Kate Middleton hosted Heads Together runners outside of Kensington Palace yesterday, April 19, to wish them luck with preparing for the London Marathon, which is on Sunday.
[Kensington Palace @KensingtonRoyal]
Kate spoke to the Team Heads Together runners about their reasons for running the London Marathon for Heads Together, and ended up praising Prince Harry for his recent interview about his own mental health struggles and mentioning the “mixed emotions” that come with first time motherhood.
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“Asked about Prince Harry’s candid interview, in which he spoke of having counselling to come to terms with his mother’s death, [Kate] said: ‘We all felt there was very much a campaign to get everyone talking and have these conversations. We’ve got to do the same, you know, so he’s been brilliant.’
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“Jamie Moloy, a headteacher, told the Duchess at the event: ‘What I love is your brother-in-law talking the other day, because that’s just ignited it’. He added Prince Harry was now a ‘real hero to a lot of people’. ‘Absolutely,’ the Duchess replied.
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“The Duchess, mother to Prince George and Princess Charlotte, also met Kiss FM’s Neev Spencer, who suffered post natal depression after the birth of her daughter, Genevieve, now nine months. She told the radio DJ: ‘Nothing can prepare you for motherhood – especially the first time round, the mixed emotions.’
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“The Duchess, 35, also had an inspirational message for eight-year-old Bella Rodway, telling her to deliver the Heads Together message to her pals. She told Bella: ‘Do you talk about your feelings to anyone? You need to lead the way with your friends. Even if you are not feeling good or worried about stuff.'”
Part of the engagement included revealing 1 of 70 Royal Mail post boxes on the London Marathon route which will be wrapped with a Heads Together headband. Several other London landmarks will also feature Heads Together headbands. Every runner will also receive a HT headband. They are really going all out with the headband thing.
The London Marathon also annouced what role the royals will have on Sunday.
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“Runners in the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon will be given a Royal send-off on Sunday 23 April when The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will be the event’s official race starters, along with double Olympic rowing gold medallists Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.
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“The three Royals will push a giant red button at exactly 10:00 to send 35 elite men and more than 39,000 mass race runners on their 26.2-mile journey from Shooters Hill in south east London to Westminster.
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“Earlier, Glover and Stanning, who won the women’s coxless pairs gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, will start the seven World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup races for wheelchair and ambulant athletes, and the elite women’s race featuring many of the best marathon runners in the world.”
Here’s where I can’t help myself making a joke that only William and Harry will push the giant red button because Kate can’t push buttons.
This event was held outside and the runners were all dressed in their HT gear, so Kate dressed down in a new striped top and skinny jeans.
I have not been a fan of Kate’s past striped tops, but this new one from Luisa Spagnoli I actually like. It’s the “Muvi Pullover” and it costs $280. Kate’s colorway isn’t available, but I would totally buy the yellow if it weren’t $280. I just can’t bring myself to spend $280 on a sweater.
Kate also wore her Superga Cotu sneakers, navy skinny jeans, and her Kiki McDonough Citrine Drop earrings.
Also, Kate is wearing a mic on her collar and mic-pack in her back pocket. Not sure why she was wearing a mic, but because of it you can hear her really well in the video from the event – you can find the video here, as of time of posting it’s the first one.
I totally want the yellow sweater as well but $280 is way to much for a basic striped top. I actuary prefer the yellow to Kate’s, though hers is nice as well.
Right? I would love to own that yellow sweater. But I just can’t bring myself to spend that much money on a sweater.
I have a hard enough time spending that much on boots which last longer. But no sweater is worth almost 300 dollars. Shame too because that sunny yellow with the different stripes throughout is too cute. Lol, this is when I really wish I had Kate’s budget and didn’t have to think about finances/bills. If I liked something I could buy it. Stupid bills always get in the way 😉
I would only spend that much on a sweater if I had a gift card! Haha. I do like it, but how many striped tops does a girl have to have?!
The yellow is so gorgeous and would look beautiful on Kate.
And on me. 😉
And on me.Ha!:)
We can start a KMR fund. A charity, so to speak, where we donate and can buy cute expensive clothes for one another. Or like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, share cute striped shirts!
Kidding. 🙂
That would be great!
And for such an important cause x)
I wanna join! It is so hard to find nice shoes when you have incredibly small feet (size 1 in US kids and I wish I was kidding). Also, being 4’9″ doesn’t help either.
P.S. I *do* like this color on Kate because jewel tones flatter her.
Kimothy! I’m only two inches taller than you and I wear a kid’s 3-3.5! Sometimes I can wear an adult 5. We can trade clothes for sure! lol
Gah!!! What size are you in clothes? I’m a size 8-10 in bottoms (boo to my bottom getting bigger but I **am** trying) and M or L in tops (depends on the design and whatnot plus, my girls aren’t small hahaha!). 😉
I found some fantastic shoes (even heels!) on zappos.com but holy crapazoid, they are expensive!!
I too like Kate’s outfit here. I don’t mind spending that amount on piece if I know I’ll get a lot of wear out of it and I think it’ll last.
I don’t mind that it’s another strip top Kate has becuase it’s not her standard cream/white and blue
I wanna join! It is so hard to find nice shoes when you have incredibly small feet (size 1 in US kids and I wish I was kidding). Also, being 4’9″ doesn’t help either. 😉
P.S. I *do* like this color on Kate because jewel tones flatter her.
Is Kate wearing a brighter color of lipstick? Maybe this event will be part of an upcoming promo/documentary/commercial featuring her and the runners that’s there’s a mic? Or someone complained that she was too hard to understand even when you talk to her face-to-face that’s why they had her wear one? Lol jk
Yes, Kate does seem to be wearing a different, ore rich color lipstick. I’m assuming she was either filming a video message beforehand or filming this event for future use, but it hasn’t been specified.
Did anyone see the video on The Daily Mail? Kate really struggled to look interested in what a woman was saying to her. It made her look like she was having face spasms.
I saw Darling. Kate really tries hard. OMG Kate, just don’t listen to, feel it.
Kate looked impatient as if she was wanting that woman to hurry up and finish talking so she could move on.
Oops. Maybe she’s just now realizing that when people are encouraged to speak about their feelings, others have to listen. With a bit of luck, she’ll be spurred on to release funds to the listening charities.
I applaud Harry for being so direct and probably helping a lot of men, in particular, focus on dealing with anger and grief. William also alluded to his grief. Kate probably wants to show that she isn’t a perfect mum, in spite of the images, although I’m not quite sure what she means about “mixed emotions ” – that summarises my life! Credit for getting involved though.
