138 thoughts on “Kate feeds lamb on visit to farm”

1. I agree that it’s Spanish Nanny Maria teaching the kids Spanish. Learning to count to ten isn’t hard for kids either. I learned how to count to twenty at that age watching Sesame Street.

   I just hate those jeggings. So much. How she thinks that is appropriate casual wear for an official event is beyond me. The ladies at the farm are properly dressed for a farm. She is not.

   1. I’m hoping there was some sort of miscommunication because I thought Catherine said years ago that George understood Spanish because Maria speaks to the kids in Spanish. Either she never said that or she’s doesn’t remember saying that. If George and Charlotte are somewhat fluent in the language I would solely attribute it to Maria.

   2. KM doesn’t speak Spanish. This does read as another “cover up” about how much time they spend with Nanny Maria and not their English-only parents.

      1. +1
         All carol waity Middelton PR spin – any Spanish these toddlers know is from Spanish mum Nanny Maria. And when will this teenage adult dress appropriate for royals duties – On a farm with bone tight jeggings around kids where bending is invovled with her aneroxic backside for all the cringe.

         This is the same flasher disrespectful dresser/6 yrs marry in – yet whiny willnot ‘i am a prince’, choose to enter the Monarchy and BRF to defend and tarnish in French court.

         Not to mention the sleeziness of millions in demands – from French institutions/business, after all the security France provide to these two useless waste of ….family of 4 + middeltons – at times of need, for security from attacks on its people and country.

         Its also very interesting unless I miss the photo, that whiny bill middelton is missing from another significant day in the BRF – St James appearance of Prince Phillip DOE Monarch Consort retirement announcement of a Lifetime of dedication to HM, GB UK CW and the world! and whiny bill middelton is nowhere present. All the Wales and possible future head of the monarchy/heirs were present. POW -HM may know whiny willnot will never be. …

         1. Perhaps it is a generational thing, but I agree with the criticism of tight pants (jeggings) and official visits. The nanny is teaching the children Spanish.

      2. I thought she was dressed just fine. However, I am curious about whether she spoke with the little Spanish-speaking girl in Spanish? If she is teaching George and Charlotte Spanish, she should have been able to converse with Sayanna in Spanish, shouldn’t she?

      3. Kate is not teaching her kids Spanish. What’s staggering to me is the blatant lies. So now we know that she lied about the Paralympics, about her allergy to horses, and that she teaches Spanish to her kids. Lying seems to come naturally to her. Nor do I believe that she would actually dirty her hands clearing out chicken coops. It’s laughable. Nor are chickens noisy. Roosters aren’t talkative either; they just have a job to do, singing in the dawn. Geez.

         1. I’ve had many a rooster on our farm in Tennessee crow any hour of the day. A lot. Our chickens could be quite noisy, too. From what I’ve read before Kate has had chickens and she may well like farm life. But it would be nice if she could do something other than steamroll over others with her kids. I don’t believe for a second that she is the one teaching the kids Spanish, but good on them for allowing the children to become bilingual. It’s an underrated ability here in the US. I can speak conversational French and a bit of Dutch (still learning) and really need to learn Spanish given that I live 90 miles from Cuba. I’m also making the jump into ASL because I don’t think there are enough service industry workers who can communicate in sign language. I’m in the minority here.

         2. Well, you said it all. It amazes me that people seem to buy into this, or that the lies spewed forth are expected to be taken as truth since there’s a title in from of a name, therefore she is so above ordinary human beings that of course it’s all true. Smoke and mirrors, creating an image that is so easily seen thru and yet no one seems to want to get a fan to blow the smoke away or a glass cleaner to clear the mirrors. Perhaps to busy living their lives and working and this is just simply a way of escapism? Into a fantasy world?
            In short. +1

         3. Second on that noisy chickens thing. I roomed with a family for a while in college that had some and I got used to it after a while. But at first studying was really hard because if they got irritated by anything they would make it very well known.

            The Spanish thing though? Does anyone in the U.K. study Spanish? Here in the US I would absolutely believe that she had taken one or two years compulsory. But not there.

         4. Do you have to clean the chicken coops with the chickens in?

            1. Not necessarily, if you can get them to go outside. It’s getting the eggs out that can be tricky. Sometimes they’re really in to roosting and get quite pecky.

            2. Thank you Em. I was pecked by a Canada goose when small. The confidence with animals came later. I love the lamb being fed with a bottle.

2. She is teaching them? More like Nanny Maria is. Kate knows no language than English. But must keep the hands-on mum thing.

   There’s a gif out there of her refusing to read to the kids, which annoyed me. Why go to a thing like this and not interact with the kids? Glad it gave this organization some well needed PR, seems like they do a good thing for kids.

   The outfit is fine sans awful jeggings. Why do they have to be so damn tight?! It’s icky and unprofessional.

