Duchess Kate wore Reiss, was animated at the Rugby World Cup: cute?

wenn22943850

If we’re being conspiratorial, we could possibly say that the Cambridges finally understand that if they’re going to go to sporting events and count that as “work,” then they better do one or two not-so-fun events as well. Which might explain Duchess Kate’s visit to the prison on Friday – she knew she was going to be making a high-profile splash at the Rugby World Cup on Saturday night, so she had to do something “serious” to balance it out. Honestly, I’m not even complaining. The fact that it took Kate four and a half years to realize that she needed to balance “fun” events with serious charity work says a lot, for sure, but at least she finally got there. All Hail (Poor) Jason!

Anyway, these are some photos of William, Kate and Harry at the England versus Wales rugby game on Saturday. While you can’t really see it (and no one seems to have a good photo of it), Kate wore a blue Reiss jacket and a red scarf, possibly from Hugo Boss. William and Kate were also seen singing the Welsh national anthem, mostly because William is vice patron of the Welsh Rugby Union. Harry is the honorary president of the Rugby World Cup and vice-patron of the English Rugby Union.

I have to say, the photos of the royals are pretty great. As in, William and Kate seem especially connected, and William even had his arm around Kate at several moments. He seemed to be pulling her closer. So… what do you think? Trouble in the Cambridges’ marriage? Or are they fine (just as long as no one expects them to do anything they don’t want to do)?

wenn22943846

wenn22943847

wenn22943860

Photos courtesy of WENN.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

204 Responses to “Duchess Kate wore Reiss, was animated at the Rugby World Cup: cute?”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. COSquared says:

    I wish we’d see more of other royals on CB. Folks, compared to Stephanie of Lux, DK seems to do far more(S,a royal of almost 3 years w/ less than 5 solo engagements),which says a lot. Also the expenses of the smaller Dutch RF nearly on par with the larger working BRF, why do they cost so much? In fact, I encourage some of you guys to look up the rest of royal Europe. Anyways, RIP Sheikh Rasid al-Makthoum of Dubai(had a shady life).

  2. InvaderTak says:

    Judging by the pictures Harry’s team lost right? Poor ginge.

  3. COSquared says:

    Third last pic of Bill…sheesh…when looks start to reflect work ethic…

  4. Louise says:

    Hmmm I like ginger ninja Prince Harry but to see him not sing the Welsh anthem was a poor call. Not only didn’t he sing but stood with his arms folded and a face like thunder. Ok, its “only” sport but still. Yes, I am welsh and my taxes end up going in his family’s pocket. So, a little fed up with these thick welfare scroungers.

    Kate is a total mess. Far prettier and better dressed girls on the streets of London. Princess Diana had star power. She wore Chanel, carried nice handbags. Did she ever look a mess? no.

    • Esmom says:

      Her hairstyle is just terrible. It looks like a disheveled wig.

    • neutral says:

      Marrying someone for how they look is a recipe for disaster, and very shallow.

      • kibbles says:

        It would be understandable not to place so much value on looks if the person is intelligent, accomplished, hard working, funny, has an overall great personality, etc. If a woman looks and acts like nothing more than a trophy wife and is talked about by the fashion intelligentsia as a fashion icon, then it makes sense for people to critically look at her and realize that she is in fact not that fashionable. For someone who does very little work and seems to be there just to look at for her wardrobe, hair, and makeup, she isn’t doing so well at that either.

    • bluhare says:

      Harry’s the patron of English rugby. William’s the patron of Welsh rugby and, in my opinion, went overboard on the Welsh anthem. Harry was being a bit hammish too.

      • coco says:

        What an awesome game!! So glad to see England get beaten, was a thrilling match, Wales were fantastic.

        Loved the interaction between Harry and William/Kate.

        Can’t wait for Aussie/England now, hopefully England will be knocked out completely.

      • frisbee says:

        Thank you coco. I’m English and I hope they don’t get knocked out. It would be nice for us to win it, another trophy to go with The Ashes and The Tour de France, we’ll just have to wait an see about The Davis Cup final 🙂

    • FuefinaWG says:

      @Louise:
      I’m Diana’s age and I remember the day the world was introduced to her (when the engagement was announced) and the thing with Diana is that her “star power” took us all by surprise. It rose gradually and it wasn’t some PR mill that was constantly trying to make us fall in love with her and show us how fabulous she is (i.e., Kate.) We just fell for her all on our own (and wondered why we were so infatuated.)
      I don’t think Diana started wearing Chanel until after the separation/divorce (at least not in public) but I could be wrong. I think during the marriage she wore mostly British designers.
      It was after they separated/divorced (when she was no longer representing the BRF) when she started getting her fashion game on.

