Sara Parker Bowles is the wife of Tom Parker Bowles, who is the son of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Sara is some sort of fashion editor or something. She recently gave an interview to the Telegraph’s Fashion section (?). Anyway, I bring this up because Sara mentioned our dear MIA Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge. I wasn’t going to mention it since it’s so short (the interview wasn’t about Kate, Sara mentioned her briefly), but I found what Sara said interesting because it’s opposite of the one thing about Kate I thought was concrete fact: Kate’s love for clothing. So I went ahead and over analyzed it.
Of Kate, Sara said: “We’ve talked about designers we admire in the past and she’s always very complimentary about what I wear but, clearly, she feels she’s got more important things to think about – and that’s what makes her so endearing.”
Huh? Kate feels she’s got more important things to think about? Like what? I guess George would be the obvious answer, but then what does the full time nanny do? The “more important things” certainly can’t be Kate’s charities, since she’s hardly involved in those and rarely even visits them. Kate doesn’t have any other job to do that would pull her focus. Besides George, what does Kate have to think about other than her clothes? It’s not like Kate actually cleans her own house or anything any normal stay-at-home wife/mother would do.
Quite honestly, I’m shocked by this quote. Given Kate’s shopping habit, I thought the only thing Kate really cared about were her clothes, but now I’m being told Kate doesn’t really think about her clothes that much? So then why does she spend so much time shopping? What is going on! I feel like someone just told me gravity doesn’t exist and everything I’ve been told my entire life has been a lie.
There’s something else I want to mention… the “that’s what makes her so endearing” line. What does that mean? Because Kate has “more important things to think about” than clothes she’s endearing? Uh, then there are a ton of women out there who are “endearing”, because there are a ton of women who have “far more important things to think about” than clothes. This line especially doesn’t make sense to me since Kate doesn’t do anything else. If she focused a ton of her attention to her charities, and then you told me she had more important things to think about than clothes, then you could call that endearing, since it would be obvious her charity work meant more to her. But since Kate doesn’t do anything, and doesn’t seem to care about anything other than her clothes, telling me she has more important things to think about doesn’t make her endearing; it just doesn’t make sense. Also, why is having more important things to think about than clothes endearing at all? Like women have to love clothes and spend all their energy on fashion or else it’s an anomaly that’s “endearing”? That doesn’t make sense at all. Can’t some women love clothes and some women not care at all and they both be right? This whole line makes no sense!!
Then again, is Sara kind of shading Kate with this quote? Because if you read it with a certain tone, it could come across as “Well she’s always polite to me, but clearly she thinks she’s so much better than me because she has ‘more important things’ to think about than the peasant stuff I’m interested in.” It’s the “feels” word. “She FEELS she has more important things to think about”, not “she HAS more important things to think about.” Right? And then the endearing line is an “oops I can’t shade Kate in public, let me say something nice” qualifier.
I don’t know what this quote means, but I’ve spent far too long thinking about it. I am absolutely, positively over analyzing this quote. I need to stop now.
OH!! Is Sara referring to the still-uncompleted Anmer Hall renovations? I guess that’s all Kate’s got to think about. And it’s not like Kate can even think about all those renovations AND throw in a charity appearance or two. Kate totally HAD to take all of August off to focus on those renovations because they are just so important to her. So very much more important than clothes, or her charities.
But seriously, if Kate doesn’t love clothes/shopping then what does she care about? And why does she spend so much time shopping? Is shopping a compulsion, a way for her to cope with all the stresses in her life, rather than about a true love for fashion? If so, that’s actually a huge problem and she should get some therapy. It’s fine if Kate doesn’t really love clothes, but I’d love for her to show some real passion for something.
She is a blank slate, in all of the worst ways. We know nothing of her besides shopping. I can’t even recall who her favorite singer is. You are right, Kate could stand to let the public know more about her or just work. I fault both her, Bill, and the Palace for perpetuating the shop til you drop image. I would have thought that they would have wanted a better image than that.
Image is all that waity katie is…..the ‘girl next door who won the heart of a prince’….doesn’t drink or smoke….never put a foot wrong as a princess until she ‘bared all’ in France….I really tried to find something about her worth respecting and liking since the Brits are our allies and I thought that the two princes were nice enough young men…not until waity katie came onto the scene was willy exposed for the spoiled rotten man/child that he truly is….and I am wondering if waity’s sudden lack of interest in clothes might be because she isn’t given a ton of money to buy them anymore…just a thought….she is a clingy clueless and classless female who threw any and all self respect to the wind in order to bag a ring, title, mega bucks, fame, attention……shameless and oblivious to reality….you are right…she IS a blank state and appears that she is just a shell…..with all the lies and pr vomit we have been subjected to how would anyone really believe anything she says…..she seems to count on her pr machine (which is seriously taxed to the max) to churn out stories about the ‘real’ Kate and then turns right around and does something to prove that once again it’s all a lie…..(but since we are talking ‘royals’ here perhaps fantasy might be a kinder and more pc word)…..I, for one, hate having my intelligence insulted and attempts made to make me doubt what I see and hear…..