   1. How are her skinny jeans icky and unprofessional when she’s at a farm? There is nothing wrong with her outfit for a farm.

      1. +1

      2. Coming from a family of farmers I have never seen any of them wear skin tight jeggings because if you actually have to do work they are not practical at all. Jeans or coveralls are what you wear. Her leather boots also wouldn’t be worn because when you deal with mud and poo, leather isn’t as easy to wash.
         A farm isn’t a fashion show, well I guess it is for Kate.

         1. +1. I too have farmers in my family, and Kate’s clothes are casual-fashion, not farm-practical.

            1. In general, skinny jeans are fine for this type of outing, but I hate these particular jeans. The pattern on the knees looks like they are just bunchy until you take a second look. I think she would have looked better with her hair back, however.

               It looks like she engaged more than many of her outings.

            2. +1

               same as the fake vogue disappointment.

               Prince Harry Meghan is in May issue- Good Housekeeping and seem dignified like Princess Mary, Denmark – no pretence.

            3. It’s her “Country Life” version of mucking about.

      3. 1+’the only problem I see with Kate’s outfit at this particular engagement is that they skinny jeans themselves are ugly! Whatever is going on with the knees I don’t like.

         1. The look is “motocross”. They’d look better dressed up with heels and a fine black v-neck sweater, maybe some funky earrings and a poofed pony for a night out. I agree, not a country look. But this is Kate, and we know she is not intuitively fashionable. Sometimes her stars align or sometimes she gets help but overall she thinks a great look = designer label.

3. Since Nanny Maria is Spanish it is more likely that it is she who is teaching Spanish to George and Charlotte, and Kate just taking credit: all part of the ‘hands-on’ mother narrative being spun to the gullible.

   Since Kate’s interests do not extend past herself, perhaps the school visit was to arm her with more clues for her children to interact with Anmer animals. The clothes are for a photo op to show the body, not about being appropriately dressed for the occasion. Vanity rules.

   1. I thought this slight-after visit was odd too. More likely she is using this charity to teach her how to interact with her own kids better, like that developmental kids charity she went to several times and made her assistant take notes. We know Kate doesn’t seek out charities unless they benefit her somehow.

   2. I agree. I think it’s nanny Maria teaching the kids Spanish because if Kate was fluent enough to be doing that I’m sure we would’ve heard about it by now.
      Her clothes remind me of what a gentleman farmer would think was appropriate farm wear. We know she has wellies yet she wears her trusted leather boots?

   3. How is she not appropriately dressed for the occasion? For a farm, she’s wearing pants, a jacket and sweater, and boots. That seems perfectly fine to me. It’s the same type of outfit she wore in Canada for an outdoor event at the Great Bear park. There is nothing wrong with her outfit here.

      1. A lot of us have a problem with the skintight jeggings, KMR, as you know. I think that’s why it’s not appropriate. Also the fancy leather boots, why didn’t she do wellies? More practical. But I think Kate tries to show off as some sort of posh country mum when she isn’t. I do like the sweater, shirt and jacket.

         1. I think wearing a pair of decade old boots is better than her buying a new pair of wellies.

            While I think there is an argument to be made about skinny jeans at certain events, I don’t think there is one to be made about skinny jeans at a farm. Especially since you can’t see the crotch or the butt because of the length of the jacket.

            1. There are pics where you can definitely see the outline of her underwear when she has no jacket on. I just find the jeggings a bit unprofessional and gross, as I’ve said before. In private, go ahead! whatever! But why the clingy jeggings and not a better pair of jeans for getting in the muck with…

            2. I’d rather a repeated pair of skinny jeans than a new pair of looser jeans.

            3. I’m sure she owns normal jeans? Right? … Maybe she doesn’t? lol

               I wear jeggings, and straight leg jeans. When I go to the farm nearby to pick stuff with my kiddo I definitely don’t wear jeggings, but I do skinny jeans in boots or if it’s muddy in wellies.

            4. Okay I have to say something. She wouldn’t get a new pair of Wellies, she has a pair already. I was actually surprised she didn’t wear them as everyone else was wearing those types of boots. So obviously, it was about looks/the outfit, which is fine, she knew she would be photographed and wanted to look ‘better’.

               “While there is an argument to be made about skinny jeans at certain events….you can’t see the butt because of her jacket”. She took off her jacket-you can see her buttt! I don’t have a problem with skinny jeans, especially at a farm. But Kate doesn’t wear skinny jeans, she wears skin tight jeans. There is a difference. I don’t think anyone should wear skin tight jeans, let a lone a mid 30’s royal mother of 2. It is tacky. I love skinny jeans, I wear them all the time. I would love Kate to wear normal skinny jeans, not jeans a size too small.

