73 thoughts on “Sophie Countess of Wessex attends The New Forest Show”

1. Thank you for the Arthur and Twinkle link. Such a beautiful story.

   1. I agree! It might have made me tear up

   2. Yes, thank you! What a wonderful and inspirational story.
      And, Sophie is just so magnificent. I love how she interacts with people. And, with the sheep, too! She is an asset to the Royal Family and gives hope that there is a good amount of caring and hard work in the family. Harry, too!!!

2. Thanks for covering Sophie’s visit. She is a great asset for the Royal family!

   1. +1

   2. She is! She knows it is a PR role, she’s learned her lessons, and she understands that these bread-and-butter visits (no dairy pun intended) are important to keeping the monarchy in a favorable light.

3. So great hearing how Sophie is doing, and I loved Arthur’s story. What a tribute to giving positive support to this little fighter and then watching him go his own way. It’s such a testament to how things should often be done. I liked Sophie’s day one look, and then wow, loved her day two! It’s great that the kids are getting into the river restoration and using hands-on models and methods to learn about what’s taking place. Again, Sophie proves she’s a rock star asset to BRF.

4. There is a such a thing as duck racing?!

   My life will not be complete until I witness this in person!

   1. I know, right. Who knew you could race ducks. That’s probably adorable to watch.

   2. LizB, I”m with you. Just fantastic. Waddle, waddle. Reminds me of how I moved when I was pregnant. Speaking of the outcomes of pregnancies, how is Baby Anne? How are you? Does your little boy love his baby sister? I read another one of your comments where you said she is fussy — and he was not when he was newborn. It’s tough. Hope you have help.

      1. I’m deep in the trenches of life with a fussy newborn and a toddler that has regressed due to jealousy 🙁 He doesn’t interact with Anne much, but we have to be careful because he doesn’t realize how delicate she is compared to him lol

         I know this will pass and things will get better, but it’s sometimes hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

         Thanks for asking, mary elizabeth!

         1. Oh no. Hopefully your son will accept Anne soon.

   3. Us Brits are a bit eccentric!! Duck racing is a bit more exciting than snail racing.

      1. Birdy: snail racing?!? Is that actually a thing? I truly want to see duck racing! It’ll be hilariously adorable!

         1. Oh yes it’s a thing!

   4. Might I suggest a KMR field trip to attend one? I need to see this asap!

   5. Related to duck racing

      http://sirartwork.tumblr.com/post/147785958798/reblog-for-noises

5. Love Arthur! Lovely story too. It is really shameful knowing people (a child in this case!) with disabilities or illnesses dream of achieving a purpose in life, yet some able-bodied ones take it for granted and have no interest in achieving anything. Life is unfair.

   Sophie looks really beautiful here. The dress/cardigan and dress/jacket combo are lovely to look at.

6. Thanks a lot for including the story of Artur, how wonderful it just be for him to be there and I like how Sophie always seems to be close to people… she gets down to get closer to Artur, looks directly at him while speaking and even pays attention to his lamb. It must be great for him to see that adults take him serious and care.

   Sophie also looks beautiful here. Really like the way she dresses!

7. Hi, KMR. This post made me cry. Arthur Jones is so adorable. Bubbles is beautiful. The duck race is thrilling. Sophie is lovely and sincere.

   This post also made me realise I don’t like the royals and Midd celebs. I don’t find anything redeeming about them, especially wills and waity. Sorry, I don’t like their kids. I guess I’m an outlier. I don’t believe waity and wills will ever change their selfish ways, but I do think that the Queen and Charles will continue to reward her despite her contemptible.

   I recently saw the movie Dark Horse and once again found myself crying because of the warmth and courage and hard work of the people and their long shot race horse. I think I’ll stick to reading posts about people like Arthur and horses that run their hearts out. Much more awe inspiring. All the best. You produce a great blog.

