is only hurting their case in France. They should handle this is as any other private wedding.

       1. And, if Kate did not want to overshadow Pips on her wedding day, the kiddies would not be in the wedding party, either.

          So many comments on whether it was in poor taste for Meghan not to have been invited (or, any other guest Harry wanted), that the reply buttons were gone.
          I think it is in poor taste not to have a guest for Harry. He’s been the tag along for way too long! And, Carole was sure happy when the media was playing the guessing game soon after W and K’s wedding as to whether or not, Pippa and PH would start dating. When that didn’t happen, poor Carole!

          It seems in very poor taste to me when single people’s significant other is not invited to the wedding. Most times, here in the States, that happens when people are cutting corners on the price of the reception. The less people to feed, the cheaper. I am sure in this care, there are no financial concerns. I guess Pippa wants to shine on her own, but still, she and Kate better steel themselves. If Harry and MM do wed, what a back seat they are going to have in the media (Pips and K, that is). K and M will be pitted against each other for all the worst reasons, but Pippa? She’s going to get the quiet, but very wealthy life she wants.

    5. And didn’t KP neglect to mention an event the Cambridges or Harry attended a few weeks ago? I thought that was discussed on this blog a few posts back.

16. KP’s big mistake, I think, was phrasing this press release as an announcement from two private citizens not entitled to its services or representation. I’m not convinced the palace needed to make a statement at all, but since they did feel it necessary, I think a few simple wording changes could have saved them some of the kerfuffle:

    “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry are pleased to confirm that they will be attending the wedding of Miss Pippa Middleton and Mr James Matthews on the morning of the 20th May.

    Prince George will be a page boy and Princess Charlotte a bridesmaid at the ceremony at St Mark’s Church, Englefield.”

    It gets the information they wanted across via the only people that KP is, theoretically, supposed to represent. It might still ruffle some feathers, but not as many, I suspect, as it does coming from private citizens.

    (Incidentally, I almost never use titles to write about any royals–it felt odd to do it here!)

    1. THIS! It’s amazing how a small change of a words can have a different impact. My respect for the BRF is fast diminishing and after today’s announcement on behalf of two private citizens, I don’t see their value. Bring on the Republic! I don’t want my tax dollars funding the Middletons

    2. That sounds lovely but it’s still not remotely necessary, IMO, especially for a *private* wedding. It’s also never been done for anyone else royal adjacent.

    3. Totally agree.

       It’s also odd that a community of royal watchers, many of whom do not live in England, and for many of whom English is not their native language, are able to come up with better wording and more culturally appropriate ways to handle this situation, than the Kensington Palace Press Office itself. Serious shade.

17. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4386006/Duchess-Cambridge-spent-57K-new-clothes.html

    The knives are out today although I’m sure this article has been published before?

    1. Hi Mrs BBV, I wish that the DM had pointed out that this sum was spent on clothes for only 27 engagements.

       1. Hi Lauri,

          I’m always really conflicted by these articles because I don’t expect for one second she pays full retail price for anything. Even a Daily Mail Fashion Editor has a 30% discount card. But what she’s paying, it’s a scandal in itself either way. Last month I was reading Kitty Kelly’s biography on Nancy Reagan…..the creative way that ladies in the public eye get around wardrobe budgets is very interesting. Sarah Brown ex Prime Minister Brown’s wife also writes about ‘renting’ clothes and being charged per wear by designers. I’m sure Kate must have some system in place because it’s lunancy if she’s paying full retail price.

          1. I recall hearing something about this before on of her tours, along the lines of she pays for an item once she wears it and I guess if she doesn’t wear it then it gets returned? My understanding is that royals can’t accept freebies but that doesn’t mean that designers don’t give her discounts. I wonder how the designers feel, after working so hard to make a couture outfit for her only to have her “stylist” alter/hack at it?

             1. I can imagine Lee McQueen going ballistic. He threw public shade all over Victoria Beckham…..said only David could wear his clothes and that b*tch was to have no PR help with borrowing off his brand. If he ever saw a picture of her in his clothes apparently his staff knew they were in for a bad day.

