84 thoughts on “Princess Leonore turns 3”

1. That first balloon pic is absolutely adorable.

2. It’s nice to have the photos released; Leonore looks to be a happy, loved and contented child. She looks utterly charming.

   I don’t think you can apply ‘normal’ maternity leave arrangements to those who are in the royal game, any more than you can expect their ‘work’ to bear much semblance to what ‘normal’ people do. Royalty is a massive PR exercise and the extent of privileges are well-hidden; why pretend otherwise? The royals get into trouble when they try to ‘relate’ to the average person by assuming the pose of normal conventions, such as work and leave (maternity or holiday) because they end up looking like hypocrites.

   In Victoria’s case, it would have been more upfront to announce extended leave of whatever variety than expect Swedes not to notice. If she and Daniel are entitled to, or have arranged to be absent from duties, there should be no problem. I am sure they are sensitive to living in a country where the existence of royalty is under scrutiny so there’s even more reason to be transparent. I guess it depends on what Swedes expect of their royalty.

   KMR, I agree that Kate and William would not have fared well under such a scenario at this point in time. But let’s remember that after marriage Kate did absolutely nothing for a very long period of time because she was ‘adjusting’ to royal life; she was granted a free pass for a good year by the public. The reason why this would not work now is that both she and William have well and truly squandered the goodwill of the British people. They are no longer trusted because they have not lived up to the promise they, or the palace PR, gave to the UK.

   1. I agree wholeheartedly with you Jen.

   2. It is incorrect to say that Kate did “absolutely nothing” for a long period of time after her marriage. She did 34 engagements over 26 days in 2011, and 111 engagements over 63 days in 2012. It is less than people expected and less than people wanted, but it’s not “absolutely nothing”. And while the quality and substance of those engagements leaves a lot to be desired, she still did those engagements.

      Other than her birthday, Victoria takes all of July off every single year, and a good chunk of August off. Plus a month from the end of December to the middle of January. That’s normal for her. She takes a good amount of time off every year (equivalent to Kate’s Summer off and New Years off that she normally takes). And while Victoria does work more than Kate, it’s not a whole lot more. Her engagements may have more substance, and she may do a larger percentage of the overall total Royal Family engagements (because there are less engagements and less royals in Sweden than in the UK), but in terms of overall totals it really isn’t that much higher (when going by engagements, in days it’s a good bit higher). Victoria works less than Camilla.

      As far as Kate taking maternity leave, I was not talking about her taking maternity leave now. I was talking about back in 2013 and 2014 when Kate took time off and so many people criticized her for it – myself included. Kate took six weeks or so off from the end of 2013 to mid-February 2014 and so many people were upset about it, but Victoria takes 3 months off now and people aren’t.

      1. + 1

      2. Speaking for most Brits Kate is seen as lazy, workshy and a spendthrift who would rather be shopping or holidaying than attending Royal Engagements and supporting the Royal Family.

         We didn’t arrive at that opinion overnight. It took ten years of being at Williams beck and call and then six years of marriage where she’s underperformed two nonogenearians. She squandered the enormous goodwill generated by her wedding and the birth of her two children. One of the main reasons for not trusting her is we know she lies to get out of doing what she doesn’t want to do and she’s very secretive about what she’s doing.

         If CP Victoria was British and behaved like that I would give her a verbal excoriating for that behaviour too. But as I’m not a Swedish citizen, don’t pay my taxes there, don’t have a massive opinion on what constitutes value for money in Swedish Royalty, and am no expert in Swedish court etiquette I don’t profess to have much of an opinion on how CP Victoria spends her time nor do I think I should.

         What I will tell you is that I won’t accept any of my Royal Family coasting on my pound and not giving value for money to the taxpayers in this country. And lets be frank up until this year Kate has had almost three month breaks not including maternity leave every Christmas. It’s what’s help contribute to her reputation of being lazy, unmotivated and workshy.

         1. Perfectly said, Mrs BBV.

            Checking the Republic booklet, their claim is that the Swedish HoS costs Swedes 15 million pounds per year vs a third of a billion pounds per year (including security) for the UK royals.

