This time of year is a slow period for all the royal families of Europe, as they are all on vacation (the the Swedes came back from vacation last week, which I’ll be covering later). The most interesting thing that has happened recently is the release of Kensington Palace’s letter about privacy and Kate missing a society wedding. Since it’s that time of year when the royals are absent, the press make due by writing about random stuff. So this post is a catch-all for some Cambridge related articles.
Richard Kay has written a lengthy article for the Daily Mail about Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge becoming “the invisible Princess”.
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The Middleton Rules? “[The phrase] was used to describe an initiative of William’s to ensure his fiance never endured the kind of treatment meted out to his mother, Princess Diana. … It went beyond merely fending off the pesky paparazzi and involved the use of expensive media lawyers, and the meticulous planning of future royal duties and the upbringing of the children they were planning, to create an extraordinary protective bubble around the family. In short, the Middleton Rules would establish that the middle-class values embodied by Kate’s family — and which throughout the years he dated Kate the Prince had found so appealing — were not abandoned the moment she was upgraded from girlfriend to Duchess. They were also to prevent Kate being strait-jacketed into the royal way of doing things and allow her to strike a balance between her duties as a wife and mother and the expectation that she would undertake official engagements.”
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The Queen and Charles had no say in the Middleton Rules: “At the time, the rules were presented to the Queen and Prince Charles by William as a fait accompli.”
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Kate hates being compared to Diana? “[Kate] loathes the constant comparisons with Diana — especially when these emanate from within Palace walls. Living up to the public image of the late Princess, let alone William’s near veneration of his mother, has proved a significant strain at times. Indeed, I am told it has even been murmured that when the time comes, she might not want to be Princess of Wales at all — which could mean the title has gone for ever.”
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Kate doesn’t get along with any of the royals: “One reason why Kate has relied so much on her parents is because there has been no one on the Windsor side to guide her through the royal maze. … Some say the reason why William was happy to relocate to the countryside was partly because Kate still finds it uncomfortable to be in the presence of other royals and the stiff formality of their palaces.”
Basically, the whole article gives examples proving that William and Kate dictate what they do, not the Queen or Charles. So the excuse of “The Queen/Charles won’t let them do more” does not hold water. Also, I highly doubt Kate loathes being compared to Diana considering how much she emulates Diana’s wardrobe and the way she dressed William.
Here’s another article, from the Daily Beast, about why Kate has “disappeared” from public and social events. Basically the gist is Kate is trying to avoid the “if she’s fit enough to party then she’s fit enough to work” comments. Also, according to their sources, “Kate’s strategy is to very slowly build up the number of engagements to which she is committed throughout the autumn. For example, there will be more events in Kate’s diary in October and November than there will be in September.” Kate’s going to need to fit in lots of engagements in October and November to offset the criticism she’ll get if she’s planning on heading to Mustique in November.
There are reports that William and Kate will go on a royal tour to the Caribbean next year – perhaps early next year during the normal Middleton family Mustique holiday which is why they rearranged the trip to take place this November. Both People and the DM are reporting this, though they have slightly conflicting reports. The DM says the Cambs will take Prince George and Princess Charlotte with them on the tour, but People says Will and Kate will leave the kids at home. Who knows what’s true but People has seemingly been Jason’s go-to paper.
Prince William has written (“written”) the preface to a new biography of the Queen called Elizabeth II: The Steadfast. He said in part:
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“I think I speak for my generation when I say that the example and continuity provided by The Queen is not only very rare among leaders but a great source of pride and reassurance. […]
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“All of us who will inherit the legacy of my grandmother’s reign and generation need to do all we can to celebrate and learn from her story. Speaking for myself, I am privileged to have The Queen as a model for a life of service to the public.”
William uses the Queen as a model for a life of service to the public? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
According to a poll by vouchercloud.com (via the DM) of British parents, Kate Middleton is the best female role model for children. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
Princess Charlotte has received another gift, this time a “Maple Leaf” tartan pinafore dress from the Sons of Scotland Pipe Band.
A reporter at Mashable lived as Prince George for a week. Seriously.
Richard Palmer had some interesting thoughts the other day:
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1) “Anyway, people keep approaching me and making negative comments about the Duchess. I think the Brits might be falling out of love with her.”
2) “My sense, from listening to fellow commuters, radio phone-ins etc is that KP’s letter about paps and photos in public places has backfired.”
3) “Anyway, it’s only anecdotal but that is my sense. KP press office has not wanted to engage on the subject since.”
4) In response to the question, What kind of things? – “‘What does she expect?’ ‘She’s bound to get that sort of attention?’ ‘They always pull out the Diana card.’ etc etc..”
5) “Whatever people think about her, there is still interest in Kate. She’d really have to worry if she got to Andrew’s position.”
I think it’s interesting that the KP press office hasn’t wanted to talk any more about the privacy letter. Why ever not? Do they, too, think it backfired? Did they not get the reaction they were hoping for?
Some of the criticism of Palmer’s comments is that the media is just mad because they want to make money off of William and Kate and the kids and by not doing engagements or releasing photos of the kids, the press is not making money. And that as soon as Kate does something (like show up to the October State Banquet in a tiara) the press will love her again.
The first part is true. Of course the press want them to be out and about in order for them to make money. It is a business after all. What will be most telling is if the fawning comes back as soon as Kate does appearances again, or if the criticism continues. Just because the press want to make money doesn’t mean their criticisms aren’t valid. But if the press goes back to fawning at the first public appearance, then we can call them on their BS.
“William uses the Queen as a model for a life of service to the public? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”
My thoughts exactly. And if Kate builds up her schedule of appearances any slower we’ll be entering a new ice age before she becomes a full time working royal.
They do nothing all year, excluding a tour and then run up their engagement tallies during November and December. It’s sop, not some sort of calculated plan.
Should we have a bet on their final numbers for the year?
I’d say Willy ends up around 120 and Kate ends up around 45. The 89/95 QE & DOE will both have 250 +/-
Jason probably didn’t think this latest letter would receive a positive response, so he released it on a Friday.
William is a TOTAL joke. This is the maverick, who indicated he could be both king and copilot. Has he completed a full week of copiloting yet? It’s awfully quiet on the William the co-savior pr front.
Their press has been increasingly critical all year, Kate was even getting negative criticism in may/June.
I’d say the tide is turning, but they are going to continue humoring both positive and negative views.
I’d say Kate will land in the 40-50 total engagement numbers area. This would put her on par with her 2013 numbers the last time she was pregnant. William will probably be closer to 100 because of his Asia tour. The Queen will be over 300 like she always is and Philip will be 250-300. Charles will be near 500 like always.
I thought it was weird that KP released the letter on a Friday, but it would make sense they would release it that day if they were trying to bury it a bit.
Why is Friday considered to be a day that news won’t get noticed as much? I keep hearing this and I just never knew why. Thanks in advance! 🙂
I read Piers Morgan’s book before. According to him papers on weekends are mostly lifestyle and feature pages that are carefully planned in advance. I guess if it’s not groundbreaking, they may not have space for it hence, it will be ignored.