I’ve not had kids, but I have suffered from depression for 20 years, so I can imagine the different emotions I would be experiencing if I had a kid. Especially since there is such a stigma around women who aren’t ecstatic about their baby. So if you feel any sort of depression then you think you’re not supposed to be feeling that way and then it only makes the depression worse.
Maybe she was alluding to postpartum depression? Or just feeling exhausted dealing with a newborn?
Possibly one or the other. Your hormones go a bit crazy. I remember feeling absolutely elated after the birth of my son, but also shattered.
I have never had a child either. I could not imagine hating a baby. I think it is more disinterest and babies have different personalities anyway. I saw a video where the hormone Oxytocin floods in the mother when she gives birth which helps the mother bond with the baby. I think there must be relief or happiness. I think having a baby and going through that birthing process is an individual experience. I do like hearing Kate’s thoughts on it. I just wish Kate would elaborate a bit more.
In terms of science, that hormone floods the mother for 2 reasons; one to bond with baby and two to induce a type of birth amnesia that allows for more babies to be born.
The birth amnesia doesn’t entirely remove memory of trauma of birth, but it removes the memory of the sting of it such that mother doesn’t develop phobia of childbirth and can have more children.
The hate of baby is a natural reaction. It doesn’t make the hating mother horrible. Some women simply lack the maternal gene. Or perhaps not enough hormone floods their bodies to create a bond. It happens in the animal kingdom too. Except in that scenerio, mother often kills baby.
The fathers are the ones who face a bigger challenge in loving their babies. There is no befuddling hormone to create an instant bond.
Fathers have to manufacture a bond. Like loving a puppy.
I think a lot of new borns will initially look like the father which helps them bond and in older times help say yep, this kid is mine. Then as they get a little older their looks change into whatever it’s going to be.
I lack the maternal gene and when I hear my sister saying that she has to do all these things because of judgy mommy groups I laugh and say talk to ya when I get back from my next trip! ?
Thank you Herazeus, for the fuller scientific explanation. I don’t think hate is wrong. It is just acting on that hate that is wrong. I know that during labour the mum must listen to the midwife very carefully. And get your support partner to ask questions beyond do you want some tea?Vasspoarin is the male equivalent. The protecting bit. That is why courtship is important before the baby.
@Herazeus – this isn’t scientific, more of an old wives tale I’ve always heard, but the theory is that the “New Mom Smell” (like the baby smell) is what hooks the Dad in to make the bond with the baby and the mom. I used to think it was silly talk until different friends on separate occasions brought up how their husbands were all very cuddly with them right after they gave birth. Food for thought, even if it isn’t researched well yet.
For personal reasons I find that sad. I know from friends that they love their children unconditionally. I think that is the best innocent love.
I wonder if she’s also referring to the difference between what people expect their lives will be like after the birth of a child (or a wedding, for that matter)and the reality. Mixed emotions could refer to the love she has for the child vs the disappointment in the difficulty of getting her body back (remember, Will commented on how much weight she still had to lose when G was 5 or so weeks old) or how becoming a mother affected her marriage. She would not be the first parent to be surprised at how a newborn affected other areas of her life.
Hi Graymatters, also the dream of a calm, quiet baby versus the reality of a screaming colicky baby can really be difficult for a new parent to handle, coupled with a lack of sleep and the desperation of trying to help your new little one can really throw one for a loop.
My sister in law was talking to me about that expectation, Queen Lauri. I just listened and I think that was the best thing to do. It is magazines and tv shows that show that baby bliss before and after the baby. I don’t think it is a reflection on the mother but society. The Angel in the house idea.
N.b If you don’t have a colicky baby how would you know how to cope, and more importantly treating the baby.
I don’t remember him making that comment. If he did, was it along the lines of his comment about her nightmare hair? Something that fans say she keeps long because he likes it that way, but here he was making negative comments about it. William being his typical negative self, making a negative comment about someone else because he cannot think of anything else to say? Or was he parroting what he was hearing constantly from her, that she felt she needed to lose more weight quickly?
It was around the time she came out for the race around Anglesey. Someone said how great she looks and W said she still needed to lose 20 lbs. It was a comment in a video, but wasn’t reported on.
And yes, the contrast of the manageable baby you might expect from reading parenting guides and listening to your mother with the reality of a colicky, ever-hungry baby can cause a new mom to question her worth.
My baby is seven months old now and I remember those mixed emotions very well. I went from over the top happy, to missing my old life, to being angry at my husband because he could go to work, to being happy again when my baby smiled at me. And I can only imagine how much worse it is for women who have a more demanding baby or even suffer from postpartum depression. I only wish Kate’s comments would go deeper and tell us more about how she felt at that time.
Keep in mind most of us are not afforded the same care – she have all sort of support and people doing everything she need and then some – attached to her mothers skirt – so having children is not the same for her as we regular such a bone idle lazy, waste of , tax/Duchy funded with millions. She or carol had to dig to find something to refer to and I consider insincere fake!
For all the mental health speak – carol strike again with other families. James is removing self from his brother TV project), becoming bill middleton royal family, he no longer can associate with his brother; as carol/waity done with bill and Prince Harry. Can’t remain close siblings with a the middletons/ spouse.
I don’t think Kate’s feelings go any deeper than a shallow pool and a murky one at that. In my opinion she may have done some good in ‘speaking out’ but as far as I’m concerned the posters here are doing more. The honesty and quite brutal honesty at times is helpful and you never know who might be reading this blog and its comments. I didn’t hate my son, but I still remember the day we brought him home. I was convinced that I had managed to break him on the way home (I didn’t even know people came in that size), so when he didn’t wake up and cry for a while I poked him. He woke up. He also screamed at the top of his lungs for hours and hours. My husband looked at me and said ‘you don’t like him, do you?’. Quite frankly I’m not overly fond of anyone who keeps me awake when I’m beat and at that point in time I had a bit of ‘this was your idea in the first place’ mild resentment towards my husband.
I think Kate really looks nice in these pictures. Younger and fresher.
Back to her ‘sharing’. I’m of two minds, there will be those who think what does she know with all her help and privilege and those who might, just might hear something worthwhile. Having said that, I’m back to having more respect for the posters here, nothing vague and cliched about their feelings so I guess the fact that Kate went out and did something that KMR could write about and invite comments is as much credit as I will give her.