         2. I know that the opinion of Kate did not develop overnight, and I’m not defending the negative opinion of Kate since I write a blog about how poorly she does her job. But it is incorrect to say that Kate did absolutely nothing in the first year of her marriage. It is also incorrect to say Kate takes 3 months off around the new year. In 2014 and 2016 she took about two months off between her last December engagement to her first February engagement, and in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017 she did engagements in January (taking about a month or six weeks off).

            PS. I’m not trying to excuse Kate’s poor performance or how much time off she takes, I’m trying to say that I think no royal woman really needs to take extended leave because none of them work that hard and all of them are funded by the public.

            1. I so agree with you assessment of royals and maternity leave/extended leave.
               To me leave is for those that are actually working full time jobs and need that time. Royal engagements don’t last that long and most parents I know actually want to escape for an hour or two.
               I’m not saying they don’t deserve time with their family but I think it’s a slap in the face to those that actually need it and are working full time.
               Is Estelle not in school? Is she not 5? Most 5 yrs I know are in some sort of school.
               I like Victoria but this 2 months off seems so unlike her. I hate to conspiracy theorist but hope all is well.

            2. Princess Estelle will be 5 in 2 days. Perhaps she has not started Kinder.

               I’m glad they said something, I was starting to think perhaps either her or Daniel were ill.

         3. I feel like I’m turning into that poster who was always on a boat, can’t remember her name, but she said she was always writing to BP, KP & SJP about Royals not performing and giving value for money.

            If this relative good start to the year turns into a pacifier to screw the GBP over later in the year I will be writing some very strongly worded complaints to HM and PoW about the work ethic of his eldest son and his wife. And they don’t want to be upsetting people like me. People like me are the backbone of Royal support in this country and lose us you might as well have no Monarchy at all.

            1. Oh that was wildrose. I miss her.

            2. I miss wild rose too. She does post occasionally on DM and is her inimitable feisty self.

            3. I am loving your posts, Mrs. BBV, and totally cheering you on! As a US citizen, I don’t have anything but a hobby-like interest in the BRF because of the tradition, history and beautiful pomp and circumstance they embody. I am so disappointed in William, Kate and Harry, especially the disgraceful displays of Kate with her inappropriate decorum, dress, hair and speech. I have given up on her ever coming up to scratch.

            4. Mrs BBV, I applaud your valiant posts re: W&KM. The world needs your voice.

            5. Mrs BBV, I always learn something interesting from you. I love your point of view.

            6. Thank you Rhiannon, Indiana, Bama. **Blushes**. I do get very emotional about my RF because it means so much to me. Woebetide which ever members of the family that bring the Monarchy into disrepute because I will it to succeed but I won’t take passengers.

            7. Thank you for your comments Mrs BBV.

               I, personally, am surprised with Victoria taking this amount of time off. She is a hard worker and certainly seems very passionate about promoting Sweden so maybe there is another reason why she is having this quiet time away from the public eye? Let’s not forget that she has a husband with a transplant and as we know from Kimothy (*waves Hi to Kimothy*) that life with a transplant can have hiccups along the way. Plus Victoria has to deal with her face blindness and dyslexia too. I’m inclined to give her some leeway.

               As for Kate? I feel I’ve given as much as I can, she’s told us how she had a sweet life growing up, and she is “cared for” now. IMO, I feel it’s time for Kate to “earn her keep”.

               Victoria may take time out too but when she is on the job she is a professional yet, I feel, Kate is still “playing” at being a princess.

      3. You’re making a good case for de-funding all of them.

         1. Or at least slashing the funding for all of them. All royals are way overpriced for what they actually achieve in terms of working for their keep.

            1. +1

            2. Very true.

            3. +3

         2. Agree, Jen. They give nothing of value for the massive amount of resources put towards maintaining their upkeep.

            W&KM can barely manage to contain their contempt for work or the people who fund them. Every one of their work situations is really a prop that dozens of other people have worked very hard to create. They do so little. And feel very entitled to do so little.

            As for Victoria, she is also very entitled but seems to have some sense of her responsibility and position. Didn’t she ask the Swedes if they would approve her choice of a husband? That shows some relationship with the Swedish people. She also has worked and studied to learn about issues of importance to her country. There is awareness of her position.

            I don’t see anything remotely comparable in W&KM.