                I know they say no freebies but presents are acceptable. Jacques Azagury, Catherine Walker, Versace, Dior and Chanel all regularly sent birthday and Christmas gifts to Diana, some costing many thousands. Versace sent her entire collections. I bet there are all sorts of deals being done using Pippa & Mommy Dearest too. I imagine the devil is in the detail. The designer will decide a price of the garment depending on what season is from and bought in. If it’s a sample piece. Cost to make as opposed to retail price. There could be a real scandal there if someone wanted to dig a bit but I don’t agree that Kate is trooping round Knightsbridge paying full retail price. Even VIP Net-A-Porter clients get significant discounts.

             2. This isn’t the 1980s and things are watched much more closely now. Royals aren’t supposed to accept freebies, that includes Kate Middleton. She has gotten around some of this for the last six years by accepting some things that are sent to her family (baby necklace, fur hats, etc.).

                The royals get negotiated discounts on car leases, but clothing is another issue. Plus the majority of what she wears, even off the rack, is actually custom or customized.

                The retail figures are a baseline for what she’s spending, but given how much it costs to have designers change even a button on their designs? She’s spending every penny of what is listed and then some.

             3. I disagree. None of us actually know what’s she paying for anything as the rules are so ambiguous and open to interpretation. I’m certain she not paying full retail price, I’m certain she’s getting enormous discounts. She may well be ‘renting’. She may even not pay for anything that is subsequently returned to a designer worn or unworn. And we don’t even know who is doing the alterations……her stylist or the brand themselves. In all truth no one knows what the arrangements currently are…..it’s all just speculation. Until you or I see the receipts or a designer breaks ranks and discusses the arrangement you might as well pick a figure from the air.

             4. We do know, because Charles takes the expenses for her clothing off on taxes. The first year it was something like 100,000 pounds. That was when she was still pretending to hide out in Wales being a “housewife”.

             5. I think we can safely assume that whatever Kate wants, Kate gets; money is not a concern, and neither are the optics of excessive consumerism.

             6. Please see my reply on Kitty’s question but in short we don’t know anything about how this figure is arrived at. We have a generic figure given that tells us nothing. It doesn’t even differntiate between grooming, tailoring and clothing. It doesn’t split private clothing v public. It doesn’t breakdown number of items, items by designer, bespoke, tour, alternations. It sheds no light on finacial arrangements between designer and Kate. We don’t know what she’s charged, how she’s charged. Given it could be 500 Alice Temperley lace dresses it might be the bargain of the century but then it could be 30 bespoke outfits from a range of designers and be extravagance personified.

                When someone actually provides some bona fide figures this discussion around Kate’s clothes might have some journalistic merit but as it stands it is DM journalism that’s nothing more than prodding the snake for click bait.

             7. Irrespective of actual numbers what we know for certain is that her wardrobe for foreign tours is paid by the Foreign office – Diana used to present exhorbitantly bills for her tour clothes to the foreign office which they complained about – and her UK public engagements are paid by Charles via the duchy and the *royal duty items of those public engagements paid by the taxpayers.

                * all royals are recompensated by the taxpayers for royal duties in terms of all expenses.

                Charles pays for all her clothing and is reimbursed for items that are used for public engagements whether those are royal duty specifically or general charity patronages.

                What we don’t know is the cost of clothing used privately since that is not included on acvounts although the fact that Charles gives WK a household allowance out of duchy funds, we can conclude that includes her private clothing.

             8. Mrs BBV, what you appear to be implying is that she is getting massive discounts (on whatever) we don’t know about, but still racking up those huge costs that are recorded in the taxes. When the numbers add up in Charles’s taxes, it would mean she is shopping even more than is proven by what she wears at work. That her ridiculous, huge photographed wardrobe of 70+ coat dresses actually includes a massive stash of hundreds more outfits we haven’t seen yet but you think were bought at discount. Even more disgusting, profligate behavior on her part if that were what was happening.

                We do know some of what she pays for jewelry, because the stores admit it when she comes in and buys things. That’s how we knew William didn’t pick out the eternity band, because the store clerk went public. Ditto when she goes shopping at Bicester Village.