               My biggest thing about this outfit was actually wearing a button up top. That is a little too nice for a farm, plus the cashmere blend sweater. She was obviously dressed for photos, not for farming. Which is fine, but I think it is silly to say to she was dressed appropriately for a farm. Call a spade a spade. Look at the other adults-they are dressed for farming. Kate is dressed for a casual photo-op of farming. And once again, she had to buy something new. I don’t have a problem with her outfit, but i also don’t think she was ‘appropriately dressed’ for the occasion.

            5. + Overit.
               Dressed for a photo op. The others had farming tasks to perform over the working day and were actually appropriately dressed because it’s not a fashion parade.

            6. Yup, I’ve yet to see a farmer in anything other than coveralls and boots. They dress the same as car mechanics as anything that can’t be hosed off at the end of the day is a hassle. As for jeans? Jeans seem to work if you’re a male farm worker. I’ve never seen any women who work regularly with animals (including myself) wearing jeans. They get wet, they chaff and are heavy. I actually thought Kate had jodhpurs on.

               I’m not saying what she is wearing isn’t fine. She’s not there to work. Is she was she’d find out in a hot minute how inappropriate her clothes are. (Point one, leg coverings OVER your boots or you’ll get poop falling down inside when you’re mucking out..). She’s there for photo ops, she looks ok, the farm has been cleaned and she’s unlikely to stand in something too icky so yeah, ok for a visit, not ok for working.

            7. I’ve been around barns and farms for years, and I’ve never seen anyone wear coveralls (they may at larger farms; the farms I’ve been around are smaller, family-owned farms). I’ve seen old dudes wear overalls. But the women only ever wear jeans, or shorts (I’ve seen some people wear shorts when it’s really hot out). I’ve also seen, and worn, jeans inside of boots. I’ve done it when I don’t want the bottoms of my jeans to get dirty. I’ve also rolled up the bottoms of my jeans above my boots so that the bottoms don’t get dirty. I’ve never had a problem with poop falling in my boots.

               As you say, Kate is there for a visit, she’s not there to work the farm, so I think her outfit is perfectly fine for a farm visit.

            8. Coveralls tend to be worn by the older generation of farmers, especially in the winter months. When my dad was a kid he practically lived in coveralls. I grew up in a rural area with plenty of relatives and friends on farms and coveralls and jeans were the norm. And rubber boots if you were working with animals.

            9. Wellies can be hosed off, leather can’t. Even just gardening, I would not wear leather boots. Kate has a pair of those expensive French rubber boots with leather linings that would have been more practical.

            10. If she kept the clothes from the Vogue photoshoot, she has a pair of coveralls. That was part of the “I’m just a country girl” theme of the silly magazine spread.

                Agree on the skinny jeans showing off the underwear. She could have worn something appropriate, including her very expensive French rubber boots as pointed out.

            11. Those boots look ready for retirement anyway- they are *beat*. Maybe this event was their last hurrah and no clean up needed- straight to the garbage!

                I come from generations of farmers. I grew up with “farm clothes” and “town clothes”. If you have animals, you *will*wear coveralls at some point no matter your age. They aren’t a fashion choice- they keep your farm clothes clean of the worst of the grease/mud/crap/grain dust/ hay/ straw chaff/ etc so you can peel off a layer and step out of your boots so you are relatively clean when going into the house for lunch.

                Kate did fine for this visit, yes she’s on a farm but she’s still promoting this visit and it’s being minutely documented. I would have added leather work gloves and substituted for her Le Chameau’s. She looked engaged and comfortable – thumbs up.

            12. She already owns a pair of wellies. IMO those are not skinny jeans, they are jeggings. Her jeggings are inappropriate for her station representing the queen, and movement will uncover her crotch and bottom as the jacket is so short. There’s something about the way she sexualises clothing which makes this feel gross.

            13. In Oklahoma the old timer still wear their overalls but everyone else essentially wears wranglers or Levi’s and cowboy boots.
                If you’re doing actual farm work you’d never wear shorts because you want to actually protect your legs, thus the heavier jeans like wranglers

      2. Here’s my problem with the outfit and those engamenets you mentioned and add hike in Bhutan to the list. Kate dresses more for photo op than the actual functionality of engagement.
         Wellies would have allowed her to go actually get muddy and more engaged instead she’s standing off to the side handing the kids stuff.
         Have you been to a rainforest? I have it it’s hot and muggy never no when it’s going to rain. I think she wore the same boots and of course jeggings Why not invest in a pair of hiking boots and north face gear that’s breathable. Gortex is your friend. North face makes cute yet functional gear.
         I’d rather her be in more functional attire ready to do whatevs then always picture perfect.
         It’s like doing the hike with beauty team at the ready??? Did any one expect her to look gorgeous after that? I would’ve respected her some for being okay with pics of her sweaty(or not so much with Botox) and looking slightly mussed. It’s what normal people look like after hiking and was not touted as the normal middle class princess?