34 days in 2013! 🙂 40 appearances
They are becoming soone predictable at this point. Work “hard” in the beginning of the year and again at the end. And then all is right in the world. This is so old right now.
William’s preface to the book is a joke. And so is he. I am starting to think that these two are almost hoping that the monarchy is dissolved. Imagine it: no work, all glitz, a nice payoff. They will lead the life they want.
At first I thought that the palace was stifling Kate as to not have another Diana. But more and more I realize that she is the one who is lazy and could care less. Her engagement interview was foreshadowing when she said that she wanted to help, even if it’s in the smallest way. Her contributions are not small, they’re miniscule. She doesn’t and won’t care. Take Mary, for example. I’m not big on her but she’s recently opened a mental health clinic and sat in on sessions. She is actively making a mark versus Kate, who made a painful, teleprompter laden video to prom to mental health.
Sorry for the rant, but it is wash, rinse, repeat for these two.
…but they turn up then only bc it’s luxury expensive vacation and holiday time for carole /km /Petulant and the meddletons family, at the RF and taxpayers expense (POW Duchy). The beginning and end of year only shows how lazy snowflake and Will meddleton is – fake and phony – and a real mockery to BRF – HM/POW, to the British and C’Wealth people dedication to the Monarchy traditions and duties. Shame!
Snowflake waity km and Petulant could learn from Princess Maddie, Prince Carl Philip and P’ess Sofia, Sweden.
I agree. I was a bit insulted about William’s intro. He does not have a 10th of his granny’s dedication or duty.
I am so tired of Scarole and her motley crew. I wanted to root for them. IMHO, she had too good of a time in the wedding processional and the balcony appearance. They do not epitomize the middle class at all. And they sell cheap toys made by people who get paid pennies.
If the monarchy is dissolved there won’t be a nice payoff. They won’t be able to keep any of their stuff. They will have to sell Balmoral and Sandringham (which are privately owned estates) in order to make money because they won’t be able to afford the upkeep on those properties.
I’m thinking more of the paid celebrity appearances. Like, come see Prince William at the new Audi dealership and have tea with royalty kind of thing.
Ah. That might be a thing. But then William would actually have to show up and interact with people. And we all know how much he hates that.
I think the palace isn’t doing anything with Kate (I think things are way more decentralized than people think – I don’t think the Queen does much in terms of controlling the Cambridges’ work schedule minus some big stuff), but I DO think the palace was happy that Kate seemed so anti-Diana by wanting to play a purely supportive role and not being interested in making a big splash, etc. But I also think the palace may be regretting that now and realizing that Kate is too far on the opposite extreme.
I also think that William is a huge reason Kate is the way she is. He expected her to be at his beck and call when they were dating, thus making it impossible for her to develop her own interests and/or get a real job. Obviously she was in her twenties and could have stood up for herself, but I think William (and perhaps her parents) deserve quite a bit of blame for her personality now. I think that if William had encouraged her to be more of her own person in her twenties, she would have done exactly that. And I think that now if William was less privacy-minded, Kate would be doing more. I wouldn’t be surprised if she still stuck to wanting her “maternity leave”, but aside from her post-birth months, I think she’d have done more by now. But William and her parents never taught/allowed her to set her own goals and find her own interests, or to have discipline in those endeavors, aside from weight loss/dieting.
I am curious how things will change when Charles is in charge (of our days and our nights…) If he has expectations of those two and if he has laid them out for them. If he’s smart and he wants the press, they will be expected at a lot of his functions.
HM BP seem to rely on POW/CH to get his ‘house’ Line in order! It’s a real shame dedicated Prince Charles continues to allow Petulant and snowflake km to continue disrespecting his Line – HM – BRF. And a let down to his and Prince Harry’s hardwork, duties and respect to the people.
Prince Andrew and Princesses Yorks are in the same position as King George (‘Bertie’) and Princess Elizabeth (HM QEll); time for Princess Bea to return to her quite ways of royal duties for grannie – stop the many vacations (get off the meddeltons trademark).
The Yorks could be next in Line!
I agree with you 100%. Very insightful comments!
If the purpose of the letter was to keep people from knowing\reporting where the Cambs are, then it worked. Maybe Kate is at her parents house, hanging with her Dad. Maybe Will is in Kenya to spend the anniversary of his mom dying with Jecca. Who knows?
Red is spot on!!
International Paps – where are you?! Petulant is threatening the paps who will report on his fake child-wife, ‘baby’-sitting ma carol and meddleton family, and his lack of duties and continued ‘single lifestyle’.
Middleton Rules? Isn’t this something assumed by DM? It makes it sound like it is an actual document. As for the Middletons displaying middle class values, Michael might but not the rest of the family… James is fronting yet another failing business, Carole can’t be working at her business as she is either on holiday or hovering over Kate most of the time. And Pippa spends a lot of time at the gym, when not partying or going to weddings. That’s not what I would call displaying middle class values.
And for those people wondering why Pippa goes to a lot of weddings? Statistically there is a high percentage of people who meet their husband /wife at a wedding. IMO? Pippa is husband hunting.
According to the article, the term “Middleton Rules” was coined by people who work in Buckingham Palace.
I don’t know why everyone keeps insisting the Midds are middle class. Michael had a good chunk of family money which he used to pay for the kids to go to fancy schools, and Mike and Carole supposedly have a million dollar company. They aren’t middle class.
Re Carole running the business. Carole seems to spend a lot of time not being near their business. Maybe Mike runs it now? Or they have enough help to run the day to day and Carole just oversees everything.
They started as “middle class”, with Miss. “Doors to Manual” and Mr. Pilot. Compared to the aristocracy who live off their titles and trust funds, they had to actually get up in the morning and go to work for a living. Similarly to John Kerry, whose father Richard was a lawyer and diplomat. Through his maternal line, he’s descended from the Forbes and Winthrop families who are OLD money New England families. John Winthrop came to Boston in 1630. Kerry receives some money from a family trust but not a lot and his tuition at St. Paul’s School and Yale was paid for by a well-to-do-aunt. So in a sense they aren’t exceptionally wealthy.