There was definitely a whitewashing of her life during the engagement and after the marriage. There really doesn’t seem to be any personality there at all.
She could show so much personality through her charity work, just by the things she chooses and focuses on. Like Harry clearly is invested in his military/veterans stuff. Charles loves the environment; Camilla loves animals. But Kate doesn’t show any passion for anything. And I have no idea why they let the “fashion girl” image go. One would think they would want more of an appropriate image for a duchess. Sure she’s always going to have some sort of fashion girl thing going on, but that’s a side thing, not the main thing, you know.
I agree with rhiannon, above: Kate is a blank slate. I believe her only real interest is herself.
I know people (blessedly few) who are always going around telling everyone how busy they are, but when I look closely I realize they aren’t doing anything. But they think if they say it enough, people will believe it. And I think, for the most part, they’re right.
I had high hopes for Kate and fashion, but she has been a major disappointment. She could have developed a style that was appropriate for her position but with a bit of flair, or edginess. I don’t believe she cares a bit about clothes. She likes to shop, but that doesn’t mean she’s putting any thought into what she’s actually purchasing.
I think you’re right that Sara Parker Bowles probably realized her remarks could be considered unflattering, so she threw in the “endearing” adjective.
Shopping can be a fulfilling activity for someone with a lot of time and money on one’s hands. It can fill a void. Shopping for bargains can be absorbing and give one the feeling of performing a useful task, as if “look how much money I saved today” translates into a day of hard work. Shopping can also be relaxing in that it can engage one’s imagination, as in “I wonder how those towels would look in my new kitchen.” Kate might find shopping to be a fulfilling activity for all sorts of reasons, and that’s fine. Her love of shopping, though, does not mean that she has a good sense of style or fashion. For the most part, I find the way that she dresses to be insipid and boring. For someone with her educational background, royal role, and financial resources, she could do much better. Kate might lack a strong sense of self, which would show in her clothing choices and how she presents herself.
“Kate might lack a strong sense of self, which would show in her clothing choices and how she presents herself.”
This. If she has no personality, then no personality is going to show in her style.
Re the shopping: You know what also fills a void when one has a lot on time on one’s hands… working. Who knows why she shops so much, but I kind of think it might be because it’s an escape from all the pressures in her life. If she’s focusing on shopping, then she’s not focusing on the Men in Grey, the royal pressures, Will’s tantrums, George’s tantrums, etc. Also, when she actually goes to a store, it’s a way to get out of the house, and that would be especially enjoyable if one feels trapped the way Kate has claimed via “sources” (which was a reason given for the move to Anmer). Just a thought.
My guess is that Kate’s probably always been a shopper, but now does it in response to the royal pressures you describe. Work would certainly fill a void as well as shift the focus from herself to things outside of her self. Meaningful work in the form of service to others would also provide her with the gravitas she needs to improve her do-little image with the public. Her parents – always described as ambitious and hard-working in the press – founded and grew a successful business. One wonders why Mike and Carole did not encourage Kate to be ambitious and hard-working, outside of getting good grades and snagging a prince.
“She likes to shop, but that doesn’t mean she’s putting any thought into what she’s actually purchasing.”
I think this might be it. Her obsession is shopping, not clothes. It doesn’t matter what she buys, just the fact that she’s buying something. It’s either a compulsion, or a defense mechanism. It’s actually a huge problem, psychologically, and should be addressed.
endearing? Puppies (or small children) are endearing. Not grown women! As for the clothes shopping? I always thought she shopped because she has nothing else to do.
Especially not for a grown woman for no good reason.
yep, total blank slate, and it’s such a waste….she could, even still could, inject some worthiness into her vastly privileged position, and have some real ACTIVE interest in something worthwhile…..(np, not the shopping) because at the moment, she believes that it is OK to do absolutely nothing…save the shopping. I agree with KMR and others that Sara PB quickly finished off the sentence to save being accused of barbed comment…..but I think we can see through that totally…..endearing though?? hmmm, maybe not the word I’d have chosen.
She could still pull it together, but she clearly doesn’t want to. She’s not going to be upping her duties at all for the next few years while Will does that BS air ambulance job.
