This is a very quick update post about Kate Middleton‘s next engagement, which KP announced yesterday.
On Halloween, October 31, the Duchess of Cambridge, as Patron, will visit the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). This will be her first solo engagement, as well as her first publicly scheduled engagement, since her third pregnancy was announced. This will also be Kate’s first visit to the LTA as Patron, since she took over the patronage from HM last December.
Upon arrival, Kate will receive a briefing from key representatives of the LTA on its latest grass roots activities and high-performance objectives. Kate will then watch several on-court sessions, and have the chance to take part in the Tennis for Kids session (which I doubt she will do, since she’s pregnant). Kate will also watch a wheelchair tennis demonstration.
Kate will then have the opportunity to meet some of the UK’s top junior talents as well as members of the training team including coaches, nutritionists and physiotherapists who will share what it takes to be a top junior player. Finally, Kate will meet some of the Coach Core apprentices who will be leading a tennis training session.
I hope this announcement means Kate will start getting back to working engagements now.
Re Kate finally being a working royal with regular engagements, dream on. I noticed that Kate’s engagement is the same day as Harry meeting with Obama. I wonder who will get the most press, esp if Meghan turns up to see Harry.
When will you cover Harry’s Danish visit?
Re Harry’s visit to Denmark: most likely tomorrow. I just didn’t have time to get to it for today.
I don’t think Kate will ever be a full time working royal, but I do hope she starts actually doing some stuff now that she’s apparently free of morning sickness.
Have you considered posting about Harry on the Meghan blog? At least for his solo engagemants? I think that might bring traffic there and for me posts about him solo feel a bit out of place here with a blog about his girlfriend now.
The UK doesn’t celebrate Halloween do they? Or is there an equivalent?
There are pictures of Kate in Halloween costumes from pre-wedding days
Yes we do now, although not as much as in the US. We also celebrate Bonfire Night on November 5th, so the two are very close and celebrations get joined together.
I prefer Bonfire night. At university the society I joined we had a small bonfire and sparklers with the ranger unit.
Is bonfire night in correlation to Guy Fawkes? I still remember the ditty “ remember remember the 5th of November”
I have to add I love Halloween!!???yay I love the costumes, the candy, the special it’s the great pumpkin Charlie Brown and that it’s in my fav season!! Woot woot sorry, someone is ?
Yes we put a guy on the bonfire before we light it. Hope everyone in the UK is watching the new series on Saturday night? It’s amazing.
I was going to say they have guy competitions where the best dressed guy wins. They then place them on the bonfire. Guy Fawkes who was part of a group of Catholic conspirators wanted to blow parliament up with James 1 there using gunpowder. In Leeds where Guy Fawkes is from they don’t have the celebration.Fireworks were invented before that though. Another group of puritans went to America on the Mayflower.
Kate does like her theme dressing, but as it will be Halloween does that bring on visions of Kate dressing up as a tennis ball? Or should I shut down my overactive imagination?
I thought dressed as a witch. I always wanted a witches hat when I was younger. I got a stuffed cat instead. I hope Kate wears bright cheery colours for the children. My guess is Kate will dress in black. Yes in the UK, we celebrate Halloween. I went to a party at a friends house once. We bobbed for apples. I have not been trick or treating though my cousin who lives in America goes with other parents, their kids and her kids.
Oh yes, Kate in black with sky high heels.
But please, no wedges, or faded jeggings which have lost their stretch?
Harry has been doing a lot of things in Denmark, but where is William? Unless his stuff isn’t being publicized he seems to be awol as well. Does he has sympathy HG symptoms himself?
It’s half term at George’s school, we think they are on holiday, though I imagine not the Caribbean after all the hurricanes.
Why do you still call her Kate Middleton and not by her proper married name? She is the wife of Prince William, an heir to the Throne, and mother of a future heir. It’s time you gave her the correct name and title. Otherwise it’s discourteous and disrespectful not to recognise these in the name of your blog. OK, maybe still refer to her as Kate if you wish – but not by her maiden name. Diana wasn’t called by her maiden name when she married Prince Charles, why do it to Kate?