            1. Asking your country for permission or approval is such a bold and courageous move and shows such love, devotion and trust in her people. I never knew that but my goodness I would be proud to have her as my Queen for that move alone.

            2. Yes, she did ask the Swedes.

      4. KMR: it’s incorrect to defend any ‘work’ that Kate did in 2011/2012 because most of her 2011tally was the Canadian tour and most of of 2012 was Asian tour and Jubilee events that the entire family had to do.

         She did very little in 2011 to extent that media started writing stories about it which stung the Palace into saying that she was researching her charities and that’s why it was taking so long.

         Finally at the end of 2011, a list of 6 or 7 charities was announced, then nothing.

         Then William went to the Falklands at the beginning of 2012 and the Palace used his abscence as the excuse to push her out of the Palace door. And it felt very much like she had been pushed out of the door.

         In 2012 there were a few articles saying she was a shopaholic as opposed to ‘researching her charities’ per the Palace line.

         Towards the end of 2012, Kate was caught on video telling someone at a BP reception that 2012 had been an incredibly busy year and she was looking forward to relaxing and time off……yet she hadn’t reached 100engagements yet.

         By the end of 2012, her lazy tag was so well established in foreign media and blogs that the Palace created a plan to make her look busier than she was.

         Royal reporters were duly sent out to write articles about how busy Kate was going to be….the start of the annual ‘Kate is going to be so busy this year’ articles that we mock.

         Here is an example of a Palace sanctioned article trying to counter the lazy Kate image already earned. Note article was written in February 2013.
         http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/richard-palmer/379309/Kate-is-not-lazy-She-s-an-asset-to-the-Royal-Family-and-Britain

         This article tells you that they were thinking of adding things like research meetings to the CC to pad her numbers.

         Soon after this article appeared, a story also made the rounds about Kate calling up HM’s office and asking to attend engagements with her.

         A few weeks after that story circulated, Kate, HM and Philip went on a joint engagement to celebrate the London Underground. Kate wasn’t listed in the diary for that engagement and her showing up with HM gave credence to that story.(link to joint engagement below)

         http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2296186/Kate-Middleton-Pregnant-Duchess-Cambridge-laughs-shes-handed-Baby-On-Board-badge.html

         Btw, that set of engagements she was pushed to undertake whilst William was in the Falklands in 2012 was never completed. She had 2 left on the schedule when he returned which were abruptly cancelled with the Palace releasing a curious statement about how stressed she had been by the engagements to extent that her hair was turning grey.

         The next time she was seen in public was in Nottingham with clearly grey roots on the side of her head despite wearing a hat.

         The difference between then and now is that she still had alot of goodwill and was given alot of leeway by the public such that fewer articles about her poor work ethic were written, but they were there. OR the public thought the media wasn’t giving her a chance and were more patient.

         Those years were also the years of the Hacking scandal and the Levenson commission. The media were on the wrong foot and playing nice with everyone, especially the royals. Articles and pictures published innforeign media were never seen in the UK which is why when you research UK media on the royals (WKH) from this timeframe, many articles claim to quote sources in foreign media rather than outright saying they sourced the story themselves.

         As Levenson has turned out not to have a bite, and public goodwill has faded, the media has slowly gone back to it’s old tricks. We are not yet fully loaded, but i’d wager we are at 50% capacity.

         The Palace has retrospectively removed many early articles from the internet, but lots of royal fanblogs copied them and if you have the time, you can read these articles.

         And when WK are truly unpopular, the media will regurgitate them all.

         1. Btw, her engagements in 2011 were so few that it’s possible to remember most of them without googling.

            Of her 34 total, 19 were the Canada tour.

            Of the 15 left, several were the annual family events all members of the family are required to attend during the summer, and joint engagements with William where she was accompanying him because she had no official patronages or charities yet.

         2. You know if BP had put a statement out say three years ago saying Kate was struggling with Royal engagements similar to how Diana struggled with press attention in the early days I would have been 100% supportive of the relative inactivity. It’s the arrogance, the secret squirrel and the feeding the GBP with b*llshit that makes me take a much harsher line with her. The public want her to succeed, it’s the lack of effort and repeated mistakes that’s pissing us off.