      3. Totally agree. I think her outfit is fine. Maybe not for actually “working” but obviously she was not there for that.

4. I love this visit!I love what she wears and what she reveals.I didn’t know thes have a lamb at home!I can’t imagine them having one lamb, they surely have more sheep.
   I also like that Kate wanted to make this visit, you can see that she likes being there.
   Spanish is a nice language, but not that useful in Europe, but nevertheless I learnt it myself, so no criticism here.
   That’s a great charity, Farms for City Children.
   Well done, Kate!

   1. +1

   2. As a child ( a long time ago ) my family had a lamb to raise every spring. If a mother has a multiple birth, she may not be able to supply milk for several baby lambs and one will be bottle fed. We had one every year and it was a wonderful experience that I will never forget! It could be Kate and William just have a lamb from a nearby farm until it is old enough not to need milk.

5. This charity is really great. As someone who grew up in a small town and whose grandparents have a farm, I am always so sjocked when kids/people in general from big cities have never even seen or touched a real cow in their lives or something like that! Do you know milka chocolate? There is a purple cow on its wrapping and that is why some city children thought that real cows were purple! :0 So this charity really does phamtastic things and it is great that Kate wanted to visit it!

   Also, how cute is it that Charlotte sang happy birthday to herself?!

   1. It’s great she shows her children nature, country life, treating animals. It’s precious teaching and I bet Charles loves it.
      I know as a child how I loved my uncle’s cows on his farm, the dirt in the stables, that you can run without caring about your clothes.So, I’m glad that you have such memories too, M!I hope that these children will collect nice memories for their childhood.

      1. Too bad she didn’t bring George and Charolotte with her for the visit.

         1. +100

            If she was concern about the charity, what is difficult in including the kids on such visits – this was a photo op of chutney casual farm show- competing with Prince Harry Meghan Good Housekeeping mag appearance, in mind and Countess Sophie military visit the same day.

         2. Agreed! This would have been a nice engagement to help get G used to the public/people from different backgrounds

6. Let’s hope there is a rooster among those chickens or they could be waiting longer than 21 days?
   Why didn’t Kate don a pair of Wellies?
   I feel like I’m missing some pertinent info about this place. Is it to teach city kids where their food comes from? Teach animal responsibility?

   1. In their about us section, the website says: “The charity offers urban children from all over the country a unique opportunity to live and work together for a week at a time on a real farm in the heart of the countryside. It is an intense, ‘learning through doing’ experience of a different life – for children who may not know where their food comes from and have limited opportunities to explore the outside world.”

      1. I wonder if Kate will do more with the charity or if this was her taking advantage of curiosity since Anne is patron. I’d like to see Kate do more with it if she’s interested.

         1. Kate would probably find a different one since Anne is already patron of this. But this goes to show you that when royals have a crap ton of patronages, they get little coverage. I had no idea Anne was patron of this until I read it in the DM article. Does Anne ever even visit this patronage?

            1. I’ve heard of it on the Court Circular with Anne.

               Maybe Kate can take over? Who knows.

               It’s sad the stuff other royals do get NO coverage and Kate gets heaps. It shows what she COULD do if she chose to.

            2. I looked it up. In the last 10 years, Anne has visited Farms 3 times: May 2009, May 2010, and Jan 2017.

            3. Man, Anne, get your sh*t together. I know she does multiple engagements per day almost every day but that’s why I don’t like royals having 349857397539753 patronages. Kate and William have too little, Anne and Charles a bit much if you ask me.

            4. Like you said, I think the royals–especially the Queen, pp, PC and Anne–have far too many charities to really give any of them the attention they deserve. And Kate, William and Harry have a manageable number but still do not give any of them the time that they should. I’d like to see the royals take fewer charities, spend a decent amount of time and effort with them, and then also do more of these “random” visits like Kate did to the farm. They don’t have to take on the organization as one of their charities–just visit to show interest and highlight the organization. Basically, pretty much the same thing they do on their foreign tours. But instead of foreign sites, they’d actually be promoting Britain, which is what they should be doing in the first place.

7. Kate seems perfectly attired with the exception of the boots. Even the kids wore wellie type boots.

   She seemed relaxed & truly engaged. No weird poses or stiffness. Genuine smiles. Revealed personal information that made her relatable to the kids. I say, take this one as a win!

   1. +1

8. I wonder is it viewed as ‘stepping on one’s toes if one member of the BRF visit a charity/organisation that another member of the family is patron of? Especially if you invite yourself? This looks like a successful visit as described by Tibi above but it will be curious to see her end of year stats for visiting her own patronages now that she had found the time to visit one of Princess Anne’s.

   1. Kate still has 9 patronages she hasn’t yet visited this year.

      1. Hasn’t she only worked a total of 20-something days since the beginning of the year?

         1. 23 days.