      • LAK says:

        This is a point I keep making about Diana and to an extent Harry. The public fell in love with them spontaneously and un-ordered by PR campaigns. Took everybody, especially the Palace, Charles and the media by surprise.

        Sadly neither William nor Kate possess any charisma and rely on PR or tagging along Harry or invoking Diana to try to manufacture it instead of copying Anne, a charisma free person, and simply working to earn respect. Charles eventually understood this point and Camilla notwithstanding, responded by working for the respect.

      • Tina says:

        LAK, you are 100% correct. Jason, if you do read this board, take LAK’s comment to the Queen, as someone in that whole power structure needs to understand this.

      • Jib says:

        I’m your age, also, and you are spot on! People fell in love with her because she had a huge heart and was fearless in her charity work. Harry seems to take after her with his African trips, etc. Kate and Will – not one bit, although #poorjason keeps shoving their nonsense at the public.

  5. CarrieUK says:

    It was an awful match, England lost right st the end (it’s ok Harry I’ll comfort you!)
    Brilliant though….rugby is the best!

    • COSquared says:

      Eng wasn’t even that strong even on the opener. Anyways, the Springboks(SA) silened the haters yesterday. Loving GingerBeard as well. In other beard news, James & Donna are still together, guys. Quite the thirsty publicity tactic, huh?

      • sophietta says:

        I fell into a site called Royals or Royal something or other comparing Kate to the crown princess of Denmark. Kate was shaded badly for her lack of work ethic. Whoever wrote that was not pulling punches!

  6. LAK says:

    I’ve finally got it. Harry with his beard is a less bushy, ginger version of Captain Haddock from the tintin comics.

  7. India says:

    Willy and Kate were well aware they were being photographed and put on a big show of affection. Their PR man, Jason, instructed them to do this to make the world think all is well in their marriage.

    • Jules says:

      It’s going to get even more over the top…………….

    • Bee says:

      Right…because you have inside info that their marriage is in trouble. They couldn’t possibly just be having fun.

    • Imo says:

      Agree with Bee. William and Kate are image conscious but that is not proof that the picture is staged. If so how does one satisfactorily explain times when William has glowered at his wife with clenched jaws in public? With William’s public face with Kate what you see is almost always what you get. He doesn’t think about the peasants as much as they think about him.

      • hmmm says:

        Of course Wills thinks about the peasants (way more than they think about him)! He would not have a PR team otherwise. Nor would he put out lies through his mouthpiece that the Cambridges skipped their obligation at the Paralympics to bugger off to bask naked in France. It’s all about the image and presentation. They just got caught out many times. You’d have tobe stupid not to know that all eyes are upon you at the game. So a little PDA may quiet the rumbling internet masses.

      • frisbee says:

        hmmm – agree totally, said something similar to wolfie down stream.

      • bluhare says:

        I think it’s staged too but not because their marriage is in trouble. I have no idea about that. It rings totally fake to me. All of it.

      • Vava says:

        I don’t know about their marriage, but they seem quite staged to me. Kate just is so d@mned theatrical, so odd.

      • FLORC says:

        bluhare
        I think the same. Mostly because it’s extremely rare they show PDA. Almost not handholding or kissing or a hand on Kate unless to guide heralong with walking.
        Not only is William been forever aware of the cameras, refusing to give them anything unless predetermined. But also Kate is hyper aware of cameras. These 2 so rarely do this it feels false.
        And they are in huge need of good press.

  8. Imo says:

    It never seemed to me that the marriage is in trouble. To me trouble means one person is ready to throw in the towel. William and Kate are in it for the long haul and at the very least until the kids are grown. They are both what the other seems to need in a spouse.*shrug*

    • Jenny says:

      I agree, Imo. That marriage seems solid. Kate will never let go of William and probably put up with a lot behind the scenes since she seems very image-conscious. Or maybe they really are just very much in love. Stranger things have been known to happen.