                Herazeus, that makes the numbers Charles takes off on his taxes even more astronomical to me. Plus the 4 million annual allowance out of the Duchy for what they spend on themselves for their “household” expenses. As Maven says below, profligate is Kate Middleton’s middle name.

    2. I hope KMR starts a thread on these numbers. Cannot believe Kate has spent so much money already this year. I was thinking that with her large clothes expenditures last year, she was stocking up and would be rewearing items this year or breaking out some of the items she purchased last year but we have yet to see. So insane! She’s already spent more than many people’s yearly salaries.

18. My concern is for Prince George and to a lesser extent, because she is so young, Princess Charlotte.
    What could have been a “normal” family wedding participation event has been heightened by the Cambridge ” oh we’re so normal and want our privacy” duo and KP.

19. Comment

20. If I were a British taxpayer I would be furious. Do you think James’s family is desperately trying to find an escape clause?

    I lay the blame at the Queen’s door.

    1. Yes. The Queen has turned a blind eye to William’s nasty nature and behaviour. It’s now too late.

       1. In the end, it shows that Elizabeth lacks character. Duty is easy- raising a decent human being is not. No wonder her dynasty produces reprobates like Willy. They know the value of a throne and a free pound but not much else. I never expected this kind of gradual degeneration of British royalty, and then the Midds came along and everyone’s true colours have unfurled loud and clear.

          1. The Middleton’s have certainly exposed the weakness of character inherent in the BRF and that there is not much to them other than wanting to keep the free pounds flowing. They will hasten the eventual demise of monarchy as it is understood now. If it continues, I can see it being modestly remunerated and not full-time. The healthiest thing in the world for George and Charlotte would be for them to know they need to chart their own futures, develop their own interests and abilities. And definitely not look to their parents as role models.

          2. Not related to the Middleton wedding, but I think a great example of the degeneration of the British royalty: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4382192/Kensington-Palace-release-Princess-Charlotte-merchandise.html. Never thought that the day would come when it would be impossible to tell whether an item was from one of the monarch’s palaces, Party Pieces or Disney.

             1. Oy vey! Very tacky! **face palm**

             2. This has been going on for quite a while now. It’s all part of the palaces’ attempt to pay for themselves. It started, I think, after the fire at Windsor castle. The taxpayers refused to foot the bill for the rebuild, so HM opened up the place to tourists. Selling them stuff is part of that. I think one of the documentaries on Windsor castle goes into this in more detail.

             3. I think this is a very clever idea that plays up associations with the current Princess Charlotte of Cambridge when all the merchandise is clearly inspired by Princess Charlotte of Wales who lived in the Georgian era and was the heir presumptive until her death in childbirth leaving the way open for Victoria to become the new heir presumptive and eventual Queen.

                Ditto Queen Charlotte, wife of George 3.

             4. Considering how much the Middletons trade off the royal collection with the royal-related plastic tat they sell at PP? Maybe HRP wanted a piece of the action, given how much they’ve had to sacrifice due to the whims of W&K. Being thrown out of their exhibit and office space, having to completely regroup and start over cost them a pretty penny.

21. The KP PR team are a bunch of hacks! The misspelling is classic!
    I agree with ABKM upthread, that it just could have been announced William, Kate and the mystery children would be attending the wedding. Pips and James are not royals ( much as they would like to be)
    While I do not wish Pippa any ill will in her marriage and I want to see her wedding dress, I hope that the British press decides to skip this event since it is a ‘private’ event with family and friends. I can only imagine guests would have their cell phones collected and perhaps have to sign something saying they will not sell any information. I think Pippa’s PR firm will select what pictures will be released to the public and it would not surprise me if W & K have their say on that because I bet they or KP are really paying for this outside firm.
    My respect, tolerance and interest in the BRF is at an all time low due to their unprofessional, whiny and immature behavior.

    1. You know I wouldn’t mind betting that BP & SJP press offices knew absolutely nothing about any of this. This has all the hallmarks of KP flying by the seat of their pants and William’s hamfisted approach to PR.

    2. I really don’t want to know anything about Pippa’s wedding. I wish it want getting discussed on this site. I wish the press would ignore it, but this KP announcement has made sure they won’t. Ugh, if we want the. Iddletons to go away we need to stop paying attention to them.