            1. See this is what really bothers me. The year is almost has halfway over and has only worked 23 day? This is pitiful.

      2. I remember when they tried to tell us Kate was going to have fewer patronages becuase she wanted to devote more time to them quality vs quantity!!! Bwahahaha

      3. Thanks for the update. She has 9 of her patronages left to visit but visits one of Princess Anne’s instead – that doesn’t make sense to me. (But what do I know!)

   2. Good question. I wonder why she didn’t just visit one of her own patronages.

9. Insofar as the hoopla with BP – Philip is stepping down from public life.

   1. I just saw this. I knew this day would be coming but it’s still bit of a shock. I can only hope this will be the catalyst for the RF to get tough on Will, Kate and Harry about the need to sep up.

      1. William is the guy who says he doesn’t need to step up and doesn’t want to, so I doubt this will change him.

         Maybe his ‘job’ at EAAA being over (when he’s rarely worked and it was more of a plaything for him) will force his hand soon enough.

         1. He doesn’t need to because he’s not forced to. If the Queen and Charles get tough and tell him to get working or pay full market value for his homes and only earn a per diem, he would get out there. He might whine and sulk but he would be out there.

            1. This may be HM and PP’s way of forcing them to step up.

      2. +1

         Totally agree – a huge shock!!!

         Meanwhile farmgirl chutney has only showed up 23 (per KMR) visits/appearances and it’s mid year.

         1. I saw the ***emergency*** meeting and was very concerned, the word emergency caught my eye of course. Then I read that the queen had met with Theresa and prince Phillip had done something just the day before. I took comfort in that. Somehow, people who have been such a part of history, household names are just expected to be around forever. I am very happy that PP has decided to retire, hold out no hope for waity or Bill, but that man has served his country well for so many years. He delights me, not sure why but he does. I’m amazed at how invested I was in ‘what’s going on with this emergency meeting’. The first thing I did this morning was look for updated news.

            I hope that what others think might happen doesn’t. I hope that PP enjoys his well earned rest and enjoys hobbies. I am aware that sometimes when people of that age give up their life’s work they give up on life and feel rather useless. Personally, I would be more worried about PP if the queen died. I think after years of service and being in a role that a lot of men would not consider anything less than second fiddle this man has the gumption to keep on keeping on.

   2. Just saw this as well. It is truly well deserved, he is 95 after all. To me, it sounds to be the prelude of what is going to happen next: I’m think about the cousins of the Queen stepping down as well.

      Now, Harry, Kate and William need to step up their work load and Charles needs to hire better people for them and fire the PR team of Kensington.

      1. Exactly. That’s why it’s quite a shock. I imagine they all thought by the time they retire the younger royals would already be working steadily. Only Harry would do ok or well if he had to step up to cover for the retired royals. William and Kate are sadly hit and miss with their performance at engagements.

   3. I feel quite emotional about this because in my experience old people who work long after legal retirement who suddenly stop (yes i know he will stop in the autumn rather than this week) are on the final step. After that it’s death.

      ….but on a snarky note, retirement at 95? What a slacker. The QM never retired and still gad at least 100 patronages at 100. ?

      1. I agree with your opinion about stop work working way after retirement, are more likely to collapse. I hope that Philip will be able to enjoy his earned retirement a bit 🙂

         The QM worked until 100 ? Puts may people to shame.

         1. He’s still going to be doing previously arranged engagements till August. I don’t think BP thinks he’s ready for pasture yet! Now he can slack off to go fishing and the DM can’t say boo- though surely will find a way to try!

            1. This has been expected, but once it was actually announced, it was a shock. Phillip has worked hard for so many years, supporting his Queen and doing his part with vigor and committment.

               I have read many posts here about his racial commewnts in hte past and that is alarming, but since he is from a different generation, it is probably ingrained in him and hopefully, he has changed.

               I wonder if Will and Kate will be stepping up. William, i think will resent this terribly.

               I do hope that retirement gives the Duke of Edinburgh a happy and healthy retirement, so to speak. I hate the thought of people aging and giving up so many responsibilities if it hastens their decline . Still, his duties have been very busy and I think he deserves a rest.

         2. True, but at the risk of being showered with rotten tomatoes, it’s not like she didn’t have servants and attendants to take care of the pesky details like packing and planning. Not strenuous work imo. All she had to do was show up, no? And I suppose I earned the rotten tomato shower because that’s pretty much what PP was doing. Showing up. I think that PP is tired and the stress of what’s going on in the fantasy world of the ‘royals’ may very well be taking its toll on him. He may not care so much on a personal level, but it’s obvious to me that he does care very much about his wife.

      2. Yes, Totally Agree!

         What’s wrong with the DoE- can’t find good Consorts anymore :'(

      3. My guess is that his health is failing, otherwise he wouldn’t slow down. I’m guessing it’s forced him to “retire”. And ITA, that retirement can be the beginning of the end for someone who’s been active to 95.