   1. Hi Joanna, I completely sympathize with you, it is hard to read about the continued crap (for lack of a better word) W&K pull time and time again. Like you, I really don’t think things will be all that different once they become the P&P of Wales or the K&Q of England, as there is nothing in their combined work history to suggest that either of them might buckle down and earn the perks and privileges of their position. Right now, all they really do for me is feed my snarky side, my bitchy, judgemental side that I try to keep hidden but they sure do have a knack for bringing it out 🙂 I die laughing reading comments on other sites about how great W&K are, how much they do and how wonderful they’ll be as P&P of Wales, it must be wonderful to live one’s life with one’s head in the clouds. I do have to say though I am so glad that KMR covers Prince Harry, Sophie and other royals as well, it’s great to have a bit of fresh, royal air now and again.

      1. Lauri, thanks for your post. I too have that snarky side for the Cam ne’er do wells. Just an aside, I especially love comments from Harriet from Toronto in the Daily Mail comment section. Some of her comments about the Cams are side splittingly hilarious.

8. Sophie looks amazingly well for her age given that certain other Royals look absolutely dreadful for their age. She has a really girlish twinkle about her and her wardrobe in usually on point. I love the way she tackles her engagements…..proper, old style Royal visits to lesser known causes but all that need Royal interest and a pat on the back. And she looks like she enjoys them too. She’s doing a lovely job of bringing up her children to be Royal and appreciate their heritage without turning their heads…..Lady Louise is such a precious, darling girl. Her walkabout on the Mall during the Queens 90th Birthday celebrations was just adorable. All the crowd was willing her on and helping her with her shyness. Viscount James I know little of nothing about and I expect that’s the way they’d like it at the moment.

9. Thanks for a great post! I must now purchase a racing duck!

   1. I know, I want one too!

10. Thanks for such a great post KMR!!

    I want the polka dot dress Sophie is wearing!! Such a fresh, summery look and those earrings are such fun!!! I like that she injects a bit of whimsy into her outfits and how nice that she wore a little cardigan instead of a bulky coat.

    One of the things I like so much about Sophie is her openness. Her body language is warm and inviting and she doesn’t use clutches and such to keep others at a distance. I do have to say though everytime I see her crotch clutching her clutch I cringe and mentally scream NO! don’t do it Sophie!!

    When Charles becomes King I hope that Sophie, Edward and Anne will be able to continue with their work and patronages and that his vision for the monarchy won’t affect the great work that these three do.

    1. Is it just rumor that he wants a trimmed down monarchy once he becomes king? Yes, it’s hard to pay for ever expanding royal family but I think he would be in trouble if he knocked Anne and Sophie down. Those two know the meaning of work! Especially Anne! Since his son and daughter-in-law have no work ethic who else besides Harry would he get? It’s a fine line. I don’t know if the people in the UK like Anne and Sophie but I do, they show up and get the job done and not just the fancy galas.
       My problem with the York girls is they say the have a job yet take more holidays than anyone else just starting off in a job in the US would get. Either be a worker or say your going to be a socialite/philanthropist person. I habe no problem with the latter if they stop trying to be the former.

       1. I do not think whatever plans Charles has have been formally published anywhere. It is all smoke and mirrors, plus rumors.

          What the Yorks do for vacation is between them and their employers. They are private citizens with famous relatives, and they have generous trust funds. Eugenie was working for a British firm the US, so it would be logical if her vacation was the same generous one as the UK offers. Most of B’s “vacations” were shown to be long weekends.

          1. Actually paddle 8 is an American co with offices also in London. Plus, most companies follow the country they’re in for benefits and what not, not where their headquarters are.
             You’re correct in saying in it’s between them and their bosses but even if b’s were all long weekends most jobs in the US don’t even begin with being able to take time off until 3 months in. As I said, I don’t care if they want to do the socialite/philanthropist route. We all know they have money. Just don’t pretend to work then take an obscene amount of time off; that no real working person (at least in the states) would be able to get.

             1. And what they do, as private citizens, is none of our business. We do not know what their companies have provided for their benefits. We do not know that other employees aren’t getting those benefits. We do not know that they aren’t working, but we do know they do a lot of charity work when they are not required to. They are private citizens and those arrangements are not our business.

