Sometimes, I’m not sure what to make of the Daily Beast’s royal gossip guy, Tom Sykes. I use his royal coverage a lot and sometimes he’s deliciously bitchy, but over the weekend, he did a piece on “the invisible Duchess Kate” and I’m left with questions. Like, does Kate really have her people tell royal reporters off the record that she really isn’t planning on doing much until November? Eh. Here are some highlights from Sykes’ story:
Kate does not have postpartum depression. Tabloids have been suggesting postpartum depression as a possible explanation for Kate’s “disappearing act” but Sykes’ sources say “there is no need to worry on her behalf. Kate is not suffering postnatal depression… and is doing just fine. However, what is true is that she’s not ready to return to the hectic whirl of her pre-pregnancy life just yet.”
No one really knows when Kate will be “back to work.” The palace still hasn’t indicated anything and Sykes’ sources say “Kate and William are not planning any foreign holidays before she returns to full time active duty, which is not likely to be until toward the end of the year.” Meaning Kate will “return to active duty” around the same time as her Mustique vacation in November, I would assume.
Kate’s “work strategy: “There is nothing in her official diary now, but sources tell the Royalist that 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.”
She’s all about “maternity leave.” Except maternity leave is for women who work real jobs.
That’s about it. Sykes seemed to get most of his info from Poor Jason, the American press secretary, at least that’s what is sounds like. Kate is fine, she’s healthy, but she’s just enjoying her maternity leave and she will get back to work just in time to have a vacation in November.
Meanwhile, did you know William wrote the preface for a new book on his grandmother? The book is Elizabeth II: The Steadfast, and William wrote some words about how the Queen is kind, humorous and a “model for a life of service to the public.” Aw, ten bucks says that Jason wrote those words for William.
The Duke of Cambridge has written the preface to Elizabeth II: The Steadfast, a biography of The Queen by Lord Hurd. pic.twitter.com/5pl3uxIyw9
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) August 22, 2015
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Isn’t she bored?
I get that she has a baby right now, but this is SOP for her. I feel like I could lay around, shopping and vacationing to a tropical island, for 4 months tops. Then I’d be itching for something constructive to do.
You’re better than me. I start going crazy on vacation after four days.
I’m a diver, I feel like I could keep occupied in the beautiful reefs of the world for a while… 🙂
You’re better than me. I start going crazy on vacation after four days.
How Kate can faff around getting her hair done, shopping and going to the gym all the time is beyond me. The monotony would drive me mad.
My two cents: Kate’s mind does not require occupation. Clever women need to keep their brains busy with activities or socialization, or they will feel stifled and depressed … Kate is probably not a very complex person. I would imagine she’s quite simple. Husband, kids, mom, pop, sister, brother, money, tennis, and that is enough to keep her feeling “busy” and keep her mind content.
I think women who are content with the things you mentioned may feel just as fulfilled, engaged and clever as women with interests outside the home. Women who favor domestic pursuits are not troglodytes. Please do not use Kate to generalize. Besides, her pursuits are not academic by any definition but intelligence encompasses so many areas. Thankfully modern research is redefining how we classify intelligence. Otherwise people like Prince Harry and Princess Beatrice truly would not be considered intelligent.
Yes!
What ‘domestic pursuits’ does Kate favor and would keep her intellectually fulfilled? Carole has appointed herself the official cheese and toast maker. Her dad is reportedly the landscape planner. And then there’s W&K’s large staff, which is at least two dozen.
If one were to put Harry, Beatrice, and Kate on an Intelligence Scale, I would say that the former two would be on the higher end of the spectrum with Kate being in the middle or below. It takes social and emotional intelligence for Harry to do his work with a myriad of people in numerous countries. Same with Beatrice’s in being able to navigate herself successfully around various groups of friends and associates as well as having actually worked in the real world, She also does charity work. But Kate?
Kate:
No royal duties.
Never had a serious job, and no, jobbing at her parents’ company or at her parents’ friend’s company for a few monthes only does not count.
No serious interests and no hobbies and no academic pursuits which one would expect from somebody with a history of art degree.
No friends.
Enough staff to take care of everything including childcare 24/7
BORING.
@Thinker: All the Yeses and Agrees. She is shallow and superficial and cannot string a complete sentence together for the sake of a media appearance. Saw it on three occasions.
The point is the woman has no pursuits–academic or otherwise!!!
And I hate when women think you are turning against other women when you state that housewifery is not stimulating.
Imo
True! Although, i’d personally found that’s the exception. There are many women who do appear to be homebodies just as a default. Not because they’re pursuing other avenues. They’re at peace and content in their current position. Feeling no urge or desire to progress past it. And with no need to the motivation becomes stagnant.
And my vacations have only a few times been beaches… I went crazy having nothing to do. Since then FMORC and I keep things active and no longer than 4 or 5 days. Camping, climbing, or some type of go, go, go exploring.
I find some aspects of housewifery to be stimulating. I see your statement, saywhatwhen, and raise it by another statement. Ner.
It is easy to defend these statements if we only look at Kate which makes Thinker’s generalization all the more unfair and innacurate. Broad strokes never paint a true picture. And I stand by my statement that it is snobbery and judgemental to intimate that women who focus on domestic pursuits are somehow lacking in motivation, stimulation, intelligence etc whatever.
A college friend of mine is a sahm. She is completely content to raise her two kids and take care of home while her husband works. She reads voraciously, spends time exposing her kids to interesting activities and concepts, she explores international cuisine and wines, she gardens and enters floral exhibitions and she and her husband hike, camp and trail walk. Is she less evolved than other women? Way to set back choice by three decades.
Anne_00
I don’t care enough about Kate’s hobbies to defend them. She has the hobbies many wealthy sahms have: tennis, swimming, shopping, diving, skiing, cooking, fitness, spas etc. none of my business. But dragging sahms down seems unfair to me.
@ Imo
All those hobbies? With Charlotte attached to her breast 24/7? Why does she have time to do all those things but no time to do one or two 45-minute charity visits per week?
If we’re comparing her to other wealthy sahms, then how should Kate be rated if those other women are involved with charity work on top of having all those hobbies?
Anne_00
You insist on making this about Kate when it is clear from my posts that this is about generalizing when it comes to sahms. I don’t care about Kate’s hobbies. I simply don’t like Thinker’s assertions.
Imo
I see the point you’re trying to make, but IMO it does not apply here.
This isn’t about sahms or people with degrees that choose not to use them or the things one can accomplish or invest their time in regarding household stuff.
If it was we’d all be nodding our heads in agreement.
This appears more about Kate. Her refusal to work and lack of anything outside of shopping/working out/vanity pursuits and the lengths some will go to to justify that.
Yes. Thinker’s statement (imo) did use broad strokes, but I am reading the wording choices as more poor placement and not actually broad strokes to all. Just Kate and those who share numerious similar qualities like her. We all know those ladies and we all know the opposites like your friend.
This all just appears to be a mutation of frustrations from how people reach for anything to justify and excuse lazy behavior from someone in a position that should have no such qualities. Kate doesn’t want to work. She never has. And the excuses to excuse this are shameful. Occam’s Razors all over this place!
IMO: your friend sounds interesting and engaged with the world around her. Two descriptions that can’t be applied to Kate.
To extrapolate what your friend does and apply that to Kate is to miss the point completely.
Or perhaps all Kate’s PR that she’s a SAHM is working on you because rather than see the extent of Kate’s involvement in her own everyday existence, you are imprinting your fabulous friend’s life onto Kate.
There is nothing about Kate, royal privileges aside, that is comparable with your friend. Your friend is miles better than Kate.
LAK
Do read my comment more carefully. I repeatedly said my problem was with Thinker’s blanket statement and I don’t care about Kate’s hobbies. I have to believe at this point that I am being misconstrued because of mass hysteria lol.
If Kate were like my friend in Atlanta the monarchy would be saved!
FLORC
Thank you for reading my comments carefully enough to extract my meaning and I think you’re absolutely correct.
@ Imo
Thinker’s description of what a clever women would do sounds exactly like your college friend. I don’t see the difference.
Thinker said, “Clever women need to keep their brains busy with activities or socialization, or they will feel stifled and depressed.”
You said of your friend, “She reads voraciously, spends time exposing her kids to interesting activities and concepts, she explores international cuisine and wines, she gardens and enters floral exhibitions and she and her husband hike, camp and trail walk.”
As for Kate probably not being “a very complex person,” I would agree with that assertion.
Your friend sounds much more complex a person than Kate.
@imo
Nice derailing of the subject at hand. Fact is, Kate does not represent 99 % of SAHMs. But I guess she’s just a misunderstood shining beacon for SAHMs and deserves the support up there in her gilded servant littered tower; what a sly feminist warrior she is!
@ Anne_000
No argument from me about Kate’s lack of engagement in meaningful endeavors. Since you are a regular poster here, I refuse to believe that you don’t know that I have consistently stated my disappointment with Kate on this front. So anyone determined to force an analogy between my support of sahms with support for Kate’s general laziness is being intentionally obtuse.
@hmmm
Do you enjoy putting words in other people’s mouths? Don’t be ridiculous.
@saywhatwhen
I wanted to take a moment out of my day of intelligence-draining housewifery to say that your comment was beyond insulting. Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to help my daughter with her homework. I do not want her to grow up to be a judgmental and sanctimonious adult whether she is an SAHM or a CEO.