         1. Charming royal toddler – Prince Charles played with Queen
            http://youtu.be/D-zeEir1zHw

            At 96-ever the protector and head of his family – HRH Prince Philip, DoE maybe inserted a bit of diversion – from whiny bill middelton – using his royal status in French court for flasher middelton, instead of flasher speaking for herself.

            I know the DOE is way beyound retirement, but this emergency and all the negative from the public on whiny court defence/demand in France – the DOE could have acted NOW to protect HM POW/the monarchy- from middleton offensive sleezy court appeal and demand for cash! middeltons… ending the monarchy…

      4. My mom is busier now that she’s retired than when she was working!! Which is good got to keep stimulating the brain. But at 95 I’d say he’s earned to step down

   4. I wonder if Edward will be taking on more of Phillip’s duties as he will one day inherit his title?

   5. IMO that red alert, all hands on deck was uncalled for. I am not so sure that the queen and PP wield any real power, but it seemed to me that this was meant to scare people. Which it did. Me. And I don’t know why. I’ve been surfing around and ‘what will William’s role be now’ seems to be the question. My guess is that it will change nothing to any significant degree, perhaps generate some more vague talk about ‘duty’ and ‘stepping up’.
      About Kate’s visit here? Of course it was a photo op and what she was wearing, meh. Her hair looked stringy to me. As said by someone else, yeah why didn’t she bring her children along? Again, I think she’s saving them and pictures of them for a bigger deal.

      1. Also another distraction from the French trial. Yes, save the children for when/if descriptors of the full range of photos is given by the defence and/or if the judgement doesn’t go W+K’s way.

         G+C are too young to be composed at engagements; they’d need a handler, other than their mother, to keep them centred. If that were Nanny Maria, the ease with which G+C respond to her would be noted and compared to Kate; could give the game away if they naturally gravitate to their nanny.

         The event would then be all about G+C rather than the work of the farm and the city children – much like the party in Canada when other children and their parents were just props. If you recall, W+K wouldn’t interact with others or encourage their children to interact with other children.

         1. +1000

      2. It seems like the media went berserk with rumors, and BP didn’t intend on this being such a massive deal. Meetings like this aren’t unusual, but the media insinuating it’s at 3am when that wasn’t true makes speculation run wild when everyone at BP was probably asleep…

10. First the good, i compare this visit with the last time she did this sort of visit back in 2012.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2160580/Kate-Middleton-Duchess-Cambridge-mucks-childrens-camping-trip.html

    She couldn’t wait to get away from those kids. She was in and out in 30mins or less, took a helicopter from the engagement to Gloucestershire to join William at the polo.

    Or the time she volunteered with the scouts and spent most of it ignoring the kids and self-soothing with Lupo.

    http://strictlykatemiddleton.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/kate-volunteers-with-scouts.html

    Compared to those visits in 2012, she has really improved. She’s much better with the kids and at the very least interacts with them and isn’t looking to bolt as soon as possible.

    And now for the snark, i am puzzled about how she is introducing her children to animals or rather how she discusses her family’s interactions with farm animals. Ditto the often repeated boast about the 18acres of Middleton towers and GC’s ability to interact with tadpoles and chickens.

    It all sounds like weekenders in the country. Meaning, city couples/families that buy country mansions that they only visit at the weekend and aren’t engaged with country life at all. The houses are kept perfectly manicured except for vute, curated animals that provide sterile interaction whilst the weekenders pat themselves on the back at having a country house retreat.

    Weekenders annoy country people alot.

    Further, they take GC to petting zoo type farm attractions as if they are urban kids who don’t have access to the countryside.

    Since Kate has decided to tell us all about her country life, this is what i am picking up and it puzzles me because she lives on a working farm. Heck, they took land from a neighbouring tenant farmer to fit their swimming pool.

    Highgrove is also a working farm, even if they don’t visit Charles. Their Turnip toff friends live on working farm, the Spencers all live on working farms. The Devonshire holdings where William did a stint for the purposes of learning about Estate management are near them.

    William is going to inherit the duchies of Cornwall and eventually Lancaster if we still have a monarchy for him to inherit.

    In otherwords lots of working farms and farming experience and proper country living for Kate and the kids to indulge instead of their aneamic weekenders lifestyle.

    1. Don’t worry Herazeus, this is all just a distraction so we will all have a picture in our heads of Kate being cutesy feeding a lamb and playing with kids for when the trial starts.

       It’s just a red herring so we look the other way. And! Oh! Kate’s so hands on with her teaching the kids Spanish, raising hens and having a pet lamb… Like I’ve asked before… #whereisLupo

       I’d like to be a fly on the wall when Princess Anne heard Kate was visiting her charity?