            1. For two people to have so much more goodwill thrown and them and then in a matter of years throw it all away says something.
               It’s clear the middletons didn’t raise their children to be altruistic, during the waiting yrs in would have been more beneficial for her to start doing charity work if she wasn’t going to get a job. It could have been a training of sorts. Instead, she did f**k all.
               William has no excuse as he was raised better. He’s just a lazy bitter man.
               Instead of assembling a team that helps them look and act presentable, they’ve assembled some sort of hot mess that lets them get away with doing the absolute bare minimum.

            2. Also remembered that 2012 was also London Olympics and ParaOlympics which contributed to the increased total for Kate for 2012.

               On Kate’s media image regarding work ethic, i went looking through celebitchy’s archives circa 2011-12 and here are afew articles discussing Kate’s lack of work during those early years. ( Celebitchy copies articles which is why their archives still hold the erased articles)

               This was the prevailing view of Kate. As you can see, despite her doing the Canadian tour in July plus some royal family events, gossip media was already labelling her lazy for lack of engagements. So, so many excuses were given as to why she wasn’t a working royal in 2011.

               Sept 2011 alone brought these articles
               http://www.celebitchy.com/183443/duchess_kate_on_her_lack_of_royal_responsibilities_williams_in_charge/

               http://www.celebitchy.com/182673/when_duchess_kate_deigns_to_work_shell_do_it_with_gusto_says_a_royal_source/

               http://www.celebitchy.com/181792/duchess_kate_isnt_a_working_royal_yet_because_she_needs_princess_training/

               http://www.celebitchy.com/187625/duchess_kate_isnt_allowed_to_work_for_a_charity_close_to_her_heart_why/

               And finally in October 2011, her name was added to the masthead of the Royal Foundation.

               http://www.celebitchy.com/184236/duchess_kate_signs_on_to_her_first_charity_its_her_husbands_charity/

               And then TA! RA! January 2012, Kate announces her charities/Patronages. Only 5 were announced which shows how generous i was in my recollection. After a year of doing sod all, she announced just FIVE charities on the grounds that she would do more with them than just photo ops.

               http://www.celebitchy.com/200697/duchess_kate_finally_announces_her_charity_patronages_eight_months_after_wedding/

               …..but then promptly goes on holiday after announcement.
               http://www.celebitchy.com/203990/prince_william_will_join_kate_on_vacation_in_mustique_but_there_are_still_image_problems/

               Finally 0n 9th February 2012, she starts on the previously announced programme of events, starting with the one detailed below.
               http://www.celebitchy.com/207460/duchess_kate_wears_grey_to_preview_a_lucien_freud_exhibit_lovely_appropriate/

            3. As always, Mrs. BBV, you summed this up so well!!!!!

         3. +100 Herazeus!
            I lived in Nottingham in 2012 and I remember Kate’s engagement there.The people loved her. People had forgotten all the “waity kaity” articles about her being workshy and attributed her low appearances to the fact that she needed time to enjoy her marriage and she needed to take her time adjusting unlike previous royal wives who suffered from the pressure of doing so many engagement so soon.

         4. I fail to see how it is incorrect to provide true facts to disprove a false fact. In fact, I would go so far as to say that, in my opinion, it is never incorrect to provide true facts to disprove false facts.

            No matter what our opinion on the true fact, Kate did 34 engagements in 2011 and 111 engagements in 2012. It is a false fact to claim that Kate did “absolutely nothing” in her first years of marriage.

            You are stating an opinion on those true facts. Opinions on true facts can be debated. However, I’m not debating the opinion that Kate is lazy and did not do as much as everyone expected and wanted, and when she did do stuff she did it rather poorly. I’ve expressed that opinion on multiple occasions. I created an entire blog based on that opinion.

            Providing true facts about the amount of work Kate did in her first years of marriage does not negate my opinion on those true facts. In fact, it doesn’t provide any opinion on those true facts. It is just stating true facts – which, in my opinion, is never incorrect.

   3. +1

   4. Kate did nothing? In terms of numbers: no. In terms of impact: on the fashion industry…yes. In terms of causes: let me think….

3. Happy birthday Leonore! Leonore and my daughter were born on the same day so her birthday is my favourite royal birthday.

