Kate sends message of support to SportsAid

Kate sends message of support to SportsAid

Kate Middleton is still out of action – but may be back on October 10 for a reception at BP – so for now I guess we’ll take what we can get from Kate. Today’s edition of ‘I’m actually a bit bummed that Kate is MIA’ comes from SportsAid: Kate sent a message of support to SportsAid for their second annual SportsAid Week.

SportsAid Week was started last year to mark the charity’s 40th anniversary. As it generated over £40,000 in 2016, the charity has decided to make it an annual fixture on their calendar.

SportsAid helps over 1,000 athletes across more than 60 sports each year, the majority age 12-18, by providing them with an average award of £1,000. SportsAid Week is a fundraising drive designed to support the next generation of athletes striving to represent Team GB and ParalympicsGB at future Olympic and Paralympic Games. All the money raised assists young sports stars with training and competition costs, including equipment, accommodation and transport, during the critical early stages of their careers.

To support the charity she has been Patron of since 2013, Kate sent a message to SportsAid for SportsAid Week:

    “The most talented young athletes throughout the United Kingdom show great levels of commitment and dedication as they aim to bring sporting success to our country in future years. The early part of this journey is a challenging one. Many of the athletes are still in education and reliant on their family for all the support a young sportsperson needs to allow them to train and compete.
    “SportsAid supports over 1,000 athletes every year from more than 60 different sports, and as Patron, I am very proud of the impact SportsAid has on these young people, helping to relieve the different pressures they each may face, while also giving them the self-belief and motivation to continue to pursue their ambitions.
    “This year’s SportsAid Week will be an exciting few days and a great opportunity for everyone to show their support for our next generation of athletes.”

[SportsAid]

This is the part of the article where I wonder why Kate doesn’t do more with SportsAid considering she shines at sports-related engagements.

Here are a few photos from Kate’s last two visits with SportsAid: the 40th anniversary dinner in June 2016; and an athlete workshop in November 2014.

Kate meets guests at SportsAid 40

Kate at SportsAid 40

SportsAid Kate at workshop 3

SportsAid Kate at workshop 4


90 thoughts on “Kate sends message of support to SportsAid

  1. Even when she is well she chooses ‘a message’ over actually doing something more often than not. I often wonder if the charities regret choosing her as patron, or whether her high profile makes even the tiny bit she does effective for them.

    1. I don’t know about other charities or other messages, but this message in particular dropping during Invictus and on the same day William said during an engagement that Kate is eating ginger cookies to help with morning sickness got no press coverage for Kate or SportsAid. The other Kate blogs haven’t even covered this message. So… I’m sure some of Kate’s patronages can at least get some money and press out of these messages, but at least for this message for this charity, they don’t seem to be getting much from Kate’s name.

    2. This. Charities have important events, anniversaries; sick children write to her, she sends a form letter; etc. It’s just the usual Kate stuff. Even if she were well she wouldn’t have done jack squat for SportsAid. :/ No difference.

      1. @Ellie – yes, this is what I think as well: even if she were well, she would have just sent a message. IMO, she is a horrible, lazy patron for her charities. Not only does she rarely engage – according to the photos on this post, once in 2014, once in 2016, once in 2017 (PATHETIC!, IMO) – but even when she does engage, it’s in very minimal ways like this “message” that probably wasn’t even written by her. Or, she’ll visit…but then spend some/most of that time taping a message which will be released 6 months later. (I say most because I’m sure there were rehearsals, re-tapings, etc. that ate up a lot of time…and she was only there for an hour to begin with, I believe.)

        If I were running one of her charities, I would have deep, deep regret over having asked for her patronage because I don’t think there is any way they can drop her, even if they wanted to. Instead, at least one of them has taken on an ‘ambassador’ (or whatever his title is for the charity) in Ed Sheeran, right?

        1. Yes, EACH has Ed Sheeran as an ambassador. He is doing on a wonderful job. I *think* they were the organization that did openly complain about Kate’s uselessness and were told to find a celebrity to make up for her absence. I could be wrong. KMR knows which group it was.