I think Sarah PB is talking out of her arse. How often do you think she and Kate are in the same room? I don’t get the feeling everyone is hanging out at Highgrove having family picnics every weekend. William and Kate didn’t even attend Camilla’s brother, Mark Shand’s, funeral. Sarah had to give some answer when asked about Kate – and I guess saying that she didn’t really know much about her was not going to make a good interview. I think Kate is busy hanging out with people other then the Parker Bowles family and going shopping. I’ll be curious to see if that family becomes a part of the Christmas walk to church once the Queen passes on and Charles calls the shots. They are nice people, but you never saw Phillip’s or Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon’s family. Or the Spencers for that matter. I don’t know that a Parker Bowles talking to the press about any member of the royal family is a good idea – but it would be odd to promote her new fashion venture without throwing in the fact that you are connected to royalty.
Meanwhile, what important matters are any royal thinking about? Elizabeth is listening in on the affairs of State – but everyone else is just larking about.
Good point. I also think that some of your statements can apply to the Middletons.They have had ill timed promos which profited off of Kate’s royal connection (the royal wedding and royal baby collections). Then there’s James’ Boomf and all things Pippa, whom I kinda like. The only difference is that we don’t see the PBs as much as we see the Middletons.
I doubt Sara has spent much time with Kate. Which is why I now think the comment was a bit of shade. Because they’ve never really spent any time together and probably have only had brief conversations, so they’ve only talked briefly where Kate has complemented Sara’s outfit and Kate probably agreed when Sara talked about a designer she liked, but Kate probably didn’t give much thought to the interactions with Sara and probably seemed distant during, so Sara was all “yeah, she’s polite but she thinks she’s got better things to think about than chatting with me about fashion”.
According to Sara, Kate has more important things to think about than clothes? Could’ve fooled me.
With her behavior, it seems like all Kate does is worry about her hair, her clothes, shopping trips, holidays and keeping an eye on her straying husband. A quick look at her calendar of events and Twitter will tell you that.
The only worthwhile thing she is doing is raising George (and that with all of her nannies and staff is a question mark, as in how much time is she spending with him while she’s off work and how much time is the nanny and staff spending with him).
Yeah that interview’s very weird. She could have been sarcastic “She has so much more important things to worry about”. That’s the only possible way it would make anything resembling sense to me. Otherwise it would just be a non sequitur, which maybe it was. I definitely think we’re all overanalyzing this. I’ve never even heard of Sara Parker Bowles before this article. She’s Camilla’s daughter-in-law, which hardly makes her a close friend or confidant of Waity. As for them not attending Camilla’s brother’s funeral… why would they? Just b/c they’re royals doesn’t mean they have to be trotted out for every funeral and function involving anyone remotely close to the Royal Family. I didn’t attend my aunt’s funeral. I definitely wouldn’t attend the funeral of my hypothetical stepmother’s brother. I get the impression that Camilla and the Cambridges are not at all close, so why would they attend?
Attending Camilla’s brother’s funeral would have been a sign of respect toward Camilla and Charles, as well as a show of solidarity toward the extended royal family, such as it is. In today’s day and age, the average busy working person doesn’t always have the “leave” at his or her disposal or can’t make the time to attend such family events, but William and Kate have no excuse, really, since neither works. The thing is that royalty – in my opinion – should be upholding family traditions and setting the bar hight for what is right thing to do. These two do nothing to inspire.
I agree they do nothing to inspire but I still don’t necessarily begrudge them for not going to the funeral. I guess it’s a matter of family and closeness. My personal rule is that unless I had a personal relationship of some kind with them, I don’t go. Otherwise I’d spend half my life going to funerals and memorials for distant relations I vaguely met once when I was five.
Seth, Everyone approaches funerals differently – I was taught you don’t go for the dead – you go to comfort and be with the living who have lost someone they love. From that perspective, they did not take the time out of their busy leisure life to be there for his father and his wife who was in shock. If you aren’t going to be there for your father and his wife – who are you going to be there for? You can’t get much closer than that. William made the effort for his nanny and her family and friends so he’s not funeral shy. Camilla is close with her family – they have all probably socialized at family celebrations – he would not have been a stranger to William – Mark Shand was a huge conservationist and took a trip with Charles – and they no doubt came in contact at family birthday celebrations and other social events. Just another perspective – who knows why William does what he does.