   I agree KMR that there is bias between Victoria and KM taking leave. But I don’t think you can compare it to normal women. A part time worker earns less and would be fired if they were slacking. KM is on the public purse, promised a mountain via the KP press office about “hitting the ground running”, “the most ready royal girlfriend” etc. and failed to deliver. The bias unfortunately came about because of her inaction and can only be remedied by a consistent period of showing up to engagements prepared. Even when she shows up now, she gives the same quote, hardly ever gives a speech and just doesn’t seem comfortable. I’m still rooting for her to keep trying and to succeed. We’ve all faced challenges at work that we’ve had to work on. It’s part of growing up. She has to stop hiding and try. This is the role she chose.

   1. Happy birthday to your daughter, EL!

      1. Thanks!

   2. Happy Birthday to your daughter!

      1. Thank you!

   3. Happy Birthday to little Leonore. I think she is darling and worthy of smiles from all.

      I expect a bashing session when I admit that I think she looked beautiful in that blush pink! And, Leonore with the balloons? Awesome. She really is an animated and special little girl.

      As for the comments about Victoria taking a long leave from her duties I too wondered if something might be wrong. As posted already, Daniel’s health is always a slight cocern after the transplant, even though, he apparently has done well.

      When I criticize Kate, I never say that she doesn’t do anything. I know she does attend engagements and has taken on some important causes. However, if you put Victoria’s appearances and speeches side by side with Kate’s, I think it’s easy to see who knows her subject matters, who speaks eloquently, and who is truly working very, very hard. OF course, she is the future Queen of her country, and Kate is married to the future King . I don’t like can be critical of Kate, but I think she often gives many of us plenty of ammunition to do so. I know I praise her when I think she does good work. But, I also seem to agree with posters who say that the bar is really low when it comes to Kate. I hope she continues to work, work, work and research her appearances, take public speaking classes, and work hard on her posture and small talk. People want a bright, engaged, sparkling Duchess. Someone who makes her countrymen proud.

4. Hmmm – well from what I see the Royals in Sweden have a much lower profile than in the uK – no issue with that – but the UK tax payer is up for a lot of money for Chopper and Chutney – if they don’t want to be part of it then perhaps “retire” from public life

5. By the way, this post is not me saying Kate should get leeway in terms of not stepping up. This post is me saying Victoria should get criticism for her extended leave, too. I think outside of the first few months after the birth, royals shouldn’t take extended leave (unless there is a medical reason). Because you guys are right, it is not comparable to average women. The royals work less than what is normally considered part time, and have staff to take care of their house and children. There is a huge difference between an average woman deciding to be a stay at home mom and a royal deciding to be a stay at home mom. The royals are on the public dime, their work is not hard, there is no reason for them to take extended leave. Even if they work 500 hours a year (which none of the women we follow here do), they would still have a ridiculous amount of time to spend with their kids (about 5,340 waking hours, or about 14.6 hours a day, if they sleep 8 hours a night). And for how much money gets spent on them, the least they can do is get out there for 500 hours a year (which, again, none of the women we follow here do).

   ETA: The royals are completely different from average women because the royals are funded by the taxpayer. If an average woman chooses to be a stay at home mom and can afford to do so, then do whatever you want because that’s none of my business.

   1. I think you are comparing apples to oranges. The Swedes seem to be perfectly happy with Victoria working less. The Brits are not. Why would you apply the Brit standard to the Swedes? The BRF takes far far more wealth from the British taxpayer than the Swedes do.
      There is simply no equivalence and makes no sense whatsoever to hold them to the same standard.

      It seems to me that the real point you are making is that the monarchy is a sh*** deal for the taxpayer. And I agree with you there. None of the royals work hard, they get ridiculous perks. It is absolutely befuddling that people actually sign up to hand over their money to these people.

      1. What Maia said.

         It’s often forgotten that different countries have different rules and levels of tax payer funded monies and how that can be viewed as worth giving the royal.

         On a level playing field, you can compare all these women that we follow, but it’s not the same level playing field and is therefore incomparable beyond the fact that they are royal women who are taxpayer funded.

         Whether or not the taxpayers of their countries feel they are value for money is upto those taxpayers because the system that funds royals in these countries is different for each country and expectations are different in each country.