I agree with Seth – I think the Middletons started off life as middle-class and certainly earned their money in a way that most upper-class people never do. However, I think they quickly transitioned to a way of living that is more upper-class than middle-class, and my feeling is that while Carole and Mike had middle-class upbringings, Kate (and her siblings) did not for very long. Even when their parents were “just” a pilot and an air hostess, they had plenty of money – their first home (just after marriage) was a four-bedroom that they purchased for about 105,000 pounds (in today’s money). That’s pretty good for just after marriage. Oh and the house sold for 258,000 pounds (in today’s money) when Kate was 13 (so it couldn’t have been because they were famous b/c that wasn’t a thing yet). And they bought their next home for almost 400,000 pounds in today’s money. And given that Kate went to a very posh school, she was certainly surrounded by a non-middle class lifestyle. And Kate spending her twenties living in an expensive apartment her parents purchased for her, doing nothing but shopping/clubbing/vacationing mostly while the Middletons financed her life was certainly not a middle-class lifestyle. So yeah I think the parents worked very hard with their own middle-class upbringing (Carole didn’t go to college even) to make sure that their kids could have a more upper-class upbringing, which intensified when Kate met William. And I think it’s a question of whether it is amount of money or lifestyle that determines if one is middle class or not. And it’s also important to remember that Carole and Mike are in their sixties and have spent a long time building up a very successful company and have every right to enjoy the fruits of their labor now.
Despite their wealth (and current Royal connections), they are socially and culturally middle-class, which is difficult for Americans to understand. I am an American and my fiance is British and we’ve had a lot of fun conversations about the differences in the American and British class systems. We concluded that Americans base our class system primarily on income and connections, while the Brits base theirs on family history and status in the aristocracy. As an American (1st generation) who was raised in a British household, I definitely see a massive difference in how we judge what class someone is from. It is also behavior-based here and people will talk about low class people as being “trashy” and they tend to be portrayed as loud, dirty, poorly educated and violent and there is the English equivalent over there as well, usually with the Cockney or Northern accent. I think the biggest difference is that in America, you can buy your way into the upper class or work hard to get there through educational routes. We’ve had lots of Presidents that were famous for their humble beginnings and part of the American Dream is that anyone can work hard enough to get to the top. In actuality, there is a lot of snobbery and certain kinds of behaviors are expected out of upper class people, but someone can still get into the In crowd if they play their part, make connections and/or become educated as a doctor or politician (as examples). In England, you just can’t break into the upper class. I am actually still really surprised that Will married Kate because she had so little to bring to the table and does not have the innate talent or background to successfully be in the Royal Family/Upper class. Her family is extremely “common” and middle class in their behavior and background. They haven’t handled their daughter’s connection to the Royals in a classy way and I’m pretty sure that marriage didn’t change the minds of William and the Royal’s crowd belittling Kate and her family due to their crass and tacky handling of her status. Genuine Aristocrats play down their titles, money and privilege. Nouveau Riche people, such as the Middletons, flaunt their new crest and connections to the Royals as if they were a genuinely aristocratic family that just happened to be disguised as newly wealthy descendants of coal miners. Their unconstrained glee at their new position in life is so obvious that it’s embarrassing and the exact opposite of what is expected from upper class people. That they actually (and fanatically) wear their signet rings with their silly, made-up crest at all times is completely cringe-worthy and low class. What I have an issue with personally is my extreme distaste for people who pretend to be what they are not and can never be. They are attempting and epic-ally failing at joining the ranks of actual peers. They are a joke and a laughingstock and I predict plenty of class-related scandals in their future. Kate and Pippa weren’t dubbed The Wisteria Sisters for no reason…
Thank you for putting this into perspective, Bets! I really wanted to rally behind this family. But I was turned off at the wedding. Scarole looked like the cat who caught the cheese. I want to tell them that less is more and they are over saturating the media with their maniacal grins and signet rings. I mean really, who runs marathons, bikes, and swims with rings on?
Sorry, everyone. I wrote a reply and forgot to fill in my name and email address. If this posts twice, excuse me. I’m actually re-writing it, so the words won’t be the exact same. Stilll, my apologies for two posts, if that happens.
KMR, very nice post. You summed up the points made by the journalist so well.
Cathy and Rhiannon, I am with you concerning “Mddleton-class values.” Even before Kate married William, how middle class were they and their values? Who pushes their daughter off on a Prince and actually plays a game so well as Carole? Not your average Middle Class Mum, for sure.
Middle class folk don’t sit in box seats at Wimbleton or ride in Royal coaches. They give their adult children room to breathe on their own, too. Good middle class parents with good middle class values, that is.
I am amazed by the little amount of work W&K do for their country. It’s actually sad and William’s comments about HM were lost on me. Yes, she is a fine example of someone who works hard and serves her people magnificently. What has he learned from her, though?
I just finished reading a really good bio of Princess Diana that was very well-balanced. One part that I particularly enjoyed was how very much Diana prepared herself for all the appearances she made on behalf of various causes. She was very educated on the different organizations she visited and spent a great amount of time with the employees of those organizations and the people they represented long after the media was gone.
One particular story about a visit Princess Diana made to New York City’s Henry Street Settlement — a shelter for battered women and their children — was very intriguing. When one of the employees heard Diana was set to visit, she was very jaded in her response. She believed Diana was just coming for a photo opp and that little would be done to actually help the organization — especially with well-needed funding.
Instead, she was blown away by the down-to-earth qualities the Princess expressed during her visit and how much she knew about the problems battered women face, as well as the actual Henry Street Settlement’s work. She stayed long after the media left, talking tirelessly with residents and staff. The woman said her initial negative response to Diana’s appearance was totally changed after just a few minutes with the Princess. Ironically, the woman’s last name was Middleton-Jeter.
Middleton? That’s rather coincidental — to me, at least.
Yes, Kate will have to squeeze in many appearances later this year if she wants to media to stop criticizing her. I realize she is a new mother, but truly, come September, I think she needs to step up her game somewhat. William, if you are working for that Air Ambulance, please get to work, too.
One could argue that the riding in royal carriages and sitting in the royal box at Wimbledon came after the marriage. But even before that the Midds weren’t really middle class. Mike had family money, and they had a million dollar business and a large home.
What is the biography called? That’s a great story of Diana changing the woman’s opinion. I doubt Kate will ever do that. If anything, she would change someone’s opinion in a negative way. Like, the person thinks Kate will be engaged and care, and the she doesn’t.
“Like, the person thinks Kate will be engaged and care, and then she doesn’t.”
Hello! Isn’t that sort of what happened when she was in New York wrapping presents – and we all saw how Kate responded to being asked to keep wrapping. A well practiced side eye caught on tape for the world to watch over and over!
I feel like most organizations view her contribution anymore strictly as “show up and look amazing…and nail that toothy grin on your face for the duration”. Because really, that’s been her “working” mo since day one. They can’t possibly expect anything else from her at this point, just as long as she makes an actual appearance. It’s her own fault.
I posted the name of the book below, but here it is again. I thought it was well written and gave a balanced view of Diana.
Here is what I posted: BTW, the Diana book is called Diana: Story of a Princess and the authors’ last names are Clayton and Craig. Sorry, I don’t remember their first names. They are documentary film producers, as well as authors.
BTW, the Diana book is called Diana: Story of a Princess and the authors’ last names are Clayton and Craig. Sorry, I don’t remember their first names. They are documentary film producers, as well as authors.
Oh lol, I just asked above what the biography is called. Thanks for posting that!
omg, sorry, KMR, I reposted the title of the book without seeing your post that you already saw it. It’s a good book. Hope you can get your hands on a copy.