    2. I grew up in the country- my parents owned a nursery on 10 acres. We also raised various animals. Some of the animals we raised were purely functional- meat chickens, meat lambs, a cow and two pigs every year. There wasn’t anything fun or cute about them- they were there, we took care of them as needed, that was that. Then we had egg chickens and wool lambs. Those were much more like pets, and we really enjoyed them growing up. That was true for many kids I knew who lived on farms as well– there’s nothing fun about the day to day of a working farm for little kids. But many farm kids will have a few animals that are more like pets, and those are fun. That’s what I got the impression Kate was talking about. It doesn’t sound atypical at all to me.
       We also went to petting zoos, etc. Sure, we had tons of animals at home, but it’s a fun day out with little kids. Again, that seems very normal to me.

       1. Yes as much as its good for Kate to give this worthy organization some much needed publicity and consequently donations- I do wonder if she took the initiative to come out and do this visit and actually do a pretty decent job at this visit, because of her nude picture trial. Might as well use kids, her own and others, to get some positive publicity!

          1. Red Tulip, you are most likely right. That, and picking up a few clues for her own children. What little we know of Kate over a decade in the public eye is that she does not willingly work at anything.

             The unnecessary flurry about Phillip’s retirement has also successfully knocked the trial (and greed of W+K) off the front pages. Why did such an announcement be made in this way? completely overblown when a simple announcement would have sufficed.

             1. I’d point to Daily Mail’s articles and overblown headlines making it seem like something really bad had happened Jen. This was on DM (IMO) rather than BP.

       2. I’m guessing the petting zoos are like Diana’s ‘normalising’ outings with Willy and Harry. I still find it remarkable that we have never, ever seen Willy hanging with the kiddies.

          1. Absolutely! We saw Kate bring George to a petting zoo or a museum but William is never to be found. I find it so odd. Prince Daniel takes Estelle to have pizza or go to a basketball game. It’s so sweet.

       3. It was actually hanging out at my friend’s farms that turned me vegetarian. I realized what I thought of as pets were going to be on the dinner table not too far in the future. =(

    3. Her Farm Girl routine adds to their PR about how much they love the country, don’t want to move to London and work more narrative. Expect more stories in the future about how much the kids miss the country, and how being “forced” to live in the city is ruining their lives.

       1. Good point. They are sacrificing so much!

       2. Ha, probably, though I imagine the kids will still mostly be at Anmer or the Bucklebury mansion.

          Maybe not George with that one hour commute each way to school…

       3. And the “farm girl” routine was reinforced by the hay backdrop in Charlotte’s last photo too.

          Do we believe it though?

    4. Herazeus. are you suggesting that Kate participates in her own kind of Petit Trianon? 😉

       1. Quinn, you snark, but i firmly believe that is the reality. Complete with lambs gambling about the pastures. All she needs is a shepardess outfit or is this farm fashion outfit the equivalent!!

          1. I choose to reserve judgment until she starts undermining the English cloth industry by adopting loosely fitted, almost indecent dresses that are tied together with only a ribbon. 😛

             Okay, okay, I do snark, but it’s with a tinge of seriousness because I see the same as well. If it weren’t for her recent work streak, we could argue that her position as a princess (duchess) has been its own form of Petit Trianon.

          2. She always makes me think of Marie Antoinette, with her little play farm and shepherdess outfit. She was also totally useless and living in a luxurious bubble, callous to regular people and not earning a dime for her lifestyle or upkeep. I would love to not work, live on a country estate with staff and never have to worry about money in exchange for wearing expensive clothes and showing up a few times a year to have sycophants fawn over me for things like smiling or breathing. It’s a great gig if you don’t have pride, self respect or a sense of honour.

    5. It’s a Country Life type photo op, that’s all, Herazeus. Actual mucking about would be messy. She’s simple that way.

       1. And farm life, real life of living and working on a farm, is really hard work!

11. Maybe just maybe KP reads this blog!!! We have all said that Kate should get more involved in things that she is interested in, so that she can be truly engaged and up her engagement numbers significantly (of course, we all do things at our jobs that we do not love, but hey gotta do it. Won’t go into that here). She seems to like sports and the gentlewoman farming kind of life- she should definitely get more involved with these kind of patronages and tie it back to young children’s mental health. It has been found that being in greenery and nature go a long way towards helping kids and adolescents who have ADHD- there I have handed her team a nugget of info that she can use.

12. http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/prince-philip-retires-a-look-back-at-his-greatest-gaffes/ar-BBAJhgJ?li=AAggFp5

    In Honor of Prince Philip’s impending retirement, here is a list of his most legendary and racist gaffes. As much as he shoots his mouth off and has done so all his life, I admit, I did find a few of them pretty funny in an un-PC way. Wonder what Prince Philip’s thoughts are on those bikini-clad, island hopping, vain, Instagram models.

    1. “He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”

       – Queen Elizabeth II, Golden Wedding Anniversary speech, 1997

    2. He’s said some good ones, I’ll give him that! I’m glad he doesn’t give a flip, just says what’s on his mind!

    3. If he’s said even half of the things attributed to him in that article, then his wide-spread reputation for bigotry is well-earned. How awful.