When she spent ten years waitying for a title, her maiden name became ubiquitous.
I find it funny that this same comment pops up every few months from a ‘new’ poster. It’s exhausting. I don’t see why some people care so much what she is called and feel the need too ask a blog they don’t visit about it. It’s KMR’s blog so she can choose whatever name suits her best – no explanation needed. Period.
I dont get the need to defend someone you don’t know especially over something as trival as her maiden name. I would understand if it was a mean nickname but it’s her maiden name! What everyone knew her as for 10 years (30 years for those who knew her)! It is just a name-a rose is just as sweet by any othername-Kate Middleton, Kate Middleton…. kate Middleton.
I believe KMR addressed this issue quite awhile back in a complete blog post about why she calls kate “Kate Middleton” vs Sofia the Swedish princess “Princess Sofia”.
KMR is never disrespectful or discourteous. And just a heads up, regular followers don’t like accusations like that being aimed at KMR or indeed anyone on the blog. Disagreements are encouraged, but in a polite interesting way so we understand different people’s views.
+ a bazillion Birdy!!! KMR is not disrespectful or discourteous, she is a real person with a real point of view, and does her research. I, on the other hand, can be downright snarky and until KMR says otherwise I will continue to post as I please. I will say that ***respect*** is earned, not a given just because of some title, although that appears to be a popular view. Some of the most awesome people I know are so humble that while they may **have** a title they don’t mention it, they just keep on keeping on. I don’t know about Britain but here in the states a lot of dogs are named Duchess, Princess, Prince. Queenie, and etc. so that title is just a word that entitles her to the best of everything w/o ever having to do much, a ticket to the big time and a whole lot of fluff. I find it difficult to respect anyone so ‘fluffy and entitled, immature and needy’, and for sure I don’t see Catherine Duchess of whatever as having any self respect. That’s just my opinion.
KMR is a whole lot more tolerant of differing opinions and has very few rules so it’s a fun and knowledge enhancing place to be. For me anyway.
“I don’t think there is anything disrespectful in referring to a married woman by her maiden name if that is the name you most know them as, especially for a woman in the public eye like Catherine. I’m not calling Catherine rude names, and I’m not referring to her by her maiden name in some derogatory tone. Words have meaning, but it is tone more than negative words that convey negativity or hostility (which cannot be conveyed through text, so I understand the confusion). When I refer to Catherine by her maiden name, I am not doing so in a negative or hostile way, so I don’t think it is disrespectful to refer to her as such. There are a lot of names that Catherine gets called that are disrespectful, her maiden name is not one of them.”
http://katemiddletonreview.com/2017/01/23/why-i-still-call-the-duchess-of-cambridge-kate-middleton/
I agree. The name a woman is born with is not offensive and it is really internalized misogyny to suggest otherwise. In common law countries women only assume a married name if they wish. It is not a legal name change by simply getting married. That’s why they ask for a marriage licence when you want to change your driver licence or passport and not your birth certificate.
She could be married to the masiah and she still would deserve any more respect that any other human. By calling her by any royal title would be acknologing her and the rest of royal parasites, their self imposed status.
If I ever met her or the rest of the family, you can bet your last penny that she would get addressed as Kate or Mrs Cambridge.
Nobody deserves a title and be treated as a higher echelon human being, unless it’s a professional title that’s been earned such as a judge or doctor.
Lady Di remained Lady Di for years and years; it became a term of endearment. Kate spent a lot of her life being Kate Middleton, girlfriend & she still seems desperately middleton, despite her elevation in title. Frankly I think it’s symbolic that although she’s a wife and mother she doesn’t seem to have grown at all
I think that’s exactly the point I’m making about failing to call her by her proper name now. Lisa’s deprecating statement that Catherine (or Kate or whatever you wish to call her for short) hasn’t grown out of being a Middleton. There is a lot snobbery and critical subtext from most of the people who keep calling her Middleton. They can’t get over the fact that the Prince has married a commoner whose family actually worked for a living and had middle class family values and closeness.