        2. They won’t drop her now. In 2015 & 2016 the Royal Foundation gave EACH a grant of £30,000, so total £60,000 over the last 2 years. SportsAid has never been listed as receiving a grant from the R. Foundation.

  2. Yes – well IMO Kate as a Patron is a waste of space – Pippa would have been better – Kate – if she could – should just have married a wealthy man and gone to hide out in Home Counties – but somehow some “hooraay” chap even with loads of money would not have ticked the boxes. As for Wills – well – he is a boor – but he has the title and he knows he can run his life as he wants and Kate and Mummy will go along with it – after being bombarded with all the Royal PR lately I am over them for the moment

      1. I think they’re the geographical regions closest to London, but outside London and in the country. English peeps would know what it means socio-economically I imagine.

        1. Yes Home Counties are the ones around London. There are a lot of wealthy people living there, easy commute without having to live in London. But a lot of ordinary people too.

    1. ” – if she could – should just have married a wealthy man and gone to hide out in Home Counties –”

      I don’t think that KM would be happy to just marry a rich man as she would hardly be relevant. She loves the spotlight and such a marriage would not afford her the attention she craves.

  3. I really liked the blue dress but it seemed so fancy compared to what others wore. I always thought this charity was a perfect fit for Kate so never understood why she’s made so few appearances with them. This week is understandable but there’s no reason she can’t do some public things throughout the year with her patronages and not just during a specific fundraiser. She may do private visits to her charities but with the social media world I believe we would hear about them if that were the case.

  4. Kate absent or Kate present. I’m struggling to notice the difference. Ginger cookies doesn’t do squat for HG but it makes a nice story I guess.

    1. To be fair if Kate did show up it would have been covered to i.d. her clothing. She always upstages William; even people on here miss seeing her a bit lol.

    2. Wow, the thought of ginger cookies, or anything with ginger in it makes my stomach start to churn! I know that ginger ale is often mentioned as being soothing for people with tummy troubles, but give me a warm Pepsi, in that situation, any day!

      As for her lack of true commitment to this patronage, I find it very sad. I guess she gets a pass this year for not being part of the week long activities, but as others have said, even when she is healthy, her blase attitude and her true lack of understanding what work means seems to be an eternal issue. Yes, to those who think the charity may regret having her a!s their patron. Hello, Meghan! UK non-profits, just hold on a wee more! Help is on the way.

      I’m tired of Will and Kate, too.

      1. Ha the thought of warm Coke makes my stomach churn!! Different home remedies for each. =)
        A lot of cancer patients use ginger to help with the nausea they get from chemo.

      2. Flat Dr. Pepper does more for my stomach than ginger ale ever has. I had awful morning sickness with my 3rd (and last) baby and all I could keep down was Dr. Pepper and breakfast sausage. Don’t ask. It never made sense to me, either!

        1. Yup, flat Coke (diet, not original) is the go-to in this house for nausea. Only thing I can stomach! Thought of anything ginger makes me hurl but then my Mother swears by it. She was given a recipe by Grandad in the Chinese Restaurant that involved boiling coke and ginger and something else in a pot then drinking it. No way! Flat Diet Coke is the business, wonder why, does anyone know?

          1. My granny lived in India in the 1920s and swore by Coke all her life. You can imagine the tummy upsets she had to deal with with young kids. My kids know when they ring me with problem tummies I’m going to say drink Coke. No idea why it works, but it does. The mixture of salts and sugars?

          2. I am the same with flat coke. The doctor recommended it when I was a kid and I have not looked back. I like ginger beer as well and have tried that. It works but not as good as the coke. I ate a lot of ginger biscuits once and was sick. I don’t think it worked in my case.

    3. Ginger cookies doesn’t do squat for HG but it makes a nice story I guess.

      Ginger cookies and other ginger foods are recommended for people suffering from nausea related conditions like HG. Ginger may not work for everyone but it is a common remedy.

      1. Yes of course and I love ginger, especially cookies. Personally I found eating my weight daily helped ha ha. But then I didn’t have HG and I’d be surprised if remedies like ginger cookies helps Kate, who has been ‘diagnosed’ with HG.