I want to say I an a fan of Imo, Anne, Hmm, LAK and various others on these threads. So, this is not meant to reflect poorly…..
It appears many have latched onto certain aspects of Imo/Thinker’s comments like cherry picking portions and/or changing context.
It’s not an attack and it’s not a justification. We’ve all appeared to be making slightly different points in slightly different discussions.
Like no one is slamming SAHMs. They are slamming people who choose to not do more outside of the home where they arent really even a SAHM. That’s just a polite default term to describe someone who doesn’t do SAHM things, but also doesn’t do much else. It’s a PR buzz word and not representative of other SAHMs IMO!
Just my .2, I don’t think it has anything to do with her being a SAHM or not. It has to do with the power and influence she gained when she married William. I know she has two kids to think about now, but even up til now she could have been using even some of her time to use this influence she has for good. If she really had the extreme, dangerous morning sickness (I’m sorry, I don’t remember what it is called so forgive me for that), why doesn’t she speak out on behalf of it now? Surely this woman has passions, ideas, something of her own to bring to others! With all she has, why isn’t she doing so?
Kate knew years ago who she was dating and what it meant for her, her family, her country and the world. She knew what she was getting into. She has money, staff and time when she isn’t around the kids. She could be using her position to help others, and she has barely done so. What makes it doubly disappointing is seeing her taking expensive vacations. If she has time to vacation, she has time to do some work.
Not to turn it around and play Devil’s advocate, but I have wondered here and there if the reason she doesn’t work is because she is purposely held back from doing so. The royal family doesn’t want another Diana on their hands. As long as they have a quiet, pampered Duchess, there is little chance of her arguing about the status quo. Or opening her mouth about it.
Still, I am hoping that she is a better Princess of Wales. As a Duchess she has been a disappointment IMO.
The only woman I know who is as content as Kate with doing her hair, decorating her house, shopping and other light activity is as dumb as a box of rocks.
As for Kate, she did lightweight major in college so graduating from college really doesn’t speak highly of her intelligence. Traditionally, like home ec majors in the 1940s, it is a major for women looking for a husband in college.
I roomed with a woman at my school who was an art history major. She actually was pursuing an MRS. degree like Kate. Not much going on with that woman either. Her hair, using sex, stalking her rich, Beverly Hills boyfriend, and when that relationship went bust, tracking down any man who might be available and looked like good husband material (even men in long-term relationships with other women, girl had zero morals, couldn’t trust her around your man. however, I enjoyed throwing a few monkey wrenches into her plans to woo unsuspecting attached men. felt like I was doing the guys’ poor girlfriends a favor while their men were around this desperate little hussy.)
Just have time for a brief retort. IMO – you have put words in my mouth, that I myself never spoke (or in this case typed)… I did not, and I do not believe that Kate represents ALL stay at home moms. She rather represents very, very few, less than 1%. Kate has housekeepers, cooks, nannies, gardeners, decorators, and on. The staff exists to manage the Cambridge domestic life leaving Kate to do what?! Kate does not seem to have any interests that involve “making the world a better place” which shows an alarmingly low level of emotional intelligence or empathy.
Fact is: Kate seems like a dullard. A hair flipping bore.
Allyson, the Palace has gone on record multiple times that she sets her own schedule. Most of the royals have said that themselves at one point, just like they’ve said the only way to learn how to do this job is to do it. She doesn’t have the charisma or caring of Diana, no worries on that score. She needs to get out there and work.
The Palace, HM, Charles – they are not stopping her from working. She tried to blame the Palace for her lack of work during the girlfriend years. In a RARE statement (they never comment on girlfriends), the Palace announced they had nothing to do with whether or not a private citizen is employed. If William doesn’t want her working, or he doesn’t want either of them working, is a completely different issue.
A degree is what you make of it. There are people who skate through an Art History degree taking the easiest courses and doing the least amount possible. There are those who choose to make it an intensive field of study. Depends on the individual.
Yes because she is not very intelligent and has been soo protected from life
by her mother. In fact she has not grown up and had a job just bagged william that has been her objective since being a little girl with her mother being obsessed having to plot and manouvre her to get william and have luxurious life with no work.
so she is thinking now she is untouchable and does not give a dot about royal work on charities.
you know, she’s a breastfeeder. which I totally admire and respect. it is not easy to be out and about without your infant while breastfeeding, and it’s not like she’s gonna haul the medela pump around with her to every event and pump in the bathroom.
She is taking some maternity leave, and I think that’s totally fine and she ought to be able to stay home, breastfeed, and bond with her baby without all of us criticizing how frequently she shows up at stuff. I know I had a hard time of it when I had my kid and he was colicky etc. Charlotte might also be, and i don’t fault her for wanting to be at home with her babies. I dont get how we are simultaneously giving her props for being a breeder of the future royals and then crapping on her for wanting to be a mom to the babies rather than gallivant all over.
My friend has a three month old and is breastfeeding and last week she was in trial. She does not have any of the staff that this one does and asked her mother to help along with her husband. She planned weeks in advance pumping milk for the baby and had time to do it during some of the breaks too. Since this was a criminal matter, any delay of the trial negatively affects her client, so she made this work.
So I really don’t have any sympathy for lazy Katie. Any charity appearances would only be mere hours in a day and she could easily fit them in and do some pumping ahead of time. Women around the world with far less resources and staff do a hell of a lot more. Stop making excuses for this adult woman who has never held a job and does not bother with charitable events unless forced.
Royals seemed to be pretty messed up generation after generation so clearly whatever they have been doing is not working.
She spent a full day at Wimbledon. At no point did she leave her seat for an extended period (like to pump), or it would have been commented on. If she’d left her seat, in her back-zippered dress, her personal assistant (aka paid Lady in Waiting Rebecca Deacon), would have gone with her carrying a case large enough to hold a breast pump.
She could be at Wimbledon for a full day, but she couldn’t attend any WWII commemoration events? I’ve seen rising criticism of her from full time SAHM, women who do all the work. KM has multiple nannies, a housekeeper, cleaning staff, personal shopper, etc. When their PR claims she cannot work because she’s busy being a SAHM, but we see her out shopping or hanging at Wimbledon instead of working, it raises questions and criticism.
Ok, then. She has to stay home all the time then. Not go out to sports games for hours away from the kids, not go out to yachting events with $10,000 sports jackets, not go out for hours shopping, hair-styling, exercising with her trainers, etc. rather than spend 45 minutes visiting a charity. If she has time to stay away from her kids doing fun and indulging things for herself, then either she can do a little bit of light work at least or she has to stay home 24/7 ‘bonding with the kids’ and being a ready source of milk.
I’m just taking it a bit to the extreme in my argument, but why is it that her supporters won’t acknowledge that she ALREADY DOES spend hours/whole days away from her kids doing self-indulging things and isn’t attached by her breasts to her kids?
“then crapping on her for wanting to be a mom to the babies rather than gallivant all over”.
This is the same new mother who gallivanted to the Maldives for a week without 7 month old George who was, in turn, being introduced to a brand new nanny by Carole, not the doting mum.
@ bros
Kate has staff for everything and the children, too. If one assumes that her staff works regular full time shifts it is hard to imagine that Kate would do much work at all. Everything is done for her.
Bros
There’s been many sightings of Kate all day shopping or out with cameras on her. Full days of never pumping and away from her baby. That’s a major indication if she was ever bfing she has stopped rather quickly.
I have friends who breastfed and went back to work when the baby hits 3 months. It is disturbing to think that women are saying breastfeeding is so burdensome that you cannot get away from a babe for a couple or more hours. So much farce in that.
She wasn’t breastfeeding when she was in the stands at Wimbledon for hours away from the kids nor at the yachting event wearing her 10,000 pound sports jacket.
For the time she spent at Wimbledon, she could have done four or five 45-minute charity visits.
I just don’t agree with the new excuse that she can’t work because she needs to stay home 24/7 to make sure Charlotte is breast fed.
One might as well say women who’ve given birth should all stay at home, breastfeeding, cooking in the kitchen, taking care of her man in the bedroom, and not worry their pretty little heads with things outside of the home.
Kate can pump and leave the house. Why do some people feel the need to defend this pampered, grossly privileged woman? She isn’t like us. How many of us have Christmas parties for our twenty-seven staff members? I don’t know anyone?
That girl isn’t running herself ragged, doing everything on her own while William is at work.
JMHO but I am always so surprised when I hear people say this. I am an attorney, yet there have been very long stretches where I have not been working, and I have NO problem at all filling my time in constructive ways! There are SO many books to read, places to visit (even locally, not requiring a ton of $$), movies & TV series recommended to me that I haven’t gotten a chance to watch yet – not to mention spending time with friends & family I rarely get to see anymore, as well as getting to know my friends’ children better in addition to taking care of my own young daughter. I would also volunteer at the animal shelter where I got my dog. The list goes on and on! The pile of books I have accumulated but haven’t had time to read yet alone could keep me happily entertained for ages. I could never work another day in my life and I don’t think I would ever feel “bored.”
