These days, I’m feeling sorry for Duchess Kate. I do think she’s getting it from both sides – she’s being criticized for not working enough by all of us in the cheap seats, but at home she’s just trying to do what Prince William wants her to do, and she’s aware of the idea that she could easily overshadow him if she really tried to do a heavier schedule of events. Plus, she’s now going to be a single mother for ten weeks as William “goes back to school” with a bespoke program at Cambridge. What will she do for ten weeks? Will she just be looking after Prince George, or will she be allowed to have a public schedule in William’s absence? I have no idea.
Speaking of… Kate’s 2013 schedule took a major dip, mostly because she was pregnant for more than half of the year. In 2012, Kate made 100-some public engagements (plus Olympic stuff, plus a royal tour) and in 2013, she only made 35. To put this in some kind of context, Prince Charles made 189 public engagements in 2013, the Queen made 181 engagements, and Prince Philip (who is 92 years old and battling significant health problems) made 120. You can see the full list of working royals here. Note one thing in particular about Kate’s numbers: many outlets have cited a larger number of 40-something because for some reason, Kate gets “public schedule credit” for all of those “private meetings” which… no one can really verify her whereabouts.
Meanwhile, People Mag had a story about the Middleton family’s New Year’s:
There was no red carpet or flashing cameras as Kate Middleton joined her sister, Pippa, at a laid-back party on Monday afternoon. The siblings kicked off their New Year festivities early at the celebration at a friend’s place in Bucklebury.
“Kate looked incredible,” a fellow reveler told PEOPLE. “She was very jolly and very happy.”
The eyewitness says the new mom, 31, who gave birth to son George in July, “has really got her figure back. If anything she actually looks better now than before she had Prince George.”
While George and his dad, Prince William, weren’t spotted at the party, Kate clearly enjoyed herself.
“The thing that really strikes you is that she is just so normal and smiley,” the partygoer said. “There are no lights on Kate here, so she can be totally relaxed and herself.”
“I came away from the party thinking, ‘She looks really happy.’ Kate really is glowing and full of life.”
The relaxed celebration was a contrast to the new family’s recent Christmas festivities with the Queen and Prince Charles at Sandringham, where they were expected to dress formally for dinner and follow other royal traditions.
Last year the entire Middleton family – minus a pregnant Kate – toured the local pubs on their pushbikes before cycling across Berkshire’s rolling hills for a festive tipple at home. Let’s hope George got a tricycle for Christmas!
Some say that Kate will definitely get pregnant again right away. I say… I don’t think it’s up to her. William will be away at Cambridge, then Will and Kate will go on tour to Australia, and then…? I don’t know. If they do get pregnant again, I think it will be in the last half of the year, but I really think Kate and William are going to try to spread it out a bit more. Maybe the spare will be born in 2015.
Photos courtesy of PCN, WENN.
I have been softening my stance on Kate’s work schedule, and particularly for 2013. She was pregnant, delivered and was a new mom. And I agree with Kaiser in that she cannot and will not ever show up her husband on the work front, so there’s that, too.
I can’t imagine riding a bike around the neighborhood here for New Year’s. Temp is in the negative digits and there’s a foot of snow around. But rock on, Middletons, your celebrations do sound fun.
I agree that she should be allowed to put her pregnancy and new child first. That’s her primary “job” anyway. Plus, it bugs me that everyone snarks about her all the time, but what about William? I know he had a job, but he didn’t seem to work much, nor does he seem to be breaking any records for public appearances. Why does a pregnant woman/new mother get all the criticism?
Fully agree that William should be the one shouldering the brunt of the criticism. He’s not working, nearly lost his pilot wings for skipping out on RAF duties over the past few years, and he’s not pulling his weight as a royal either. He’s the one who was “born to it” and he ought to be helping out his granny with her chores.
As Kate has not accomplished anything else in her 32 years, she will be judged harshly on motherhood. Its not fair, but its society still expects that Kate, as a woman and mother, should be the primary caretaker of George. Again however, this is where William should be criticized. William was quick to claim paternity leave and take a “gap year” as to settle into fatherhood. Yet at the first chance he seems to abandon his wife and child. What on earth is he doing on New Years Eve that he cannot be with Kate?
William deserves the brunt of criticism over their work schedule. I am sure he is the one who directs the palace as to how much both of them work.
LOL on William not being at the neighborhood NYE party. I noticed that too but didn’t want to touch that snark.
Right. The gap year thing would seriously annoy me if I just had as baby and my 31 year old husband decided to leave for the better part of 10 weeks. He seems very lazy to me.
William gets quite a bit of criticism as well.
I’m sure this is the wrong attitude to have, but the born royals should work harder than the in-laws in my opinion.