    • Imo says:

      Jenny
      Agree and I think it’s a little of both. I think they love one another for their own reasons although I think they are different reasons. I also think that if things go off the rails they will hold on for an extra 5-10 years or so because they are prideful and image conscious.

      • COSquared says:

        IMO, I think they generally love the idea of each other:dream family(W) & dream social status(K). However, I do also think there is a measure of affection between them. At least there isn’t a parade of PR PDA.

      • Imo says:

        Co2
        Good points but William hadn’t met her family when he decided to date her so he must have liked her. Theirs is not the love of the ages – too many strange dynamics – but they are where they want to be and it works for them.

      • hmmm says:

        I think it’s a marriage of convenience and she is not holding up her end publicly, although privately he may be satisfied with her performance.

      • COSquared says:

        It would take something huge to pull these 2 apart, & I feel like W would be the one to pull the plug. Like you said IMO downthread, they are prideful. Image comes first(not duty,of course) so they’d weather any storm with a flip of a wiglet & a privacy lawsuit. They are companions, I believe, with a bit of love sprinkled in.

      • Imo says:

        CO2
        Hilarious and sadly true!

  9. Katydid20 says:

    The second picture of Harry giving Will a look just made my day. Can we keep that picture around forever? I feel like Harry is giving Will the side eye we all I want to give him (and his lazy wife)!

  10. Seraphina says:

    IMO, the fact that she visited a prison before a fun event doesn’t really help to pump the image that she is (or they are) working. I really tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. And she disappointed. To have the world at your feet, and be a woman, and not use it for REAL influence says volumes about her. And I’ve read the comments where people speculate she may have some phobia. But I truly believe she is content to do the bare minimum and be able to live the posh life.

    And I expected more from Wills, Diana’s son. I guess the apple sometimes does fall from the tree.

  11. Krishan says:

    My goodness, how much weight has she lost? She’s looking close to gaunt again with those sunken eyes and cheeks! She looks dehyrated and that awful hair doesn’t help. It looks like a wig too big for her and emphasizes how small her face has gotten.

    This woman’s vanity is hilarious. I think the reason she was out of commission for several months was because she was dieting her way to a size 0, trying out different wigs–I mean, hairstyles and colours, and possibly getting some cosmetic tweaking every month. She has now started to make appearances because she’s happy with how she looks. Look at the pics of her visit to the school last week and she was a bobblehead. That skininess means she’s ready to face the cameras again.

    Anyway, I think sports always hype people up. William and Kate always seem engaged during sporting events so it’s not odd to see them being warm towards each other here.
    There are less restrictions at sporting events especially when it’s your country you’re rooting for. Just look at the Swedish King’s faces during Olympics 2012 lol.

    And as always, great to see Harry!

    • COSquared says:

      Speaking of the Olympics, who do you think will pull for GB & others? The Normal Family probably won’t & Harry is a possibility unless he’s got something in the pipeline for summer 2016.

    • CuriousCole says:

      I’ll never criticize her for weight. Royal women are under a microscope for life. If being ridiculously fit helps Kate manage the stress of that, then leave it be. This is one area where I have confidence William would step up and do something to help, if she was unhealthy about it.

      • sal says:

        She can’t be “ridiculously fit” if she is frail and gaunt. Everyone has a “set point” and needs a certain amount of body fat in order to be considered healthy. As everyone who regularly posts here knows, Kate – due to her extreme diet/exercise regime – has strayed quite a bit from that set point.

      • hmmm says:

        She’s patently vain. Anyone with a lick of sense would not care about or listen to the gossip out there if they were passionate about causes and other things. Her cause is herself. And Willy, of course.

      • Citresse says:

        Yes, I viewed a short video clip where Prince Edward made a comment to her (her make up?) and it seemed to make her uncomfortable.

      • Imo says:

        Hmmm
        Self esteem and body issues don’t always stem from a poor work ethic or a questionable character. Many women who are actually inspirational and champions of worthy causes also seem to crack under public scrutiny.

      • Betti says:

        @Citresse – i found that video on YT and it looks like Edward’s saying ‘You missed a bit’ or something but he was making fun of her. Princess Eugenie who’s sat next to him seems to tell him off and then laugh but its clear Duke and Duchess Bucket weren’t impressed at all. And yes she’s incredibly vain and insecure. People who are vain and insecure about their looks don’t like being ridiculed in any way shape or form.