Hi Pamela,
I don’t refer to her as Kate Middleton because I’m upset that Prince William married a commoner. From the time of the engagement until about their second year of marriage I was one of her biggest fans, I loved that he married a commoner and with her parents work ethic I had high hopes that the new Duchess would really set the world on fire. But 6+ years in, I feel like I’m still waiting for her to step up and actually “be” the Duchess of Cambridge. Now I know you can argue that it doesn’t matter whether or not she’s earned the title as much as it is her name now but in my mind she’s still Kate Middleton, the girl who bared her bum to get the boys to notice her, the girl who did nothing for 8 years except be at a Prince’s beck and call. Now to be fair, William is a huge disappointment as well and if he had another name I’d probably call him by that name instead of using the word “prince”.
My question to you is this, why does this bother you so much? I mean, you can refer to her as the Duchess of Cambridge (or any of her other titles) as much as you like so why worry about what someone else calls her?
+1. On a day when Catherine works, shows enthusiasm and is appropriately dressed for the occasion, she gets plenty of “well done” comments from KMR and her readers.
Personally as a commoner myself I don’t think it has anything to do with snobbery. It has to do with the fact that Kate has not stepped up and earned the right for people to consider her as a Duchess. If she started working hard and really making a commitment to her charities as she keeps telling us she is ‘keen’ to do, then I might start thinking of her more as a Duchess. That is my personal view, nothing to do with snobbery, everything to do with laziness.
+1
I don’t understand,Pamela.
As far as I can see, we are all commoners.How could we be snobbish about someone who had the same rank.as we have?
But, I have to add, the Middletons had much more money than the typical middle class family.Her mother never wanted to be middle class.In my eyes, that’s a fairy tale.
Carole did everthing to get her children into private schools for access to the riches. If that is not snobbish,what then?
“Desperately Middleton” great name for a blog or salacious book lmao.
Because she has yet to prove she is worthy of the Duchess title. She does no work, does not comport herself properly and waited 10 years for a man to marry her. There is a reason Kate hasn’t a Royal Family order. Also, “Kate Middleton” is nicer than being called “Waity Katie”, which defines her true character.
Pamela, with all due respect, each of us has the right to call Kate/Catherine, Kate Middleton, HRH Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess William of Wales,Countess of Strathearn, Baroness of Carrickfergus by what ever name we choose. I think we all know the limits of decency. If some of us feel she has not earned her title ( I am in that camp) that is our opinion. We all want to see her step up, but like many others here, I think this will never happen and she will do only what is necessary, which is disappointing. In my perception, the fact that the royal family order has still not been bestowed on her speaks volumes. She may never get this until the Queen is on her deathbed or until Charles is king. I believe she may even do less when Charles becomes King.
Aw shucks, then I must be ****super duper over the top in every way disrespectful****, to me she’ll always be ‘waity Katie’:)
She’ll always be Waity to me as well, except it’s now US that are waiting for girlfriend to step up and work. As a Scot I should be addressing her as Countess of Strathyhead or some such baloney. #never I respect the Queen as she is elderly and polite. Workshy, bottom flashing, living off the UK credit card, can’t speak because she’s ‘posh’, and her spouse is equally as rubbish will never get any recognition from me until they up their game drastically. Hope this answers your question Pamela.
Isn’t it also the same day her uncle has to go to court?
In Europe, we also celebrate Halloween, but it’s not so deep-rooted and much freer to celebrate.
November the first is an important day, because it’s a religious day to think of your deceased relatives, meaning we go to church and the cemetries, lay down flowers, thinking of them.
I do wish she would visit Grenfell projects instead of something fun at the LTA. She seems to like Judy nearly as much as Ben.
But if she has stopped pretending to be so ill (oops no doubt I’ll be told off for that comment) I do hope she now gets stuck into some work. It reflects poorly on women if she thinks she needs to rest all the time unless there is a genuine medical reason. Pregnant women work.
And how many mental health charities has she visited on her own recently? Does lawn tennis really need the attention?
What is ‘lawn tennis’ anyway? Is it tennis played on grass? I thought that was just tennis. Maybe Waity can find out for us!
I burst out loud at the title “Kate’s Halloween costume: a working royal” bahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!