Kate and William are such a joke. I’m surprised at how some people out there still fawn over them. I view them both as a Stepford Family. She’s a classical robot of a wife, and he’s a control freak who thinks he’s more important than he really is. It’s really just gotten to that, in my opinion. They are never, ever going to work like The Queen has. There’s no devotion there.
I really don’t understand why some people are still such fans of Kate and defend her so much. I just can’t understand. But then again I probably do that with other people and other can’t understand why. But I just don’t see anything in Kate to really fawn over.
I agree and I actually started out liking her! I tried, I really, really tried, but she just doesn’t have any qualities I admire and she’s a failure as a working Royal.
Ok I’m due for a rant today….The Middleton’s are hailed for their middle class values – but the only thing really cited in defense of that is that they spend a lot of time together and are a close family. I agree with previous comments above- they really don’t act very middle class at all. Just bc they actually like each other and are weirdly attached does not make them middle class. Im sure there are many wealthy upper class families that spend a lot of time together as well. They left behind those values as soon as they made enough money and sent Kate to the same private schools as peers of William attended. Carole wanted her kids to be peers with a certain class of people. And these “Middleton Rules” are just a continuation of their enmeshed and codependent family dynamic. Kate can’t make it on her own and Carole won’t let her go. I might just be putting my own feelings into this – but Carole’s face has always irked me! She looks haughty, self-satisfied and smug. Seems it was always her goal to make it to the top of the ladder by any means and the look on her face says she knows she made it. I’m just so tired of all the Middleton’s, and William and Kate. They’re so disappointing and totally self serving people. Aaa aaaand I’m done!
Re sending Kate, Pips, and James to private schools with royal connections. That came about because of Michael Middleton’s family money. So the Midds had family money to start with. Then they made more with their million dollar business. The Midds were never really middle class.
“Seems it was always [Carole’s] goal to make it to the top of the ladder by any means and the look on her face says she knows she made it”
This in and of itself is not a problem. Lots of people work really hard to make themselves rich and there is no problem with that. If Carole wanted to be rich and then lived like a rich women, and she made that happen. More power to her. But the problem comes in when they seemingly leech off the royal connection and/or taxpayer. Because they abuse their daughter’s title. There is nothing wrong with hard work, but leeching off others doesn’t sit well with most people.
I’m not sure that it counts as having “family money” if it’s just for education and nothing else. Like obviously that counts for quite a lot, but an education trust fund can’t really directly influence a family’s lifestyle in most other ways. And I know many middle-class people who saved and/or invested well in order to ensure that their descendants would have good educations. Maybe they saved every penny and lived scantily in order to be able to afford it. My point is an education trust fund from years ago doesn’t say much about a family’s financial situation currently.
I honestly also don’t really get what the problem is with the Middletons using their royal connections. The royals do it all the time! The royals get discounted Range Rovers and free vacations and…oh hey…publicly funded renovations of rent-free apartments. Why should royals get to do it but no one else? The royals have done nothing to deserve it except be born into the right family. That’s no more or less deserving of being able to use the Windsor name to get ahead in life than doing it because your daughter married into the family. The Windsors leech on a daily basis, if this is what we want to call leeching. And who in the world DOESN’T use their connections? Zara Tindall is officially not a royal but CERTAINLY funds her lifestyle through her royal connections. Like 90% of people I know would use their connections to get further in life. Some people are especially “honorable” and choose not to, but realistically, doing so is just a way of life now, and I don’t think people should feel bad doing it because everyone else does it too.
I think one of the major issues with the middletons is not the freebies themselves, but their insistence to force themselves on the BRF and the British public in a really obnoxious manner.
It’s not as if they are giving anything back to society for all the perks they receive.
The queen serves as head of state and most of the other royals keep busy supporting HM or charities etc.
You don’t hear a peep from other current in-laws like the Rhys-jones, tindalls, autumn’s family. Nor in recent history, have brf in-laws been so public and greedy for royal status.
The queen has invited Sophie’s father to Christmas after his wife passed away. That’s is a rare invitation to an in-law. Diana and fergie didn’t cling to their families or demand they come with.
After years of implying they’ll be invited to sandringham, they show up at church and no one looks happy – the queen bolted to the car after church and no one seemed to know she would leave so quickly.
The midds, especially Kate want the perks and status of being royal, but they have nooooooo clue about how to act.
Instead, you have a group of people bragging about queen waity and turning buckingham into bucklebury palace.
William is the biggest idiot.
But isn’t that what the royals do? Leech off taxpayers?
Agreed, the values have nothing to do with how much $ someone has in the bank. “Middle class” to me, mainly means people who’ve typically had to work hard for what they have, appreciate it more, know how to save, budget, and when to splurge, don’t expect anything to get handed to them. There is nothing wrong with trying to better your family, but Carole has done it all the wrong way.
Hilarious that William ultimately chose Kate for a family lifestyle that they don’t actually embody. Kudos to Car for selling it so well, and durr to Wills for being so easily snared. I guess he thought middle class families meant those who didn’t change 3 times a day for meals and require personal security detail. Silly Billy 😉
The people at Vanity Fair are obsessed with Kate! http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2015/08/queen-balmoral-longest-reigning-monarch?mbid=social_facebook I thought how this article talks about the Queen looking forward to their visit was very interesting considering the Queen is pretty well known to disapprove of Kate and how quite frankly Kate acts pretty disrespectful of the Queen.
It’s a Katie Nicholl article. Of course it’s sycophantic.
I doubt the Queen gives that many shits about Kate and the kids coming to Balmoral. She’s really old. She may enjoy seeing the kids for a moment but it’s not like she’s going to want to spend a ton of time with them. They’re small and George is rambunctious.
Also, don’t Will and Kate have their own house on the property to stay in while in Scotland? They probably won’t be staying at the main house. Again, the Queen may see them a bit but she won’t be spending a ton of time with them.
HM seem to appreciate and enjoy her real RF – Princess Anne (the Philips) – Prince Andrew daughters – Prince Edward/Sophie children-children and Prince Harry more.
No common classless hangers on.
I read that they stayed in a different house just when they went after George’s birth because George was so young and already had trouble sleeping (and the main house had some weird bell thing that would wake him up). But Charlotte may be less of a problem sleep-wise – she’s older than George was on his first visit and Charles said she sleeps better. But who knows! Having their own property doesn’t necessarily mean anything though about how much time they will be spending with the Queen. That article does definitely just reek of some sycophantic nonsense (and is probably a counter to all of the Kate fighting with the Queen/royals articles coming out over the past few months).
While I think it is possible William may want to protect Kate, I think the whole story is a concoction of an excuse to get out of work.
I suspect they have a full game plan to have at least one or two children before Kate reaches her late 30’s. This will continue the ‘busy with children’ excuse until the children go off to private school. Thus, keeping Kate out of royal duties until she is in her mid-forties. By that time she will be so old looking from sun damaged skin, the public will have zero interest in her.