Kate is taxpayer funded and there are duties expected of her in return, so her issues are an entirely different story. I’m commenting only on the “what does she DO all day!?” sorts of sentiments. This is absolutely not directed at anyone in particular here, but I tend to agree with the saying, “Only boring people get bored” (or something along those lines). I could live another 70 years and never be bored, yet still feel as if I haven’t scratched the surface of things to see & do in this world. Then again, I do more than go to the gym & get my hair done every day 😉
to;dr: The list of things I would like to do is so long I never ‘get’ people who claim they would go crazy if they didn’t have work to fill their time! Most of us, unlike Kate, do have to work but if I never did, I would be thrilled and busy! 🙂
ETA: we are all here on this site reading & commenting, which takes time. I probably spend more time on this site and others like this than I should, but I love the entertaining conversations that take place in the comments and really enjoy the articles/authors/commenters here, so sometimes I’m on my computer, then all of a sudden I look up, hours have gone by and I didn’t even realize it because I was so engaged in whatever I was reading. Obviously no one’s entire life revolves around reading Celebitchy all day every day, but you get my point. We all make time to be here and if we do it every single day it adds up…days can often fly by quickly, yet to an outsider, it wouldn’t necessarily look like we have done anything of substance, – yet WE know that we enjoyed some worthwhile conversations & debates. (Again, most of us do not have large staffs to do all of our daily errands & chores, so Kate is a horse of a different color!)
If her sparkling conversation is anything to go by, I doubt that Kate is reading books. And she does get out and about- to shops and the hairdresser and a park with her trainer, exotic beaches, Wimbledon, summons celebrities to her palace, and home to mummy and daddy, and lets not forget the photo ops with her kid. She has momma as housekeeper. I bet she shops online as well. I guess she’s pretty entertained, too. No volunteering, no patronising charities. All vanity and emptiness.
@ Charlotte15
Simple minds do never get bored.
People with interests and friends don’t get bored, either.
Kate doesn’t belong into the second category.
Maybe she doesn’t know how to interact with people (no social skills), and/or get nervous speaking in public. She should find one cause and focus on that until she gets better being in the public eye. It seems when the press ask her questions, alot of the time William will answer them for her.
I get bored with nothing to do. I can’t sit and read much anymore (English teacher, most literature out there is repetitive and crap) and I don’t have or watch TV. I have avocations- Metalsmithing,pottery, quilting. But they are like second jobs to me. I can’t imagine anything on my schedule but reading, travel, all pleasure, all of the time. Sounds horrible to me. And I’m considered intelligent.
Nikko
Kate improves greatly with consistency. You can see the difference if she works maybe 3 or 4 events in a week or 2 time. Usually before avacation so we might see it soon. She’s only so lacking because she puts no effort into it. She chooses not to.
Not to mention the Middletons and William go to the same vacation spots year after year. Doesn’t it get boring?
They hadn’t even toured the USA until their royal tour. The world is a big, fascinating place, go see it.
The whirlwind of her pre-pregnancy life?? Translation: Kate is laying low because she hasn’t been keeping up her personal maintenance routine and her roots are starting to show.
I think she’s the one over-seeing the building of the new tennis court. With her Mummy’s help, of course.
Yeah, I don’t get that either. What hectic whirl of a life?
I think the more W&K, their PR team, and sycophantic royal reporters troll the public, the worse it makes W&K look. Just be honest.
That line killed me, I almost spit out my coffee. I would love to know what they were considering hectic about her prepregnancy life……..shopping and a hair appointment on the same day?
The hair appointments are sometimes 6 hours, so that’s almost a full day’s work by itself.
Jason should be fired for writing such a thoughtful preface to the book when William’s own televised views don’t align with them. It’s boldfaced lying.
Yes William loves, admires his granny, but work model? #Whatever royal work means.
I truly wonder what kind of kings William and, in turn, George will be. Given the longevity of the Queen and Prince Philip, who both continue busy schedules into their 80s and 90s, and that the Queen Mother was fairly active until her death at 101, it is possible Charles will not become king for at least another 10 years, at which time William will be in his 40s and George will be almost into the teen years. Since none of the Cambridges seem to be eager to do “royal work” until forced by Charles’s coronation, who will be George’s role models for royal life?
Charles knew from birth he would be king; I’m assuming William was taught the role as well. However, if things continue as they are, it seems George and Charlotte will learn being an heir to the throne means a royal tour once every year or so while spending the rest of the time doing whatever they want.
The grandkids are being raised Middletons. That means insular vapid, sports people with no outside interests beyond sunny beaches.
I think Carole will teach George how to be king. I am sure right now she is inculcating him with princely values like: “Who loves you best, Georgie? Whom should you trust, Georgie? Who has your best interests at heart, Georgie? Who’s here for you always, Georgie, since you were born, and looks out for you and protects you?”
LAK
Haha I was thinking about that! That quote will haunt him.
HA! “Whatever “love” means…” Anything sounding remotely similar?? Like father, like son, sadly. Charles taught his son well in this respect SMH
Al Pacino said in the Goddfather movie-Michael Corleone: “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in”
Jason should be fired for writing such a thoughtful preface to the book when William’s own televised views don’t align with them. It’s boldfaced lying.
Yes William loves, admires his granny, but work model? #Whatever royal work means.
Apologies. New phone. My comments keep posting twice or thrice.
But we were justing assuming you were having a fit of laughter!
Yesterday I was. And each time I laughed, I had to add the same comment. It’s too bad we don’t have like buttons.
If we got like buttons i’d add this website to a block list. It’s not worth the headaches it exposes your hardware to. I hope that never happens.
Where is the shamed-faced for the bold-faced lie?
Amen!
They wouldn’t need PR mouthpieces then, would they?
Yes, I’m guessing the American wrote that preface. Kate and William aren’t the brightest bulbs in the chandelier.
Kate will never change. She’s had over a decade to “adapt” to royal life and find charities she could be passionate about. She will continue to be lazy because William is lazy and sets no expectations for his wife.
That’s the maddening thing – an absolutely choice position in the world (in theory – having to be married to Billy Tantrum-Boring would be awful) to live pampered, luxurious life with lots of travel and the ability to draw attention to just about whatever issue you want.
Kate and Wills complain about their tennis court. Wah, wah, waaah.
I think we should make “Poor Jason” a permanent thing. I truly pity that man. He’s on a hiding to nothing. And it’s not even as if the royals are good payers.
Normal Bill is Poor Jason’s nemesis.
Where’s Malcolm Tucker when you need him?
Been wondering, how much do you think they pay Jason and their staff in general..do you they use a the UK pay scale or are they more generous?
Loopy – no idea how much they pay Jason, but the BRF are notoriously parsimonious when it comes to staff pay. They only recently headed off a strike by workers who weren’t being paid the living wage.
We should get the address of his office and all send him Sympathy cards.
Along with tums, Rogaine, and Just for Men hair color.
•internet high five•
HOW funny would that be if Jason began receiving sympathy cards in the mail every day? 😄
You can write to him directly via KP or BP. Address is on the BRF website.
I would die laughing if “#poorjason” became a thing that started trending! 😂😂
We should do before and after photographs – he’s quite young isn’t he?
Or Kate should take him along for filler sessions as a workplace benefit?
In other words, she’s having some “work” done. My prediction: There will be an “hectic whirl” of 3 or 4 lightweight events just before they leave on vacation. And then she’ll disappear again.
“Hectic whirl” indeed! I laughed at that as well. Three or four engagements a month is a hectic whirl?
In her case, that phrase is an oxymoron.
Weren’t her hectic schedules 3 or 4 hour or less events a week. And never more than 2 weeks with a vacation payout and months of nothing?
There’s always this before vacations. It’s a formula.
I’m going to change my SN to “Hectic Whirl”!
That’s an excellent posting name. Wish I’d have thought of it first!
There is a definite pattern with her – does a flurry of glam engagements over a 2 week period then disappear’s off to Mustique for a month to recover, then makes the odd, made too appearance at set events with the whole family.
Girl ain’t interested in any public duties, end of. Stop trying to persuade us otherwise. We all know Willy ain’t and he’s at least admitting to it.
PS anyone else having problems with the site? Its slow for me and i had a ‘can’t connect to database error’. Hope we’re not overloading it 🙂
Her people do this every so often with her, don’t they? There’s always a promise she’s going to ramp up her schedule after she’s acclimated to royal life, over her morning sickness, back from vacation, back from maternity leave, back from another vacation, over her next bout of morning sickness, back from maternity leave, and back from another Mustique vacation, but it never materialises, does it? So many excuses with this one. Her life is a fat load of nothing but shopping and vacation and I’m tired of being fed this garbage about her wanting to work.
What I think is they’ll start off with the state dinner in October, she’ll do her flurry of stuff, go on vacation, then it will be holiday until after Christmas.
Yes she comes out of the woodwork to do a tiara job
then she will disappear on holiday ..
its disgraceful she does so little
especially when tax payer funded
Hectic whirl of her pre-pregnancy life? WTH?
Who comes up with this nonsense? More critically, do they truly believe that the public is buying it?
It’s aimed at true believers who will buy anything. The rest of us can be safely ignored – for now.
Shopping, exercising, partying, sports watching, vacationing, yes, a hectic whirl for a simple mind.
Why exactly is there a post on these people every single day saying the exact same thing? Who gives a crap what royals do with their time?
The people who pay for them?
The British taxpayers care I would imagine, as well as those of us in other countries who look on in wonderment at a future KING and his wife who want all of the luxury and money of being royal without any of the work, and who obviously don’t care that they are in a position to influence and do a lot of good for people, charities and causes that need support. They’re in it for the perks and the incredibly swank lifestyle and deserve to be called out for it.
it is not my intention to single you out but I don’t understand why some posters: 1) find it strange that people are up in arms with the lack of work ethic from Wil & kate when they are being funded by British taxpayers! 2) actually stick up for Wil & kate. How is that possible? They have such an amazing opportunity to make a difference for millions of people but they’d rather do nothing. Yet some people think that there is nothing wrong with that while living off the tit of the British taxpayers. It’s amazing to me.