Totally agree Bea. It makes me angry that when William talks about his mother people say he is using “mummy card” but when Harry talks about his mother he is praised. I praise both William and Harry for talking about their grief. That everyone grieves for a loved one differently. That no matter how many years pass you still miss that person. I watched the whole Diana funeral live and the image of those two boys walking behing their mother coffin was really sad and still touches me.
….but William HAS used the mummy card since he stepped into the spotlight 6yrs ago. He has used it to excuse himself or Kate from anything and everything.
At this point, William is the boy who cried wolf. When he talks about Diana, we cynically wonder what he is tryinb to excuse this time no matter how sincere he is trying to be.
Harry hasn’t deployed the diana card to excuse himself. If memory serves, this is the closest he has come to excusing his poor behaviour using the Diana card.
When William first used the Diana card, everyone was as sympathetic as they currently are for Harry. It was right that he should excuse himself because mummy.
Now it feels we can’t take him seriously even if we can’t dismiss his grief for his mother.
If Harry follows the same route of excusing poor behaviour because of mummy, we shall become equally cynical.
Thank you Herazeus. Scary how you write what I’m thinking, but always better than I would write it!
He plays that card all the time. I cannot remember the circumstance, but William was openly criticized in the press for something he did. I don’t think it was as far back as the helo shenanigans in the backyard but it might have been. The very next day he played the Diana card at an event completely unrelated to her. Bad story pushed off the front pages by “Poor William”.
Harry says he does his Sentebale work to honor his mother, and hopes she’ll be proud. Seeiso has said similar things about honoring his mother through that charity with Harry. That is nowhere near the same as what William does.
I agree, William really uses mummy card but I believe he has issues about her, she was her mother. The problem is that I think it’s time people stop making excuses for Harry. He’s a thirty something year old. Mark Bollard, Charles former pr, said the royals are good at working a couple of days a week for three months of the year and making it look like they work hard. A lot of people are blaming Meghan Markle for this realationship mess but Harry is a grown man, others always get blamed for his actions, his friends take the blame for his drinking, William for him wearing a nazi uniform and his family for his dysfunction. William misses commowealth ceremony to ski and gets slagged of, Harry missed Easter with royals to see his girlfriend and is being called romantic. And please don’t come with “but Harry is single and William is married”, it doesn’t matter. The Queen and Phillip are old, the time the family spend with them may be the last one and about spending time with his old grandparents and his girlfirend who Harry choses? I don’t like William, but I think that regarding Diana, his wounds are deep and real, like Harry’s,
The Commonwealth ceremony was an official engagement, something that the second in line to the throne should have attended. Easter is a private event not an official engagement. It has never had the expectation that all the royals show up. Christmas is the one day HM asks of her family, not Easter.
Much of the criticism William got around Easter last year wasn’t because of not being with the royals. It was because he dumped his family for his daughter’s first Easter to run off to Jecca wedding. And he added a last-minute official meeting to the agenda after he was publicly criticized for things, making the whole trip paid for by the taxpayers.
I don’t see Harry and Meghan’s relationship as a “mess”. I see two people who are in the public eye doing a great job keeping their relationship out of the public eye. The drama isn’t come from Harry and Meghan; it is coming from people who are attacking anything they can find about them because they don’t like this pairing.
We get photos of Harry spending time with his grandparents, both at public engagements and with them in private (Balmoral, Windsor). We see how close he is with his grandmother in the way they act with each other when she shows up to support him at his events (WWTW reception, Invictus Games ad in connection with Michelle Obama, his Chelsea gardens, etc.). We don’t get that with William.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvgJVHcFKIQ
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/05/18/20/28D5325400000578-3086721-image-m-21_1431976680108.jpg
I don’t doubt that William has issues with Diana, but that never stopped him victimising her in an effort to be excused from whatever he wanted to be excused.
Secondly, what Nota said.
I don’t think anyone has ever made excuses for Harry. The only people who think MM is to blame for Harry’s current decisions are people who don’t like the relationshop and held Harry on a high pedestal which they continue to do thus can’t blame the idol, but blame the girlfriend coz then they would have to admit that Harry isn’t the perfect idol on that high pedestal or that he has agency and he may screw up.
Every time he has screwed up, going back to his teen years, he has apologised and accepted the blame. And vowed to do better. He has never once blamed others. If the fans refuse to accept his self -responsibility in favour of putting it on other people, that is on them NOT Harry.
As for going back to all the examples you’ve given regarding Harry, i choose to see the situation clearly rather than insist that Harry was blameless a lamb to the slaughter. I choose to see his taking responsibility for his actions, without invoking the diana card or blaming others, apologising and moving on.
Further, in all your examples you are employing an argument that fails to accept Harry taking responsibility and apologising AND failing to acknowledge that in some of them, he was egged on to do the bad thing. The 2 things are not mutually exclusive. Harry can be the idiot with poor judgement who was egged on by an older brother to wear a nazi uniform. Both boys were in the wrong, and i choose to believe the shopkeeper who sold them the uniform, who said William instigated it as well as choosing the uniform for harry. And the only reason William didn’t wear an offensive costume was because his choice was not in the shop and so he had to compromise. As a native with blacktights and bare chest. To a colonials and natives party. A party theme that is ergregious in itself.
I have never seen any fan of Harry blame his friends for his drinking. Articles might appear making that suggestion, but no one who comments on royal blogs has ever blamed his friends. They will say that he must be wild because he hangs out in a wild crowd, but that is not the same as saying he is not to blame for his own drinking to excess. And yes, the DM made a similar argument for William’s skiing/drinking antics which was clickbait and ergregiously wrong.
And speaking of Harry spending time with his grandparents, lots of random twitter pics of Harry doing just that. There are pics of him with the Queen or Philip with his friend Jake Warren spending time together looking at horses.
You just have to see the affection they all have for him to see the deep connection. The way they all show up for his projects beaming with pride.
Easter has never really been a big deal unless there was a special anniversary like celebrating the life of Margaret and the QM. William went skiing with the Middletons on that occasion.
Last year, William’s skipped family easter wasn’t just ergregious because of Jecca, he had lectured us on the sanctity of family and the need to be a stay at home dad only a fortnight earlier. Hypocrisy at it’s finest.
Didn’t William say recently that Diana wasn’t there enough for him when he was younger? He’s not above throwing a dead woman under the bus.
Jen: Yes, he did.
That was to excuse his workshy ways.