I don’t mean to disparage those with mental health issues, but I am surprised the agoraphobia rumors haven’t begun concerning Kate. Maybe, the Cambridges will use this as their next excuse to avoid any true attempt at work and duty. What did Charles and Diana use as their pledge? WE SERVE! Hard work and duty must skip a generation.
I agree. I think William cares more about protecting himself than he does about protecting Kate or his kids. But he uses them as an excuse.
Agoraphobia would never fly. All the reports for years have said how much Kate loves the outdoors and sports and stuff. Plus all the Mustique vacations. Kate is not agoraphobic, she’s work-a-phobic.
You’re probably right.i have always felt some kind of weird sympathy for Kate, and always tried to seek some explanations to her behaviour. Maybe some mental health issue? But then I read she had passed a scuba licence or whatever that’s called which would exclude any depression or the like.
Maybe she’s just really really shy? And scared of making public speeches? But she should have tackled those kind of issues by now.
I hate to say this but you can have depression and pass a scuba test to become PADI Certified. One has nothing to do with the other.
I am shy, I stutter when I present and I prefer to be in the backstage rather than be the one performing. Speeches are my waterloo but I’ve found that if I am well prepared and get my speech together way ahead of time, I can do it without fluttering about the place. Kate needs more practice, more preparation; God knows she has the time. Even practicing reading speeches outloud may help her get in the zone. It’s hard to erase shyness but it’s not impossible to overcome it for a few hours at a time.
On a certain level, I can imagine that Kate might be getting frustrated with the comparison’s to Diana, however as KMR and others have said, she certainly tries to cultivate such a comparison at times by her choice in dress and her dressing little PG like PW when he was small. She wasn’t a teen-ager or in her early 20s when William finally popped the question, so I think she had to know what she was getting herself into when it came to work. Still, she found a way to have her man protect and shield her from any undue stress. It’s actually amazing to me that he is still so eager to keep her under wraps. He adored his mother so much, he must want a wife who is so caring and loving toward people as she was. I do understand that he has a major hatred for the media, though, since he felt the press hounded his Mum to her death.
I so agree with those who have said the Middleton family is not truly middle class. Come on! Carole was looking for a Royal Marriage since Kate was little and to her credit, she put her daughter in the right place at the right time and schooled her on how to reel in the big catch.
The Middletons are social climbers. Is that a middle class trait, too? People in all financial brackets can be kind and decent and loving toward one another. That’s not exactly exclusive to the middle class.
PW’s writings in praise of HM sound beautiful on paper, but William, what are you doing to emulate her service? What’s your wife doing? I’m so surprised that there isn’t more of an outcry regarding these two.
Kate is an emotionless robot. I think tje only time she has ever had a “real” moment in front of the press would have to be when she is with sir hotness ben ainsley. She has true joy while visiting with him comducting “charity” work. What a snobbish and completely irrelevant charity. Im sure sailing is the last thing on an impovershed child’s mind. There are so many children that are just trying yo survive thier struggles day by day and kate devotes most of her “charity” time to sailing because she enjoys sailing, not because it does positive things for under privilaged children. I was so happy when kate started devoting her tine to action on addiction. It has been a tabo subject for far too long, then she seemed to distance herself from it. Throughly dissapointed, what else can i say.
Thank you!
Saliing is no charity… and when have we seen carol waity the meddletons sibs giving back to society – NEVER. It’s hard to believe the meddletons had any wealth, except the decade of association with chasing a prince!? and all the freebiees).
Most hardworking self made ‘wealthy or aristos’ give back – carol and the meddletons only take, take from child workers to taxpayers/and taxpayer funded inheritance through Petulant.
A couple of posts have mentioned Michael Middleton’s job at BA. He was initially a flight attendant and then was a flight dispatcher. I don’t think he ever flew as a pilot for BA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_of_Catherine,_Duchess_of_Cambridge
I’ve been following the Kate since the beginning of this year and reading blog archives to get an idea of what has been going on. It seems that since Kate left Uni she has been showing us who she is regarding work, etc. and maybe we should just except that she is not going to change.
Yeah, there are a lot of times I think we work ourselves up so much being upset that she doesn’t do anything when we should probably accept that she will never do anything and just stop caring. The thing is, the palace needs to realize that this is a huge problem. When people stop caring, the monarchy will fall. The palace needs people to care, even if it’s people complaining about her. Can you imagine how much less traffic the press would get on Kate articles if all the people who don’t like her stopped caring and reading the articles? The press would really stop covering her then.
Sadly I think that if they play this next year smart they can easily come back from their current PR-woes. The next year will probably include the first good Kate tiara appearance since their wedding and a tour, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they also had her do her first solo (short) “tour” as well in the next year. Those 3 things I think would get the public excited again. This next year will be critical though imo – if they don’t do some exciting stuff, they may be in danger of losing their golden couple status for forever. Of course I think William and Kate may be naive enough to think that that is a good thing.
As for her first solo tour, she got out of the first one she was supposed to do on behalf of HM (to a location that meant a lot to HM) with a pregnancy. I’d lay down money that the same thing would happen if she had another tour on her own lined up.
Here is a point to consider regarding Kate and William’s schedule. I’m not saying they aren’t lazy, but I think there are a few great counterpoint to Richard Kay’s comment about the Queen’s lack of control over the royal schedules in the article below.
“Although many would like to see her doing more, the simple fact is that if she, William and Harry were out every day doing royal duties the impact would be diluted. So there is an argument for not overexposing them.
There is also the problem of finding the money to pay for them to do more. The British monarchy is currently set up on the premise that its members will undertake around 3,000 official engagements a year and, while the Queen and Prince Philip continue to undertake the number of engagements that they do, it’s not clear if there is sufficient money available from public funds to pay for all the costs involved in the younger royals doing more.”
This article also talks about the younger royal’s press strategy backfiring.
I got the chance to tour some of the royal residences in the UK and talk to various people who have spent years studying the royals, and while I was impressed with some of the beautiful gardens and jewelry, I don’t think I would actually like to live like a royal.
Since the royals hold the keys to upper crust society, I doubt that Ma Middleton would risk too much of that social acceptance by antagonizing Prince Charles or any of the other members of the royal family. That seems wholly implausible to me. EDIT: Just to clarify, many of the articles regarding Kate’s new way of being royal involve the support or management of Carole Middleton. These reported behaviors by Carole are what I am skeptical of, simply because I think Carole wants that upper crust acceptance.
http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/richard-palmer/479849/Abdication-of-King-Juan-Carlos-shows-Queen-that-popularity-of-British-royals-can-change
It’s not that there isn’t money – just that if money were spent on extra appearances, there would be less to spend on things like renovating Anmer Hall. Also since Kate and William receive more benefits than most of the harder working royals, they could easily have like the Duke of Kent work a little less so that the Cambridges can earn their keep. Or heck, maybe have the 90+ Prince Philip do less! No one would fault him for that.