I think the actual answer is that the posts are more popular than most topics with the Celebitchy community, given the comments threads on them. That’s why.
If you’re looking to change the taste of said Celebitchy community so that there are fewer posts about the BRF, you’re going to have to get a lot more persuasive than that, sorry!
“she’s not ready to return to the hectic whirl of her pre-pregnancy life just yet.” LOL
I’m having a hard time telling the difference between her pre and post pregnancy lives. #poorjason
For some reason I was thinking about this last night (because like Kate I have two kids under the age of 2 and have nothing better to do 🙂 ). She married into the family. From all these new reporters we’re obviously supposed to get the picture that he married her so she would be a good wife and mother and provide his children with (what he thinks) he never had. Fine. So she does her job in the home so he can do his job outside of the home. I have a toddler, I KNOW it’s hard and tiring work. The only problem is, he isn’t holding up his end of the bargain. His refusing to become a full time royal is shading her and, of course him, and she’s too much of a limpet to do anything about it or perhaps care – if he’s happy, she’s happy I guess.
But I wonder how long that can last. She’s trusted him like a loyal dog for ten years and waited on him while the press called her all sorts of waity-type names. And it’s all happening again. Will there come a time when she grows a pair and decides she doesn’t want to just be his support system? Will she ever want to break out of his shadow and prove she is more than what everyone thinks? Or did William truly find the perfect girl (for him) who is content doing and being for him despite what others think? That takes a very, very strong person or perhaps a very very insulated one. I prefer the former.
I think I agree with you.
The two nannies, housekeeper, cleaners, and assorted staff are doing much of the job “in the home”. She exercises, goes shopping, gets her hair done, plans vacations.
This is the life she wanted, what she chased for a decade. She wanted The Prince, she wanted a privileged life, and she pursued that status willingly. She could have had a job and dated him, she could have done something to dispel the written about laziness, but she didn’t. She is lazy and she doesn’t care what others think. Why work for that decade when her parents would support the Prince Hunt?
W&K established a relationship where they function best with a lot of time apart, that hasn’t changed. Hence the Middleton Rules and the taxpayer money spent security her parents house because she’s there for extended periods. She has gotten what she wanted, status, wealth, unlimited shopping budget, mansions. She sets her own schedule, she chooses not to work because she doesn’t want to work. Why think she isn’t content?
You may want her to be more and want more for herself, but she may be perfectly content the way things are.
I, too, think she got everything she wanted and is content. But I’ve never heard of contentment lasting a lifetime. I also imagine that as some point life will throw her/them a wrench. I wonder what will happen after the queen dies, for example.
I get what you are saying and I give it 4 – 5 years before push really comes to shove simply because she still has the time for more baby-making years. Ultimately, though, I don’t think the wife and mother strategy is sustainable.
Long explanation but here is where I think the miscalculation occurred. I think Kate/Carole thought the long game was waiting William out during those college and post-college years, etc., with marriage being the end-game. They assumed that after that everything would fall into place like a Cinderella fairytale, i.e., living happily ever after, and also like that fairytale they figured there wasn’t a sequel. End of story. So, those slights wouldn’t matter because the prize was so big. In putting all of their energy there they could have been short-sighted but I think they simply failed to plan for or to anticipate the full role–even if William failed to prioritize it or attempted to diminish it’s importance. So . . .Kate was never prepped for a Part II. It wasn’t important to the endgame because it wasn’t important to William or to hooking William.
I think her hiding behind maternity leave and being a stay at home mom is an attempt to build a Part II. The main reason I think so is because she is woefully over her head outside of being a WAG. As their roles evolve and s/he meet increasingly more learned and sophisticated people, how will she stack up? How will it make her feel? Someone mentioned the other day that in this Kate’s parents failed her. I agree. I’m sure she feels inferior on a lot of fronts and probably embarrassed in front of his friends given the hoops and the debasements she went thru to get him. Then, of course, there is that Eliza Dolittle accent of hers.
Long post. Sorry.
I think they get by ok to just barely now because they are still in the UK fishbowl. There, William gets a really big pass for being Diana’s son (first) and then for being Prince William (second). She has nothing to stand on–not much with the public and probably very little with his friends. Once again, as they get older and their circle has to broaden outside of the weddings of his college and childhood friends to include more learned & sophisticated people, namely women, Kate’s back will be up against the wall–not only to keep up but probably to hang on to William too. She won’t be able to hide behind being a SAHM forever.
I agree that they didn’t think beyond the wedding besides coming up with a few simple and short-term pr strategies. I think Kate has a problem looking beyond her limited values. She gloms onto wealth and status and image and thought getting that for herself through marrying William would be enough to see her through.
It’s very peculiar that these same people like Pippa but not Kate.
She currently is riding on this mommy excuse, for sure. I laugh at the notion of having any sort of stimulating conversation with Kate. Not that I’m any sort of genius myself, but she just strikes me as a bit mentally stunted. I mean, who would sit by the phone waiting for William to call for 10 years? Nobody I know and certainly nobody I would want to hang out with.
In the article quoted, you can see some carefully crafted phrases. That’s where the story is…..”she’s not ready to return to the hectic whirl of her pre-pregnancy life just yet”, “before she returns to full time active duty”, “Kate’s strategy is to very slowly build up the number of engagements to which she is committed throughout the autumn”….. LAUGHABLE! She has never been on full time active duty. EVER.
I think she’s having some cosmetic work done. And she’s starving herself, and working out. Hopefully during her ‘maternity leave’, she’ll learn how to do her eye makeup! That’s my only hope……… 🙂
You’ve got me thinking Dena. I’m inclined to think that Kate’s back will never be against the wall because she will be treated with respect and often deference by pretty much everyone she meets. As far as I can tell, for the BRF, competence is not expected or required. One just needs to show up. Cases in point are Andrew and Phil.
Oooh, Vava! Cosmetic surgery? The thought never occurred. That is really possible.
@Dena you hit the nail on the head! I wonder if Kate will ever grow to resent Carole when she looks back on things years from now…
I wonder if Kate even has enough brain cells for the self-reflection it would take to challenge Carole.
I’ve known two simple minded Kate clones. Neither of them are smart enough and their needs are so Simple, they’re happy with keing house and keeping up their looks. Anything more would be like asking a dog to write poetry. Not going to happen.
@Jeanne: wow! I have never thought about it that way (and I spend more time than I would like to admit thinking about W/K!) You make such a great point. Would we even be here having this conversation if WILLIAM was doing more? Definitely an interesting way to look at it.
We would definitely not be having this conversation if Prince William did his fair share like Prince Harry. All he would have to do is show up at a nice amount of events, make it seem like he actually wants to claim his birthright, and say something like, “Catherine wishes she could be here but the kids are her first priority while they’re so small yada yada yada.” The public and the media would eat that up and she’d be given a pass AND be hailed as a perfect mother. But William leaves her out to dry. HIS laziness is the point here but she gets the blame. She might enable and defer but she isn’t calling the shots.
None of that explains how terrible she is when she does bother to show up. IF she was longing to work hard and being held back (complete suppositions, BTW), she’d be spot on and engaged every second she works. Instead she looks vapid and bored, has been caught rolling her eyes at work several times, and only looks interested when Ben Ainslie shows up. She spent all of her life being lazy, her attitude and behavior now is only an extension of that.
Thing is, nas, if she showed up more she might not be so terrible. And even if she is terrible I can forgive her for that if she just shows up! Not the eye rolling and looking bored, though. Least you can do is act like it’s interesting even if it’s a stultifying bore. And you can find something interesting in just about anything if you bother to look.
I don’t really understand the fresh waves of outrage. She’s never done a lot of engagements. She said she was going to slow down tremendously after Charlotte. She and William have said their focus is the children for the next few years. I don’t know why it is so shocking that they are continuing to do these things. One can be mortified at the unmitigated gall of such a plan but why the wailing from the peanut gallery when they have already made their intentions crystal clear?
I can see both sides, but like you, I’m kinda tired of talking about it.
And that’s what keeps them in place. People start to think of them as background noise they can’t be bothered about and next thing you know another 50yrs has past, but it is good to talk.
As an example, as a kid through to my late teens, I remember this underground rumble about the Queen not paying tax. Every so often media would mention it even as Britain was going though the hard times of the late 70s, 80s, 90s. There wasn’t anyone unaware, I don’t think, that HM didn’t pay tax. They just kept pushing it to the background of their lives.
……but in the end, she came a cropper when she needed a govt hand out when Windsor needed repairs. The Govt couldn’t force through the handout WHEN THE QUEEN DIDN’T PAY TAX. I use capitals because that became the narrative even though Windsor was in ruins and everyone could see it had to be repaired.
In short, talking about these things repeatedly will eventually bring results. And when a crisis hits the royals, there will be public support for any changes parliament makes. Change won’t happen because the public suddenly learnt something new, it’ll be an ongoing background rumble that will foster change.
For now, more and more people are talking about the queen’s death as the catalyst for change. WK are short-sighted in not laying down the ground work that will see them through that crisis should it happen.