                I’ve had colleagues who were hired in, for US companies, who negotiated getting vacation and taking pre-scheduled vacations from day one. From day one for US citizens, no three month waiting period. Why assume that B&E’s companies do not provide that for them or all of their co-workers?

                People don’t harp on Zara trading on her royal connections (and her skills) to make money off clothing deals. Or Peter selling his wedding photos. But the Yorks are constantly attacked when none of us know the work arrangements of these private citizens.

             2. I think your definition of private citizen and mine differ. Zara and Peter have no titles. The yorks have the title princess so not quite so private. On the duke of York website has tabs for both. Making them public figures.
                I actually have no problem with Eugenie, it’s Beatrice I have issue with.
                And yes, I can totally judge them on it.

             3. Beatrice and Eugenie hhey have titles given to them at birth, but they are private citizens. Members of a family that happens to be royal, but they are not members of the official working Royal Family so they are private citizens.

                They are not funded by the taxpayers, they will not be working royals. There is information about Peter, Zara, and the grandkids on Anne’s website. Is Andrew supposed to deny the existence of his children on his website? He may want them to be working royals, but they aren’t going to be and they remain private citizens. High-profile ones, but private citizens.

                Anne could not pass on royal titles to her children even if she’d wanted to. Titles pass through the male line only. Mark would have had to accept a title, and even then they would have been lord and lady not prince and princess.

                Zara and Peter use their royal connections, they live off of their mother on her estate (fixed up by the Crown Estate and secured with taxpayer money), but get away with it because their mother isn’t hated like Andrew and Fergie are.

                B&E have titles that are their birthrights. They shouldn’t have to give those up because the BRF changed its mind about things two decades after they were born. When they marry, they will retain their princess titles but they will not pass titles (royal or otherwise) on to their children.

             4. By your reasoning Lady Louise would go by Princess Louise but her parents clearly saw the writing on the wall and chose to have her go by her lesser title.
                I think you are meaning they are civilians vs private citizen. KMR, I’m sure, would never do a post on a private citizen because it would open her up for a slew of lawsuits. So they may be considered civilians but are still public figures.
                I think we should agree to disagree! I’ll think Bea should give up pretending to work and focus on philanthropy instead (she’s clearly better at it) and you can think they’re private citizens and shouldn’t be scrutinized.
                We both agree on thinking Sophie is wonderful tho! The joy of a diverse blog=)

             5. I would agree with that. All the royals are still public figures even if they aren’t publicly funded. They are not “private citizens” in the way that you or I are.

             6. KMR, when the minor royals do engagements eg charitable events either in the UK or abroad, who picks up the costs for security and travel (if applicable)? Didn’t Eugenie travel to Switzerland recently to give a speech? Who paid for travel, accommodation and security? If it is her father, where does his income derive? If his mother funds him, then it seems reasonable to suppose that the UK taxpayer is in the funding mix. The problem is that funding is so very murky.

                In terms of B and E, I’d posit that their ‘work’ for companies is ‘flexible’ due to their connections. I’d also say that is exactly why they are employed in the first place: potential customers are attracted to the royal connection, and both B and E would be deployed to maximise a potential sale. Makes sense for an employer, and allows the girls to do whatever they do.

             7. As far as I know, Andrew pays for B&E’s security and travel costs and such for charity engagements. Andrew’s funds come from the Queen. So in reality Andrew paying for B&E privately is actually the Queen paying for them publicly. It’s very tricky with the royals and what is private v public money. But if we think about it in terms of where the money, the even the money deemed private, comes from it’s all public money unless they went out and got a job and received payment from that job. But even W&H using their inheritance from Diana – which is typically classified as “private” money – is actually public money since Diana’s money came from Charles in the divorce and a lot of that settlement was actually paid for by the Queen. So even “private” money is still public if you look back at where it came from. And if you look back far enough it’s all public money, unless it came from an outside the family job.

             8. Thanks, KMR. As you say, what is private vs what is public is muddied and unlikely (under no need to comply with FoI) to be unmuddied any time soon. I agree with your summation that if one goes back far enough, pretty much all royal wealth has come courtesy of the public purse.