Prince Philip was downed by grave illnesses and hospital stays and still managed to put the young and spry Dolittle’s schedule to shame. I can’t believe the excuses for this slacker and her hubby, Duke Slacker.
Each public engagement lasts about an hour – so she worked 35 hours for the year. People work more in one week that she did in a year.
Unbelievable.
This study is actually the numbers of days worked, not total engagements. Nonetheless, Charles did over 300 while Anne did over 500. Most of their work lasts all day or for a few hours while its rare for Kates to go longer than 45 minutes so she basically spends 15 minutes doing each engagement.
Im curious about Harrys numbers this year. He returned from Afghanistan, made charity visits for Sentebale, went to Angola, visited the US, visited Australia, and spent a month at the South Pole all while balancing his army career and being promoted to Captain. Meanwhile his brother almost lost his wings on an empty schedule.
I’m not the numbers type but I like your style! Keep posting!
Mary, don’t forget to factor in the time spent for deciding what to wear, how to wear the hair and the primping before hand. Her work load is miniscule, at best.
That picture in the red coat… Wow. That center part did her NO favors, AT ALL.
I was just thinking that the center part and sausage curls really age her.
It is really noticeable, that Kate got a new hair person/barber.
It explains the unfortunate hombre hair color. And using a under curl on her hair. Instead of a over curl. (it is the direction of the way the curl is rolled) She needs to kiss and makeup with her old hair guy.
But speaking of coats… I love that navy one! With the red poppy.
Agree with you both! I know the camera just caught her in an unfortunate pose, but wow, that is one unflattering picture.
I really, really hate the “heir + a spare” thing, sounds so mechanical. Sorry, it’s just a pet peeve of mine I guess..
She gave birth to a future king… Was she really there for anything else?
To bring the monarchy into the modern age she’ll need to be seen actively working. If she wants to stick around and to have a monarchy for her son to stick around in she needs to do her part. And that’s not birthing babies and gracing the public with a rare charity visit.
Sigh. Don’t you know that she is doing her part? Or at least the part that has been marked out for her. Kate is a perfect little pretty princess robot and she does what she is told. Please please oh please stop finding ways to blame her for her nonexistent work schedule. If the Queen and Prince Charles wanted her to do a charity event twice a week she would find A way to get it done with or without William by her side. Give this woman a break and either put the blame where it belongs or realize that the palace is doing exactly what they think they should be doing at this point. The only thing we can really blame her for is her tragic hair and make up. Other than that I have no more effs to give on this over beleaguered point. If the monarchy fails to factor in public sentiment or if they overplay their importance and find themselves obsolete then that is their own fault. But I don’t know how much of the responsibility of this should rest on Kates bony shoulders. I’m just saying.
That is one Regal looking baby. He already looks like a King.
Indeed. I saw that pic of George and automatically curtsied.
Am I supposed to not laugh?
Nevertheless: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Laugh, m’dear, laugh.
She was pregnant. Period. I don’t care how many engagements she had or how long they lasted. I’m not going to shame somebody because they were lucky enough to be able to not work much and I’m not going to do the “hey, I had to work right up until my water broke” thing, either.
Frankly, if she wants to spend all of 2014 sitting at home and enjoying her child, I don’t care about that, either.
I fully agree!
same! it seems like she also had a really rough pregnancy. if she wants to stay home and enjoy motherhood – WHO CARES? good for her that she is able to!
Which is fine for us to say because she isn’t living on our dime. If I lived in England, I’d probably have a different opinion of Kate AND Will.
Perhaps Kate’s so-called maternity leave might be more acceptable to some Europeans because she is taking the normal maternity leave everyone receives. Doesn’t the UK government guarantee everyone paid parental leave? (Correct me someone if I’m wrong.)
In the United States, 6 weeks unpaid time off is the law (there is more to qualifying for the 6 weeks that I won’t get into). Very few employers here pay you during maternity leave.
I’m an American who views Kate as a full-time salaried government employee cheating the taxpayer because her 6 weeks are up. She should have been back to FT work long ago.
In the UK, you get a year off in that your employer must hold your job open for you for a year. You get 90% of your pay for 6 weeks and £136.78 for another 33 weeks. I’d like to see Kate live on £136.78 a week!
Having said that, I’m happy to see any woman take a year off to have a baby.
William, on the other hand, who is living on my tax pounds, and is a direct line heir, should be the hardest working royal. Not the least hard working. To me, he is, by and in himself, a good argument for dispensing with a constitutional monarchy. Horrid, lazy man-child with nothing to recommend him to his country whatsoever.