I agree, Maggie. The arguments that the impact of royal duties will be diluted if Kate, et al, do more don’t ring true to me, either. Surely the value of royal work is virtually nullified if no one ever shows up to do it, either–and Kate and William are excellent at not showing up.
Yep. There’s certainly at least a happy middle ground, where they don’t do 500 engagements but do more than 90 lol.
Also the logic of this article makes me sad because that means the royals are just doing work for their own pr purposes and not for the greater good, which I guess I knew but still sad to hear acknowledged. Because they dont want Kate to do more work because then her pr power is diluted? Why does that matter except the royals don’t look as good? She’d be doing more for charities. And lol Diana’s pr power didn’t get diluted despite her being a very hard worker.
Agree with you, Maggie. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the elder Royals cut back and Kate and William pick up those duties. I guess one can dream.
“These reported behaviors by Carole are what I am skeptical of, simply because I think Carole wants that upper crust acceptance.”
Thanks for the comment Jennifer. I do think the Carole does want to be a member of the “Upper Class” or the aristocracy but like the story of the scorpion and the frog… the true nature will out and Carole just can’t help but show her true nature…
The Scorpion and the Frog
A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the
scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The
frog asks, “How do I know you won’t sting me?” The scorpion
says, “Because if I do, I will die too.”
The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream,
the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of
paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown,
but has just enough time to gasp “Why?”
Replies the scorpion: “Its my nature…”
Jennifer,
I would not want to live as a royal either and I wonder why any non royal would ever choose that lifesyle. I think we see a lot of jewels, glamour and money, its all smoke and mirrors. I remember reading an article written by an author who was invited to Buckingham palace along with a few other guests, for a grand tour. This author said that the group of visitors where served little dry hotdogs on sticks whule taking the tour. She ate hers to be polite but stated that the appetizer was inedible and was confused as to why they were served during the tour. She then stated that all of the guests had to walk around with the stick sans mini hotdog and the staff did not offer to collect them and throw them away. She then states that while no staff where looking people began to deposit the pesky sticks wherever they could i.e, in flower potd and vases. I think her anecdote speaks loudly about the smoke and mirrors aspect of a glamorous royal life.
Jennydog,
living a royal life of luxury, jewels no bills is the easy part – same if you actually do ‘work’ /giving back to less fortunate subjects. Petulant avoiding duties (made up ‘regular’ jobs instead of serving), lazy snowflake and pretences of a fake, phony family life – is HARD WORK!
Just reading about the lazy snowflake Bill meddleton, carol and the meddletons is enough to give migraines. Can you imagine our dedicated life serving Queen/DoE, POW (PR, Kents, Gloucesters other hardworking older royals) and BP CH staff – agony!?
That anecdote says less to me about royal life and more to me about the crappy museum staff.
The Queen/royals IS known for paying their staff terribly low wages, and so I don’t blame the staff for not working any harder than they have to.
Actually that’s been disproven as a bunch of anti-royalist propaganda by the Murdoch press. The average salary of the Queen’s employees is £44,714. The average salary of a British citizen from the last source I could find, is barely half that. Also many of the Queen’s employees receive uniforms, training and basic accommodation for free. And the British taxpayer doesn’t pay for the royals. The profits of the Crown Estate do. The Crown Estate is held in trust for the Queen by the British government. Also the Queen pays for repairs to publicly-owned palaces. That would be like President Obama paying out of his own pocket for a new light bulb at the White House. He doesn’t. The American public does.
Where are you getting your numbers? I remember when an ad was placed for Will and Kate’s staff the salary equated to around $36,000 a year USD. That hardly anything, especially with all that they are expected to do and when you consider the amount of taxes taken from the measly salary that goes back to the government and Queen. So I find it hard to believe that those who work in Buckingham palace make much more. Especially considering all the staff that works there. If the Queen is paying for them herself, she would go broke on a higher salary. I am sure their office staff, like PR team, make more. But the day to day people, like cleaning, do not make much at all.
Also, the Queen does not pay for repairs herself on publicly owned property. She does not own Buckingham palace and it was in the news recently about how many repairs it needs. She does not have the money to repair that since it needs roughly $237 million worth of work. Her accounts this year reported that she spent $59 million of public funds this year. I like the Queen, but I don’t see her pulling out her own checkbook that often. I don’t think she necessarily should pay for them herself, but I am just not sure where you got your information. I am genuinely curious.
Seth – are you sure the average salary you are talking about doesn’t include like…the people who work for the Queen’s communications office, etc.? Because that would massively inflate the average salaries. I’m talking about castle/palace staff, not office staff, which I heard make less than the recommended London “living” wage (which is the recommended minimum wage for people in London because of the high cost of living there). They almost went on strike at Windsor Castle for this exact reason just this year.
I don’t know too much about this, but from what I understand (which is what I read in the papers, so I don’t know for sure how reliable the info is) the household staff (not office staff) make less than the London average, but all their meals are free and a lot of them get free or reduced rate housing.
My numbers for the Queen’s staff come from an article in the Daily Telegraph, which as a newspaper of record–has to have accurate figures–and a 2012 BBC article on the average salary of a British taxpayer. Of course it will be higher when you include the figures for senior staff like the Queen’s Private Secretary and the Master of the Household, who both earn a six-figure salary. But they are also the senior officials with years of experience in their jobs. It’s like the difference between a CEO and a line worker. Also according to the U.N. (from 2011), the average income in Great Britain is about £41,000, so the average salary the Queen pays is above that. Also remember it includes things like uniforms, training, room and board, which compensates for the lower pay.
Maggie mentioned this, but here is the article from the telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/11503795/Queens-staff-could-strike-for-the-first-time-as-Windsor-Castle-workers-vote-on-action-over-appalling-low-pay.html
14,400 pounds per year. Not exactly good pay and well below the national average income.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2546708/Fancy-working-Buckingham-Palace-Job-opening-household-assistant-14k-salary-wont-living-like-royal.html
This one for Buckingham Palace. A household assistant directly for the Queen, making again 14,400 GBP. And the amount of work expected for that little pay is a joke.
Now before you say anything, yes the article is on the Daily Mail which isn’t exactly the most trustworthy source. However, their information was taken directly from an ad on the British Monarchy’s official website, so I think it the information is correct. This also was from 2014, so not that long ago
This is my link, from 2013. The source is the Daily Telegraph and their information comes from the National Audit Office. Sadly I can’t create the link b/c I’m a historian not a computer technician but here it is, so type it into a browser if you’re curious.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10369931/Queen-pays-staff-an-average-44724-report-shows.html
The problem with the article is the number is assumed. They took the amount spent of 19.5 million and just divided it by the number of staff, 436. That is not exactly an accurate way to figure out someone’s salary. It doesn’t specify what different staff members are paid. Where as her actual ad flat out said 14400 GBP, as did Will and Kate’s. Which is more realistic than an average. Honestly, it just seemed like they showed the average number to make the Queen look like a good employer. They never lied in the article since they only used an average, but it seems like a PR thing since the Queen has been known to not pay well.