       1. I’m hoping for a trainwreck. It’s my only interest in Pips’ wedding. Frankly it’s already sounding like a trainwreck. Can’t look away.

          I also want to see to what shrill, wanton heights the Midds will aspire. Does anyone believe TRJames is not a thirsty part of this shebang? He sure is a mystery man. Looks like an invertebrate to me, just the way Carole likes ’em. Yum.

          1. ++100

             Middeltons Iddeltons!

          2. TR James certainly is looking more and more like a weak, pliable, and complicit partner. Maybe not even a partner, but a pawn in the Midd PR, grifter scheme. Anyway, he looks slightly pathetic and eager for royal connections.

22. So let me see if I understand this correctly…during the same month the Cambridge’s counsel will be in France stating that it’s an invasion of privacy for photos to be published of the Cambridge’s doing what they will on private property during their private time, KP is making announcements regarding the children and what they will be doing on private property during their private time and setting up a media pit so that photos can be published of said private activity? Imo, they are giving the French counsel loads of ammo, as clearly they are not concerned about invasion of privacy as much as they are concerned about the loss of image control.

    The other point that irritates me to no end is that William demanded that the British Columbia petting zoo take down their tweet about the children’s visit but this type of pimping of his children sits fine with him??

    1. Pimping of children is the Middleton way.

       Problem in choosing a church on a private estate is that it is private. Uh oh. What to do if you want wall-to-wall coverage of the big day and not enough paps have sought permission to take photos on said private property? Why, get ‘I am a Prince’ to build a tent to house media! What if ordinary people are not taking sufficient interest in the wedding? Why, buy PR expertise and bore the pants off them them with almost daily press releases.

    2. It would be entertaining if it was the French courts that end up showcasing, point-by-point, how W&K have yanked press chains for years. Conflating public and private, demanding privacy in public places but allowing press access to private Middleton events. Basically proving the PR games and W&K’s illegal demands the UK press have been dealing with for years.

       The French press and courts don’t have to kowtow and play nice with W&K as the UK equivalents have been doing for years.

       1. I hope the French defence lawyer has a good case.

       2. I find it rather shocking that counsel for KP would have green-lighted this announcement in light of their current case. As I said above, the French have all they need to prove that the Cambridge’s aren’t really fighting their “invasion of privacy” as much as they are fighting to control their image.

          Yeah, the hike in Bhutan comes to mind about “privacy” while on public duties and how William demands this and that but gives nothing in return unless threatened.

          1. W+K would have (a) not thought of it or (b) feel/have been assured they have a good case. I doubt they would have consulted anyone.

    3. I don’t see what the objection to the petting zoo tweet was. If the tweeted something while George and Charlotte were there, I can see that being a safety issue. But if they tweeted after the kids left I don’t think that’s a big deal.

       1. Exactly Cookie, the zoo tweeted after they left but William still demanded that they take down the tweet.

          1. I agree. I really think they should learn to pick their battles. They are so controlling over every little thing.
             It’s not like it was George and Charlotte’s favorite park in England that they go to with their nanny every week. It was a one time visit all the way in Canada. There Was No Chance oF People stalking George and Charlotte at the petting zoo at a later date since they were only in Canada a few days.

             I actually think it would have been a bit of good press for the Cambridges. It was just a sweet story about the kids visiting a petting zoo.

             1. And great PR for that zoo, pretty petty of William imho.

23. All I’ll say to this blatant promotion of Pippa Middlebum’s wedding- YUCK!

    Pippa needs to think of her marriage…not the wedding itself.

24. This is so dumb so they are counting this as an official function? I pray the monarchy is still alive and well after The Queen passes.

25. Now we know Caroline is there PR team, May 19,20,21 will be official outing. Watch the Royal circular.?

26. Wait, so the reason why KP issued a statement about Pippa’s wedding is because Will and Kate are counting it as an engagement?

    I’m confused. Is this gon in towards their number on the court circular? That can’t be right.

    Pippa is a private citizen. This is a private wedding. I was hoping to just be surprised on the day of to look online and see new pictures of the kids. But I wwasn’t expecting KP to officially announce this in advance. Pippa is not royal!