Actually after the first couple of months her pregnancy was pretty smooth. Doesn’t have anything to do with how much she should work now, though.
RobN- thank you, fully agree!
Interesting point about not overshadowing Wills, who clearly wants no part of his public role. Maybe we are too hard on her.
I agree with you, although I by no means feel sorry for her but I agree she can’t overshadow or work more then William. I also don’t think she have any ambition or intention of working hard, so IMO she is not at all bothered by this situation. I’ll also stop criticising her and give her break only ifpalace PR will stop promoting her a s hardworking or charitable. it’s just like her pre marriage work record and attitude,I don’t care if she is a spoiled, lazy rich girl , just stop promoting her as the best thing that ever happened to a womankind and the best role model that ever existed.
I agree you both you and @TheOriginalMia. My problem is not that she doesn’t want to work (though I can’t understand a total lack of work ethic in ANYONE, no matter how much money they have). My problem is with what @Angelic21 pointed out which is that the Royal press machine insists on promoting her as this super hard-working “modern mum” who is “just like us!” in trying to “juggle” work and motherhood. PLEASE.
If Kate doesn’t want to work and wants to be a stay at home mom to her child/future children, then I FULLY support it as I would with any mom who makes this choice (if the family can afford it, more power to them). However, it’s this inexplicable constant towing the line that has me seeing red. Either be a full time working senior royal (see the wonderful Princess Anne) or DON’T. It really can’t be both ways in her position. I really don’t understand all these new exceptions being made for her and her alone.
Sing it P.J.!!!
PJ the only reason the PR and media want to promote her as one of us is because she truly isn’t. It reminds me of when someone keeps repeating a lie, finally they believe it. Fortunately, we aren’t stupid. Look at those pics and see if any depth can be see. And she has the smug looking down at the peasants look down without a doubt. I really tried to like her after the wedding and waited to see if she would shine and do SOMETHING ANYTHING. But all I see is a void. But, she does know how to shop and vacation and attend high premier parties.
Maria
To her credit she has become a wonderful shopper recently. We see fewer ill fitting clothes and jackets coverted into dresses lately. Not long ago she even wore jeans! Not dress pants, but skinny jeans. Still, baby steps. She knew she’d be surrounded by small children and wore pants! Huzzah!
Sigh.. The bar truly was buried with her.
PJ – I totally appreciate your sentiment, and there’s no value to shaming mothers for their choices, but women – or any parent – should never rely on the financial security of marriage alone. People cheat, people die . . . and there are no guarantees where life insurance, health care, and child support are concerned. Well, child support is pretty well guaranteed if your former spouse lives in the U.S. and works a tax-paying job, but there’s not crap you can do if your cheating spouse high tails it to a different continent or chooses to work off the grid. Or dies.
I know i’m posting way too much here, but Bettyrose I just have to say something.
You sound like my mother!
After my dad passed when I was 12 she told me that the future is uncertain. You can fall in love and find your match, but how long you’re together isn’t guarateed. You have to be able to take care of yourself and not depend on others for security.
I’m likely wrong on the exact figures, but wasn’t Diana and Fergie granted settlements their divorces of something to the likes of 10 million and you keep your title or 20 million and you give it up? It was years ago I heard the figure.
Kate is lucky. If this is her will she landed a good catch and has parents (and an Uncle) who are wealthy. She will be taken care . Should a twist of fate occur and she’s left with no one to pay her bills I can’t see her maintaining her lifestyle.
Outside of her parents I can’t see a backup plan for her should there a divorce.
And this is a huge reason why I am critical of Kate. Girls look up to her and aspire to only find a prince to support them.
Agreed, angelic, it is possible Wills is holding her back. But the glaring fact is that she has a history of not working or barely working, nor has she learned much since then. She is not really there when she is there and shows little interest in bettering herself. Even on meager appearances she could shake the earth a little but she doesn’t. All she has is the hair and the manic grin. That’s all that she’s perfected. So, no, I can’t totally agree that everything is Will the Slacker’s fault. And then, where is her backbone anyway?
I agree. I guess I wouldn’t care so much how much she worked if the palace wasn’t always trying to push her as a “normal” mom. There is a disconnect between what the Palace says and what she actually does.
I do think it’s an interesting point that Kate (and possibly Will) probably aren’t allowed to outshine Charles.
I don’t buy that William can’t outshine Charles.
Remember Harry’s whirlwind week of fitting in as many charities as he could before going back to his military duties? He visited Diana’s memorial garden and did a dedication I think? Anyways the whole family minus Will and Kate were there supporting him. He was outshining them in regards to work coverage and they were very pleased with him.