         1. The simplest analogy I have is that Prince Albert of Monaco is in his own private wealth a billionaire and therefore Charlene can afford to be dressed in Haute Couture where as Queen Letizia is from Europe’s poorest Royal Family and therefore dresses in relatively inexpensive designers and high end high street. The Monegasque public would be appalled if Charlene started wearing High Street (of course they would they’re all squillionaires in Monaco) and the Spanish public would revolt in Queen Letizia was dressed in Haute couture. Each Monarchy in the sum of it’s very differing parts and there is no one size fits all in European Monarchy.

      2. If here is no equivalence between various royal houses, then why do so many people negatively compare Kate to various women from various royal houses? I’m fine with not comparing women from various royal houses, but then we have to do that all the time not just when it suits us.

         1. On that point you are right, but we can compare if we understand what the differences are.

            As an example, British royals tend to average 300 engagements a year, irrespective of the quality of said engagements.

            Kate (and William and Harry)’s numbers have never reached half that total. A hardworking year is where she averages a third of that total which is still low numbers.

            If as an example Victoria is expected to average 100 engagements a year, and she hits that mark every year, then we can say that Victoria is working per the requirement of her royal house.

            You could argue that it is unfair that Victoria might be expected to work just 100 times whilst Kate is expected to work 300 times, but the difference is that the BRF has always had a bigger volume of work, partly due to empire and all those realms still a part of the UK whilst Victoria serves only Sweden with it’s comparably tiny population and interests. The British have come to expect that level of work rather than the low numbers currently done by Kate (and WH).

            Further, Victoria’s 100 engagements appear to have much more substance even where they are completely superficial vs Kate’s engagements that are so shallow they give depths to superficiality.

            In both scenerios the comparison would be whether the women satisfy the expecations of their royal houses. And whether there was any substance to their work. Kinda like your ongoing disappointment with the HT initiative as defined by WHK.

            We would never randomly view a royal woman negatively without taking into consideration the circumstances that govern the royal house they belong to.

            If we judged them the same, then Masako would be the laziest of them all.

6. What an enchanting little girl! So pretty!
   I think it’s the entitlement attitude of Wills and Kate that turn people off, along with their poor work ethic which is part of the entitlement.
   Victoria works and puts an effort and substance towards it. The people know when she’s working and when she’s off. She wants to do her duties and takes pride in it. She’s not constantly trying to dodge the responsibilities and planting hedges so people won’t see her! leaving everyone to guess if she will bother to show up or not. Therefore, the time off doesn’t seem like another attempt to dodge working. Kate has always tried to do as little as possible, not so with Victoria. So I believe it’s all in the attitude. That may sound harsh, but I think they are night and day with Victoria and Kate, even with Victoria taking a lot of time off. my opinion.
   Is Kate going to show up for St Patrick’s Day this year?

   1. Neither Kate’s nor William’s involvement with the St. Patrick’s Day Irish Guard parade has been announced. With the exception of bigger engagements/tours/engagements with the Queen, their engagements are usually announced 1-2 weeks ahead of time. If either or both of them are going to go, then we won’t know for sure until the first week or thereabouts of March. So still a couple more weeks before we know for sure if they are going to that.

      1. Is that the standard for all royals? Just wondering if KP is disorganized and responding to the complaints of W and K being lazy, or if this is protocol for Anne and Charles as well.

      2. I doubt that Kate will attend St. Patricks with the Paris trip taking place on 17th March.

         How taxpayers give so much money to royal families is beyond me. I’m sure it will change one day and W&K might get a surprise.

7. Leonore is such a pretty and spirited little girl. I hope she keeps her sense of self and adventure. I love to see her in action.

   I understand why CP gets a pass versus Kate. While they don’t work under “normal” circumstances, their difference in work ethic is glaring. I always looked at Vic as a worker. An empathetic and compassionate person. Kate just shows up and poses and leaves. I wouldn’t begrudge her if she gave back to those she takes from. I understand that the ROI on a royal is had, but if I had to choose, I would say Vic’s is higher.

   Thanks for the review of our favorite squirmy Princess!

   1. Too bad there is no video. Leonore in action is the best.

      1. I will admit that she is the one to watch during any Swedish event. When she performed her first event and ran in that field…It was just adorable.

8. Happy Birthday, Leonore.

9. On German television people talked about king Carl Gustaf. They said he might abdicate and Victoria might become queen rather sooner than later. That could be why she spends as much time as possible with her family now.