    This is just bizarre. And thank you, KMR for including all these quotes from Twitter because apparently I am not the only one who is confused.

    This was not a good PR move. Can any of you guys in the UK tell us how the public feels about Pippa’s wedding being announced from the palace in an official statement like this? Comments on the Daily Mail are scathing but that isn’t necessarily always an accurate representation of how the general public feel.

    1. People here DON’T care. Depends on who you talk to Middleton are nobody here. They ❤❤❤ the Queen.

       1. As they should. The Queen is a badass. 🙂

          (In the best way.)

27. Why does it need to be announced by either camp that the Cambridges will be attending?? I don’t understand.

28. This is a large mistake; KP shouldn’t be releasing public statements on Pippa even if Catherine, Will, Harry, George and Charlotte are going. It’s a private wedding, period. Are they going to release statements when Pippa is pregnant, gives birth and has a christening. It opens up a can of worms; Pippa is a private citizen period. I couldn’t imagine Princess Marie or CP Mary’s siblings get press releases for their weddings; or Prince Daniel’s sister getting a press release for her wedding.

29. I hope that P.H. does not go to this wedding. The middletons are using Harry to get media interested in this wedding! If harry go to this wedding, it shows a lack of backbone on his part. Harry should decline the invite! Would it be priceless if Harry brought Meghan Markle to the wedding unanounced! Can you imagine the middleton females reaction? I know know i am being very mean! Shame on Bill for letting that family use him! Does bill any self respect or pride? He must be a complete fool! Just my honest opinion.

    1. Halia, I really think is over between the two!!

    2. That wouldn’t be priceless, that would be super rude. It is very rude to show up with someone unannounced like that if you were not given the okay to bring a plus one.

       1. I agree KMR

       2. Why should Pippa feel obligated to invite Megan or anyone to her wedding? it’s her wedding she can invite whoever she wants to and have whatever policy she wants, regardless how Harry or Meghan feels about it… I hope she has a wonderful wedding and the kids would be super cute. I Still think that her mom is super social climber… but hey I don’t hate the player I hate the game .

    3. Why is everyone assuming that Harry doesn’t want to be there? We literally have no evidence that he doesn’t want to be at the wedding. I am sure he has mutual friends as well as his brother, niece, and nephew to hang out with at the wedding. It’s a wedding for God’s sake, not torture!

       Why is everyone assuming Harry is angry that Meghan is apparently not going? Even if Meghan was banned, Harry is not angry enough about it to refuse to go himself. Maybe Meghan can’t go for some other reason we don’t know. Or maybe Harry and Meghan don’t want a repeat of the ridiculous media circus that was the Inskip wedding.

       1. That’s a good point Carter. Plus, I would think that if Harry and Meghan run in the same circles now as Pippa, then Meghan and Pippa would have been able to start up a friendship of their own. If they don’t run in the same circles but Pippa and Harry know each other I don’t see why Harry would be offended that Meghan wasn’t invited. Actually, I don’t know many people who would want to attend a wedding where they don’t know people.

          1. Yes, but will Pippa and hubby be invited to Harry’s wedding?
             Grr, when I think of the idiots that most people consent to have at their weddings so to spare the feelings of others……Yeah, maybe, MM cannot attend, or does not wish to do so. Or, maybe Harry did not like the press that came out at the wedding the two attended recently. Still, if Pippa’s brother cannot bring his current love interest to the wedding and if PH can’t bring his, to me that is rude. Others feel differently, I see.

       2. They all seem to run in the same small circle; once ‘in’ the set, they seem to live in each other’s pockets, date each other, change partners, rinse and repeat. A tad incestuous and limiting.

          Given the disappointment that William and Kate are, Harry has been viewed/hoped, as ‘different’, not tainted, and kind of the last hope for the Windsor’s. Plus the last link to Diana in terms of characteristics.

          Yet as we have discussed before, Harry flies under the radar a lot, and there’s every reason to think he’s more like his brother than not. That doesn’t mean he’s horrible, but also not a saint. I wouldn’t imagine Meghan would trek over to the UK for a wedding for people she does not know, but stranger things happen. She might have the long weekend off but there’s lines to learn etc for her actual job, that thing that lesser mortals do to earn money.