                If, upon Charles’s ascendance to the throne, he does want to slim down the monarchy, perhaps this is the opportunity for all parties – BRF, the government of the day, and especially the citizens of GB – to re-examine the terms of any future contract.

                There are numerous financial anomalies that remain unsatisfactorily explained, but for example, should the cost of US$84,000 paid for Harry and William’s security to attend Guy Pelly’s wedding been borne by the British public? Surely this was a private good with no benefit to the public. And again, are local councils, under pressure to deliver basic services, able to pay for security when, say, Kate and William need to ramp up their numbers when they have been MIA? If some royals are scrambling to count as much as possible as an engagement or multiple engagements as per the India/Bhutan tour, does it not say that the need for them is just not there?

                Circling back to minor royals, most seem to live on public largesse in some form; that darned muddying again! None seem to function independently. The problem at the heart of the conversation above is really about the (deliberate) lack of transparency employed by the BRF so much so that we have difficulty discerning private from public.

             9. Part of why Louise and James have lower titles is because Edward chose a lower title for himself. Also, when Edward and Sophie married they were not intended to be working royals. They were the first that were trying to have jobs and it didn’t work out.

                I think the plan from their birth was Wm, Harry, Beatrice, and Eugenie would be working royals for this generation. But Anne and Edward’s (future) kids wouldn’t be. The ideas of drastic slimming down didn’t happen until later. The BRF didn’t expect the York marriage to implode, causing the girls to be damned by association. They would have been the Gloucesters and Duke of Kent of this generation otherwise.

                I mean private, not “civilian”. I do not like to use military terms where they do not apply

                B&E are in the public eye but they’re still private citizens to me, like Lady Sarah Chatto is in the public eye as the granddaughter of a monarch but she’s a private citizen. Ditto Louise and James, which is part of why I protest when people attack Sophie through their kids. Zara has chosen a public sporting career, so she’s chosen to make herself a public figure.

                None of the charity work or oversees visits that B&E do is in the name of the monarch, so none of it is paid by officially by the monarch. It is done by them as individuals representing themselves, even when they were asked by the UK government to travel to Europe (Germany?) they went as individuals not as representatives of the monarch.

                KMR, you’re making an enormous assumption that Andrew is using SG money for them. He has large private inheritances and the money could be coming from that.

                When Zara first moved off her mother’s estate, there were published reports she was surprised that she wouldn’t get security. Her moving back to Gatcomb, along with Peter, means that they all get to live off of Anne including her security which covers the entire estate. Again, them living off Anne is deemed okay because they don’t have titles? Anne’s estate was purchased with “private” money, but it was fixed up by the Crown Estate and all security comes from the taxpayers. How many of Anne’s taxpayer-funded expenses are covering Zara, Peter, and their families?

                Diana’s settlement didn’t come from the Queen. She cleaned out Charles’s personal fortune. He had to borrow money from the Queen and pay it back.

                http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1467785/Diana-took-Charles-to-cleaners-in-divorce-says-his-banker.html

             10. I’m going to try to explain my view on this.

                 Zara, Peter, Louise, James – all raised with the expectation that they would not be working royals.

                 B&E – through no fault of their own they were given royal titles and raised with the expectation that they would be working royals. That wasn’t just Andrew pushing them forward. It was the public assumption that they would be part of the Family Firm. That changed very recently into, “No, you have to go do something else even though we told you for the last 20 years that you’d be working for us.”

                 Critics of them say, “Life is hard, they need to get over it and move on.” I think they are, but some people won’t let them. Or rather, B&E continue to be criticized as if they were members of the Family Firm who aren’t working hard enough.

                 The public does not have a claim on them anymore, that claim was lost when B&E were not “hired” by the Firm. But the public continues to criticize them anyway.

                 For the first 20 years of their lives, they were constantly attacked because of their parents. They did nothing to earn the sheer hate directed at them. Then the family firm threw them out, but only at the last minute.

                 Now they’re struggling to find careers, both working hard at doing so. The public continues to claim the right to criticize them as if they were members of the Royal Family, when instead they are private citizens related to the BRF.