She wasn’t there for him therefore he wanted to be with his kids rather than work.
Yet William took off on a hunting holiday with Harry and Jecca, went alone to her wedding last Easter, and both he and Kate left George at home for a private holiday… And that’s what we know of.
Used being the operative word.
There is so much involved emotionally and physically after birth. Kate referenced this before, didn’t she? For me, it was a happy, exciting, scary and confusing experience. Hormones were all over the map and worries prevailed. What if I am not a good mother? What if I do something wrong? I wondered all the time. Then, there was the awful feeling that my life was never going to be the same again. At times, that was wrapped around happiness — I had a beautiful healthy daughter. How lucky could I be? Other times, I worried and wondered, “Where did my life go? How will it come back?” There was also the constant exhaustion of being there consistently for a baby who was trying to adjust to the world. Exhaustion ruled!
I wish Kate had elaborated more on her feelings. It seems it was her turn to talk about her issues. All rather orchestrated, was it not? Harry was genuine, I thought. William was trying so hard and Kate? Well, I will give her credit, but I truly wish she had said more.
BTW, I thought she looked great. Loved the sweater and her make-up. Did not see the footage, so I did not see her facial responses to the people who opened up to her. It may very well be she worried that she might say the the wrong thing to the women and that gave her pause. If she really listened to people, I think the proper words would come, though. I just see her in a panic at such times. I think she hears some of their words and zones out wondering, “How do I respond?”
The sweater’s price blew me away. Money comes and goes in her world. I simply cannot imagine paying that much for one sweater.
“Mixed emotions” is such a vague statement, it could mean anything or nothing. I wouldn’t look to deeply into it.
It is vague. And here I go looking too deeply in to it.
She moved home to her parents house for months, complete with night nurse and nanny. She admitted William wasn’t around much for the first 6 months. Yes she faced the enormous experience of having a child, and she faced it with more help and pampering than most people will ever get. He has spoken of the difficulties he had adjusting to being a husband and father.
Two months after he apparently showed up again? They dumped their son on the new nanny and went on a 10 day vacation. I think the only vacation we’ve ever seen them take alone together, instead of with her family or dragging a dozen friends on their honeymoon with them. Her scuba certificates timing? Possibly makes for another secret beach vacation sans kids when their daughter was a few months old.
Read one way, it could be a loving husband seeing his wife (with all the help) needing to be seen as a woman not a mother. Took her off on romantic couples vacations without the kids.
Read another, it is two selfish people stuck in extended adolescence who resent that there are expectations on them. That their footloose, fancy free life now comes with ties in the form of young children. Enter Carole to take the burden of being adults off of them. She runs the show so they can keep being children themselves. Because neither of them knows, or wants to know, how to be an adult.
Read the most negative way, and looking at it through lobbit’s “transactional” lens? For 10 years her role was to make herself available to William for sex whenever he wanted it. He even publicly joked to his friends about “having sex waiting” when he got back to the apartment. Her overnight ready bag was always at the ready. In that worst view of things, it looks like sex is the most important commodity keeping these two together. I don’t like what that says about any of them (W, K, or Carole).
Since William was mostly gone the first 6 months of George’s life, which are arguably the hardest months for a new parent, where the heck was William at that time?
And if she had a night nurse, a nanny and her mom…what the heck was Kate doing? Not raising her own child surely. That’s why I don’t believe that WK are as hands-on of parents as they claim that they are, they are more like an Aunt or an Uncle- they’ll see the kids fairly regularly, play with them, do fun stuff with them. But the difficult and frustrating parts like waking up at nights for feeding or soothing, instituting a sleep routine, doing potty training (and cleaning up the pee and poo)…yea I doubt Kate or William get involved in that.
And how terrible of Carole and Mike to stand by and let their daughter be used as a “mattress” just so they could secure William as a husband for Kate.
I can top that. My husband was gone for most of the first 10 months of out first baby’s life. He worked on the other side of the state. He lived there M-F and came home on the weekends. It was my first baby, she was extremely cholicy, I had no help, and got little sleep for months. I was going insane. Kate had lots of help. Maybe not from her husband, but she had a night nurse and a nanny? Does she even see her kids? What does she do with them when she does see them? Feeding, diaper changing, bathing, and cleaning up after them is 90% of the interaction with an infant. And laundry. Lots and lots of laundry.
I had a similar experience to you JET except I was in a foreign country and my husband and family were in other countries.
Youtube mum vloggers were actually the reason I started bonding more with my daughter. I was so tired, scared, lonely, I didn’t know how to interact with my daughter beyond holding her. I came across a day in the life and I guess it was seeing the mums getting down to play peekaboo, and with flashcards and dress up that helped me get out of the funk to actually enjoying my daughter.
If Kate had gone deeper into explaining what she struggled with, I would applaud her. It would have so much impact too explaining how tangible help like she has does not automatically mean a mother will be ok. As it is, I don’t think she is adding anything to the conversation on postpartum depression/anxiety/struggles.
That is a MOST excellent take, Notasugar. I always do enjoy your comments, this one in particular.
What do you mean that Kate was waiting for William to sleep with him? Do girls like that really exist? Was the reason that he went back because he was sleeping with her. And before that it was with Thomas van strawberry to practice on. It makes me feel sick. I am sorry.
she slept with von strawberry?
I don’t know. It seems strange to me that girls would do that. There is a line between caring and um being too caring. If a guy repeatedly breaks up with you even.
There’s talk Von Strawberry knew Kate was discreet and wouldn’t talk if she slept with William.
I do know he was seeing someone else when he bought Kate at that slave auction for charity…
Who knows, man. So much weird stuff. I wouldn’t put anything past Kate, she was determined to get William through any means necessary. Reminds me of girls I knew in college.
I have mixed emotions about various things daily. Such as when I open the fridge and see a whole lot of food but not a single thing I want that minute (so frustrated- why don’t I have chocolate cake and a brick of cheese in here/ thank God I do not see a chocolate cake or brick of cheese before me) When I fold my laundry basket and dammit that dryer ate another sock (in a rage because socks don’t grow on trees but not that upset because they were a bit thick and not my favs anyway) when my son takes the initiative to mix up his own fruit protein smoothie (happy that he didn’t text me from his room to do it for him and resigned because I know the mess he is about to make and not clean up the way I like). You get the picture.