       3. In 15 years, Harry has not chosen to hang out with the Middletons or be friendly with them. They may “run in the same circles” but they don’t spend any time with each other. Beatrice and Eugenie run in the same circles and I don’t see them being invited.

          The only times we have seen Harry with the Middletons are when W&K drag them to the Windsor Christmas, or when Billy substituted James into the royal football match. In 15 years, no snaps of Harry and any of the Middletons spending personal time together otherwise.

          Echoing what Nic said up-thread, it would be silly to ban Harry from bringing Meghan when they’re only inviting Harry for PR.

          1. Nota, I’d say Harry avoids being in the same circles. Didn’t Carole opine that she thought him rude? I assumed that comment was code for Harry not falling for her schtick a la William. And since Pips and Kate have mean-girled Bea and Eugenie, I can’t see an invitation being accepted, can you?

             I’d guess W+K lobbied Harry to attend, the goal for the Middleton’s being numbers of BRF bodies on the ground. I doubt they’d ban Harry bringing Meghan, especially since they are after the prestige of BRF attending. However, Meghan might have better things to do (like work), or she may just show up with Harry, catching the press off-guard. Time will tell.

30. With the new DM article about the cost of Kate’s clothes, does Kate get an unlimited card and purchase whatever she wants? Or does she send the bill to Charles?

    1. Gee, Kitty I don’t know? Let me google that for you.

       1. Why are you always responding to Kitty like that?

       2. +1000 Jennifer, there’s no need to single out one person and be openly rude and snarky.

          1. Agreed. That feels like an attack. Even if it isn’t directed at me I don’t like it. I love the discussions and disagreements here, just not attacks.

    2. I doubt Kate is worried about how much money she spends. Even before she married William I don’t think she was that worried about having spending money.

       1. She has always been ‘taken care of and looked after’ by others. I think she would receive discounts.

       2. She has never earned what she spends, so her ridiculous spending doesn’t bother her. Shows me again that W&K have no moral compass.

    3. As I understand it Kitty, designers send invoices in to be paid. I would imagine Kate has VIP accounts with companies like Net-A-Porter but unlikely they are in her name. But this is all supposition based on what has gone on in the past. In truth no one actually knows how much Kate is paying for her clothes, what financial arrangements she has with her designers and how she shops when she’s in London. I.e. Does she use a credit card or does she just have accounts that she charges to? Such a grey area but I would love to know.

       1. We do know, because Charles takes her wardrobe expenses off on his taxes.

          1. That tells you nothing. It’s not broken down by item, by working and private wardrobe, by bespoke, by alteration. Or even who’s doing the alterations. It doesn’t differentiate between designer. It doesn’t split tour wardrobes which are reimbursed from the Foreign Office versus domestic, it doesn’t even differentiate grooming versus actual clothing If you’re going to say her clothes cost a obscene amount of money at least know what items cost individually instead of the ballpark figure that includes grooming, accessories, alterations etc..

             I have very little time for Kate and think she makes poor wardrobe choices with too many items that are similar but you can’t accuse her of vast overspending when you don’t know how she being charged for her clothes, what she,s spending on private v public, what her financial arrangements with each designer are. It’s pure guesswork and I have some sympathy for her being levied with accusations of profligacy when none of us have any factual breakdown of what the costs are. For example if she was renting sample sizes the costs would be vastly different to buying retail.

             Every simpleton DM journalist knows that so why they persist in this agenda around her clothes is beyond me. They’ve done it to Sophie, they did it to Fergie and they did it to Diana. The real story would be to try and find how how these clothes are actually charged these days, what the rules actually are not this rabble rousing they persist in. There are much bigger issues to give Kate a whack over than toting up her outfits at retail price and trying to suggest she’s Imelda Marcos reincarnated.

             On a lighter note……HM was at the Whipslade zoo yesterday had had scuffed shoes. I have NEVER seen HM with scuffs on the toes of her shoes. I can only assume Angela Kelly is on holiday.