10. Great pictures of Leonore. It’s lovely to see her grow up.
    I wish there were better pictures of G & C like the Swedish royals put out. There seems to be such a difference in attitude towards the public they serve, which may account for our difference in attitudes to Victoria and Kate.

    1. Fifi, I agree that the difference in the photos between the Swedish and British RF children’s pics is striking. The Swedish photos use light brilliantly and have a minimalist approach that emphasizes the child’s personality. W&KM photoshop the life out of their photos. And the fussy, fill in every inch of their photos with extra details comes off as gothic which leaves me feeling uneasy. So much effort in every photo to convince people they are a perfect family.

       1. +1

          Though last year there were much more photos of George and Charlotte. I always think that the photos of those two are more staged and less expressive. The Swedish children have lovely expressions that you can’t replicate.

       2. It’s really interesting that you find Kate’s photos of her kids both gothic AND posed because that is possibly the only time we see her use her degree dissertation which was on the photographic interpretation of children by Lewis Carol.

          A link to some of his work:
          https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=lewis+carroll+photography&client=tablet-android-samsung&biw=768&bih=1024&prmd=ivsn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwm5Dv2p_SAhVrJcAKHaoHCoIQ_AUIBygB

          1. Thanks!

             The birthday pic of George and the dog seems to mirror Carroll’s esthetic. And the pics outside the church at Charlotte’s christening. Also the Annie Leibovitz photo of Queen E and her grand and great grandchildren.

11. Happy Birthday Leonore. I really come to like Leonore. Such a free spirited child and so adorable. I like her positive body language and you can see she loves those balloons.

    1. and happy birthday to all those born today.

12. Happy Birthday to Princess Leonore and all those who celebrate their birthday today!
    There is a double standard where CP Victoria and Duchess of Cambridge are concerned.Here’s why it exists according to my observations:
    Victoria is more liked than Catherine which is not the same as being more popular.People are more sympathetic to Victoria.Anyway,comparing Victoria and Catherine is unjust because both are from very different backgrounds and hold different status.At the end of the day constituitional monarchies rely on public approval.The Swedes aren’t complaining about Victoria, but in Catherine’s case the British were complaining.Also,I believe that the masses were irritated with the sugary over coverage of Catherine and took out their anger at Catherine.Economic conditions and jealousy also contribute to some of the criticism directed at the Duchess.

13. Lenore is one of my favorite little royals! Love her spunk and that her parents let her have it.
    I know we’ve all said it before but the swedes have seemed to find a good balance with their kids and public/private life.
    I think of William and Kate at Christmas, kids in tow but no diaper bag and then I think of one of a christening pic of Nicholas playing with his toothbrush. Says it all

14. Chris will be so happy to step up in his royal duties. x) Poor boy.
    Oh, not to forget: Happy third Birthday to Leonore. That she will learn swedish fast and to calm herself if needed 🙂

15. Happy Birthday to Leonore! I always love to hear about Madeleine and her family, they’re so cute.

    For Victoria, I follow some royal blogs on tumblr and a lot of them think this is very unusual for Victoria, so they’re wondering if something else is going on. Especially since she’s missing a state visit and Madeleine and Chris are stepping in. That’s very unlike her. The ideas may be a little out there, but some were wondering about health concerns for her or Daniel and others were thinking that the King might be abdicating soon and she wanted more time off before she gets a lot busier as Queen. Of course it could just be a long vacation, so it’ll be interesting to see if she says anything at her first engagement.

    1. In the last six year, Victoria has never gone this long without an engagement. Even after Estelle was born. So yeah something may be up.

       Although now the Crown Princess Family photos that were released at the beginning of Feb makes sense. It didn’t make sense to me that they would release those photos so close to Estelle’s birthday. But now they make sense. They were to deflect from criticism of Victoria taking so much time off.

    2. Whenever people say ‘something is up’ regarding Victoria and Daniel, my first thought is always his health rather than her potentially taking up the top job.

       He had serious health issues. Not sure if those are in the past or ongoing, but they were serious enough to radically alter his appearance.

       So when they appear to be doing sometuing squirrelly, i worry that something is up with Daniel.