       1. He was born shortly after WW1. He is generations removed from most of us. He does not think the same way we do and he has seen the world change in ways we couldn’t imagine. I am not giving him a free pass, but lobbit- think back to some of the comments and prejudices you’ve heard from your grandparents and – depending on how old you are- your parents.

          1. That makes it sound as if people of each generation cannot learn anything and can’t change their attitude and behaviour. He knows what’s what now, so he doesn’t get a pass from me just because he’s old and wasn’t born yesterday.

             1. +1

          2. I think @Maven’s astute reply says it all – and a hell of a lot better than I could have.

             1. It’s ok when people disagree with you or have a different point of view to offer, lobbit. It’s good to provoke thoughtful conversation and all sorts of ideas. You seem to have taken that comment very personally and that’s a shame and not at all what I intended.

             2. @Ray, I wholeheartedly agree with Maven in her refusal to handwave bigotry from Prince Philip or anyone else, regardless of age. I’m not sure how you’ve taken that to mean that I’m incapable of tolerating disagreement.

          3. I never heard my grandparents (born in 1879 and 1890) utter a single overtly racist word. Ditto my parents (1919 and 1922).

             self-interested militant ignorance is no excuse

13. Sainted Kate among the children, feeding the lambs. “Country Life” recommends it so it’s extra special. It’s not even one of her patronages. Just in time for the trial. And who wears a cocktail ring to a farm?

    1. Big blue travels everywhere with Kate. How would she survive without that massive rock on her left hand!

       1. Or would we even know it is Kate without seeing Big Blue being flashed about?

          😉 ?

    2. Maven, it totally looks like a cocktail ring and not an engagement ring! If I were Kate I would have wanted my own engagement ring and I would have worn big blue as a cocktail ring.

14. As far as her outfit goes, I have no problem with it. She’s there to visit and check out the farm, she’s not there to much out a barn stall. I think the pants and boots are appropriate in this settting. Now, the skinny jeans with wedges at the sporting events in the past have been a big much for me, bug in this setting I think it’s fine.

15. Her shirt is from the Australia tour not Canada:)

16. I think this outing was a success for Kate. She appeared to be in her element here ….it was very Masterpiece Theater-….Kate as the local wealthy country squire-ess visiting a farm in her district and meeting local children, then having tea.
    She does look like she enjoyed herself. I have no issue with her outfit, the skinny jean type pants are never going away (until the style changes) so we must accept that, she was country casual and not planning to drive a tractor, pitch hay or assist in delivering a baby sheep . I also have no issue with her wearing her engagement ring, I wear mine all the time, granted it is substantially smaller, but why does that irritate people. If I truly did work on a farm then I would probably not wear my engagement ring every day.
    My usual issue with her is that hair – not only did the ends look dry and at varying lengths (extensions?) but it is just time to cut off at least 6-8 inches and look like an adult.

17. Living in the Uk, you find out a lot. The way she is dressed is considered the “posh” country outfit. People that don’t live in the country or are not farms dress this way. On the weekend you see “Kate like girls” all over the villages or small country towns. They are mostly from London. These outfits cost a lot, you dress to show how much money you have or what class you are. Her boots brand is coveted by many women here. People know how much they are so if you are wearing them people know you have money.

18. I agree, KMR. I believe most kids in England learn French as a second language first, not Spanish. While here in the US we encourage kids to learn Spanish due to our close proximity to Mexico. So G and C are undoubtedly being taught Spanish by Nanny Maria. As a nanny myself, I always love when parents say “We love that you have introduced the kids to the library and arts and crafts! You do things that we don’t normally do as a family and it is good for the kids to be exposed to different things.” It makes me feel good to know my work is being acknowledged.

    I understand that Kate probably didn’t want to mention her nanny at this event for fear of media backlash. But I do hope that she gives Maria credit privately for the work she does with George and Charlotte. Sometimes parents can take their nannies for granted.

19. It’s the Royal ‘we’. ‘We teach Spanish, We muck out chicken coops, ‘We, we, we.’ The only evidence of Kate doing much is her never ending new wardrobe and her physical maintenance.

20. Why did kate leave her children behind? This outing would top a day in school….if skipping a day was a concern. A picture of the children feeding and petting the animals is far more enjoyable…just saying.

21. This is so lovely. I got a bit teary.

    Harry visits WellChild award winner Ollie and his sister Amelia in hospital

    1. Nice to see the Duchess out with the children. It would be terrific to see her work with children on a more regular basis, so much out there that could be done.
       Ellie I have just seen this to, I have a lump in my throat right now and yes teary. That photo speaks volumes, it is so moving, full of compassion, gentleness and kindness. You either have it or you don’t, no put on here. What Harry is doing is not a easy thing to do, Harry your fantastic.
       A beautiful little boy, God bless him.

22. Can Kate become any more dull than she already is?

Comments are closed.