Well Overit, a household assistant, even working directly with the Queen, is not particularly high-ranking. They rank far below the senior officials of the Household. The Queen’s Private Secretary, who is in charge of the Queen’s schedule, communications with the 16 Governments of which she is head, and the Queen’s senior advisor, is someone who has vastly more experience in politics and government service than an assistant who makes sure the Queen has pens to fiddle with. They get paid what they’re worth.
Well Seth, while a household assistant may not be as important in your eyes, they are still an intricate part of the Queen’s household. They may not deal with high-ranking officials or make the Queen’s schedule, but they are still a necessity in the Queen’s life since without them she would have to clean herself and all the other odds and ends they do. I never said they should be paid as high as her office staff, but they still deserve more. They are still worth more than the well below average income. The whole point of this conversation was that the Queen does not pay the palace servants/staff that well, so it is not surprising the story that started this whole thing.
Sorry you feel that way Overit. They get free accommodation and meals, and the prestige of working directly for Her Majesty the Queen by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom, of Canada, of Australia, of New Zealand, of Barbados, of the Bahamas, of Jamaica, of Antigua and Barbuda, of Belize, of Grenada, of Saint Kitts and Nevis, of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, of Saint Lucia, of Papua New Guinea, of the Solomon Islands, of Tuvalu, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. The worker’s CV shines after b/c they worked for the Queen. You may disagree but I don’t think you’re right. If the Queen paid everyone who worked for her, a wage and benefit of their liking, she would be bankrupted within a year. That’s not fair to her.
Lol Seth thats not fair to the Queen?! The woman who gets MILLIONS of pounds of taxpayer money every year? I’d say it’s not fair to the people who are doing work and not being compensated fairly! If you can’t afford a service, then don’t hire it. It’s pretty simple. Or shell out less money to the Cambridges for renovations so you can afford to pay the household staff fairly. The idea that it isn’t fair to the Queen is incredibly silly in my opinion.
Well Maggie, I will agree she shouldn’t spend millions on renovating Apartment 1A for people who are spending most of their time hiding out in Norfolk and Berkshire. Also the funding for staff and funding for maintenance are separated. Yes the Grant is one but it is divided up. The Queen also voluntarily repays the costs of the Sovereign Grant for her children and cousins from her private funds. So essentially the Queen is paying the government and depleting the income from the Duchy of Lancaster. The Queen also works very hard for a woman of 88, unlike a couple of able-bodied 30-something lay-abouts we both know of. 🙂
Re the “being out every day would dilute their impact/overexpose them”:
Diana was out a lot and the impact only grew.
The Kardashians are out every single day and people still pay a *huge* amount of attention to them. In fact, people pay more attention to them *because* they are out every day.
Re the funds for only a certain amount of engagements a year:
If the Royal Holy Trinity actually worked, then the really old members of the RF could stop working and enjoy their time left. The really old royals no one even pays any attention to: Kents, Gloucesters. Also the Queen and Philip could slow down a bit which is what was supposed to happen but never did.
Yeah what makes me lol is people are always like “let the Cambridges have their family time, they will never get to retire just look at the Queen!” but that’s circular logic to me because the Queen wouldn’t have to work as hard if she had some people to pass on the workload to!
I think it’s about time people stop projecting themselves into the Cambridges. Their life is different from us. Their “work” comes in part of a lifestyle, not a 9-5 thing that they have to do for 50 years then quit. You can’t quit being a royal. It’s a job from birth until death.
You can absolutely quit being a royal. Of course, it also means you give up the privileges, titles, and the public bowing and scraping, so few do.
Kate may hate comparisons to Diana because people are realizing that Diana’s commitment to her charities, strong work ethic and sense of duty leaves Kate in the dust. Even Kate must be aware that she suffers poorly in comparison because given her spoiled and lazy entitled lifestyle, there’s no way she could ever emulate Diana in the areas that truly matter.
You know though, I think Kate really believes that she works hard. She has never done a full days work in her life and she has never had to support herself. So Kate doesn’t really know what goes into actually working, so in her mind, the little amount that she does is actually working hard. I really think she believes the little she does is what hard work looks like. She wouldn’t last a day in the real world supporting herself. She probably believes all the hype about herself and thinks she is making a big impact like Diana.
I agree with you. I think she’s extremely delusional and has never had to worry about her basic necessities or having a real job. Judging by her entitled and greedy attitude, I think she actually believes that she is more special than other people and somehow deserving of all the wealth, connections and privilege that have come to her. She wouldn’t last a day in a real person’s life and would probably have a nervous breakdown if she were ever put in the position of the millions of single mothers that work and struggle to take care of their children. She is a spoiled, selfish brat and is devoting her time to creating a whole new generation of entitled, spoiled leeches.
You may have a point, but then why does Kate still emulate the way Diana dresses and dressed William? It seems odd that Kate would emulate so much how Diana dressed William if Kate didn’t want the Diana comparisons.
Time will tell if Kate does ease back on the way she dresses and dresses George as a mini-me William to avoid those Diana comparisons if she truly dislikes it. Who knows if this report is even true or if this is the usual case of PR obfuscation and smoke and mirrors. The problem is that she and William can’t have it both ways if she wants to channel Diana in the fashion sense, but can’t live up to Diana’s sterling example of public duty and commitment to her causes.
And it would be time to go back to the drawing board for a new strategy if that’s the case!
Maybe Kate doesn’t think of dressing George like William as emulating Diana, but rather just having George dress like his father, another future King. Like….just because Diana dressed William doesn’t mean Kate is trying to copy Diana when dressing George similarly, if that makes sense.
I don’t feel that the Duchess is emulating Princess Diana in the way she dresses. Yes, I have seen comparisons of look-a-like dresses etc..but were they compared most appropriately?? i.e. attending an exact or similar engagement and wearing the same style of dress..
As far as dressing Georgie Porgie, I think it’s just the way the royal family or well-to-do families dress their children. It’s just that we pay attention to the 3rd in line to the throne that’s all.
It’s the consistency of this behavior, which creeps me out. And, yes, she does copy clothes for similar situations.
Here is a good link for Kate’s copykate moments.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/535717318148178579/
Wearing the same romper could be considered cute, but recreating the firstborn meets the second situation/look and the christening outfit was too much.
Dressing him like that sends mix messages. Weren’t they the normal couple (with 30 people on staff), who were modernizing the monarchy?
They end up looking ridiculous and fake. Why are all of their family portraits photoshopped into oblivion?