                 To me, the criticism directed at B&E isn’t really because of them it is because of their parents. The deck is stacked against them, the hatred of Andrew and Fergie is too strong. No matter how hard they work against it, some people will always bash them because of their parents.

             11. I agree, Nota, that Beatrice and Eugenie are on the receiving end of some unfair criticism because their parents have behaved so cravenly for decades. You can see the same approach just starting to spill now onto George and Charlotte because of their parents.

                 I am surprised that the Queen does not intervene in some way regarding her granddaughters because she makes sure that their father, Andrew, is heavily protected against some serious allegations; the press simply dries up.

                 Because royal finances are not transparent and the Queen has been known to dip into funds earmarked for building maintenance, transferring it to personal accounts, it is not unreasonable to conjecture that the Queen helps Andrew and other relatives financially. It’s just that there’s a lot of blurring of what comes from where and goes to whoever. That could be easily fixed; the Queen and Charles refuse to do so.

                 All the royals have trust funds, but again we don’t know if they live off those investments. Both Bea and Eugenie have expenses paid for by their father which suggests that they don’t live off their salaries or investments alone. I’m not saying this is wrong in any way, of course. But when public monies are given to a family and when scrutiny of those funds is concealed, then people become rightfully suspicious.

                 The arrangements made between royals and employers are between those parties alone. You’re right – it’s no-one’s business. However, Beatrice and Eugenie are visible; they help out at garden parties, attend official family functions, and as you say, undertake private charitable engagements. It would do them immeasurable good to employ someone to devise and manage a strategy that untangles misconceptions. Their activities should be able to be discerned as: (1) Paid work, (2) Family obligations, (3) Philanthropic work as private citizens, and (4) Private social outings. I think (4) gets a lot of coverage, overshadowing (1) and feeding into the dislike of their parents. That said, they could also be a little more discreet about their private activities so that their business stays their business. For example, some celebrities are papped all the time, others rarely at all. The latter don’t advertise and are discreet.

                 It is the very best interests of Bea and Eugenie, and Louise and James, that they take a lesson from Lady Sarah Chatto and live their lives in private, and achieve on their own merits. With respect, I don’t believe B+E are doing that yet; the transition is hard for them at present and they are too used to receiving special attention due to proximity to the Queen; they are young and like it. I think that the much younger Louise and James will have a better chance.

             12. Where does the money that gets put in the trust funds come from?

             13. Good point! If public monies have been funneled into them over years… How is anyone to know?

             14. Why should they stop publicly doing charity work if that is what they want to do? They should be required to hide away because the public doesn’t like their parents?

                 Through the years, the people who have married in (minus Philip) have brought “private” money.

             15. I didn’t say that B+E should give up their charities. My point was that given the bad press around their social activities, it would be wise to dial it down and keep their private lives private. It’s not about hiding away but rather being clever about what gets out. That requires discretion and planning. Some celebrities are in our faces all the time because they leak information; others lead perfectly normal lives because they don’t. It can be managed.

11. Oh my gosh, I just read the article about Arthur and Twinkle, how inspiring! I don’t know if any of you watched the video I linked a couple of days ago about the paralympic athletes but I get such a tingle watching people who have refused to let their disabilities hold them back in any way. I have chronic back pain and when I read articles about people like Arthur or see videos about people like the paralympians, it really gives me the kick in the butt I sometimes need to get me out of my funk and back to living life the best I can.

    I know that this blog is primarily about Kate Middleton but I do appreciate that you cover other royals, like Sophie, as well and allow us to sometimes veer off track and share personal and sometimes inspiring stories. As I’ve said before, you should be very proud of this wonderful community you’ve created KMR!

    1. +1?

12. KMR, a very lovely post. Thanks so much!
    Loved Arthur’s story. Twinke, too. Sophie is so warm and caring and when she meets people and interacts with animals, she is delightful.
    Wow, I’m impressed by her more and more. She is always working, always caring and just looks so lovely every time I see her.

13. Sophie looks amazing, very fit, the cycling training is really paying off and isn’t it just wonderful that she gives up not one but TWO days to really explore and connect with her patronage?