Sorry for being so facetious today, but that’s what I think of “mixed emotions after having a baby”. She literally said nothing. Anyone who breathes air and is not a psychopath have these trepidations every day. She *really* wants us to believe that she has no mental health issues. She hasn’t been touched people, she hasn’t been touched. OK Flat Stanley, I guess you think we’re blind.
Oh man am I cranky! Where *is* all the cheese in this house anyway?? I bought and hid some good Havarti the other day (I put it behind the olives and ketchup, things my husband would never usually touch, but I think that man is catching on) and I need it 5 minutes ago!
PS- Totally tune me in if I’ve gone too far here my friends, sometimes need my hand slapped :/
Love it love it love it!! You may have been ‘cranky’ but you made some very valid points. (I call myself fractious and go hunting for chocolate then kick myself since I’m supposedly trying to lose weight so I can quit smoking). This mixed emotions high faulutin’ talk is just that and I for one hadn’t thought of it in every day all the time terms. Vague and sounds so mental healthy. As far as Kate goes, I don’t see a person there, I see a robot, a follower, an empty shell and as I’ve heard before all but having a slot in her back to put the chip of the moment into. I do **not** see her as in any way shape of form the picture of mental health, and as far as having a ‘Leave it to Beaver’ family? Yeah riiiiiiiiiight!
She is a person, though. She’s a human being. Obviously it’s fine not to like her – heaven knows you’re not alone – but it’s dangerous imo to dehumanize her or anyone else.
Oh dear, I just read Lobbit’s response and I am so sorry for the wording in my post. She is a person, she is flesh and blood and what I meant was that she acts robotic, but in reading my post I all but suggested that she was put away in the garage at night. I sincerely apologize.
Kate looks quite nice without all the makeup, if it’s obviously Photoshopped. Nice colors and stuff.
I can never get over how she has no interest in anything. She always sounds the same, says the same things, with the emotional capacity of an amoeba. I just expect far more from a 35 year old woman with a great education who has two kids, but this is Kate so I should be happy she spoke. “We all felt there was very much a campaign to get everyone talking and have these conversations. We’ve got to do the same, you know, so he’s been brilliant.” – This makes me think she’s some uneducated teenager… just the word choice and how she speaks. We’ve got to do the same, but she and William won’t, of course.
I want that yellow sweater too. I have a similar shirt to the one she wore today and it’s super flattering. (It was from J Crew so definitely not $280, lol.)
I’d imagine this is part of some promo or video they’ll put together with the mic and stuff. I still can barely understand her!
Ellie….it’s like you are in my brain.
I don’t know anyone without interests or passion or opinion.
Following Kate is like a science experiment trying to figure out a new organism.
She is seriously interested in shopping, vacationing, personal grooming, working out, being lazy, and getting what she wants (the royal WAG lifestyle). She’s interested in everyone else doing the work while the snowflake is taken care of.
She is interested in how she appears in clothes. She spends a lot of time having clothes hacked apart and remade, to trick your eye about her body proportions. Or because she’s so vain she doesn’t want anyone else wearing what she wears.
She is very interested in being physically appealing to men, and she lights up when she gets male attention (Harry, Sir Ben). She also appears to be interested in doing nothing, and she seems to spend a lot time doing whatever it takes to get away with doing nothing.
I recognize these may not be interests that are of use in her role, but these are the things she has put her energy in to for years 15+ years. Longer if we go back to her physical makeovers at Marlborough.
Her cousin admits she struggles to find other people interesting, or to engage in something that is not of personal interest to her. She has shown no interest in the world around her, but shows interest in herself. That is where her energy and attention goes.
Nota / Lovely blossom: of course.
How can i forget.
I should remember to judge her along those paramenters rather than expect anymore from her.
To that end, does she look cute today? Yes.
Is she physically appealing to intended audience? In those Jeggings, mission accomplished.
Was fake accent in place? Yes.
Make up/ hair? Good / still too big.
Accent – fake.
Hair – fake.
Face – fake.
Interest in others/ being there – low.
Interest in being snapped in flattering poses – high.
Interest in personal appearance – high.
Wanna see Waity truly happy, interested and engaged in a conversation?
Look at the pictures from the Gala dinner in NYC when she met Jenna Lyons, designer for JCrew.
Waity was out of her mind with joy. Was a sight to behold.
You forgot, she likes to draw in drawing books for adults 😉
She likes colouring in.
She is clearly interested in diet and exercise. She could spearhead a UK effort towards balanced nutrition and physical fitness. With expert oversight, it would be about health, not vanity. She could even work with Charles and his emphasis on organic, British foods. It would be a nice tie-in with Harry’s emphasis on sport for injured soldiers. Will could find something to do/say as well.
The problem there is she’s only interested in diet and exercise for personal gain. It’s a means to an end for her. How to get and keep Will? I must be stick head skinny. And having someone with that mentality to spearhead something that is so important is a really bad idea.
I don’t want to slag people who went to St Andrews or who have an art history education, but Kate really only has an undergrad degree and that is extremely common for anyone of her generation. It’s not really being that extensively educated and reports are she barely did the work anyway. Kate is not an intellectual because if she was she would have pursued a graduate degree and doctorate, because it’s not like work was interfering with any potential studies.
She is not intellectually curious and many of her statements like “do you taste it by tasting” demonstrate she is a bit of a dullard. Kate is only ever going to be basic. Her efforts were in securing the MRS degree and she has done nothing else since with the same degree of effort. What makes it worse though, is that Kate doesn’t seem to have empathy for others, and that shows up when she meets people. She cares about herself first and that selfishness is pretty deeply ingrained at 35.
Do you remember the one teacher (Marlborough) who broke ranks and talked? He said something along the lines of her being completely forgettable and no mental giant – and that anyone who said differently was lying for posterity. Uncle Gary also admitted something similar related to her intellect vs. how easily things came to Pippa.
” She cares about herself first and that selfishness is pretty deeply ingrained at 35.” – brilliant and said what I tried to say upthread but failed.
If he thinks she was completely forgettable, then how does he remember that she was no mental giant?
They aren’t mutually exclusive. She wasn’t a student that anyone would look back at and think she was going to be much of anything (if they could even put a face to her name). Those reasons included her being nothing memorable/impressive as a scholar. Makes perfect sense to me.
You can know who someone is, in this case because who she was dating, and know they are unremarkable academically.
I went to college with a son of a well known movie/tv studio exec and we all knew who he was. I had some classes with him and I can say he was dumb as all get out. He once told me “yeah, I don’t know how I got in here” mmmm yeah okay, I can tell you why!!