I know. 🙂
I agree with some of the posts up thread–shopping frequently and being fashion forward are two very different things. I think she tries to dress like other royals and copy royal style and looks but doesn’t quite always succeed. I remember reading after the wedding and also more recently before the Oz tour that she insists on styling herself (which I don’t believe is true). If she truly has better things to think about, why do they claim she loves fashion and wants to have complete control over her wardrobe? I always felt that her focus on her personal styling was an excuse for her not working more in the first 2 years post marriage. Now I am feeling like she doesn’t even REALLY have the fashion icon thing in the bag (in spite of the Vogue accolades). Seems like she needs to up her game in every way but instead I see her retreating and hiding. Also, regarding the amount/frequency of her work…the sheer numbers don’t always matter. If she did an event once a week and NAILED it in every way, I don’t think she would draw as much criticism.
Switch – I agree completely that it’s “the thought that counts” in this case. If Kate could indeed “nail” just one event per week, it would go a long, long way toward serving the British people and – concurrently – improving her image. Since Kate has never worked, she has never had a “performance evaluation,” where such action items might be proscribed and for which she might be held accountable. Buckingham Palace HR – is anyone listening?
After I posted my comment I realized that I wrote “week” instead of “month” which was what I intended to say–if she had one event per month that was “perfect” in terms of attire, body language, speeches, makeup, substance,etc. that would be a good thing. Also, speaking of HR and job performance I have been thinking forever of what her job description really is and if she was given a performance review what would the criteria for performance be and how would she be evaluated against it. That is one of the things that is interesting for me in terms of royal watching–performance against standards and just what are her standards of performance.
This line of thinking is interesting. Because what is royal work? It is just shaking hands, accepting gifts and giving out a couple of “well-dones”! They do none of the actual work of the organizations, their attendance might get coverage by the press and help shine the spotlight briefly on the cause – but the press do all that writing and research, and all their speeches are generic “your work is so important…”. This is true of UK business and charity. Even the Australian tour was an all expenses paid vacation – so that others might follow in their footsteps and boost tourism. So I would evaluate like this – did these businesses increase their revenue due to a royal visit? And you will probably find that no. No they did not. From the Queen’s perspective – how would she evaluate Kate: Did you produce an heir? Check! Did you produce a spare? Working on it!
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Agree with all the comments upthread that she seems to have very little sense of self/shopping fills the void (albeit, not very well). I also think “endearing” was tacked on to seem kind, because the rest of that comment throws an ice bucket’s worth of shade (Waity can’t even do THAT for work).
It’s a shame she doesn’t work more. Queen Letizia of Spain did wonderfully well while Princess of Asturias (and now). Crown Princess Mary of Denmark logs in a good amount of work. Both are fashionable while appropriate and without being boring.
A question: is Waity not getting any pressure at all to work because William isn’t the immediate heir to the throne? Is there an interest in prioritizing Charles with Camilla in the public eye over her and William? Or, is William really that uncooperative and his wife gets to tack herself onto his coattails of refusing royal obligation?
I’m always baffled by the argument that they don’t work more or don’t have “pressure” to do more because they are third in line. What about doing charity/royal work because you are passionate about helping others, because you believe in your role and how you fit within society, and because you accept your obligations as a royal. I doubt their contributions are being minimized by anyone else but their own personal preference. Imagine how much stronger and more powerful/influential they would all be if they were all aligned and focused on providing the best value to the Commonwealth. If they were all at the same table working together for the tax payers and the world at large. I can hardly believe anyone could discourage that. There is always something that could be done. Sorry to swing slightly off topic.
Well said, Switch!
I would think they do have enough influence to plot a dynamic royal engagement life instead of the half-assed one we’re all nitpicking. I know if I had an ounce of Waity’s privileges, I’d be hungry to do something substantial on a volunteer level- even if it was just a small organization, it would be mine.
Le sigh. How sad she and William don’t seem to give a royal damn about continuing the Queen’s legacy.
I agree!
I agree.
I read in an article a few months ago that Bonnie Prince Charlie and Camilla are jealous of Willy and Waity’s effortless popularity, despite what Charlie believes is a frivolous approach to life. Charlie is very serious and wants the Royal Family to be known for the good works he and his grass-rolling consort do, rather than Waity’s clothes or Georgie Porgie’s grumpy faces. That is one reason for the downgrading of the Cambridges. It doesn’t matter anyway. Waity and Georgie Porgie are cat-nip to the tabbies.
So there has been an actual PR decision from Charles and Camilla to emphasize themselves over Waity and William? If so, that’s wishful thinking. William (as well as Harry) will always have their mother’s ghost generating interest in both of their lives. Charles and Camilla seem well-liked these days, but don’t capture nearly the same amount of reverence Diana had.
This is the link of the article from The Royalist, to which I think Seth is referring:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/22/now-prince-charles-takes-control-of-william-and-kate-s-media-operation-too.html
From what I’ve observed, the author, Tom Sykes, is not a big fan of Charles, but he is a huge supporter of William and Kate.