I definitely see your point. And I’m not opposed to other people talking about it. But as an American, who views them mostly as entertainment, it’s old news. They’re lazy. They are two, or will be two of the richest, most privileged people in the world, and they give very, very little back, and don’t seem to intend to change. It’s really none of my business if the British public is willing to pay so much to get so little. As to your statement about them being shortsighted – truer words were never spoken. I would go so far as to say stupid of them.
LAK – I thank you for typing that out – on a new phone to boot! – thus saving me the bother.
Imo – I know you pay a lot of attention to matters BRF and have a fully developed point of view gained with longstanding observation. All’s I’d say in addition to LAK is that if you look back, you’ll see that these things – press and public opinion that is partly driven by press – go in the same cycles. We’re just in the ebbs and flows before the crisis part of the cycle. Once you understand that, you’ll understand exactly where we are with it – and why the reporting is as it is.
I don’t believe the queen’s death alone will substantially bring the end of the monarchy to the forefront of the conversation. I rather believe it will have everything to do with whether or not William steps up his game and becomes a working Prince of Wales. If Charles becomes a competent king who uses a style of representation that conveys itself as strength and purpose people will forgive a lot of things In addition to that if William and Kate become more than just ornamental members of the royal family again all will be forgotten. Charlotte and George will be much older and more active and if William and Kate play happy family as the new, modern prince and princess of Wales people will forget about the endless vacation, bully the press years.
Amen LAK and Sixer!
IMO: i’m not saying that the minute after HM dies = full blown crisis. Of course certain things will have to happen for the crisis to occur or to be averted.
Currently we have a situation where HM has seen it through to her death. Charles knows and knew that he couldn’t take it for granted that he will be monarch. Compare his view to that of George 4, who is thought to be the worst POW in history who went on to be an even more hated monarch, yet his right to the throne or indeed monarchy was never questioned, unlike Charles.
We currently have a situation where monarchy has held on since the early 20th century by having the public invested in a system that they view as an anachronism. HM has done what she can to keep it going, and Charles will have to do the same.
HM’s death is the crack in that hold as identified by those realms that have made noises about independence, but that doesn’t mean it will happen or that it will happen immediately.
It will depend on how well Charles reigns. WK are a potential credit/debit in that reign because if they step up and prove popular, then Charles will be saved, just like his mother. If WK don’t step up and or prove unpopular, then no matter how well Charles reigns, the calls for monarchy to end with him will be louder.
The monarchy these days is in the hands of the people. And that’s what all these little stories are about. Gone are the days of blind deference and or spoon fed curated information. The Palace knows it and that’s why we have these ridiculous articles telling us that Kate is keen to work and or doing secret charity visits rather than simply saying that she’s a cheshire cat SAHM.
DItto with LAK and Sixer. Most people in the UK are apathetic about the BRF which I’m convinced is partly due to learned helplessness because regardless of complaints about them, we can’t vote them out of office. Silence about their behaviour means acceptance and that is what they want, for us all to continue to accept what they do (or in this case don’t do) without complaint. Silence is their friend.
I know this sounds shallow but William and Kate can do a great job as Prince and Princess of Wales but neither are aging well and great works by a bald, horse face guy and his crone-face wife probably won’t sink in and make as much of a lasting impression as lesser and even frivolous work done by a tall guy who looks good in a uniform and his glossy-haired wife.
I agree with the comment above that William and Kate may be making a mistake by not laying down the groundwork now, which IMO is needed as a cushion against future anni horribili (or whatever the correct way to say multiple bad years). Presently there is interest and favorable views of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge but it is not for any substantive reason. However it should not be discounted how much goodwill can be accumulated by them just showing up / being visible.
I think the apathy in part is in place due to QEII’s “invisible” reign. For the most part, with the exception of how Diana’s death, QEII hasn’t publicly placed a foot wrong. She is visible and yet invisible because she is non-intrusive. Plus, she has always been there, with Just about every living Briton/folks in the commonwealth having been born when she was born or born during her reign. So, she kind of just is. We know that but I don’t think the right people have quite thought about that.
Here is what I mean. I always knew that my great-grandmother was the glue and the matriarch that kept the family together. However, it wasn’t until after she died that we all realized the “invisible” glue she used to do what she did. She died in 1995 and is still missed. Not to reduce my g-grandmother to this or QEII but they are like the unknown employee who makes the coffee every morning that everyone depends but no one thinks about until everyone’s routine is thrown off when the coffee isn’t made because that person either died, quit, or got laid-off.
The Windsors know that QEII will eventually die but I think William and other less astute people on his team assume/mistake slow moving change as some sort of permanent stasis. They haven’t thought about the coffee pot. They haven’t thought about the bland uniqueness of QEII, the historical context of her reign or the full weight of the invisible stuff that she and her advisors continue to pull off every day. William pays it lip service but his actions reflect his own apathy–just like that of the people. But unlike the people he does have a real reason to keep the monarchy. He needs to see beyond his personal apathy, arrogance and contempt if the monarchy will have a future beyond Charles & QEII.
Here is where Kate comes in. During those transitional years, when the pressure on him will be intense & with little pockets really pushing to break away, I really think that he won’t turn to Kate and see strength in the partnership. I think he will turn his anger onto her–seeing all of his shortcomings reflected in her rather than himself. And that is what will break the marriage. She will no be able to give him a place to hide and avoid.
Dena – “assume/mistake slow moving change as some sort of permanent stasis”.
Couldn’t agree more.
Also, for befuddled Americans who can’t work out why we put up with it – never underestimate how much Britons dislike upheaval even when they somewhat disapprove of the status quo. We are a nation of slow-to-boilers. But we do erupt eventually.
Sixer
Now you really have me curious to go back and look at rf highlights and isolate trends in the reporting cycles. I just may see patterns that can quasi-predict how this drama will unfold.
LAK
I just don’t have a lot of faith that William and Kate can pull it off. I want them to but they lack heart and discipline. We’ll see.
Dana
Interesting stuff here. I think QE inspired great respect for the monarchy but no real love. If she had I believe she could have single handedly added 50 more years of acceptance for the notion of the monarchy. Jmo.
I agree.
I think for people paying attention, whether for or against then, this isn’t new information. But for people who just glance at People magazine and generally don’t pay attention, I think their opinions are slowly changing.
I read other message boards focused on other topics but every two or three months, there’ll be a thread on the royals and it’s been interesting watching opinions slowly shift over the last 5 years. The rest of the public is growing aware which I think is partly why reporters are getting more bold.
I have been amazed at the sudden change in the tone of the comments on another popular fashion blog that loves Kate and William. Three months ago, I was one of the few who brought up questions about them – now, half of every thread is asking what do they actually do, why do they do glamorous stuff like wimbledon, yacht races, but skip Memorials, etc. Additionally, the privilege they have for doing nothing irks many people.
The tide is turning, and it couldn’t happen to a more (less) deserving couple.
I’m really curious to know which one, if you don’t mind telling. Is it T&L?
A bit like the Kelly Rutherford wake-up call, where the facts are slowly coming out no matter what the PR people do.
@Jib, what Natalie said! I would looooove to know what site you’re referring to and if it is one that I frequent 😉
The go fug yourself site. The last royal post had conversations about how bad they are at PR and how easy it would be to fix this with just a little work. Then others chimed in with how they really don’t want to do anything that isn’t fun – and that they are lazy and William is petulant and self-indulgent. I thought I was here for a minute!
Interesting thread. You should go read it.
There’s more conversation on Duchess Kate as well. That being said, there’s also more defense of them too. Charlotte’s done a good job of settling it down while nothing is going on by having people put outfits together for Kate.
Sorry, very late reply, but really, GFY? Huh, those people are usually ride or die. Interesting.
I’m a huge fan of Jessica dating back to her TWOP days, but the usual comments over there on W and K make my teeth hurt.
@AAA: agree. It IS shallow but it is also true; it’s human nature. Post-Diana and pre-Kate, there was far less interest in the BRF in mainstream America (People magazine, etc.). Kate is gorgeous and that’s what reignited the interest IMO.
I beg to differ. Kate is a cipher, and the media would have elevated and fawned over anyone in her position. Her looks, well,….to each their own. IMO, she is average, and being dull and vacuous does not help. Photoshop has been her best friend. But the media like to make people think she is gorgeous because they rarely have standards, anyway.
I think that Kate was very pretty during her college years and the few years afterwards but she has not aged well. I think that her mother looks good, maybe more of a handsome beauty than a classic, delicate beauty, so I don’t know if Kate is going to get a second wave of beauty, or if (my perception of) Carole’s good looks is more of an X-factor thing.
Which brings me to Diana. Neither pretty nor beautiful were words that came to mind related to young Diana, I saw her more as fresh-faced, stylish and charismatic. She did have (IMO) a pretty/beautiful phase when she was in her late 20s/early 30s.
William was actually the fairest of them all until he went to seed.
Because their #thinkofthechildren card is their default BS excuse for avoiding their duties. And they have *never* been clear about this, except when it comes to excuses. They have never come out and said, “well, yeah, we’re not going to fulfill our royal duties even though the queen needs help, just concentrate on our family life and vacations…the family life where William is MIA and Carole rules the roost, the 20+ servants labour hard and the beaches beckon. But we’ll take obscene gobs of your money, thanks very much”.
A steady drumbeat will keep the news in the forefront. It’s necessary.
Otherwise, what LAK so eloquently said.
Back to work ?
Has she really started ?
As much I’ve respected HM over the years for putting duty first, well, in terms of William, she’s an enabler. She provided Amner as a “gift” (tax loophole) and it would seem she’s trusting Charles’ aides re- William.