    I’m not even going to bother making a comparison with Duchass Useless. Just not worth it. *sighs

    But yeah, the racing ducks deserve their own post, and vids!

14. KMR, please feel free to delete this as completely off topic. Or move to its own topic if you feel it is worth discussing.

    Discussion forums can be made or broken by the administrators and moderators. KMR has done a great job of reeling us in when needed while not stifling freedom of speech. It is difficult to find royal discussion boards that are not completely one end of the spectrum (The Royal Forums) or the other (Royal Gossip).

    Occasionally I read over at RoyalDish but am not a member. I feel like RoyalDish is in danger from one of its moderators. One of the Admins, Jonathan, loves CP Mary but just shrugs his shoulders that his favorite royal is so disliked. He doesn’t stop people from discussing or disliking her.

    There is a poster on RD from Germany named Trier1. She works in Luxembourg, speaks the language, and brings in information and local opinion that *no other English-language board has about the Lux royals*. She is writing in her fourth language, so things aren’t always completely clear but she tries hard.

    Lately the Admin Maria has been attacking her, I have no other way of describing it. IMO Trier isn’t doing or saying anything differently than other posters. Maria is calling her out, demanding that she label her opinion as “speculation” or prove that certain rumors in Lux are really being discussed or Trier isn’t allowed to post them on the board.

    No one else has to bring receipts for the discussions or their opinions, but Maria is dogging Trier. IMO she is deliberately misunderstanding something Trier wrote recently as an excuse to shut her up or get rid of her.

    The Lux board with Trier is interesting. It is the most active Lux board, and the only one with a local on it. If Maria succeeds in bullying her off RD, the Lux section will die or it will turn into a sugar board like The Royal Forums.

    Does anyone else think Maria has lost the script on this one because of personal favoritism, or am I imagining things? (I realize that those of you who post here and on RD under the same name cannot answer me. Given her recent behavior, I can see her throwing all of you off RD if you dare to question her.)

    1. Love reading about Sophie! And I’m more than a bit jealous as I love fairs and sheep. We had them on our farm. My husband and his kids used to show their sheep at various events around the country. The ones that were left after the kids moved on stayed with us as pets and lambing was one of the best times of the year.

       I was also quite jealous when I saw a picture of her petting one of the cows. Yes, sounds crazy but it’s one of the best things about the fairs for me, getting to see these beautiful animals up close and a little hands on thanks for their beauty.

       The story about little Arthur is so wonderful! I’d love to see him show his sheep.

       It’s always like a breath of fresh air when we discuss other royals. A very nice step away from the Hallowed Duo also known as William and Kate.

    2. notasugar, you’re not alone in your thoughts. I’ve found myself rewriting and muting myself several times from fear of a lashing. It is odd that some seem to be targeted.

    3. I post on RD but haven’t really noticed this that much? I mean, everything posted on a gossipy board is pretty much speculation? I do appreciate knowing the truth about the Luxembourg family–specifically Stephanie and Guillame and their laziness that puts W&K to shame; it’s taught me a lot about Henri and Maria Theresa, and Tessy, who I like very much.

       I’ve noticed a lot of people have been banned for minor infractions, or warned for something really silly. That is what I’ve got a problem with!

       Anyway, I don’t feel KMR is the place to bring gossip from one board to this one, but I wanted to throw in my two cents. I’ll shut up now!

       Sophie is a star. I think we all agree. 🙂

    4. Thank you ladies. I thought I was imagining things or being too sensitive regarding Maria’s slanted moderation. Didn’t know where else to ask.

    5. I’d say you should email the admins of RoyalDish personally to let them know what the problem is and ask them to do something about it – I’m sure there is a head admin who is above the one you’re talking about who can sort everything out.

       1. Thanks, KMR. From what I understand, Maria (the one engaging in this behavior) is the head admin and co-owner of the site. That is why I was testing the waters, to see if I was being over-sensitive or if her behavior was obvious to others. I’ll just have to avoid that forum moving forward.