Teachers/lecturers recall students for a whole range of reasons, not only if they were good students. I can recall most of mine because of work attitude, particular pieces of work, humour, poor behaviour, academically gifted, laziness, kindness, etc.
Point is, if someone is so completely forgettable as he claims, then how does he remember them so well? If he remembers her for any reason, then she’s not completely forgettable.
Appears to be twisting words to me at this point. When someone says X was completely forgettable as a student, it means along the lines that they never expected them to amount to anything, they were nothing special academically or socially.
Forgettable unless the teacher is pressed to remember anything. In context it makes sense to me, when the context was a teacher calling out his fellow teachers for lying about how wonderful and amazing she was.
I’m not criticizing you at all. I’m criticizing the teacher for his choice of words. if he had said she was unremarkable, then it would have made sense to me. But forgettable means you don’t remember them.
Kate went to the same school as Willy, a year after she left Marlborough. Two years from Marlborough graduation she was living in a group house with a Prince of the Realm.
No struggle for a teacher with a small class to remember a student a mere two years after they’ve left.
Especially if they are now linked to one of the most famous men on the planet.
It is if the teacher is claiming that student is “completely forgettable”. If they are so forgettable then you wouldn’t remember them even if they became famous later.
The forgettable quote was a little shady on the teachers part.I think the teacher and others came out when the media tried to alter Kate’s life before William in a way that was not true to what really happened.I remember reading she was bullied at downe house then only to find out later she wasn’t bullied at all when other girls came out and said how she was at school.
That makes it not shady to me. He wasn’t going to play along with the party line that PR was spinning, that they’d all known she was something special from day one.
@notasuagarhere,The whitewashing of kate to fit the perfect fairytale princess theme that the press was spinning at the time had a lot of other stories about Kate especially how she treated the York girls and the mean girling anyone who dared talk to william during the GF years.
Sorry, I misunderstood which version of shady you were using. You were using it like “he is throwing shade”? When I thought you meant that his comment was shady/questionable, you didn’t trust it, etc.
Yes,I was using it as he was throwing major shade to km.Even the girls at her school said similar things about km.
” Marlborough teachers have been banned from talking to the press but, off the record, one describes her as unexceptional. ‘Anyone who remembers differently is probably talking with the benefit of hindsight,’ he says.”
Girl, interrupted The Observer, Sunday 18 March 2007
I found it strange no one from Kate’s school was at the wedding. I think Jessica Hay, was not invited because she talked to the press. I wonder what else Jessica knew. I don’t like gossip but she had no support system at school.
Nic919 you nailed it! I agree that both Kate and William have no intellectual curiosity. William demonstrated that when he admitted he did not read any of the briefs while they were on tour in Canada and as for Kate, does she even read a book, watch a documentary on TV or read a newspaper? I understand that we all have our guilty pleasures in that we may watch ridiculous TV shows and for me that would be The Real Housewives of Orange County, I know it is totally scripted, but for some reason those vapid women just fascinate me. Kate and WIlliam just seem to have no interests outside of themselves, their children and trying to work as little as possible.
I think she studied because 1) she didn’t have anything better to do (she will always be financial supported by her mother, so no sorrow of feeling hungry)
2) the rich and educated also study, the Middletons want to be around them
3) she has the oppurtunity to do as she pleases (chooses art to study)she doesn’t and never did have to earn her own money
I love history of arts, so I would not think about the money at first. I make the best of my study,working and learning hard.I have no.wish to buy clothes for a brand(with an art degree?!) but working at a museum.
“She always sounds the same, says the same things”
+1. I wish I could + it more.
“Cutout Kate”.
Even the royal mail box got a headband.Hurray! 🙂
So they’re shelling out for headbands. How much have they shelled out to charities? Where is Kate’s?
Another photo op. Held in the parking lot? Classy. More empty words.
The big red button gig is hilarious! I would love to see the event described as “HRHs push giant red button” in the CC. I wonder if Kate’s finger is in training for it.
Yeah, all those headbands must cost a fortune. I wonder where that money is coming from. And how much is going to that versus going toward the HT charity partners.
I can’t believe it was held in the damned parking lot. Gardens? KP is beautiful. So many rooms, places to be, but they do it in the PARKING LOT?
Also yes, wasteful headbands. Money should be going to the charities not to stupid PR stunts… It’s a cute PR stunt but still.
The parking lot.
Le sigh. They couldn’t put this event in the field infront of the parking lot where they’ve held HT events in the past?
Are headbands now a thing? Harry made a big to-do about them, pushing athletes to wear them. I hope the merch was sponsored by a big corporate. At the end of the day it’s just a bit of tat that comes with stick-on numbers, wristbands, lanyards and then gets chucked. Hope charity partners’ money was not affected. And why the carpark? Was it because of the pillar box? Kate looked fresh, but very aware of where the camera was, with very staged facial expressions, for what appeared to be just another photo op; clearly not listening and wanting to move on from the woman who spoke to her.
+1000
Bless her heart. I can see KM is trying (sort of) to arrange facial expressions, to say appropriate sound bites, concentrate on eye contact (maybe too closely) to resemble an authoritative, caring adult on mental health. But the fact that she really doesn’t understand why she must work to justify something position keeps intruding.
Her signature comment that she has mixed feelings–Good Lord– does she have so little understanding of human nature to know that that if you’re alive you will have mixed feelings at times. She really has a difficult time connecting to anyone other than mummy.
Omg no headbands are NOT a thing! (Saying that I did have a lovely fluorescent yellow one I wore in the 80’s that I was particularly attached to. I was 6 years old at the time). It’s funny you are mentioning the cost of them, I thought that as well when I first heard about it but must have been having a ‘be nice’ day as I didn’t add it to my list of complaints! What a waste of money. They will never be worn after this and I doubt we’ll see many during the marathon either. And why oh why is Kate not wearing one at this event? It’s not right that everyone else gets to look ridiculous whilst she keeps her blow-out bouncy. I get she’s not running (why not?) but she could at least wear the darn thing to show support!
Good point, if every one else is made to feel they must wear spongey, silly headbands, the least she can do is to wear one too.
And they look so ridiculous. I would never wear something like that.
William wouldn’t play drums with a kid but he’ll don these things??
I too prefer the other color sweater, but Kate looked lovely today – her makeup is much better. She also seemed to have less nerves, not always with her hands in front of her. I noticed that again today, and her posture was much better too. Hopefully this means she’s in a happy place right now in life and that she will be able to gain confidence through successful events like these.