Diana entered the Royal family as more of an outsider (ironically, considering her family and childhood) than Kate in terms of the fact Charles had already purchased Highgrove and had his set, his habits, his routine. Diana was in a much better position to take an angry, lazy route as the brood mare but she didn’t.
I don’t think they were given Anmer. They live there free of charge but it is still part of the Sandringham estate.
HM doesn’t want another abdication crisis on her hands re-William. Look- he’s got the wife and happy little family v Harry. William uses it passive-aggressively to get everything he wants.
Harry doesn’t want to be King and HM knows it.
The abdication crisis such as it was lasted about a month or two, and any future abdication “crisis” will be ameliorated because there was a previous abdication that was not brought on by political upheaval.
To me Harry being king is a non-issue, the question is will he have to serve as regent and even that seems unlikely. However even if Harry had to serve as regent, while it may not be something he wants to do, I don’t see being regent taking the toll on Harry that being king took on George VI.
Assuming William outlives his grandmother and father, I predict that he will take the throne, serve a few years, maybe even a decade or so, and then do a Benelux type abdication, which IMO that would not be a bad thing, not just because it is William stepping aside, but I think that having a youngish, forty something accede the throne is a good thing.
Good- because I already have positive feelings about George sp- I have a feeling he’ll be much like his grandfather Middleton esp in terms of work ethic. You see, of all the Middletons, I believe Michael Middleton is the real worker.
She’s lazy and vapid, she got the engagement ring, the wedding ring, provided the Heir and Spare, and figures at this point there isn’t much anyone can do about it if she decides to take a few years off and enjoy the lifestyle to which her mother taught her she was entitled.
The “whirl” of her pre-pregnancy life? What “whirl”?! One or two foreign tours, and one or two days a week showing up in the UK for a couple of hours at a school or hospital in her limo, a bit of chit chat, wave to the crowds, and a few gala appearances a month in expensive gowns dripping with jewels?!
Please. This girl does has never, does not now, and fully intends never to know the meaning of the word “work”.
If William and Kate actually showed up to a school or hospital once or twice a week, there wouldn’t be that many complaints about them being a couple of do nothings.
IKR? It wouldn’t take much to turn the tide. No one is expecting these two to put in 80-hour weeks, but an afternoon or two a week spent at a hospital or charity truly isn’t asking for much. They’ll always have their critics, but I think most people would stop caring if these two just showed up every now and then to do something. The bar is so low, it’s ridiculous.
Don’t forget the hair flipping, manic laughs, and Marilyn moments….
Absolutely agree with your comments
So she is doing more stuff in October and November than in September…
September = 0
October = 1
November = 1 or 2
Building it up slowly so she won’t burn out. Totally get it. Also going on a vacation after slowly building it up. Just in case she is starting to feel exhausted.
Wish I could live her whirlwind lifestyle. Haven’t a day of vacation in six months, haven’t been on a vacation (longer than three days) in a year. Am I jealous? Yes. Am I annoyed that someone is writing about her oh so busy schedule when everyone knows, that isn’t the case. YES!
The way I read that article was that it was tongue-in-cheek, and sarcastic. Poking fun at her lack of work during her entire marriage.
“Building it up slowly, the hectic whirl”…they must be writing sarcastically, otherwise they are laughing at us!
The Daily Beast writes the most sycophantic nonsense out there – I roll my eyes every time I read it. It’s bad when the Daily Mail is more reliable.
And thank you for pointing out that one EARNS maternity leave – and 40 hours a year doesn’t qualify you.
I feel very sorry for her … if accounts are to be believed then she schemed and plotted to win her prince, but now she has him her life seems very empty and sad.
She probably can’t even get a minute’s peace and quiet at home because her ‘helicopter mother’ is always interfering in things.
I wonder how she fills her days … I would hope that she doesn’t read all the horrible reports online about her (especially that really nasty website ‘Royal Gossip’, where people are especially vicious [honestly, the stuff they say!!!]), but you just never know.
Yes, there is a shed load of ‘stuff’ she could be doing but I do think part of why she’s not doing anything has to do with William who I imagine is a very difficult person to please no matter what she does.
I don’t think she ever looks genuinely happy – she looks hungry (literally); when she smiles she seems to do so through gritted teeth; and she gives me the impression that she feels incredibly out of her depth in these social situations.
I really do feel very sorry for her :-/
It’s a shame she isn’t close to Princess Charlene of Monaco as I think those two would share a lot in common.
I don’t feel sorry for her but the trill was probably the chase and the capture. Everything else probably pales in comparison or is simply overwhelming.
I don’t feel sorry for her at all. She’s to blame for what’s she’s become.
To feel sorry for her is rather pointless when she’s gotten exactly what she wanted, despite the 10 years of negative press and being a doormat to William.
Everybody – including her – knew she’d be expected to work (as rather lightweight as it seems) and yet here we are… with the wife of the heir to the heir of the throne who clearly thinks she can live like a WAG and nobody will bat an eye… especially now that she’s birthed a girl spare and given her Diana’s name.
She’s a moron. We should only feel sorry about that… Maybe.
Agree. William cannot be easy to deal with/live with. At ALL. For all we know, he’s holding her back.
That look of constant ennui on her face when performing duties with underprivileged and broken humans suggests to me that it’s not only William holding her back.
From what we’ve learned through the years, I wouldn’t think she’d be easy to live with either. No interests beyond TOWIE, self-grooming, shopping, and status status status. The emerging picture of a boring womanchild who has to have her way or she falls apart OR makes everyone’s life hell? Who never fails to blame someone else for her own choices (“The Palace won’t let me work” lie. The breakups “were his daddy’s fault”)?
They’re both stuck in an extended adolescence and neither of them is a picnic.
William isn’t a gem but neither is she. At all. Nor is his 2nd wife, Carole. “There were 3…”
IMO, they bring out the worst in each other. BUT she was always lazy – I highly doubt we could possibly stop her from working when it’s clear she never wanted to work even when they were dating. Heck, when they were dating even when she was pretending to work she never really did – IIRC, the one job she had (outside of the pretend job with Party Pieces) was lightweight work where she basically set her own hours so she could go off on holiday and chase after William (or be ready when he had 5 minutes for her). Which she quickly dropped – and blamed others for. Then never bothered to work again… because, you know, life is hard, the press is mean and poor snowflake is such a victim (can’t remember the flimsy excuse but that is how she always seems to think and the excuses usually run along that same vein so…).
Ugh.
I think they are each other’s enabler.
Hard to believe they are approaching mid-30s in chronological age. They are used to such a coddled existence and slow work pace that I personally doubt they will change.
I think you are pretty much the person you will be (in terms of work ethic) by mid- to late 20s. Most don’t significantly change for the next 20 years or so. The lazy 30-something will likely be a lazy 40-something, and so on. The excuses may change; that’s all.
@SavageGrace, I must admit I am more captivated by the William/Carole love story than the William/Kate love story, and wanna know more about what, if anything, has been going on between William and Michael.
@aaa:
You mean Mike Middleton… aka Andrew Parker-Bowles 2.0…?
Ewwwww…. I just make myself want to puke. x_x
It probably gets even more twisted with more players involved… War of the Wales ain’t got nothin’ on this, y’all!
Ewww followed by LMAO.
My “love story” musings were strictly g-rated but then you had bring up Andrew Parker-Bowles, who apparently got around quite a bit, and now all kinds of Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice constructs are popping up in my head!
Sowwy 😛
I think that initially William and the other Windsors were at the root of Kate not jumping into the deep end when it came to royal work. William was the key to Kate getting the brass ring so it makes sense that pleasing William and staying on his good side was paramount. When they were in Anglesey, I suspect that William didn’t want to come home too often to an empty house, turn on the telly and be splashed with pictures of wife halfway across the Britain doing a walkabout, although I think he would be OK coming home to an empty house if his wife was off visiting her parents. I think after the complaints about how Diana and Sarah, Duchess of York did not get the proper support for their roles, that the Queen and Charles bent over backwards to not be seen as unfeeling or putting undue pressure on the married-in royal.
I do think that something happened along the way and Kate has withdrawn and her current invisibility cannot be solely attributed to being held back by William. I suspect that royal life, nope make that royal work, is not as wonderful as Kate thought it would be, perhaps she even finds it drudgery, highly pressurized or both. It seems like no one is inclined to tell her to suck it up and get yer ass out there, and it’s now become a downward spiral where the longer she stays out of the game the harder it is to get back in.
P.S.
An aspect where Prince William is a key factor is that historically the consort shadows the “real” royal especially in the early years, and while he or she may eventually carve out a niche for him or herself, a significant chunk of the consort’s calendar was/is making joint appearances with the royal spouse with the consort serving as a supporting player. Again this is historical and seems to be changing especially if looking at other countries – the Netherlands and Denmark (CP couple not monarch) come to mind when I think of a consort who seems to have risen above shadowing the “real” royal.
I agree with aaa who said that no one was inclined to tell her to suck it up and get out there to work. The moment when shit hit the fan for her began in Denmark when a member of the press asked her a question and she froze. Completely botched the answer and showed the world how untalented with public speaking AND how uninformed she is about world issues. Ever since then, she has been ill-at-ease and everything is scripted. Her speaking skills are horrid and embarrassing to watch. She needs to get out there and practice; either that or continue to hide away and only emerge for a photo call now and then. She truly behaves like a Stepford Wife and that disgusts me, considering what she could be doing with her unique station in life.