      2. Yeah, my doctor recommended ginger when I was beginning to get sick while pregnant before it was obvious I was very sick. Though if you get that ill the only thing that helps is pumping you with Zofran or other anti nausea meds. Sometimes literally with an IV at home. Almost had a port for it and everything 🙁 I got the medication they give to chemo patients to knock out their nausea from the chemo. It didn’t help much. There is phenergan and diclegis too.

        My kiddo was made of Coke and potatoes… the few things I could keep down…

  5. If she were paid only by per appearance and the rest of the time, she has to live on her husband’s money- watch how quickly she would’ve “recovered” from HG and shown up to as many appearances as possible. I don’t and have never thought that she has HG- she just suffers from chronic lazy-itis, mixed with entitled douche syndrome.

    1. + 1 – IMO she is more lazy than my sister – My Mom bailed her out 24/7 and even these days – Mom deceased 7 years ago – my sister calls me any time she can’t shift herself – I’m over wasters and Waity and Whiny are in that camp for sure – but I have yet to make my sister realise I am not there to bail her out long term – not sure how you do that

    2. I’m sort of withholding judgement about this pregnancy and illness, since each can be different… but I don’t think she had HG either with her other pregnancies. It just seemed odd how she was too sick to work, but not too sick to vacation to tropical islands via long flights with limited access to medical facilities or go to that wedding (in Switzerland?) where she was seen walking around in the snow with the sled.

      If she had been a workhorse (or even just worked regularly) before her pregnancy then I would be able to cut her more slack. But, IMO, she basically just lived with her mother or shopped in London – while decorating Apt 1a and Anmer – in the first years of marriage before getting pregnant…so yep, lazy (IMO). I also think it was horrible that she took so long to come up with the charities she wanted to support. Shouldn’t she have been thinking about this during her long courtship years or even the engagement period? And, if not, then don’t say you’re so “keen to hit the ground running” during your engagement interview!

      1. +1

        I am waiting for the next round of excuses. New baby gets her out of a good deal of work for the next 6-12 months. Followed by busy mom (hands on, of course).

        I think she spent her engagement and first year of marriage in staff meetings coming up with a list of excuses for all stages of her life. What about the next pregnancy being twins? It may get her off work until she reaches her early forties. Kate will then begin discussing her retirement.

        1. What makes me still sad is the fact that I really believed her work-load at the beginning of this year was an improvement of her side.
          Until we all knew why she worked more.I’m so.dissapointed that she again just did it for herself, not the people of her country or guest countries 🙁

          1. I’m with you, Lovely Blossom It’s sad that people thought she was actually improving her workload. I was one of those people, too.

            Is Ms. Quinn working now? If so, and she wrote the little message from Kate, I don’t find it anymore compelling than what has been “written” for Kate in the past.

          2. Thank you, Matilda, Ms. Quinn will be starting a job during major down time for the boss. Oh, well, with Kate, there really is not much else, is there?

        2. Three won’t be enough kids. I say, she goes for four! If baby number three is a girl, she will want another boy for George and if this baby is a boy, well, Char will need a sister!

      2. You know as someone who has done paid employment since the age of 16, while going to school, doing co curricular activities in school including executive positions in student associations, acting and dance performances, and maintaining family, romantic and platonic relationships- I really don’t understand how an able bodied and an able minded woman like Kate is incapable of working. I find it reprehensible how she and her husband eat up millions in public money and don’t even feel ashamed into working more. At least William had his EAAA job- what does Kate do? She has full time nannies, so it’s not as if she is engaged in raising her children on a full time basis.

        1. What dies Kate do? When not suffering from her pregnancies?
          Shop? Try on clothes. Try on more clothes. See how many pairs of the same style and color of shoes will fit in her shoe wardrobe? Then, have a servant fill the wardrobe.

          Practice her posh accent prior to any engagement where she just might have to speak in public. Beg William to ensure that even though her accent is fine, please make sure she doesn’t have to speak.

          Have the hairdresser come over and do her hair. Even if there’s no public appearance going on.

          Visit with Mum. Visit with Pippa. In person, or over the phone.