I watched the video of this engagement yesterday and was really surprised how often the Duchess interrupted and talked over others, especially the blonde, single mother and the lady who was trying to introduce Kate to a gentleman. Rather bizarre.
That sort of indicates she’s nervous (still), not really listening to those she’s speaking to and socially inept. That she can’t even wear one of the dorky headbands when all the others do for fear of disturbing the Royal barnet also shows she’s not intent on sharing and building rapport with the group she’s there to support and has no self deprecation. Dare I say it but it’s rather ‘grand’ not joining in and mixing with the plebs.
It’s becoming embarrassing that she is still this inept socially. Actually she’s getting worse.
Hi Mrs BBV, today Kate mentioned how shy she is and if that’s true then I can see how events might make her nervous but (and this is a big but 🙂 ), if she attended engagements more often, worked with a speech coach and learned a bit about the art of small talk I think she could really improve. As with anything, practice makes perfect and asking for help from those who are skilled in an area where one lacks can really go far in turning a dreaded task into a pleasant one. Several members of the royal family have spoken about how difficult it was when they first started doing engagements, how terrifying it was to make speeches and such but by doing these things more and more they were able to lose some of their nervousness and become more confident in their roles. Kate does her engagements in fits and starts so each one is like starting over again, without any actual growth happening.
Then why join the RF if you are painfully shy? She wasn’t shy using the paps for the 10 years she pursued William. She was downright beaming at her wedding, like the cat that swallowed the canary. The RF gave her lots of leeway in slowly doing engagements, even though she said she would hit the ground running. Her engagement interview was probably her best: she answered questions easily and articulately.
But it has been downhill since then. She has regressed in her social skills, speech, and style since she got married. And what’s worse, she could have all the help she wants in alleviating her fears of public speaking, but she clearly doesn’t want it. William is probably no help here, since he doesn’t believe in preparing for public meetings, why should she?
I think she is unhappy. Her marriage isn’t what she thought it would be. She doesn’t like royal work. She might not like motherhood. She is dominated by her mother and lives to please an selfish husband. And she is trying to maintain a great pretence that her life is perfect. I think she is under a lot of stress and strain, but won’t/can’t admit it, so she comes up with phoney excuses for why she performs so poorly. I’d feel empathy for her, but she was so short sighted in her persuit of William that she failed to see the reality of life with him.
The engagement interview was edited. They tried the Diana question four times and finally had to give her an answer. Outtakes were online for awhile.
I don’t think she is dominated by her mother, though, but was happy to have such a royal-hungry mother help her in her 10 year pursuit. Landing the prince took the whole Middleton family.
Maybe she thought he’d change once married, and see her as more than a convenient bed partner. Maybe she thought the deal they struck was going to mean she’d get away with the bare minimum, being seen, beloved, and never heard was her fairy tale version. She never worked, never wanted to, and now they both have external pressure to do something neither wants.
Maybe neither of them are happy. His family thought he would never marry and were surprised by it. Maybe he never wanted to marry, but he felt pressure to “make an honest woman of her” in order to keep in the Middleton family fold.
If they are both immature, selfish people who resent the changes brought to their self-centered lives by work and children? And there is increasing pressure for them to stop the lazy life and get to work? I don’t see things getting better.
There is a difference between being shy and being socially inept- being shy doesn’t prevent you from being a good listener, not interrupting others when they are talking, observing people and giving people your attention. In my pre-teen and teen years, I was fairly shy around new people to the point where I would even stutter over my “T’s” and “K’s”. I now work in a profession which require me to talk to new people all the time, outreach, facilitate workshops…yea working professionally and taking remedial help would improve one’s social skills.
I’m glad that the royals are making more of an effort with the London Marathon and are actually getting involved with the public. They need to be doing now, times 100, to really start making a difference in their country.
On the fashion front, she is dressed appropriately although super tight jeans for work…..
The sweater is cute enough but stripes are definitely not my thing, really.
Kate’s definitely had some work done on her face. She’s not looking like her face is melting like it was about a month ago. She probably did some spring cleaning in her visage area surely.
You know I thought because she had no tan, was using full coverage foundation and was using a deeper hue of lipstick it actually was her make up that much improved her facial appearance. She certainly looked better without that heavily tanned, sun damaged skin tone the Middleton women favour.
I wonder if she got fillers because she doesn’t have her jowls.
I will say I think her makeup looks much better here not the recent cartoonish application of late. And she was wearing lipstick that you could see! I don’t know if someone helped her out but if she had her her back in a pony, it would’ve been a great look
Here was Kate without the tan and stilettos and I thought she looked fine, much more relaxed and natural. I don’t even mind that she stuck to her usual platitudes. The art of royal listening to boring people still needs work. But overall, she did okay. But am I the only one who wishes the marathon was over?
That’s the problem with cramming all the interviews into a short amount of time…people are going to tire of hearing from them. It’s like a good song that plays every hour on the radio. At some point, you just tune out or turn it off.
It’s hard for me to be critical of Catherine or anyone almost everyday; I think she looks fine. Nothing much to see and that’s ok.
I think she looks nice here. This is my favorite stripy top outfit from her.
Yes I think sporty casual is her strong suit and she looks confident and comfortable.
It is a cute top. My mom has one just like it–and of course looks better in it than anyone else could! Not that I’m biased…
+1000
Kate did look good yesterday.I like how she has embraced a more natural look it suits her hope she sticks to it.
I agree Jessica, she looks fine but I would have worn a ponytail with this outfit opposed to the big hair blow out.
Me too. It’s more exhausting than reading all the adulation, to be honest. At least I find it so. And, yes, I know I have a choice on where I go on the internet.
I know what you mean. It takes its toll after a while.
The comments here are fine; it’s Royal Dish and Celebitchy that is so over the top that I can’t take it.
She also wore a red suit to open a school and she looked and behaved fine. I’m watching her video on motherhood now.
She said some good things about motherhood and age-appropriate conversations and through play teaching your kids how to express themselves even when they don’t have the language to do so yet.
I would like to say “Well done” to Kate for a minimum of crotch clutching today, even her posture is getting better, albeit slowly but still, baby steps.
I’m bummed I think the spainish state visit is now off. I was so looking forward to it
I know. Why would you schedule an election when you’ve already scheduled a state visit for that day? Just schedule the election for a week later or something.