Also, if anyone is a black eye on that family it’s Will right now. No doubt William would be peeved if Kate pulled a Diana. IMO he’s the one holding her back, but she’s also never shown herself to want to have a job or seek out a charity to champion.
She doesn’t want to work. She never has. That meshes nicely with the fact that her husband doesn’t want to work either. I’m not feeling much sympathy for her. She does what she wants to do and when she does go to her “events” they fall along the lines of 1 hr of meet and greet and then she goes home. That’s not work. She has 2 nannies for Prince George, so she’s not doing it by herself.
I love that so many are using her totally normal, perfectly healthy pregnancy (minus a rough first few months *cough*) as a legitimate excuse for her to have “significantly cut back” on an already laughably lax schedule! God knows how BILLIONS of other women manage to pull off 40+ hour work weeks (many by choice) and still have babies each year…Boggles the mind.
As was/is being stated everywhere, Prince Philip “is 92 years old and battling significant health problems) made 120.” ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY appearances in a year when the man is pushing 100, not at all well, and was on bed rest/recovering from surgery/out of sight for most of the year.
For the love of God Kate defenders, how are you so blind to what’s happening here? She and William want to “modernize” the RF alright. And their version of “modern” seems to harken back to a few hundred years ago when all the royals did/were expected to do was dress fancily, go to parties, shop and hang out on their duffs all day in their fancy tax payer funded castles & estates. Ugh.
We’ll see what happens this year. I tend to think there is a succession plan for duties in place – the infamous plan that Prince Charles has been long-gaming for years.
I’m not particularly a Kate fan, but I think her whole schedule is dictated by how much Wills does and how much her father-in-law and mother-in-law do. She can’t be seen as more liked or visible than any of those folks. Also, I don’t think she has much of a voice at all – she does what she’s told.
Maybe, in time, she’ll get more a say in her role and she’ll be more confident in what she can and can’t do without palace approval.
The royal family is a business and we’ll see how much of the work they turn over to Chuck and Cams and Wills and Kate this year. If Harry marries, I bet you’ll see a uptick in his presence as well. Charles and Camilla picked up the pace last year so they’ll probably be even more visible this year.
I would be surprised if Kate gets pregnant again before their Australian tour, or even shortly after. I think this is a year of rising visibility for the younger royals. (I also think you’ll see less and less of the periphery royals on the public stage – the Yorks/Wessex family). I think the Firm is evolving into what it will be for the next 20 to 30 years. Should be interesting.
Geez, Suze! I’m going to have to set up a macro that reads “What Suze Said”.
Preach it! 92 year old man, who has been hospitalized, had exploratory surgery, has more appearances than 2 able bodied 30 year olds. Have a seat Kate defenders! Her pregnancy wasn’t any more perilous than any other woman’s. For someone who supposedly had HG, it most certainly didn’t stop her from boarding several planes to head off to Mystique with her family.
And bravely crawling out of her bathroom to present an award next to david beckham, but cancelling all her future charity events for months. How selfless.
Yea, she can do as she likes imo. Just don’t have your pr team tell us how you’re the opposite of what we know you to be. They’re still operating like we don’t have instant access to fact checking abilities.
I don’t feel bad for Kate either. The Palace protects her quite a bit with their flowering descriptions of her “tireless work” – when the truth is she works very little. She’s an adult. She can either listen to the criticism and ignore it, enjoy her life that she’s waited for, or she can learn from it and work harder. If she really wanted to get out there and work on behalf of charities she could. William is never around to stop her…
If the Royal family learned anything from Diana it was to make sure that no one is allowed to outshine Charles.
If Wills and Kate do too much some people will say the crown should skip a generation. And if you can skip a generation you might as well skip the entire thing.
I am pretty sure Wills is a lazy, entitled brat but he will never be allowed a larger role until his father is King. Then he will probably take over the Prince’s Trust and the Duchy estates. Until then he really has no role, just like his father before him. Charles started the Prince’s Trust because he had so little else to do and he wanted to contribute.
If Wills was smart, he’d start taking on more Prince’s Trust activities while Charles takes over more of the Queen’s activities.
Interesting, Abbicci. Makes a lot of sense.
Actually Charles already acts as a substitute in a lot of the duties of the queen.
As far as the Prince’s Trust, I guess it would depend how emotionally involved Charles is with it, and if he’d be allowed to govern it as king (probably not).
But the queen has made a habit of delegating on other royals the less important duties or the ones that require her to travel a long distance or that aren’t “formal” enough.
Abbicci-
“If the Royal family learned anything from Diana it was to make sure that no one is allowed to outshine Charles.”
That’s not the first place my pondering about the young royals would’ve taken me, but it’s pretty insightful. Makes a lot of sense. The RF learned some hard lessons with Diana, but it seems they’ve learned them well.