          Read up on what Meghan is up to. Be grateful that one day — not in too much time, we hope — Meghan can start doing these God awful appearances.

          Or, worry. What if Meghan is more popular than Kate, herself? Well, now that could not be possible.

          Think of baby names. Think of more baby names.

          Fill in the blanks, everyone.

        2. What dies Kate do? When not suffering from her pregnancies?
          Shop? Try on clothes. Try on more clothes. See how many pairs of the same style and color of shoes will fit in her shoe wardrobe? Then, have a servant fill the wardrobe.

          Practice her posh accent prior to any engagement where she just might have to speak in public. Beg William to ensure that even though her accent is fine, please make sure she doesn’t have to speak.

          Have the hairdresser come over and do her hair. Even if there’s no public appearance going on.

          Visit with Mum. Visit with Pippa. In person, or over the phone.

          Read up on what Meghan is up to. Be grateful that one day — not in too much time, we hope — Meghan can start doing these God awful appearances.

          Or, worry. What if Meghan is more popular than Kate, herself? Well, now that could not be possible.

          During pregnancies, please add: Think of baby names. Think of more baby names.

          Anyone else?

          1. Red Tulip – I suppose I can kind of get it, she’s NEVER worked, not once in her entire life so the whole concept of work is for her as alien a thought as doing nothing is to us. If we were dropped into her world we’d probably go crazy-insane in a week. Yet we are asking her to come into ours? She doesn’t know ‘what work means’, this is all she has ever done in her entire life and she will never, ever change as change is too utterly foreign and unknown to her. I won’t comment further, other than to say what a missed opportunity, getting a Kate when we could have (and should have) gotten someone like yourself!

        3. Red Tulip you are so right
          this girl child just wanted to be married to a prince with her having a title.. and luxury lifestyle thats all she wants not doing any work

  6. “If she were paid only by per appearance and the rest of the time, she has to live on her husband’s money”

    That’s actually an interesting idea; are you British? If so is your MP Labour? You should definitely bring it up to them. The definitely need to make changes in order to continue the monarchy into the 21st century.

    1. Was this just a written message? If so I have doubts she actually wrote it. And whether or not she did write the message, why isn’t she doing more of this when she can’t physically show up ?

        1. Whoever did write it, I swear they just skimmed SportsAid’s SportsAid Week website page and wrote the message based on that. I did the same thing to write up my paragraph on SportsAid Week, and it ended up being eerily similar to what “Kate” wrote in her message.

          1. KMR new job opportunity for you? Kate’s new private secretary or whatever they call it. Then you really would have the inside scoop!

        2. I highly doubt Kate, or William, write anything that is either sent in their name or words spoken by them. Their disinterest in their roles is palpable and long-standing. My goodness, why Brits lavish so much money and bow down to these people, for minimal and paltry expressions of ‘care’, is beyond my understanding.

    2. @Jessica, nope Canadian. But I did write to my MP about the huge waste of money that Canada wasted when WK visited Canada, while ignoring the significant needs of Indigenous peoples. Didn’t get a response, naturally

      1. Yes. Surely gone are the days where communities tolerate rolling out the indigenous peoples for the royals to snigger at their quaint customs (more evolved cultures in many ways).

      2. I’m surprised that your MP did not respond. In Australia it is mandatory for all MPs to respond to letters/concerns from constituents. ‘Cos we pay their salaries.

        I agree with Lisa (Aust) above regarding the hauling out of indigenous peoples to amuse the royals, who in turn are too ignorant to appreciate and respect others’ cultures. I’m always reminded of William’s douche-like comments when attending a function at BP, thinking he was at a fancy dress party because Commonwealth reps attended in their traditional dress.

  7. I wonder when Kate feels well enough again to go into public. If I read correctly ,her sickness is not over after some months, but can stay the whole pregnancy. That’s the point where her special case is a bit strange. If her sickness is over after three months, it’s simply called morning sickness which most women have to.endure.But we discussed this before. I just think, it’s hard to make future plans.One day, you feel well, the other miserable.