       1. Daniel did several engagements in January.

    3. I was thinking health concerns too but now I’m wondering if she might have taken time off to prepare perhaps if her father abdicates. They released photos today of Estelle.

16. I wonder if the differences in reaction to CP Victoria taking this much time off versus Kate taking time off is that the older BRF members are known for being hard workers, almost always out working the younger members, while I don’t believe the SRF is known for their many engagements. What I mean is the BRF is known, because of the Queen, PC and Anne, for carrying out several thousand engagements every year. It’s also widely known that the Queen only has 2 “days off” per year, days when she doesn’t even open her red box. While I’m not suggesting that the SRF are lazy but I don’t believe that their royal family is set up in such a way to reach any where near those numbers. So Kate married into a family that believes in hard work and fulfilling many engagements each year, and in comparison her numbers are dismal, while in Victoria’s family her numbers might possibly be right on track with the King and Queen or what is expected from the heir.

17. Dear Leonore, you are one mischievous, bright, sunny, happy little child. I wish you all the best and I hope you stay just the way you are….because you are fabulous! Love, Greta

18. Here’s an observation. I think Kate suffers from social anxiety and I think it got a lot worse after Charlottes birth. She’s thinner than after the birth of George and only recently has been attending more solo engagements. I think she’s been receiving treatment over time of some kind which is getting her back on her feet. She is married to a man who is distrustful of the press and public which would make any anxiety she may have worse. This may be why they’ve focused on MH issues as they can “relate.” You truly never know what goes on behind closed doors, but I see similarities to members of my own family and I work in the MH field. It’s just my own observation. I’m not defending the amount of tax payer $ spent by the Cambridges for their “job.” I think they have plenty of their own money to buy their own clothes etc. Frankly I think it’s ridiculous to spend tax payers $ on clothes they can pay for themselves. But I think there’s more to the story of why she seems disconnected to the people she greets and why her engagements, especially the solo ones, are far and few between.

    1. The Middletons truly live in their own world.

19. This is an interesting read. Suggests that the press are holding off on some criticism but won’t be for much longer. And assumes there will bea third child.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/19/why-william-and-kate-have-a-royal-work-problem.html

    1. So one has to wonder then why the Queen or POW haven’t pushed W&K to do more, considering their expenses are still being covered. Unless POW doesn’t want to be over shadowed (a la Diana) or they know something we don’t. Again I don’t support the enormous amt of $ spent on hair and clothing when they are worth millions in their own right. that’s simply disrespectful. I agree with everyone in that. I just think it’s not as simple as they’re lazy. There is something else going on behind the scenes. MH issues, control issues, etc.

20. Happy Birthday to Leonore!

    I do like the way Maddie is managing her children’s public profile by releasing new photos every now and again on Facebook. She knows people are interested and want to see the kids as they grow. This is a clever lady and I hope it means she will be left alone by the paps.

    As many have said before, it’s a pity other parents haven’t learnt the same lesson?

21. Happy birthday to you Princess Leonore! I can’t believe you are already 3. Wow. I hope we always get to see a bit of your amazing personality. I can’t stop liking Maddie (and Victoria) for sharing with the world their loved ones.

    Adorable pictures.

22. Happy Birthday to Leonore, who has captured hearts worldwide! Love her with the balloons. If she were outside, I could imagine a gust of wind lifting her – and them — off for a fun adventure! She’s love it, that’s for sure! Such a spirited and darling child. I hope life continues to be good for her and her family!!

23. She is such a darling child, but oh my, sometimes I really feel for Madeleine and Chris. Someone mentioned her first official visit to Götland and I seem to remember Madeleine saying that they had to bring her back continually to where she needed the be. It’s endearing for all of us but can be exhausting as a parent. It reminds me of the book Olivia; at the end, as she’s reading her bedtime stories, the mama pig says, “You know, Olivia, you really wear me out but I love you anyway.” I love how Madeleine approaches it though in always finding a positive spin. I love that here she says, “You make us smile every day.” Because in all of it she probably does make them smile and laugh every day.

24. These photos are lovely in their composition and Leonore is a beauty like her mom! I love how the photos don’t look too posed and she’s doing kiddie stuff like running with a balloon! I also love that she seems impatient in the solo posed picture, like she’d rather rather run off right now!

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