I do think that sometimes you do need to be careful what you ask for as you might get it. Watching and doing are two different things.
I think Kate holds Kate back.
I don’t like to go anywhere or do anything either.
So you know what I did? I married Joe the Plumber and work at a call center.
I didn’t marry the furutre KING OF ENGLAND.
This made me laugh out loud! Thank you. 🙂
+1! LOLOL!
+3 :-). 🙂
LOL!
Perhaps she’s at home learning Mandarin or studying up on the Caribbean so that she can do more than grin and toss her hair.
Didn’t David and Wallace live in the Bahamas? Wasn’t he Governor General or something like that? Perhaps they are simply going to check out their new digs?
Those two are no more than a soap opera stuck in rerun hell.
It is rerun hell especially when you consider history repeats itself.
Apparently and according to her apologists, she’s at home with Charlotte attached to her breast 24/7.
But I think she’s actually spending her time being tutored by speech teachers, improving her memory for speech-giving, reading up on the history of the Carribeans, learning all the names of the leaders and other dignitaries she will be meeting, contacting all her charities and keeping up-to-date on them, making numerous fundraising calls to potential donors and videotaping speeches to increase awareness for her charities, writing happy and encouraging handwritten letters to terminally-ill children, making private visits to homeless shelters and telling people that they have her support and best wishes, etc.
Anne, if I thought you believed that, I would have a bridge to sell you. But I know you speak in jest!
It boggles to mind to see how these two really don’t care about anything except their own pampered, privileged, spoiled and indulgent lifestyle or the image they’re giving not just to the British, but to the world who will judge William as a future leader and his vacuous wife. I really hope their wake-up call comes soon. Payback can be a b@$tch.
I suspect Anne is being funny &/or sarcastic. Thanks for the laugh, Anne! In actuality, Kate is busy, busy, busy, scouring the internet shopping sites and where necessary, heading to the shops in person. On top of that, she has her twice daily workouts, regular massages and other critical appointments such as hair and make up, botox and tanning sessions. Oh, and then there’s the kids… with only 2 nannies on staff, she has to step in periodically to oversee childcare.
Excellent photo selection again. In the top photo I can here her saying to herself, “One more minute. One more minute. Pretend to pay attention for one more minute. Then I can go shopping for bikinis.”
I was just about to say that regardless of the subject matter of this post, I think she looks absolutely beautiful in that first photo. (Less eyeliner would be even better but we know that’s not changing anytime soon!) Say what you want about Kate – and I have plenty of negative things to say about her – but she is incredibly pretty and rarely takes a bad photo (IMO)
Yes, that is your opinion, not mine. I do not find her above average, even after all the photoshop, hair extensions, and expensive clothes. There are plenty of bad photos of her, especially of her manic expressions. Kaiser treats us to a few every so often.
Please note the excessive photoshop used in that first picture. Many people have never seen what she really looks like.
I am embarrassingly clueless when it comes to anything Photoshop, so I will defer to you on that! I find Kate stunning but I know not everyone shares my opinion.
Charlotte15: Have you seen the unphotoshopped Kate, I wonder?
We’ve seen her true face only on a handful of occasions since the engagement was announced. Poppy day 2013 was one such occasion.
She is heavily photoshopped most of the time. On top of the deep layers of make up.
@lak, I never saw those pictures before! I barely recognized her. Why didn’t they photoshop these, I wonder?
And I came across pics of her twirling her curls (Daily Mail) at Remembrance Day a few years ago. The vacuous look on her face – startling! And that same day, Sophie stood next to her and seemed to be looking at Kate with a look that could kill. What was up,with that!?!?
I thought she looked good until being tipped off by posters here.
The ‘shopping is excessive in more than one way with this one.
I have seen her in person and while she is pretty she is also very very thin, i could see all the bones in her kneecaps. Her skin isn’t that great either, looked dry under way to much make up.
She came across as very shy and unsure of how she should act when visiting people (or really knew how to deal with being the centre of attention in a large room of people) but then again this was just after they got married. I don’t think she has a clue how to act when out and about doing ‘meet and greets’ etc.. but as other RF members have said you get better at it the more you do it. And she should be shadowing TQ or her inlaws to see hows its done. Camilla and Sophie are both very good at it. So is Sir Tim (Anne’s husband – who is rather dishy in the flesh even thou he’s of the salt and pepper age).
I think she is one of those people who ‘zones’ out quickly – u an see it in her eyes and facial expressions. She’s not really there – she’s off running around the halls of her mind ‘palace’.
Thou i still think she’s massively lazy and has no interests outside pleasing Bill the normal bloke.
@Betti….”running around the halls of her mind palace”!!!! What a glorious description. Now that is all I can see.
@Betti – just curious when you saw her in person. My friend in Calgary saw her there the day she and William rode in the Stampede Parade and noted she was downright skeletal. She and William were dressed for Stampede in jeans, cowboy hats, & western shirts. When they arrived at the BMO Centre – that’s where my friend saw her – Kate had a big gap at the back of her jeans – even though they were miniscule, she couldn’t begin to fill them out and she was very bony in the upper chest area.
Although she’s had two successful pregnancies, I still think she looks unhealthy and those jeggings she often wears only serve to emphasize this. A padded bra and flowy fabrics can only hide so much – look at her hair and skin.
She looks decidedly unengaged, as she does a lot of the time. Duchess of Ennui.
Good one. Apt description: ennui.
I read that really quickly – as Emu – and then wondered what Bradley Cooper was doing on a BRF thread 🙂
That is a perfect description!
99.9% certain Tom Sykes is a paid Cambridge defender so it’s only naturally he’d get his info from Jason.
The fact the duty-shy git supposedly wrote about HM being a “model for a life of service to the public.” If he did… BIG if… truly, TRULY he is a shameless idiot.
Can we the RF divorce these 2? Please?
That’s an awesome book about the Queen….so I’ve “Hurd”…! (get it? *snort* *snicker*)
Ok–I’m leaving now! 🙂
This is all 1 huge repeat.
What is worth looking at imo is how the press is putting this out. Still not flattering, but with key words that keep the fans happy and context that keeps the realists appeased.
That and… Kate has made time for shopping, hair, working out, and all day visits with celebs. She made time for that, but a 45 minnute appearance with little speaking and mostly photo ops… That’s something she’s not ready to return to? Even if it’s once a week?
Yea… I’ll be in the wiglet wagon sipping tea and wearing my fife tiara. Why Fife? Because it’s prickly and i’m feeling prickly today.
She gets more negative press from doing nothing, than she would by putting herself out there for 45 minutes. She needs to counsel herself that the bar is indeed set very low.
She can make time to fangirl Angelina Jolie but not to honor the sacrifices of her country in WWII.
You could also use the Swedish Pronger as your new tinfoil hat, in case the Fife isn’t hefty enough. Or one of the many spiky fringe tiaras you have around the house.
I’m sticking with the Steel Cut or Midnight tiaras, until Liberty and ArtHistorian come for them.
Nota
The 9 prong? That’s not prickly. Rounded points.
It is hefty and it could do some damage, even with the rounding. But I did also suggest a fringe. There seem to be a LOT of fringe tiaras running around and those are very prickly.
Lol excellent options! I was searching for a spiky tower like row… Sharp lines! That’s been my mood today.
Imaginary DuchessK: Oi! I said, I ain’t ready to return to th’ ‘ectic whirl of me pre-brat life just yet, right? I ‘ave me reasons! I don’ need no yelpin’ aggro from the likes o’ you! Illegal alien, you is, not even a common! Me mum says wiv a snap of ‘er fingers, you’ll be at Gatwick wiv a cap to catch coins! Me mum says, ain’t nothin’ you do our Jimmy can’t do once they gets ‘ome from the Caribe’en, an’ Sweden, an’ the Med an’ such! So – no more askin’!
Imaginary PrinceW: I say, Old Thing, wot were you bashin’ old Yankee Spam about then, eh? That whining red-arsed Yank tosser wrote me a bloody fine essay, eh? Front of me gran’s book, wot? “Example and continuity” har! Public loving me, ho! This bit: “where the role of charity, family, duty and compassion perseveres” eh? Clever, eh? Quite fine way to say I shall allow the great Ginger rash to keep on with his sodding work for our crown and all that, wot? Lets the poors know we have the Ginger on the task, eh, mucking out, wot, with his rubber boots and germ masks and rhino clippers and milk buckets eh? People glad to hear I have that who-cares-in-line fart out on the old public job, ho? Must ask how many pounds I get for that book intro, ho, quite a packet, one should think, eh? So, I say, be a bit nicer to Spam, wot? Sending the old sock a Milk Tray for effort, eh?
iDK: Oi! I never! I ‘ave me ‘ands full, don’ I? Wivvout havin’ to bow an’ fetch to that annoyin’ little Office git Spam wiv ‘is newsboy pencil! Press releases! More work-ish things! What’s ‘e think I am! I gots the gym from dawn to ten, don’ I? Then me call from me mum! Then me professional massage, then me bath an’ ‘air, then checkin’ me online frock orders, an’ calls from me loverly shops! An’ me directives list from me mum, to read wiv me bowl o’ bone broth! Then me chats wiv Pips an’ watchin’ the house chavs brushing an’ foldin’ an’ ‘angin’ me new frocks! An’ now ‘avin to worry about me celeb looks fer This Year Mustique and Next Year Caribe’en! I’m goin’ quite ‘alf mad wiv work already, ain’t I? It’s all I c’n bear of a day, by the time grim Marie rolls Gary George and borin’ Carole Charlotte past me during me tea, exhaustin’ daily tot parade so’s I cn’ see what they wore, to plan what they’ll wear on the next! Me mum says no wonder yer dead princess mum bolted to live wiv a French chauffeur, even if ‘e was a knees-up plonker only up to ‘er bangles!