15. ABC, Duchess Useless! +1000

16. I read the story of Arthur and Twinkles and it made my soul so happy. It does my mind good when I hear stories that are so inspirational.

    Huge high five to Sophie. As I read this, I was shocked that she visited the same charity on consecutive days! What a thought (insert sarcasm). I agree with everyone that I just enjoy Sophie. She seems genuinely happy to do her job and connecting with others. I remember a few years ago that she opened her purse for a little girl who asked what she kept in it.

    At this point, I don’t know what Will and Kate can do next. I have also realized my frustration towards them was uneven. I needed to hold William just as accountable, if not more than her. William was born into it and she married into it. Both want the spoils of luxury, but not the work that is required.

    Thanks for such a lovely post, KMR. Sophie reminds us what a working and empathetic royal should look like.

17. I love that covering other BRF members (and other families entire) is part of your blog. Sophie is so lovely and so comfortable in her role.

18. Hi all, here is a rather nice write up about Sophie on the DM.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3715438/How-frumpy-Sophie-Wessex-transformed-gorgeous-royal.html

    1. The comments in this daily mail article are rather nasty though. It seems that Sophie made some big mistakes back in the day when she was a new Royal and that has followed her in the public consciousness. Funny that today the Daily Mail is moderating in such a
       Way that more positive comments on Kate are getting posted and her getting free arrows. How can that be? Kate continues on in her lazy and greedy and selfish ways, yet the public seem to have very short memories of that.

       1. Hi Red tulip, I don’t always read the comment section on these articles but I have noticed lately that the DM does seem to be moderating the more critical comments about Kate and/or William even when the article itself has critical points in it.

       2. There are a couple of big Sophie haters who frequent the DM. I suspect one may be Miss Hathaway from RG.

          When Sophie and Edward first married, they tried to continue to have their businesses. They weren’t meant to be working royals forever, they were to be the first of the pruning. But Both Diana and Fergie were out, so they needed more people doing engagements.

          Sophie was caught in a sting from a tabloid where she talked too casually about the BRF. HM read all the transcripts, realized it wasn’t a big deal, and openly forgave Sophie. Press made it into more than what it was, as they do.

          After that, Edward and Sophie were made to shut down their businesses and only do royal engagements from about 2002. They were too big of a target, and they’re a major reason why you cannot be both official working royal and have a side business. You have to be one or the other.

          Some people will never get over it, so they bring it up 15 years on.

       3. I thiught this article was rather rude about Kate. Superficially it’s about Sophie, yet every other sentence is how much Kate is lacking.

          The before pics of Sophie aren’t hideous, and clearly from the 90s when we all had terrible fashion. No weird outfits or even rude passages about Sophie to make her seem worthy of a hatchet job.

          Yet sprinkled throughout, jabs at Kate.

          Outright pointing out that she wears extensions, that she doesn’t use hem weights, that she has veneers, doesn’t work so much…….

          On and on it goes. Disguised as a praising Sophie article.

    2. Thank you Laurie. I was going to mention this excellent article on the change of Sophie. It was interesting where the fittings were done and the process of keeping track and where stores. I imagine it is same process for several of the Royals. Sophie really looks young and fresh. Article also mentioned her eating and exercise habits. Well worth the reading.

       Thank you KMR for sharing the Arthur story. Such a smart sweet little guy. Another excellent article. 🙂

19. Howdy… Total Sophie fan, and I really love her, from her wedding day on. I am glad you posted about her. Please keep it up! Its nice to read about someone who is doing the job ‘correctly’. I nice contrast, refresher… etc.

    In light of many of us nitpicking Kate’s outfit here is my thoughts. Loved the dress and cardi.. and the other dress and jacket. But wearing Prada to crouch down in the hay? also, I am not sure about the black scrunchie in the hair with the prada dress.

    I love the earrings, but I think they might be too heavy for her ears… they look like they hurt! ouch!!

    Doesn’t matter.. I still love me some soph!