Feel sorry for her? Really? There are lots of people in the world to feel sorry for but she definitely would not be one of them for me. Lazy, useless people. Don’t get why there is still even a monarchy but whatever.
She was pregnant and had a baby last year. This year I expect her to do more.
If Kate herself or her PR team release a message telling us how she will work more I don’t see how it’s a stretch to expect her to do so.
This year I do expect her to do more, especially with William being gone. We know she has a large team of caregivers for George and William will be away so she should kick it up and get out there. 2 1 hour visits a week might be hoping too much, but i’ve locked into an office pool with those numbers during William’s time away.
I am starting to feel like Kate is a passive person who walks on eggshells at all times to keep the peace in her family– first with her demanding, high strung mother, and now with her demanding, high strung husband. He calls the tune and I think he has inherited every one of his parents’ narcissistic, passive aggressive idiosyncrasies and none of their empathy or drive and work ethic. Sometimes even a rational person needs to hold their nose, dive under the thundering waves, and rise again only when the waters are calm. If only to survive. Not a courageous strategy, but a common one.
I bet you’ve nailed it here.
She didn’t have to marry him. She didn’t have to wait for him. She didn’t have to waste her life idling it away instead of pursuing an interest. All excuses end up in pop psychology, where somehow the subject is a total victim. Dolittle is no victim.
Maven
This is where I kind of defend Kate. Her mother Kri..hmm I mean Carol seemed to push Kate to stay with William. It’s been out there how Carole knew William was an utter jerk to her daughter, but told her to lose weight and date his friends to make him jealous and stay in his sight.
My point is she was raised to think she needed him and she couldn’t just be single, strong, and self reliant with her own career. A career would get in the way of chasing down a man!
You could also see her change from outgoing, healthy weight, uni days to too thin, clinging to William, no friends of her own days. She gets my pity there, but not much. Carole is a cousin to Lucifer’s Homegirl imo.
And I bet Kate will never ever do that. She is a doormat who wanted title, status, money and fame and she will never ever do anything to rock the boat, mark my word s. Her whole existence is about pleasing William, her life literally stars and ends with him, she will never pretest against him and that’s why he choose her IMO. Also she very well knew what kind of person he is and she choose not only tolerate him but also cater to his every command all because of his title and social ranking, she is not much better then him IMO.
ITA. And, yes, she’s getting a lot out of it that she wants. She’s a social climber and gold digger who will subsume herself for the perks.
i don´t think Kate is a bad person, but i too think she is a doormat with an agenda. She wanted the rich Prince and planed it. Always playing the submissive girlfriend/ nanny. If she is happy with her new life then ok.
The problem is William will avoid duties as long as he can and Kate is a lightweight without real character.
I have this bad feeling… don´t know why, but i think it won´t end well for her. Not now, but in a few years. Don´t know why i´m waiting for William to explode at one point. Not because of Kate, but because of his life and future. The pressure of more and more duties and work… he hates it and it will never get better. He´ll find an escape somehow
I don’t really see that with Kate. If anything, it seems they’ve made decisions together and not just her following William around doing whatever his family wants. If that were the case, Prince George’s baptism, the holidays spent with the Middletons, the amount of time the Middletons spend with them proves that she’s not just some doormat.
I do think she tries very hard to not rock the boat and doesn’t make as much of an impact as she can but I also think she will, in time. I don’t see them as lazy at all, I see them biding their time, they still bring awareness and money to a lot of causes…and the economy (more Kate than William though). Like I said before, he is not the heir, he has time and he is still learning, being a good monarch in modern times has to be hard, I think he’s taking his time and he deserves it because in a few years, when Charles is king, William and Kate will not have any time at all.
Do the rags in the UK portray William and Kate as lazy or is that something that people have deduced based on their own findings?
Bwarf
William is very close with the Middletons. In many ways closer than he is with his own family. Maybe it’s because it’s the family structure he missed out on not having a normal family or missing his mother. MAybe it’s because the Middletons consider William as good as gold and expect nothing of him while his family expects a great deal. Who really knows? What is fair to assume is William enjoys spending time with the Middletons and will choose them over his own family. This is big considering his own family only really gets together for Christmas in a relaxed setting. They did show up for the photoshoot. The rest of the time all are working and on different schedules. Not to mention the Middletons have a few annual holidays William never misses.
It’s not like Kate is putting her foot down for William to spend time with her family. He’s gladly choosing them over his and i’m sure she prefers hers as well.
We agree. Kate does not want to rock the boat. However, when it’s receiving a lot of bad press that she’s lazy she will pop up unannounced as a tag along with the Queen or Charles or a random surprise event. Articles followed one of those events asking if ate was being punished for being lazy. The palace issued a statement over it. The press must have hit a nerve.