As for the actual engagement? We shall see what happens, what she’ll wear…..
I laughed right along with you Kimothy!!! The Working Royal costume set comes with: Eyeliner of Serious Concern, Wedges of Doom, a clutch attached to the crotch, Big Blue and a lousy stylist, all for $19.99 (wiglet sold separately).
Lol! +1000
Bahahahahahaha, Queen Lauri!
+1 times infinity at your comment!!!
P.S. it’ll cost an extra $4.99 to have the wiglet in sausage curls already!
Haha Lauri!
Me three about the headline
Thanks for the Friday funny
Me four.
Me five. I had to re-read the title of the post. I am going to have to buy some coffee.
Love it, QUeen Lauri. Don’t forget to add: Short skirt that may blow up at the first gust of autumn air. Even if she is preggers, I worry.
Working Royal! It’s nice to see her doing a bit of work, but I agree, it surely would be nice to see her making a visit to those who suffered so much in the fires William did say “We’ll be back,” when he and HM left their visit. Well? Kate? Wills?
For an additional $14.99 plus shipping and handling you can get the Petulant Prince Starter Kit and if you order now we’ll throw in the Dreamy Ginger Prince starter kit at no additional charge!!
Awesome! Thanks for the laughs!
+1 You forgot to say the dreamy Ginger prince starter kit is limited. Just to bump up the value.
I don’t think she’ll sit out on the kids part. She danced with Paddington and got wonderful press for it. If she plays with the kids, she’ll surely be praised to the skies by the press and many will say what a trooper she is to dare to exercise while recently experiencing morning sickness. Please. Any mother of young ones plays and runs around until labor unless a doctor commits her to bed rest.
I think it will be a good event for Kate, and I’m glad it’s a solo engagement.
How is Kate going to fit all that in her usual one hour visit?
Wow just realize she will never be a full working royal even as Princess of Wales. She better be careful though esp after The Queen passes.
I wonder if she’s ever done a full day’s work in her life? Maybe on her holitours, but then she still doesn’t have to sort her wardrobe, do her hair, feed herself or anyone else,make sure the babysitter in a strange country is ok before going out for dinner…..she has absolutely no idea.
She has been given an amazing platform to change the world and do great humanitarian work and it saddens me she could care less.
Yeah ’cause I’d have a blast raising awareness for causes that are important to me. She just gives the proverbial middle finger.
Isn’t it sad Kimothy? Doesn’t make me angry just upset with her. Honestly they should be careful once The Queen passes as people will not be patient with them any longer. She should step it up.
+1
She’s never worked a full 8 Hour day. That is obvious. She was raised as a spoilt girl and remains so. The entire joke about her being called “common” is actually funny because she lived a privileged life from basically day one.
Nic919, her job is pretty easy. Honestly what is so bad about working!!!
Re Paddington Bear-she was too old for that stunt, but anything to take attention off her Uncle Gary beating down his wife-it irks me how Kate gets praise for doing the absolute minimum. I have no idea how anyone can be her fan or admire her. She has truly set women back 100 years.
I’m glad Kate Middleton is scheduled for another event, even if it is Tennis. Sounds like a full program, too.
Check out Princess Charlene over at Royal Order of Satorial Splendor. She actually looks better than the model wearing the dress. Sorry, I couldn’t get copy snd paste to work.
I don’t think Kate will ever have what you would call regular engagements or become a full time working royal, I don’t think she see’s that as her role. I came across this article from a gossip magazine that Prince William and the Queen have had a disagreement over Kate’s working schedule, in that Kate/Prince William want her to stop working altogether so she can focus her time on being a full time mum to three children. It is purely gossip but lets face it hardly surprising if it were true – http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/family/550336/the-queen-and-prince-william-reported-feud-over-kate-middleton-s-royal-workload?utm_content=manual&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=goodtoknow
I don’t think Kate wants to work and I don’t think William wants her to. I think he never wanted to be married to a woman like his mom and would have a fit if Kate showed any signs of wanting to up her charity work or make a difference. Then again, it boggles my mind how Carole worked her ass off and Pippa and Kate basically do nothing but be kept women, but maybe that is the point.