    1. Apparently there are more definitions for HG than sand on the beach. I just made my own one: whenever the situation with food “in” and “out” is such that it causes health problems if not medicated (IV, anti naesuea drugs.). I dont think it is important if one looses a lot of weight (as it can be prevented by IV) or if it takes more or less than 16 weeks (as normal mornIng sickness can also take longer and HG is known to get better after a while in many cases).
      Im not claiming Kate having HG though.

  8. I think they chose Kate’s charities on the person they were trying to tell us she was vs who she is. She almost always looks uncomfortable around kids and sick kids even more. The fact that she doesn’t so very little with EACH says it all. I guess we could say that about almost all her charities tho.
    I thought the Scouts would’ve been up her ally but we see how well that went. And there is nothing wrong with not liking kids or being uncomfortable around kids that aren’t your own. The charities I volunteer with deal with the geriatricss, animals and the environment. There really is enough charities out there to find something you love and speaks to you but they chose something that they thought fit the narrative.
    She looks her happiest doing her sports charities (at least those with Ben & now Wimbledon) but even those she does the bare minimum amount of work with. So I don’t think doing more sports charities would make her work more, just make her seem happier/more comfortable at them. We could just argue that Kate really isn’t passionate about anything other than her little bubble

    1. Seeing how involved Harry is at the Invictus Games really makes Kate and Will look bad. They don’t seem to care about much except themselves. And while Harry can be obtuse on occasion, he is truly helping others improve their self esteem and is enthusiastic about it.

    2. Wait a minute, please. Is Kate’s next official appearance at a State Dinner? If so, that won’t bode well for her HG. Of course, if she is still ill, she wouldn’t possibly attend.
      Just seems odd if the State Dinner is the first appearance.

  9. I actually liked the dress Kate wore. I just thought wrong occasion. I think sending a message to SportsAid is a good gesture but there are no fundraisers that Kate has organised or am I wrong? Where are the visits that keep the interest going. I realise Kate is pregnant but sometimes I think that these patronages are just fillers for Kate’s time. Shouldn’t Kate be filling her diary with visits etc. That is what a business partner does and Kate is William’s joint business partner. I have to say I tend to forget what Kate is patron of until it becomes noticed in the media. That is not the point of patronages as you have to highlight the cause don’t you.

      1. I’m at a loss as to why the latest lady has taken the job. It’s hard to imagine Kate is ever going to stand up and work, or create a real meaning for her position. Diana did it, Sophie is doing it albeit as a minor royal, Kate just underachieves every time. Such a waste of an opportunity . When you compare her to Leti, Mary and Max she is such a disappointment. People criticise all three but they get involved, they make speeches regularly and they try to make a difference. They all dress expensively but there is more to them than their dress code.

        1. I was thinking today, that I feel sort of bad for the lady that took the job as Kate Private Secre… I mean the lady came from a pretty important and seemingly busy job, she is due to start in October and from the looks of it Kate aint going to be doing much. That would suck for me!

          1. Somehow I imagine Quinn’s predecessor waving an enthusiastic good-bye as she walks out the door this week. Just as soon as she is away from the windows, breaking into a happy dance as she heads to her auto. 🙂

      2. If Catherine Quinn is the high-flyer she is attributed to be, then it is sheer madness to work for Kate Middleton ‘to help build her profile’. People of Quinn’s calibre – as a rule – want to do meaningful work. I’d be hard pressed to think of anything less meaningful than pumping up Kate’s profile. ‘You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear’ comes to mind.

  10. Someone get Jason a cookie for typing up a letter on Kate’s behalf. I’m not even giving her a sticker for this one. Any Harry & Meghan sightings today?

    1. Harry and Meghan sightings are interesting me a lot more at the moment, Meghan. It is sad that Kate has to get PR to do her work for her. If that is the case. Patronages rely on the interest of the patron and the effort they put in is key, in my opinion.

      1. I’ve enjoyed seeing them this week. They look natural and comfortable with each other, and Meghan seems to genuinely enjoy these events. Can’t say the same for Bill and Cathy.