And William is not a lesser royal. He is 2nd in line. Right now he should be extremely active in his duties. The Queen and Charles could pass away tomorrow and he would be unprepared. Harry is doing William’s job of shouldering some of Charles’s duties. William always has a reason to put off a job he’s openly said he’s not too keen on having.
Maybe when the Queen passes and Charles takes the throne It will light a fire under William and he will amaze us all.
And i’m sure being King is going to be very hard! All the more reason he should lay a foundation now. Become a full time royal. Not leave your wife and baby for 10 weeks to live alone a take another ag course.
Very irresponsible, and unkind really, for him him to leave his wife alone, with their new baby. Most women need their husband to get thru all that, nannies aside, we desire emotional support.
Florc, I think the only (or biggest) reason why William loves the Middleton’s so much, is because they will bend over backwards for him. I have a feeling ‘granny’ makes her displeasure known, like any other grandparent, and God knows what her crotchet, hot husband says to William’s face (old people talk the best shit). I think he likes being worshipped, in a way–he likes being adored for doing nothing.
Virgilia
Are you reading my mind?
I think the same. William is part of a family with large demands for large rewards. To be a part of a family where they treat you like gold and demand nothing must be a nice break.
Bluhare has mentioned how Carole was rumored to have William’s photo on her cell phone during the dating and broken up times. That says a lot about priorities and how beloved he is to them.
imo there’s no excuse for Kate who was a healthy pregnant woman to only do 35 – 40, when “the Queen made 181 engagements, and Prince Philip (who is 92 years old and battling significant health problems) made 120.” I still don’t understand how a woman who spent so years “training” for this role, is so unprepared and/or unwilling to fulfil the basic duties of a royal. Like someone mentioned earlier, her lack of work ethic wouldn’t be as jarring if the RF pr machine were to stop selling her as a hard working modern princess. Dozens of other European Royals, Princes Mary/Victoria/ Mette- Marrit put her in the shade. But the way the Kate PR machine is going she will be fine. Seeing how pregnancy/motherhood can be used as a whitewash for celebs, all she has to do is pop out a baby and all will be forgiven.
Since the wedding, the only people who I have grown even more respect for seem to be everyone but Will + Kate. Prince Philip (who I was lucky to meet this year) + the Queen are such hard workers. So are Charles/Cam (inspite my grievances i recognise that they are)+ Prince Harry who doesn’t get enough credit. I’ve always given Will the benefit of the doubt, but it really does seem like he is just as lazy/unmotivated as Kate. It won’t matter anyways because he will forever be Princess Diana’s son; so people will inevitably allow him to get away with it (and I think he realises this too).
I agree about other European royals…but not Mette-Marit who only worked 47 days this year and has never worked more than 100 days in a year since becoming a princess more than 10 years ago. Incredibly lazy for a woman who also loves expensive clothes and fancy parties on the Norwegian public’s dime.
The busiest royals in Europe are the Windsors (bar the Cambridges), the Borbons, and the Oranges.
I don’t know how some of these royals get away with it. Denmark’s future king is lazier than William but the Danish press still praises him just because he’s the heir. So much privilege just for being born but they can’t even make something good of themselves and still act like the public owes them and their lives are soooo hard. Yet ask them to step down and get a job with 40-hour workweeks and I bet they’ll say no and that it’s their duty and destiny to be royals after all.
The ex-king of Greece acts like he still has a country to rule and is often haughty and arrogant…even though he has never held a real job in his entire life, and he and his family only survived through the generosity of other royals and Greek billionaires after they were kicked out of Greece.
Greece is a disaster! They’re not helping their country. Only draining it. I say this as a citizen too. He has no right to act as he does when he is one of the countries issues.
Mette-Marit had neck surgery and rehabilitation this year. Still if she did a 100 days, she did more than Lazy Waity and her balding prince.
Correction
“He has no right” to “They have no right”. All of them.
Florc – incredible, isn’t it? Constantine still insists on using Greece as his surname and refuses to change it. Still feels like he’s high and mighty since it’s all he has and he has refused to be anything else, not even get a job to support his wife and 5 kids. One of the most annoying “royals” out there.
Original Mia – Mette only worked 65 days last year. Even before her neck surgery she’s barely worked this year and the past 3 years except some conferences out of Norway and small events in the country. One of the laziest royals around, who also lied about having phobia of flying so she coud get off working, but has no problem jet setting around the world to attend fashion shows and Goop’s bday party in London. Not very different from Kate, to be honest.
Wow! Didn’t know that, Sachi. She does sound very much like our dear lazy Kate.