Why does everyone always asume that Carole worked that hard? I doubt it.In the beginning, it’s not easy to.start an online shop, but that are mostly sorrows that the shop will work.
Let me show you an example.A friend of mine has an online shop, quite like Carole’s(selling paper things) and he said he never really had to worry about the money, because it works after some months.
Money comes in and in and in and you have employees who do your work. You’re really free to plan your day.
So, I think that Carole and Michael both had much free-time.They did never really care about their work as long as the money flows.And that’s something their children saw:let others earn your money and live your life carefree.
Not one of their children has an interesting job.Doctor, etc. who.gives something back to people who.is interested in other people, they just spend money and that’s it. Kate is the first who has to do something for others, who is forced to go somewhere she doesn’t want to go and that’s something that must be really new to her.
Maybe at some point, once the Middleton’s shop became successful, they had lots of free time. But start ups are hard work especially in the beginning. I don’t fully know Carole and Mike’s situation, but I would bet that they worked hard in the beginning, and then later once it began actually making money they probably had more free time.
How would we explain that their children aren’t interesting in something outside of their own world?
You don’t have to work with your hands to work hard, I know.
For example, I have great respect for J.K.Rowling’s work ethic when she wrote Harry Potter.But still, her husband didn’t stop working because of the reason to be a good role-model for their children.
And that’s the point.It can be true that Mike and Carole worked for their shop, also.after the beginning. But they just did it for the money.And all this money was spent for their children. It’s great to.educate your children with the best things, but in some way they spoilt them too much.
I don’t want my children to.become adults who just spend money and aren’t intersting in the world. They could help people, animals, join Greenpeace, they have so much opportunities and the luxury to decide without sorrows about the money, but they don’t.It’s hard for people like me to see such missed chances.
I’m sure there are a lot of children of rich parents – who gained their wealth through hard work – who don’t have any work ethic because they never needed to have a work ethic because their parents paid for everything. Just because the Carole and Mike didn’t teach their children about work ethic doesn’t mean they didn’t work hard to start their business.
You’re right,KMR. I don’t know how hard they worked or work. If they hadn’t done anything, they wouldn’t have earned money.
I don’t even think in terms of party pieces, to me it seems that both CarolE and Michael had very respectable jobs with the airlines.
A lot of people who come from a lack of wealth and then work hard to build their own personal fortunes often end up with the most coddled children, because they want to avoid having their kids go through all those same struggles that they just fought through themselves. Generally most parents want to find ways to make life easier for their kids. It’s just a question of whether or not they think life will be easier for their children if they try to fight all their battles for them, or if they think the best way to make life easier for the kids is by teaching them how to handle life, including things like developing a strong work ethic. Obviously the Middletons lean towards the second, but I completely agree with KMR that that doesn’t mean they didn’t work hard themselves. If it were so easy, more people would be doing it.
We don’t don’t know enough about Party Pieces to make definitive statements about how hard the Middleton parents worked. Their accounts are private though it is hard to understand how such cheap merchandise plus the selling of mailing lists could garner so much money. I guess stranger things have happened. There is also the strong likelihood that Uncle Gary has bankrolled them too.
It appears that Kate, Pippa and James have been deliberately brought up affecting all the airs and graces of what Carole and Mike think comprises the aristocracy in order to elbow their way in to that level of society and fit in. All with good manners, of course. That strategy has clearly worked for Kate and Pippa thus far. It seems that Mike and Carole chose not to impart a work ethic, or ideas of independence in their children, that assuming the veneer of upper class would be enough to secure good lives. Regressive attitude as well as having the whiff of pimping.
Agree Jen, I’m not sure how Party Pieces could bankroll the kind of lifestyle they aspired to and had to maintain for nearly a decade in order to bag William. Having a multi-millionaire Uncle in the family can’t have hurt! All very shady. Whilst I’m sure PP generates income and was a lot of work it won’t be pulling in millions. There are equivalent companies with available accounts to prove that.