      • anne_000 says:

        Correct me if I’m wrong… but the topic of that video of Edward and Kate came up before and what was said was that Kate and/or Pippa made a remark about Edward’s daughter’s eyes (she was born cross-eyed & has had corrective surgery), so Edward said something about Kate’s eyeliner application.

        Thing is, Kate doesn’t know her place. She doesn’t know or remember or respect who comes first, whether during strolls with other royals or who was born who and what level their titles are. She and Pippa have allegedly bullied B&E and there then had to be a special thing put forth where it was made clear about the difference between born Royals and those who marry into it.

        Some people *cough*middletons*cough* think they may have gotten the brash ring but it doesn’t come with Queen Bitch freedoms. You have to respect the family and family politics of the family you marry into. You have to give respect to earn respect.

        There are examples I can give of when Kate thought she’d be able to take priority place ahead of the Queen, Charles, and Camilla. One is when the Royal had a church event, the Queen was accepting bouquets from children and apparently had expected Kate to help carry some of them, but then Kate, whether out of being a dodo brain or impatient or knowing that she was going to be Queen one day too, went around and started accepting bouquets too. This meant that the Queen had nobody to pass hers to, so Sophie stepped in and acted as the Queen’s aide.

        Some people here are saying that Kate should shadow the older Royals so as to learn what to do, but I think that won’t sit well with her and that’s why she hasn’t been doing it. She always has it in her mind that she’ll be Queen one day, her husband is the 2nd in line, her FIL is the Crown Prince, and she doesn’t want to act like an intern to the ‘lesser’ Royals…imo.

      • Imo says:

        I don’t know if Kate refuses to play second fiddle. Imo, it has more to do with her failure to learn and practice protocol. That may or may not be an attitude problem but it could just as easily be her vapid attention to what is appropriate. Immaturity and inexperience, imo. And it has been reported that Kate was all set to shadow other working royals but William quickly nixed that plan. His pride is legendary. I

      • Betti says:

        ^^ Anne – you hit the nail on the head when you said Kate (and the rest of the Middletons) don’t know their place. The equally sad thing is that Willy encourages it – always has.

        I’d never heard that story before and its make me sad and mad. What kind of ‘women’ think its ok to make fun of a child with a medical condition? Good on Edward for calling her out on it.

        The higher to climb the harder the fall and the Middletons (Kate included) will have made enemies. The people you step over to get to the stop will move out of the way when you crash down again. They would do well to remember what goes around comes around.

      • anne_000 says:

        Correction. It was Eugenie who stepped in and helped the Queen.

        At the bottom of the staircase, right before she was to accept bouquets from a line of children, the Queen seems to have asked repeatedly for something from the other Royals coming down the stairs, with Camilla and Kate in front of the others. (To me, it looks like she was asking for assistance as the man to her side tried to wave somebody over, possibly to help out in the situation.)

        The latter two (Camilla and Kate) seem not to respond to the Queen, so Eugenie makes a side step around Kate to get to the Queen’s side and Kate gives her a quick dagger stare and then flips her hair with her hand as she walks past looking towards the Queen and Eugenie.

      • anne_000 says:

        @ Betti

        I agree. W&K should know by now that the respect they show their ‘superiors’ and elders is partial payment for the respect they’ll earn from their ‘lessers’ as they go up the royal ladder.

      • Charlotte15 says:

        @Anne_000 and CITRESSE, do you happen to have links to the video clips you’re referring to, or search terms I could use to find them on YT (if you remember the event or the date, etc.). Thank you!

      • notasugarhere says:

        It has always been B&E’s job to help HM with the flowers after that service, since they were little kids. KM was blocking the path, Eugenie couldn’t get through, HM was getting frustrated at not having her usual assistants at the ready. It may have been at that service that KM took flowers from a little boy, who then started crying and saying they were for the Queen.

    • Franca says:

      I think she’s very insecure, rather than vain.

      • Imo says:

        Agree. For most of her life her sister was the pretty one. Kate was a late bloomer and was teased mercilessly ( not the same as bullying, imo) because she was tall, too thin and suffered from eczema. No matter how much people praise your looks a part of you may always question if you’re pretty enough so you overcompensate. A lot.

      • bluhare says:

        I think you can be both. They both fixate on the self — one internal one external.

      • MinnFinn says:

        I think she’s both insecure and vain. And I do not think they are mutually exclusive qualities.