Frederick is a father of four who is legitimately hands on and he still did several foreign trips this year. He is far from lazy, in October and November he did 40+ engagements, more than William did all year. Denmark is a tiny country and their family is not required to work as much as the Brits are because of this fact. You are right about a lot of things my dear, but this detail is not one of them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/diana/stories/press0904.htm
I think Kate is doing fine. If she wasn’t, don’t you think the Queen or Prince Charles would have said something to her? To throw shade on this woman constantly, especially while she is pregnant and with a newborn isn’t fair. Just maybe, the whole Royal family is protective of Kate and baby George because of what happened to William and Harry’s mother. (lessons learned, history not repeated, saving embarrassments/grief) Diana’s sudden death had a profound effect on that entire family and there were many changes in all of them–for the good…http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1161628/Not-day-goes-I-dont-think-Mummy-Prince-William-describes-grief.html
Anon
I’m going to break this down as address several things you’ve said.
Because of Diana Kate was treated differently and still is. She’s very protected and not pushed. Now William and Kate have their own office and are accountable to themselves. They make their own schedule.
The Queen does not speak out unless there’s no other alternative. She’s addressed Kate’s lack of work ethic once to our knowledge (by asking what Kate does.) and Kate got her jigsaw part, part time job or that quick photography stint in PP. I’ve forgotten which exactly. Please correct me if anyone knows which.
And Kate isn’t getting a lot of shade. People are calling out the press for claiming she is working and wants to work more when her actions display the opposite time and time again. If anything she’s getting a lot of praise recently for attending more charity events and actually seeming engaged while talking and listening to those she meets there.
And she’s not being shaded for having a baby and wanting to be with that baby. What is being said (by the press and no nanny photoshopped photos) is she’s got no staff for her baby boy so she has no time to work. That was out the window when she was caught shopping without George a few times. So, she could shop for hours, but not work for 1 hour? Not to mention all the pics here the nannies are removed from the image so we think she’s doing it on her own.
It’s no shame to have a staff for her child. Just don’t lie about it and use the lie as justification for not working.
I don’t buy this excuse that the reason why Kate doesn’t work more is because her work ethic is being curtailed by William, the family, the Firm, whomever. It’s not like she was a worker before she got married and then all of a sudden had to stop in order to accommodate everybody else but is still itching to get back to work again. She wasn’t working much (or at all really) before, she’s not working much now. Nothing’s changed.
Kaiser, I love to read your articles, but please save your sympathy in regards to Katie. DoC deserves none. She leads a life most would dream to lead and would work very hard to keep themselves in that life if they could (as does the Queen–she gets it and understands she better work since she is really on the people’s dime) and as one blogger argues and I agree: she has a very powerful and visible platform, she can make some great changes and she does NOTHING. And her mommy duties are a sham, she has two nannies and Ma Middleton. So, Ms. Duchess DoLittle deserves no sympathy from anyone.
Maybe when she goes out for appearances she can be a complete disaster (Rememberance Day, all the years she participated). The only people that there should be sympathy for is their PR staff. She does not want to change her ways and her husband does not give a crap. Kate is not some delicate flower as she can be cunning and ambitious when need be.
This is who Kate and William are. They are cut from the same cloth as their UK peer group of adults who don’t do much except go to parties, vacations and mini-breaks year-round. They have faux jobs – fashion and garden bloggers, crafters, jewelry designers, club PR – but don’t support themselves. Of course K and W are supported by the British people rather than (only) their parents.
It’s so weird how so many people think the royals are so lazy, not just the British royals but other European royal families. I know they are paid by the public, most of them anyway, but what are your expectations of them? They don’t hold 9-5 jobs, nor can they, but the amount of hours worked for senior royals is dictated by protocol and other schedulers. William, Kate and Harry and other lesser European heirs have time because they are not heir apparent or presumptive, but seriously, such a big deal is made about laziness of the royals and I just don’t see it. Imagine having your life planned for you, not just your schedule but your image. Everything from what you say to what you wear is dictated by someone else. Imagine having to run everything by your grandmother or your in-laws, just because they don’t have the amount of days worked as Charles doesn’t make them lazy. Things happen behind the scenes that no body knows about.
I think a big deal should be made when all of the Cambridge expenses are paid for directly by the public. Once Charles becomes king and they are still at the same amount of work as now then I say go ahead and make a fuss. Until then, I really don’t see the big deal and I know I’m alone in thinking that. Being a public figure is hard work though, in and of itself.
Bwarf
But there is nothing forcing the royals to work charity events. It’s for goodwill purposes. If they didn’t want to promote charities or pay full taxes they’re not forced to.