On the Middletons’ money, this was an excellent article that explores a topic that none has been brave enough to explore since:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8147929/Royal-Wedding-Middletons-money-how-was-it-made.html
The numbers do not add up. Gary was the source of the money here, which is why he has continued to be invited to family occasions, including the royal wedding, despite his many blunders
I think any successful business takes an enormous amount of work. Especially, in the beginning. Caole may have been motivated to create wealth so that she could push her daughters toward the arms of wealthy men, but she did work! So, I believe, did Michael.
It is interesting that the kids have shown little interest in working. But, I assume if Kate does care for her children at home, she is working. With the aid of a nanny, or two, though.
Instilling a work ethic in one’s kids is hard work, too. I think Carole’s idea was to find her daughter’s the richest of hubbies and move them up the social ladder, so that in turn, she would move up, too. I don’t know what she or Michael instilled in their son. His little marshmallow venture seems so lame to me. Still, at least he did something Is it still operating?
Last time I read a mention of him in the papers he was on holidays.
Agreed. At least with respect to Kate, Carole managed the one thing her money can’t directly buy: nobility. I also believe Carole wanted rich hubs for her girls so they would have long term financial security, something Carole may believe eludes her and Mike (no matter how successful their business).
James Middleton has never succeeded at anything he’s started. He didn’t even completed his uni degree, but quit less than a year later.
His novelty marshmallow business, novelty greetings card business, cake & wine business have all failed. Leaving investors millions of pounds out of pocket.
James Middleton just skips off into the sunset leaving others to clean up his (financial) mess. You can bet your life that he’s never risked/invested any of his own money!
Mummy and daddy Middleton bankroll him methinks. Not much chance of him marrying rich, like his sisters!
Carole and Mike raised her kids in a stereotypical way, by getting the women to get “ good” marriages and James having to run some kind of business. But all three have lived pretty indolent lifestyles and have done very little for those with less privilege. They are all pretty selfish really and while that may not matter for the random rich person with money, it is not something that the BRF can do very openly, especially as their riches depend on the goodwill and tolerance of the people supporting their luxurious lifestyle. Kate is just plain lazy and stay at home mothers with fewer housekeepers and nannies manage to contribute far more to society than she has ever bothered. Stay at home mothers can certainly take a few hours per week to visit charities. Many of them actually volunteer a great deal of hours at local churches and charities and their children’s schools and they don’t get designer wardrobes in return. She is a disgrace.
Exactly. Mothers of my acquaintance who stay at home either full or part time do lots and lots of volunteering in connection with their kids lives. Kate could certainly do that and she’d still make a real difference. Imagine if she supported mental health care for primary school students? She could do a lot, as a ‘stay at home mother’ but it’s not the kid of parenting she and William have in mind, I expect.
@Nic919. Amen!
Could not agree more
I watched a great documentary about Dumfries House in Scotland that Prince Charles and the Princes Trust renovated. Prince Charles worked very hard to ensure that local youth and the local community would benefit also by creating job skills schools, community gardens, hiring local youth to work for special events and in the cafe on site, etc. Anyhow, as I was watching this show and hearing all the people going on and on about how much they’ve gained, personally and professionally, by what Prince Charles has accomplished here and seeing how much Harry has helped veterans with Invictus and orphans with Sentebale, it really threw into sharp relief all the nothing that William has done with his position. I honestly can not think of one charity or program that William started from the ground up, can anyone here remember one? Realistically, it might take 30-40 years for William to ascend the throne, what does he plan to do during that time?
Easy , he plans to do as little as possible, allowing his wife to do even less, while he takes,takes takes from the public purse.
I suspect William might be King earlier than 30-40 years time – Charles is 70 next year ! It used to be the norm that life expectancy increased with every generation (good food and medicine aided that), but with the stresses of modern life and the degradation of the environment I am seeing plenty of examples where that has not proven to be the case. In any event I suspect that Wills and Waity will only ever do the basic minimum – if that. Harry seems better suited to “the role”.
Harry is definitely better suited to be King. He actually cares about people.