             1. Mrs BBV, it extends beyond Kate’s clothes. The bigger story still is the lack of transparency of BRF funding: cost of domestic security, domestic travel (hire of helicopters), costs to local councils, rents paid by BRF family members in publicly-owned ‘royal’ residences, misappropriation of money intended for repairs,whether taxpayer money is funneled to minor family members, whether it has been used to secure Middleton property, and so on. The refusal to comply with FoI by getting an exemption is an issue, as is the mealy-mouthed governments of any colour not holding the Queen and her advisors accountable.

             2. This is a woman who needed multiple kitchens in two residences and helped spend 4 million pounds on refurbishing their KP apartment and repainting everything because she didn’t like the first colour. I would say that ‘profligate’ is Kate’s middle name.

             3. Jen….. I quite agree that the story is bigger than the clothes. I actively encourage the digging of this issue because I do believe there is a far bigger story here if only we could penetrate the secrecy. I don’t believe the Fawcett the Fence scandal changed anything, they just got sneaker at accounting for the stuff they have given to them. I remember William being gifted a romper suit for George from a member of the public and being caught on camera saying ‘I’ll definitely be keeping that’ as if keeping tat from the public was unusual and that he only kept the stuff he actually wanted. I doubt they cast off wholesale to the staff like in Burrell’s days but the list of gifts they are given that is published is an insult to anyone’s intelligence. It’s a snapshot. Where are the rest? In the Royal Collection? Are they still destroying things?

                Back to the clothes……we have a right to know with public appearance clothes how they are being paid for. And what they cost. Not this ballpark figure that we get fobbed off with. We all know the DM clothing articles are an exercise in giving Kate a whack because they are in the realms of fantasy. Even I could negotiate better discounts than that just walking into any Knightsbridge store and paying cash.

                And don’t get me started on the helicopter charade……that’s a whole other area of fudging the figures.

                And while I’m on this did you notice how the DM were at pains to stress that the Middletons paid for a private plane to Pippa’s hen weekend. Why on earth would they do that…..their son-in-law to be has one at his permanent disposal. Are they mad? Why would you pay to use one when one of the family has one? As private individuals you just wouldn’t. They just want to offer crumbs to the public and then in the next breath the DM winds them public up about the cost of clothes which isn’t even remotely accurate.

                Smoke and mirrors Jen. All of it needs more transparency……the good bits and the bad bits. Hey I actually approve of Kate getting freebies and huge discounts if they are British and worn in public. I don’t even object to discounts of freebies when visit a host country and wearing their designers in terms of diplomacy. If it makes the cost of Royalty more economical I’m all for it but I want to see it properly accounted for not this mud slinging crap by the Daily Mail.

             4. Yes, Mrs BBV I can accuse her of vast overspending. Proven in the Duchy accounts to spend well over $100,000 a year, six years running, for her fripperies for a few weeks of work a year? Whether that is in clothing, jewelry, or her ugly shoes? It all adds up to vast overspending. There is absolutely no justification for this amount of spending, in this day and age, for someone who does far less than the bare minimum every day.

                Discussion of her profligate, extreme spending habits are not limited to the DM by any means.

             5. I never said she isn’t overspending NOTA I said she’s not paying retail prices for her clothes. I have said that all along. We all know she makes poor wardrobe choices, that she buys this in triplicate, nearly identical clothes etc etc…… my issue remains how it’s being charged, what discounts are being given, what’s deals, are there freebies? Because it doesn’t make sense to be paying retail and that’s the premise for these nonsense articles……the retail cost.

             6. Again, what you appear to be implying is that she’s getting massive discounts – but ignoring that we see the amount of what she costs in the Duchy taxes. If she was getting massive discounts, that would mean there is an even larger pile of clothing in the background (also purchased at discount according to you), that is accounting for the overall total of what is reported officially in the taxes.

                Designers do not do alterations for free, especially when they involve redesign of the original as she does so often. Nor would they wouldn’t keep making her clothes if it was her assistant doing the butchering/alterations.

                Yes, what needs to happen is all the sneaky ways in which HM and Charles get to hide expenses needs to be blown open. Until that happens (which is unlikely), what we have are the articles that keep pointing out how much she shops. To me they aren’t nonsense articles if they keep up the public pressure about the ridiculous spending of W&K.