Reading that makes me feel a little bad for Charles. He’s got a tough act to follow, plus his sons and DIL are perceived to be bigger superstars than he’ll ever be.
Thank you Greta for posting the correct website! Halia
I’ve read her biography, the one made by Katie Nicholls, and according to that Kate does a lot of charity visits where the press around invited. If this was true, I understand that she wants to help but doesn’t she know that the best way to help these charities is to be regularly seen at these places? They need her “star power” (as the book calls it *smirk*) to raise awareness that these charities exist and in need of funds?
I think she is afraid to show up at places because all people do is comment on her clothes. I hope she knows that this is just a phase. The more people see her, the more they’ll get used to her “chicness” and people would start to notice her “work”.
Also, I do remember when Willnot and his ginger brother were children, their parents arranged for photo calls in their home so the press can have nice pictures of the little munchkins to publish. I don’t understand why they can’t do that. I think the reason why the press keeps selling private pictures of them is because they barely have anything to publish.
I question whether Kate is actually doing as many private visits as we are led to believe. Why I doubt this is because in this day and age everyone is using cell phones and social media – a person is inclined to share that they had in fact met/seen her. If she popped round to your place of work or to visit your sick family member – you probably would tell a bunch of people and word would get out. The Kate fashion followers would almost immediately track it down so they could find out what she was wearing. She may have done some stuff before marrying William when she was still “unofficial” but since her marriage – you can bet people would talk. She honors hospice week every year with a photo or video of an event we did not know about. I think that is the only time where her people work hard to make sure it is not talked about before it is released as that would take away from its purpose.
I disagree. While I doubt she carries out many ‘private’ visits, it is still possible for celebrities and public personalities to have privacy. My prime examples are the killing of Osama bin Laden by the Americans and the visits of the President to war zones. There are media following the President everywhere; the first indication we had of the bin Laden raid was the announcement by the White House. When he travels to Afghanistan and Iraq, the public doesn’t know until he has flown out of the war zone. Surely Waity can slip away to a hospital without the press knowing.
In the case of the bin Laden raid, Seth, you are talking about a tightly orchestrated military operation that depended on absolute secrecy for success. It was critical to that mission that no one, save for essential personnel (the SEALs, President Obama and his cabinet, etc), know what was transpiring until after its aim had been accomplished, and all of the resources of the US government were mobilized to ensure that secrecy. Kate’s visits to charity are far different–they are not military operations, obviously, and I highly doubt that she would be slipping off in the middle of the night, a la the raid. It benefits neither Kate nor the organization for her to maintain any kind of secrecy.
Seth, by mentioning Kate’s “secret” visits in the same breath as the bin Laden raid and clandestine travels to war zones, you have shed new light on Kate “going commando.”
Ha. Indeed. 🙂
Katie Nicholls is a blathering sycophant and everything she writes is comically over-the-top. It’s just blatantly one-sided. I am certain she must be on the Palace’s payroll and I’m amazed that any reputable magazine publishes her nonsense.
l stilll dont understand why kate and will work less than edward and sophie, who are much further down the line, before will married kate he was actually doing more duties, when he married kate they both went downhill fast!
I agree Adam. IMO, something has happened behind the scenes over the last three years that has caused a downturn in their behavior. I can’t begin to speculate on what exactly that is, but many things “Cambridge” just don’t seem right.
ya l thought so too, their isnt even any PDA in this couple, and yet Ll have seen more PDA on charlene and albert who are always critized for not having a happy marriage, kate and will shouldnt have married, l do believe william will get divorced he doesnt seem content but waity has everything she waited for, a pampered lifestyle, and now mother to the future king, she has everything in place just as she and carole had planned, its the monarchy which is loosing not waity and family!
Kate has lots of things to think about other than clothes. She thinks about her hair. Accessorizing her clothes. M-theory.
To me the whole endearing bit sounds like a bit of a wink. Like in the South, they’ll take a dig at someone and then tack on, “bless her heart” at the end to pretty up the sentiment. In this instance, it would be something like, “Kate’s always says she likes my style but clearly talking to a commoner without getting credit for it as an official engagement makes her want to tear her arm off so she can beat herself unconscious with it, bless her heart.”
Yes!
I would say lay off of Kate. She is in the thrilling, demanding stage of welcoming and nurturing babies. She married into a demanding life for a new wife and mother. Besides the morning sickness (I had severe morning sickness like her). Its hard to function much less dress up and go anywhere. And what if she just supports her husband & mother her children? William is involved in causes and she is by his side. Princess Diana got involved in land mines/aides when her children were older.