William has done nothing of value in his 35 years of privilege. His brother and father have done more. But he doesn’t care and he married a lazy woman who won’t show him up either because she is worse. The luxuries they receive should be apportioned according to their contributions to society. Those two would be living in a shack as it stands.
If William ended up on the throne within the next few years (a very sad possibility) then he would emphasize full-time military service, full-time SAR work, nearly full time flight ambulance work, founder of some wildlife trust, and founder of a mental health initiative. He won’t have any tangible results to display, but some clever PR will make other people’s efforts look like his. We’re already seeing a lot of that. Once he’s on the throne, he’ll claim that he’s too busy with HOS business to do much more for his charities.
The only time I have actually seen William show some enthusiasm for is the air ambulance or military.
I think if William had his way, he would focus solely on wildlife conservation–specifically African wildlife. Batian Craig (Jecca’s brother) is living William’s fantasy–able to pilot his own plane around his family’s own wildlife conservation area; independent, ruggedly handsome, private, etc.
If and when William ascends the throne, I think he and Kate will either drastically reduce the engagements expected of the monarch and/or he will hand off many of the duties to George. He’ll be much more open to retiring, and I doubt he’ll be happy spending weeks and weeks of holidays at Balmoral or Sandringham, and will be spending more time outside the UK. I don’t think he’ll cut back on his charity “work” through his royal foundation–it is very useful for making him appear to be more active and knowledgeable than he actually is, and it allows him to be selective in and funds what “work” he undertakes, like an African “working” safari.
I forgot about Jecca and the Kenya reserve. William spent time on his gap year at the reserve helping out. It must be one of the places he can be himself. William does seem to like helping animals. It shows a sensitive side.
A couple of things I’ve picked up about Grenfell this week. Excuse me for going off topic, but it is in Kensington, Kate’s back yard.
There is to be a service at St Paul’s in December, I really hope she goes to that.
A doctor has said that he has treated 200 people with ptsd following the fire. Isn’t this where Kate should be getting involved through her charities. At least 20 have attempted suicide ….come on Will you said male suicide was a key interest for you.
The good news… all survivors are to be offered British citizenship where it is not clear if they had this. This enables them to access help more easily..nhs, housing etc.
Truly heartbreaking What a horror these people lived through during the fire and the aftermath is so traumatic, too. One can only wish them well. Also, one would hope that with the Royal interest in mental health, as you said, Birdy, this would be a cause they would take on with gusto. I hope Kate goes to the service at St. Paul’s. I hope the survivors find peace and help. Comfort, too. They are in for a hard time, but with good care and help from professionals, hopefully, they will move forward and be able to endure in positive ways. Knowing that others care about them will surely help. If the Royals got more involved, it would mean something, for certain.
Fantastic news that those needing citizenship to access services will get it. Being pragmatic, these people need safe and stable housing, intense psychological help and assurances that they will get whatever they need for as long as they need it. The fire was negligence; those who suffered deserve every service they need to get back on their feet.
That said, I’m not sure what a 30-60 minute visit from Kate actually does for them. If she had been a rolll-your-sleeves-up-and-get-stuck-in type of woman, I’d agree that Kate’s presence would bring a level of comfort. She hasn’t rocked up so far, and it is her choice to do so should she wish. After six years of dragging her wedges in the job, and further years prior just holidaying and shopping, it’s unlikely.
Patronages have been chosen for Kate but there seems no enthusiasm beyond being a passive guest every now and then, and using them as props for personal PR. Fun visits that interest her personally aside, of course. The mental health initiative, as we since discovered, was just meant to be a short-term stint for the younger royals rather than a long-term commitment; they decided to continue because they garnered good press. Not exactly a good reason!
Kate showing up to see her neighbours would likely be a morale boost for them to show they haven’t been forgotten. It’s true Kate doesn’t actually provide any real help for any of the charities, her appearances are supposed to boost attention for the charities, which no one has really proven that it does in fact do that, but even accepting that premise, it would be of more value for her to visit them than to attend another movie premiere or an elite sport like tennis. She rarely is seen with the plebs.
skinny jeans boots and that blue blazer, screams high school teenage yrs or running errands to the grocery store, not professional for a royal madam!!