          2. But Maven that’s my point …….we know the kitchen saga to be fact. And she’s rightly chastised for it. And the same with the hormonal decorating. But when we don’t know how she’s being billed for her wardrobe you can’t write an article saying she paid this much for her clothes when you know as well as I do the likelihood is she paid nothing like the figures they are quoting. Get a journalist on the case and find out what they are actually paying and what rules they are following now. In the US Nancy Reagan was nearly prosecuted for tax evasion for taking all these designer freebies. If Kate’s paying rental prices for her working wardrobe then tell us but stop insulting my intelligence by saying that she’s paying retail for her clothes……she must have more money than sense if she is. I can get a minimum 5% discount off anything in Knightsbridge by offering to pay cash. On a 5k Chanel bag that’s £250 or one Deborah Mitchell Bee Venom Facial, or one session of chipmunk cheek fillers. So if little old me who has no commercial appeal whatsoever can get discounts what are they giving Kate……because I know they are and I want to know what the arrangements are.

             1. Hey Kitty…..I bet you wish you’d never asked? ???

             2. Oh, okay, Mrs BBV. It’s better to whack her over the head with the facts than trot out some fiction, especially if the truth is way more horrifying and monumental than this, in essence, petty and misleading tempest in a teapot. Have I got that right? If so, agreed!

                Your reasoning makes me wonder if she ever does ask for discounts, expects them automatically or whether given the free rein of Charles’ credit card she just yells, “Charge it!” and skips the haggling. Gosh, these 1%ers are a complex lot.

             3. Royals aren’t allowed to ask for discounts though.

             4. Kitty why do you think Royals aren’t allowed discounts?

             5. If the paper says she’s spend 57k but the actual bill is say 30k I’m not going to say oh well done Kate you saved money but I do expect Royals to be commercially savvy and get value for money like any other business. I do think we have the right to know. And I expect fairness and accuracy. If the media are going to whack Kate for excessive spending at least get the ball park close to reality. It will turn out that even with discounts and freebies she’s no doubt spend vastly more than we’ve seen the figures for but dressing that badly and repetitively doesn’t come cheap and London grooming is inordinately expensive. Here in the sticks I can get a blowout for £20 and my hairdresser comes to my house before a night out to get me ready. No change out of £50 in London for that kind or service. I probably do that once a month…..Katie Keen probably does it three times a week. It all adds up to some monumental spending that’s not always done through choice but part and parcel of having a public role.

                In my experience designers do ‘fit’ garments as part of the service. Sleeves, hems, etc are all included. If you are talking about a structural change to a garment then that’s different. But again you and I have not the first clue what she’s being charged. It’s pure guesswork.

             6. Mrs BBV, well they pay full price isn’t that what they said. Even when marriage Diana paid full price.

             7. No Kitty……Diana was gifted a huge volume of clothes. Not only that there was (and this if referenced in Andrew Morton’s book) staff exploiting the Royal discount arrangements with stores in London. I.e staff were buying products as if they were for the Prince & Princess and using their discounts but keeping the things for themselves. Nobody ever discuss what the arrangements are between HM and designers she uses. Stewart Parvin was once asked on camera but he declined to comment. Diana even used to have her staff take her unwanted clothes to second hand dress agencys and sell them for cash……that story is referenced in Ken Wharfe’s & Patrick Jephson’s books. Diana would walk through Harrods and Al Fayed would hear she was in the store and basically comp her entire shopping bill and then send even more to KP.

                What I want to know is what are the current arrangements because up until very recently allsorts of practices seem to have been acceptable and there appears to be no definitive answer.

             8. Getting bills comped at Harrods – that is not surprising in the least to me. If I were a retailer I would want a fashion influencer like Princess Diana in my store. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kate Middleton now gets similar treatment. Honestly, if I were a tax payer I would be encouraging it, because the bill is going to the expense line of a corporation instead of coming out of taxes.

             9. Mrs BBV, well why did she pay full price for her Catherine Walker or Victor Edelstein dresses?
                I would too want to know the current arrangements but I do think Kate pays full price.

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