Darn, I thought this might happen. I was really hoping that most folks would look beyond the perks and wealth that the royals have and understand that at the end of the day they are living, breathing humans just like the rest of us and by sharing their stories, they are trying to help others.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4429112/Royals-criticised-mental-health-revelatoins.html
Eh, I feel like most people appreciated Harry’s statement–the response from the media and from prominent public figures was overwhelmingly positive.
This article (from the Daily Mail, which says it all, really) is referencing a handful of negative comments from social media and exactly one op-ed from a columnist/reality show personality who has made a name for herself by being offensive and outrageous. IDK if I would call that a backlash – it looks like the commenters on the article agree. 🙂
Hi Lauri, I was surprised to see the kickback, though it’s really based on Katie Hopkin’s column and DM commenters, isn’t it? Hard to know if those feelings resonate elsewhere. It could be a combination of of factors:
• Cynicism and distrust from the public re. royal PR and its motives;
• Distaste/disconnect in having the 0.0001% talk about their issues (however real) when they have ready access to whatever they need;
• Many people are suffering acute mental health difficulties; with funding stripped to the bone from the NHS, have no hope of affording access to appropriate MH;
• General concern/division caused by Brexit that suggests deep uncertainty ahead, affecting every facet of life.
I think most of the kick back is due to the ambiguity of their campaign. It’s clear these commenters see a direct correlation between wealth and happiness. Yes, if you aren’t struggling to pay rent/mortgage, look for a job etc does help but it’s no guarantee. Instead of William saying dumb things like everyone has mental health he could try and bring home that depression (since they haven’t tackled much else) doesn’t discriminate.
Kate could say my mother and I did everything to get me here and I’ve realized I married a miserable jackass (that would depress me) ?
And Seems the funding cut from NHS of MH services is starting to see lots of frustration. So saying talk about mental health but then you can’t get into see a provider is going to make people upset. Especially when those saying it wouldn’t have the same wait
I do think it’s good that they’re doing something and, in Harry’s case, putting themselves out there in a vulnerable way, but I can also understand where some of the critics are coming from. You have a mental health treatment system that’s stretched as thin as it can possibly be, with many in the field working for peanuts day in and day out, while these three sail in and receive disproportionate praise for what they’ve done. It’s a challenging situation with no ready solution; I wish I had one to offer.
“Jamie Moloy, a headteacher, told the Duchess at the event: ‘What I love is your brother-in-law talking the other day, because that’s just ignited it’. He added Prince Harry was now a ‘real hero to a lot of people’. ‘Absolutely,’ the Duchess replied.”
I know the fellow didn’t mean it this way, but I couldn’t help thinking “Oh. Snap.” when I read that. Kudos to Kate, who acknowledged it kindly. William would have probably insulted both Harry and the poor fellow there after hearing that.
As for Kate’s “mixed emotions” statement, it’s typical vague Kate being vague, but she was making an effort to sympathize. I’m curious if she’ll ever get herself together enough to elaborate on that one day.
Kate looked nice and the cause is an important one. Personally I think her sister got the better deal. If money is a motivator, and in this case I think it is, Pippa got that nailed down and doesn’t have to deal with being under a microscope for the rest of her life. BTW the vast majority of people are ordinary. If Kate was a “gifted” a “mental giant”, academic ect. she would never have been attracted to William.
It’s really hard for me to feel Kate’s sincerity when she speaks and I’m pretty good at reading people. She is, however, an expert at posing and looking good for the cameras. This DM article made me laugh:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4429112/Royals-criticised-mental-health-revelatoins.html
Snarky but funny, makes a couple of valid points.
I’ve been visiting the Daily Mail all day and still haven’t seen anything about W&K&H’s engagement today. Weird that they’re not covering it, maybe they are final honoring William’s demands for privacy.
They did cover it. It has been up all day, but as the day progresses it has been moving further down their main page:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4427944/Kate-William-Harry-visit-Global-Academy-London.html
Thanks for sharing the link, so odd that I could never find it and I looked, really ?
And there it is. The final piece of the PR puzzle. The third “reveal” from the trio of the royals about their own mental health issues. I wondered if she’d go as far to reveal postpartum depression, but if she’s still depressed or actively treating I can see how that would be unhelpful.
Each and every one of their reveals and comments were planned. And there’s your answer as to why she was miked.
I’ve always thought that Kate never had the opportunity to develop her own adult persona, largely due to her mother’s overbearing influence. It is likely that if she had any of her own dreams and desires for her life, they were undermined and replaced with dreams that were acceptable to her family, if not all that appealing to Kate. Marrying a prince was what she was raised to see as “achievement” so she acted accordingly. I find it disappointing when those commenting on her blame Kate for what appears to be the lack of parenting she received, as if one can simply overcome this as a matter of sheer will power. If her mother limited acceptable life choices using some kind of emotional coercion, there isn’t much chance that Kate could have simply overcome this by sheer force of will — it was programmed into her since infancy. It is also not necessarily her inherent personality. We simply can’t know. But this scenario would explain her apparent emotional shallowness.
In my opinion, Kate seems so cold and restricted because she was programmed to wait to have emotional responses until someone else (her mother?) made it apparent that those feelings were acceptable. Without anyone around to pre-approve her reactions, she looks lost. The delay in her emotional reactions while she seeks feedback from those around her registers instead as coldness, distance, and disinterest. In truth, I think it’s fear and anxiety that she will do something to lose her place or get bad press. She is unable to be spontaneous because it feels too risky.
I agree with the gist of your argument; children are a product of their environment. But as we mature we see other ways of living and as adults can and do make choices about the values you wish to embrace as well as how you wish you conduct yourself. There’s a point in life when you really can’t blame parents, however awful. My thoughts are that Kate is perfectly happy with her background and choices or lack of them; they have yielded her what she went after with steely resolve: to be looked after by a wealthy man with status and be the centre of attention. This is not some doe-eyed, fragile flower. She was in, boots and all, in the family’s quest for upward mobility.
I can’t over-analyze Catherine psychologically but I think she’s playing a long game; she doesn’t seem very charismatic naturally and that’s a big part of her role. If she has to fake being a people person than that can be very draining; since this is a life long position and she’s not even the Princess of Wales yet I can see why she wants to hold back until the Queen passes.
People who have domineering mothers who did them harm mentally will spend decades coming to terms with what happened and undoing the damage.
It is tough enough doing things like quitting smoking or eating junk food. Kate would have to do something far more complex. That is why I say it would take a lot longer.