    1. Hi FuMama (love your moniker)
       I thought that too about her earrings. It made me wonder if she wore them because Louise picked them out or because of some personal choice. Usually, she wears things with an eye for size, but they are fun, and at least we could see them unlike Kate, who’s always got her hair down and blowing all over. I loved Sophie’s wholehearted expressions. You can tell how much she really relates and enjoys being there. I wonder if any of Kate’s neglected charities could call Sophie to get some real visits in, but she’s got a pretty full plate.

       1. Hi Sunny… Thanks..
          It relates to one of my kiddos birthnames. Another kiddo called me Fu Mama because of it and it kinda stuck. And yes my kiddos kept big chunks of their birthnames.

          Fu means rich in Chinese.. and with my children I am indeed living life with the fullest heart.

          Do you have a story about your moniker?

          On topic. I do love how Sophie wears he hair up. As a ponytail wearer myself… it makes me feel like I could sit down at SBUX and have a latte with her.

          1. I think Sophie’s hair is baby fine and won’t hold much of a “do”. It is either an attempt at big hair that fails part-way through, or a variation on CP Victoria where it is up most of the time. Up and off her face suits her IMO, and she keeps getting better with age.

          2. You’re kiddos sound a lot like mine 🙂 We have a lively, fun bunch here.
             I definitely am with you that having the blessing of special people in our lives adds to the richness and fullness.

             My moniker is my name. My mother was a hippy flower-child; I’m extremely lucky not to be Star-Moon or Sarsaparilla Sunrise. She passed five years ago tomorrow and I miss her. We had a difficult relationship (she was a serious alcoholic, not the nice ones who fall asleep but the yelling and angry ones, but she was a pretty great person who had issues just like we all do).

             I love how Sophie engages with people. Her smile and comfortableness touching someone’s hand, and how she really gets involved. KMR had a great write-up sometime back about Sophie biking for charity that we were all interested in. What’s really great about her too is she talks very openly about what she’s interested in, how she’s handling getting older, the challenge of biking (how hard it was to walk after a training session, but how good she felt later), that really connects in a way that I don’t think Kate ever intends to. I think the public was really hungry for a “person like us” to marry into the royal family, and the irony is, someone already had, but it’s not Kate. Kate was brought up to be “perfect.” IMO Carole’s got a lot of hate and envy for people who had titles, money, beauty, and I can understand that in part, because it’s frustrating when someone gets to go to the head of the class for arbitrary reasons. Kate embraced her mother’s mania probably around early teenage years to “look beautiful” because that was the ticket upward. This is why Kate is so lacking. It’s too bad because Kate visited a prison to take part in a round-table discussion about mental health and other issues which I thought was great, but that’s dropped off the radar and probably won’t resurface. Why help people in prisons when you can sail with Sir Ben? Sad.

             Good to have you here and hope your day is going well!

20. cover the other royals please, princess charlene has been rocking some great outfits lately!!!

    1. I covered Charlene just recently.

       http://katemiddletonreview.com/2016/07/24/princess-charlene-attends-red-cross-ball-decides-not-to-attend-rio-olympics/

21. Thanks for the Sophie post, she always looks like she’s enjoying herself when out and about with the public. Her engaging sense of fun and natural curiosity put her on par with Charles in my eyes.

    KMR, it would be interesting to see a timeline comparing the people who have married into the BRF, not so much by age but by years involved with their member of the Firm. When their gaffes occurred and when they came up to speed with their work for the public. Would we find that we are too hard on our seemingly work shy Duchess or is she clearly and fairly earning this judgement? In this time of social media turning the wheels daily of people’s opinions and so much fact and fiction floating around one had to winnow for the truth, well, others may have gotten away with similar lax behaviour in the past and had it tidily swept under the rug in BP. Whereas now, no one gets a free pass on anything ( maybe that’s why the Queen sees fit to dole those out herself?) What do you think? Where would our girl end up in that comparison? I suspect still lagging and digging those heels in mightily, but it would be interesting…

22. I don’t understand why Kate never did these kind of engagements early on her marriage. There must be any number of county shows within striking distance of Anglesey, and they would have been ideal opportunities to get introduced to royal engagements and gain some public speaking skills in a less pressured environment than an overseas tour.

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