iPW: I say, Old Thing! But! Too true, really! Have a point, don’t you! Both pushed past our limit daily, wot, really! Barely time for gettin’ arse over elbow in me pubs myself with my mates Spongey and Duck and Fuff and Entwhistle! And you and I! Quite ravaged aren’t we! All we can do to finish a plate of cake afore we ‘ave to sign off on French ‘oliday, or up in a copter again, what? No time to call a mate like Jeccs more than twice a day! Lost nanny I still can’t track! I say, now I feel quite enraged too, eh! Sodding foreigner! Only knows how the punters in his colonies live! Plowing corn and nineteen kiddos with cowboys! Not a princess among ‘em, wot? Skyscrapers, but not a prince of the bloody realm, eh? I say, Old Thing, I quite agree: you tell old Yankee Spam we’re quite done for the year! Close books! Finito!
iDK: Me! it’s you as should tell Spam to leave me diary out of it, stop pushin’ fer me to waste an outfit on some lazy eye sorts, and worse! I ain’t got time! I gots me color wheel lessons wiv Madame Bluhare what’s going to guide me to talk to island poors about their many colors of water, as the Office says I must be seen movin’ me mouth fer reasons an not just pretendin’! Won’ even let me get off wiv a bodge job, will she! I gots me wrists to trim up by This Year Miustique too! An’ practice wearin’ me Steel Cut, what me lady Nota ‘as polished up fer me wiv a true flannel Scotch negligee! So, you tell Spam that you’re th’ wankin’ junior nibs!! An’ you ‘n me mum say me schedyool is already full of it and I ain’t goin’ nowhere but what I says, like pr’haps loverly Joseph an’ occasional-like bun tea, an’ a premiere or two. An’ th’ October Chinese buffet, but only ‘cause me and Pips always do love us a nice Chinese buffet!
iPW: — “we can confidently embrace the future without compromising the things that are important…”
iDK: Oi! Enough wiv that book! go tell Yankee Spam what for! So I’m not stuck missin’ fittin’s wiv Stella or me facials time! Cor! I need to be me rested best fer This Year Mustique photos! Or me mum will ‘ave yer melon ‘ead in a spinner when she’s back from takin’ shoe notes fer me in the Caribe’en wiv Pips! An’ she says, cain’t you grow a loverly face hedge like me Jimmy by ‘oliday time? Would do you wonders! Me mum says all you lack is character, an’ look ‘ow well a fine face bush ‘as worked for ‘er other lad!
This is brilliant belly laugh quality Liberty – “that whining red arsed Yank tosser” are you sure you’re not a Brit? Your ear for speech patterns is a bit uncanny – born writer methinks Lass…
I love these updates 🙂
In my head, IDK and IC are off Eastenders. A couple of slaters perhaps.
May you never write them in staid american again.
Wow, thank you, my dears! Seriously humbled. Very very kind of you. But now I feel I should be writing with more care. Eastenders’ voices! I wish! I am muddling through very clumsily, I fear.
Now, I was traveling today and amusing myself by looking at the new People pictures of the Middleshanks family (albeit no poor Michael), who are now on vacation in the Caribbean. The story says they are staying at a 5-star hotel owned by the family of Pippa’s ex. He is also with her on this vacation, instead of Nico, and is shown pushing her playfully into the surf.
This family works it like bees! We need a bee-themed tiara, stat. Please advise.
Beehive Tiara – she will not wear her hair up so combine the old ‘beehive’ hair-do with a built in Tiara. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/fa/1d/16/fa1d169b5263b42ddb07909299635992.jpg This Tiara’s appropriate http://www.jewellery-world.co.uk/AdminImages/Products/jworld_1/57278_big.jpg
She could have a small TV embedded in the Beehive plus Drinks cabinet so she can just whip it out in the middle of her ‘Official Functions’ and watch it when she gets bored – you know high-highfalutin stuff like the Kartrashians – shows she can really relate to 🙂
@frisbee: this is brilliant. A tv in her hair for the E! channel. Yes.
“Government House today announced Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester will make an official visit to Bermuda between 23 and 25 October 2015. As Colonel-in-Chief of the Bermuda Regiment, she will attend the Bermuda Tattoo 2015 as part of the Bermuda Regiment’s 50th Anniversary and visit the Regiment’s Headquarters at Warwick Camp.
During her time in Bermuda, Her Royal Highness will visit Windreach Bermuda and attend a briefing given by The Family Centre and SCARS. She will also see the America’s Cup facilities and other enterprises at the Royal Naval Dockyard. Further details will be made available nearer the time of the visit.” From Today In Bermuda
SHE has a reason to visit.
@ notasugarhere
Good post. Thanks.
Her schedule contrasts significantly with what I imagine W&K’s events will be in the Carribbeans, which would probably be mostly entertainment and tourist facilities in between lunches and dinner parties.
Yep and its good that she’s out and about – i believe she was ill for a while. She and the Duke of Gloucester were at the VJ Day service with TQ – i guess those ‘other’ members of the BRF that Willy so talked about are hard at work picking up the Dolittle slack.
W&K better be praying every day that those other members of the BRF will live long healthy lives, or else who will step in to fill their duties?
I haven’t read the other comments. I’ll scroll back up after I write this. In an antiquated way that still kinda means something her priority was really to have kids. To keep the monarchy going. She did that. Two in two years, a boy and a girl, an heir and a spare, BOOM. if she want to be lazy during her maternity leave I can’t fault her. I did a lot of passing out on the couch while my daughter slept in the beginning. I think I’m a few months she will have to show some action and get involved. The person I don’t get is William. I get his hate of the press but his mother was so involved in charity. She really seems to love people and it was no small thing she would hug AIDS victims when people were scared to touch them. He doesn’t seem to have the same way but he could still donate his time to some more charities. It’s weird.
When I had a 2 year old and a 4 month year old, I considered it a win if I got out of my pajamas. Not postpartum depression, just called having a baby. All this whole blog and comments have been have been shaming sahm. Yep, I had a nanny. And a housecleaner. But they didn’t do 3am feeds. And 4.30 feeds. And omg, why are you awake its 5.30am feeds. Y’all ought to be ashamed.
No, but they sure are there when mum needs a nap or a vacation. Kate also has her mother. Very few mothers have it so good. We have nothing to be ashamed about re- CB discussion on Kate. She’s lazy, it’s the truth, and the truth (to you Jessiejane) seems to hurt.
No one is shaming SAHMs at all. It disingenuous to say this because it is readily apparent that they are discussing the work shy ways of specific people.
And yes, most women who have two young children are very tired all the time. Most women who have two young children don’t have a staff of people on call – add drivers, gardeners, personal assistants, trainers, PR staff to your nanny and a housekeeper and you will get an idea of their lives.
Kate has a night nurse as well as the nannies and full staff to take care of her and the babies. 30+ people. Not just 2 people like you.
Never forgetting her ever present mother.
Your situation and that of other SAHMs is incomparable to hers.
The Duchess’s privileged, opulent life is nothing like yours. But I guess the PR machine of lies must be working if people actually believe she is just like them, especially as a SAHM.
Why people persist in comparing themselves to this woman and her luxurious, pampered lifestyle is beyond me. The rich are indeed very, very different from the likes of average us.
dang
give it up
she needs to be fired
Useless, vapid, lazy. William…what were you thinking? That you’re happy you have a lapdog wife who blindly goes along with the insolent, uninvolved and narrow-minded version of how you think you should live your privileged life? Shame…SHAME on you both for taking so much and giving so little.
Confession: I’m a civil servant, so my life is funded by “taxpayers.”
I am also lazy. Sure, I show up to work 5 days a week, but that’s because if I didn’t, I’d lose my job. If I could get away with working way less, or if I was given subordinates I could delegate all my work to, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
This means that the only thing that makes me “better” than Kate is that I’m not allowed or able to put my laziness into practice to the same extent. Sadly, my socioeconomic standing is incompatible with the kind of true sloth I aspire to.
So all this criticism of Kate’s work ethic or lack thereof just makes me shrug. Yeah, she’s lazy; so what? Yeah, she’s taking advantage of the system; so what? Are these things really so shocking, so uniquely bizarre? (“She prefers SHOPPING and RELAXING to glorious WORK? What is she, some kind of alien creature??”) Her (perceived) laziness isn’t remarkable. Plenty of royals, born or made, have had character flaws that made them bad at their jobs. None of this is new.
Your problem isn’t Kate. Your problem is the monarchy. Abolish it. If you don’t, congratulations: you are her enabler. No amount of seething online outrage will ever change that fact. By condemning Kate but tolerating the very structure that allows her to exist, you’re just avoiding the real issue.
You can’t ensure that future monarchs won’t be twits. You can’t decide who royal family members will marry. You can’t cure someone else’s laziness (or any other common flaw) if said person has no incentive to change.
If you hate her laziness so much, there’s only one thing you CAN do: make it a non-issue. She’d still be lazy, but not at your expense. Case closed.
Ah, but don’t go thinking you can do that to me… I’m unionized. 😉