It’s only expected to support the monarchy and show the public they’re getting something for their money.
And if William is so pressured by this weight of his life planned out for him from the moment of conception he’s got the option to abdicate. He can live his life without pressure. He has money. He needs to either embrace is role and be taken care of for life or step aside and let someone else take over who understands that he must take on a demanding role to live a life of extreme financial security.
And yea. Many royals work more than William and Kate. They do this balancing their private lives too. Will and Kate can’t claim privacy prevents them from doing duties and fulfilling their duties prevents a private life.
2 last points. I don’t think many expect them to hold a 9-5 job. I think they expect them to work more than a few hours a month. And William and KAte make their own schedule. Sure they also have events dictated to them they must attend, but that’s not too often within a year and the rest of the time they can do as they like. No pressure to churn out event appearances.
I was hoping you would respond Florc. Well said.
William and Kate (especially William) make me stabby. That’s all.
I’m sorry to correct you Kaiser, but in 2012 Kate did 50-some public engagements, plus olympics and jubilee tour= 100-some in total
You know, I really have to wonder if Kate is just the most introverted person alive or has serious anxiety issues. And before you all come after me with “no forced her to do suchandso”…maybe she made a mistake. Thought she could handle things for years but when the shoe finally dropped realized that she couldn’t. I’ve made plenty of mistakes where people on their high horses were all too glad to tell me that I should have known better and have no one to blame but myself. For example, it’s tough being the daughter of a narcissistic mother (I really do have to wonder about Carole) and that comes with its own host of issues. Your perception and how you view the world is completely warped; you only want to please everyone and not put up any fuss or resistance. That is a hard and difficult thing to overcome. I personally struggle with it daily. Every time I see a picture of her I just want to bring her to my house, give her a hot bowl of soup, and just be a willing ear to listen and hopefully guide her in a safe direction. However this would be my reaction to anyone who needs help in this way, no matter who they were.
I have wondered about whether Kate has social anxiety issues as well. I’ve always gone along with the lazy Kate stories, but it has occurred to me that she might well be terrified and that’s why. She didn’t have to do any engagements until she was engaged and most of them were with William “showing her the ropes”. So she might well have thought she could handle it, but once reality hit it became harder and harder. It could explain her being so tongue tied and unable to ask good questions as well.
If she does, I wish she’d say something. Do you know how much support she’d get? TONS! Everyone would be behind her because they’d know how much effort it takes to go out and do it. I would. I’ve been that tongue tied idiot and it is no fun at all.
Polite and Bluhare
Insomnia has taken hold… here we go!
Kate was an extrovert (sp?) Before the engagement. Her roller charity event and many parties and gatherings. Gatherings being of course with William at events and parties.
If anything I think she’s nervous to please William. Always looking for approval and this looks caught in many photos.
And i bet she has trichitillomania. She’s always figiting with her hair. It could also explain the wiglets and wigs. If this is the case I truly feel for her. I have the same issue. I would respect her more if she came out and adopted an anxiety charity.
But she might absolutely have anxiety. I can’t see it, but her role is extremely nerve racking. Although, if she was suffering from this very common issue I’d imagine the palace would have released a statement regarding ages ago to excuse her low work count.
Florc, I pretty much agree with what you said, as I don’t know, and never will, Kate’s psyche. It was just something that occurred to me one day and one that I have a lot of sympathy for having been in that boat. I got past it to a point, but it’s hard. I don’t think the palace would release a statement about it; they never did anything about Diana and her various issues even though it was painfully evident she had at least an eating disorder at one point as she was a virtual skeleton.
However, I will say that organizing parties and gatherings is a lot different than being on display to the public. She was with her peers at things she organized and was in control. She is not in control during a public engagement. The public is, and the public will pull you down as fast as they push you up. It must be absolutely terrifying.
I might be spending much too much time trying to think of mitigating reasons, though. I should go searching for where my life went. 🙂
bluhare
The public can rip anything it wants to shreds. It would terrify me too. That’s why I never pursued a public image. I never like to do a half finished job.
Dear Tea Sipper, I know exactly what you mean with your comments about being a daughter of a narcissistic mother. So was mine, and I struggle to accept the fact, that I was hit by a bus, and it was her! Oh yeah, and it was my fault. Don’t you hate the gas-lighting that goes on? Or the fact that she calls herself the victim, if asked to be responsible for her actions; when we are only “saying” what she is “doing”?! Hold onto reality, because we are able to attain wholeness only by our integrity, I believe.
Those figures from the DM are number of days worked, according to the Dutch. Not number of engagements. Sometimes they do more than one engagement a day. So yeah, 44 engagements during 35 days of work.
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