This picture is the only nice one of the Cambridges as a family and they only had to shop hair on wills’ head. They actually look genuine for once and surprise surprise this shot wasn’t meant to be publicly released.
http://photos.laineygossip.com/articles/prince-william-portrait-26nov14-01.jpg
And let us not forget the polka dot dresses both Diana and Kate wore leaving the hospital after the birth of their sons:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/22/article-0-1ABE41AF000005DC-764_638x693.jpg
http://www.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/64819-kate-middleton-looks-gorgeous-wears-blue-jenny-packham-dress-one-day-after-givin/1374605074_kate-middleton-full-zoom.jpg
There was clearly a 1950’s vibe invoked at the christening: the use of the vintage pram, the smocked shirt/outfit worn by George, the colorization of the Cambridge photographs, the general conservatism of Kate’s hat and coat. All are throwbacks to an era of British conservative values where roles were clearly defined. Again, there were attempts to ‘flashback’ to Diana through similar wardrobe as per polka dot dresses at the hospital. It is not accidental. Please.
As for Kate, she has been consciously brought up to be cushioned to the realities of what ‘work’ actually entails. William likewise. So they enjoy similar outlooks: over-privileged, no personal or professional achievements based on merit, and any number of people fawning over them to perpetuate the myth they are in some way special. They are both handicapped by never having to prove their mettle. We can definitely not expect much of them, or call them role models, or any other such nonsense.
Many families reinvent themselves over generations to make themselves more upwardly mobile; the Middleton’s seem to be no different, and if they have worked hard, good on them. So they are milking the royal connection. As another poster has pointed out, the royal family has long done the same thing, cadging holidays, jobs etc from those flushed with cash who want a royal connection. Remember Fergie selling access to Andrew? The concept of ‘royalty’ in the 21st century is very odd indeed as well as being anachronistic. I have no idea why the Middleton family seems hungry to be in the public eye so often when they do nothing of value to warrant such publicity. It is tiresome to have such aimless lives thrust in our faces, but I am guessing the royal watchers, royal publicity machine and hangers-on need to make a living somehow…
Jen I agree. If the Middletons were more than Party Pieces and did something useful or had some other accomplishments on their OWN and weren’t living in the reflected glory of William and Kate and by proxy the BRF then they might warrant the new stories. As it is, who cares what holidays they are on and when Orangina works out or Wolfman James fake hugs his girlfriend. The thing I love is that Michael Middleton seems to avoid the press as much as he possibly can. He gets it right.
Orangina! Haha! Brilliant. I think Michael Middleton may just want to be a private person and he gets overridden by his wife and daughters. At least he tries to keep a low profile, unlike Granny Dearest.
And Michael is the only member of that crew to hold onto the public’s respect.
Too bad the rest of them are too Kardashian to follow suit. Even Pippa probably would’ve landed a wealthy aristo by now if she hadn’t gone the famous for nothing route with her career. The family of the boyfriend she had around the time of the wedding let it slip to the press that they didn’t like the attention Pippa was courting after the wedding, that they and their son wanted a more low key lifestyle than the D list celebrity one Pippa and her family were chasing.
So, what’s going on with Pippa and Nico? Haven’t seen them together, lately. Or did they call it quits, and I just totally missed hearing it.
Absolutely. It is no coincidence that Michael is the most tolerated yet least visible member of the Middleton family. The female members are Kardashian-like indeed: trading on physical attributes with nothing of substance to recommend them. It’s hardly surprising that Pippa is not seen as suitable daughter-in-law material; not quite the ‘English rose’.
Here’s an interesting article from the DM today. They seem to be changing their tune, now it’s Catherine not Kate, William is so much more at ease with the photographers, etc…. I literally was shaking my head while reading this.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3215522/How-Kate-Middleton-banished-William-s-ghosts.html
Oh good Lord.
I read that article last night and it just made me laugh. It is the truest form of ass-kissing. Although I feel like it is just an ad for her book which is promoted at the end. I wonder how much the Middleton’s paid her to write it in light of all the negative press?
What I find interesting though is lately the comments section on the DM has all the adoring comments about Will and Kate receiving the ‘green arrows’. Which is very unusual for them. Will and Kate are not very well liked on the DM by commenters, so it make me think that the editors are changing the arrows. Because I think Kate in particular is liked even less now and yet the comments section make it appear as though she is loved now more than ever. I think something fishy is going on over there:)
I , too, read that article. It made me think of the flowery articles that came out at the time that the marriage of Charles and Diana was falling apart.
Painfully sycophantic article. The girl (Kate) is dim, has nothing much to recommend her, let alone the maturity and intelligence to deal with a damaged husband.
I wouldn’t surprise me if the royals have a click farm hired somewhere to give them green arrows and place positive comments.
They probably have had a consultant call in at the office and “the team” have signed up an outside contractor to supply the green arrow click farm at some hugely inflated rate.
It’s only a guess on my behalf?
Sickening article. Absolutely nauseating.
Every time I read something about the middle class values of the Meddletons, I could scream.
What kind of values does a mother possess when she does not let her adult daughter do anything on her own? Tying a child to your apron strings forever isn’t a great way to mother.
Kate saving William from his demons? Spare me, please.
What? No mention that Kate walks on water and parts the ocean? Maybe her superhuman abilities are still evolving.
Ha! 😀
They make too many excuses for her. I am enormously disappointed with all these whining. She was the Royal Girlfriend for a decade. The criticisms about her workshyness were the same as they were before. She doesn’t make the effort to change. They both keep waiting to be prodded by the Queen before doing anything. William is obviously either a dense idiot or simply in denial. You can’t be a part time royal. You are the heir to the heir, act like it. Go out and do your bit. Knowing that their father plans to slim down the monarchy into just their family, Harry and William should do more charity or representative work for the interest of UK and the Commonwealth not just their own interest. I think Harry is well liked because he has improved from his past self but he really isn’t any different from William.
I have given up hope! Has anyone else given up hope? Halia
Halia, I really gave up hope and giving two rat’s behinds about these two after Willy’s so-called “agriculture course,” became “Middletons do Mustique.” That was in January 2014. So you’re not alone! 🙂
Hi, Halia,
It is hard to be hopeful when W&K do so little and are praised so highly for the miniscule amount of work that they actually do.
Other Royals in the UK are so much more hardworking. Other Royals in the rest of Europe are, too. If my tax dollars were at risk, I assume I would be far less forgiving of their shameless sense of entitlement than I am now.
I guess we can always hope, though. Something could turn things around.
From what I remember of Kate living in London whist being William’s girlfriend she paraded around London in different outfits. Why not stay in and go out the back way. The only time I felt for Kate was on her birthday but the outfit was clearly planned but the photographers then were unrelenting. I think Kate is trying to recreate William’s childhood and don’t think it is normal to keep dressing a child like that. We only have to see Charlotte in pinafores and sailor dresses now. To be honest I have seen single mothers look after their children’s needs better. I doubt Kate talks to George. The only time I have seen him calm is with William. I think Kate has been dressing like Diana since university hasn’t she? Goodness William must have the Goosebumps. I look forward to seeing Kate work this coming Autumn. It should be interesting how the numbers tally up according to Jason.