      2. I’m looking forward to a potential Harry and Meghan wedding announcement because I get the impression Meghan will make an effective member of royalty. Dare I say, the next Princess Di.

        It seems whenever a “commoner” gives up a career to marry into royalty (for example, Queen Letizia of Spain, who gave up a successful career in broadcast journalism) they really go out of their way to further their patronages.

        Kate’s perpetual reluctance to make public appearances and the minimal effort she puts into her patronages just goes to show that she is not interested in such pursuits. (Which is understandable, not everyone is drawn to working the charity circuit – but it begs the question, why did Kate marry into royalty if she seems so uncomfortable being a public figure? Didn’t she realize what joining “the firm” would entail?)

    2. Make it a ginger snap! The cookie, that Meghan suggested for Jason!
      I will bet he has his fair share of stomach problems spinning for the Cambridges!

  11. Kate! Get well soon! We might forget about you if you don’t show up somewhere, especially since Meghan is out and about! I’ve actually started checking for new blogs on MMR before looking here. *GASP*

  12. I don’t see why Kate doesn’t write more letters since visits to her chosen charities are exceedingly rare. (Remind me, didn’t Will and Kate claim they were keeping the number of charities low so they could really concentrate on them?) But maybe letters aren’t the way to go as it does seem her written documents frequently contain writing errors, particularly lack of noun/pronoun agreement. Some publicly released letters have contained incomplete sentences!

    “Many of the athletes are still in education and reliant on their family for all the support a young sportsperson needs to allow them to train and compete.”

    Although perhaps better than some of her letters, wouldn’t the following be correct?

    Many of the athletes are still in education and reliant on their families for all the support young sportspersons need to allow them to train and compete.

    It’s not that big a deal. But she does have a university degree and plenty of time on her hands so I’d think she’d get it right. Maybe the palace has decided to use  gender neutral plural pronouns all the time? Even when the noun being replaced is singular?

    1. I don’t think Kate was a top student at university. She has made really dumb comments about art history, her alleged major, and she doesn’t really speak with much intelligence. Although to be fair Jason probably wrote this.

    2. But you don’t understand. Kate is a retro woman. She uses her Royal typewriter to compose the letters. Typewriters don’t have grammar and spell checking. ?

  13. Do we think Kate’s team read these remarks about her?
    Outside of her being unwell right now, it is so telling that so many of us just see Kate as an insincere, not very bright non-entity who contributes nothing and appears to be interested in nothing other than doing the bare minimum of work for “The Firm”.
    On the whole, I am less and less interested in Kate, William, Harry and Meghan.

    1. I am pretty sure they don’t because she might have stopped spending so much on repetitive clothes which has been complained about for the last two years at the very least.
      Nothing will make Kate and Will change unless Charles cuts off the money. And he is unlikely to do that unless he is forced to because of a public outcry.

  14. How kind of someone from Team Kate to take the time to do the bare minimum for another charity of hers. She’s pathetic. I say this not because she’s pregnant but because she doesn’t do anything. At least the Kardashians are out there promoting themselves to make money. This girl does nothing and gets a whole new wardrobe for it.

  15. Off-topic tidbit: A clue in today’s New York Times crossword puzzle: “English socialite Middleton.” Five letters 🙂 Her debut in the NY Times puzzle.

      1. Not only that, she shared the grid with Pablo Neruda and Gandhi. 🙂

        “Pippa” has previously appeared in the puzzle but the clue always referenced Robert Browning’s “Pippa Passes.” Which the puzzle editor must have decided has faded into oblivion. On to socialites! But let us remember Browning for a moment:

        The year’s at the spring,
        And day’s at the morn;
        Morning’s at seven;
        The hill-side’s dew-pearled;
        The lark’s on the wing;
        The snail’s on the thorn;
        God’s in His heaven—
        All’s right with the world!

    1. I haven’t seen the puzzle but it seems “James” (Middleton) would also fit the clue. Oh wait, I forgot. He’s a serious hardworking  “businessman” not a party-going socialite. 

      1. Good point, Lizabeth. Now I don’t feel quite so embarrassed about needing *two* crossing letters before I had the head-slap moment of knowing what the answer was!

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