      • Betti says:

        Franca/Imo – I agree with you both about her being insecure about her looks. I was also bullied (not teased) about my looks and eczema. I was average height, skinny with frizzy hair and bug eyes. I ‘grew’ into my ‘looks’ but the bullying stayed with me for a long time – i’m comfortable with my looks for the most part thou i need to lose a few pounds BUT it’s never moved me to have ‘work’ done to improve myself like she has. The only ‘work’ i ever got done was on my teeth as my jaws were too small for the number of teeth so it was a bit crowded. For future dental health reasons i got some removed and the rest straightened. I’ve never contemplated getting a nose job, veneers or using botox. Don’t need a wiglet as I have natural long, thick hair that takes my hairdresser forever to colour, cut and dry. There was nothing wrong with her nose, teeth and hair before.

        If she wants to get ‘work’ done then thats her choice – but don’t kid yourself that she’s not vain. If she wasn’t she wouldn’t have allowed herself to be defined only for her looks and what she wears; she would make sure people talk about her for the work to help others that she does or the causes that she highlights. Angelina Jolie has worked her ass off to be known for more than her looks – she is respected and recognised for her humanitarian work as well as her work as an actor, director and producer.

      • Imo says:

        I think insecurity can breed a kind of self-absorption that morphs into vanity. But for many people. Pain from the past is the real monkey they’re trying to get off their backs.

        Betty
        That should have never happened to you or anyone else but honestly I’m willing to bet you turned out to be more grounded, compassionate and mature than the ones who bullied you.

      • Vava says:

        I think she’s vain AND insecure.

      • FLORC says:

        Vava
        Yes. Vain people can have the worst insecurities. They have very minimal to offer so that because their everything as their only asset.

  12. OSTONE says:

    I think at the end of the day, that William does truly love Kate and is his best friend. I don’t doubt he steps out/ has stepped out on her, but at least he seems to love her.

    • frisbee says:

      Well that’s an interesting point of view. I guess it depends how much value you put on loyalty. To me loyalty, love and respect are all bound up together so for me there can’t be one without the other. I never get the sense that Normal Bill has ever respected Kate, he treated her appallingly before their marriage and played around constantly only to return to her when it didn’t work out. It’s always sounded to me like Kate was his fall-back bride. James Whitaker, a well respected Royal commentator apparently confirmed that when he said that Bill loved her as a friend but he had never been in love with her.

      • hmmm says:

        I would not treat my friend the way he treated and treats her.

      • Charlotte15 says:

        @Frisbee, when did Whitaker say that? And how could he possibly know what William’s feelings for Kate are? It might be a suspicion he has but it is certainly not something that could ever be “confirmed.”

      • frisbee says:

        Charlotte 15 – it’s been widely reported in the press that Whitaker said that, as well as being noted on this site on numerous occasions. I also did not say what Williams feelings were, I gave an example of my feelings regarding the concept of love and that William did not demonstrate loyalty (he constantly cheated and constantly dropped her) or respect towards Kate before their marriage. Finally you are right I don’t know what Williams feelings are towards Kate – but then neither do you.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Whittaker always had the inside track and the royal staff went to him. If the staff were spilling details on the relationship, they were spilling to Whittaker. And he had choice words to say about how much KM loved the cameras and always knew exactly where they were.

      • FLORC says:

        Charlotte15
        I need to chime into this. It’s widely accepted Whittaker had the the best connections inside the palace and he was very respected.
        I believe it was on video where he commented on W’s feeling to Kate as stating he felt William loves Kate as a friend, but is not in love with her. He based this on his impression when talking to William and many other solid factors.

        A lot can be questioned in the BRF journalists or spies, but not him.

      • aaa says:

        James Whitaker could be all over the place, I noticed that with the Queen and Kate, he could be complimentary of both of them and also harsh, he was one of the chief rabble rousers against the royal family when Diana died, and said that Kate did not have the background to marry William, heck Diana was not suitable either and felt royals should marry other royals. Also his peak as a royal reporter was the 80s and 90s.

        For me I would want to read/hear what Whitaker said in order to understand the context and then want to know if, a few years later, he was singing the same tune or if he changed it.

      • Charlotte15 says:

        @FRISBEE thank you, and I apologize; I just realized upon rereading my comment that it could look like my skepticism was directed at you, which was not at all the case! I agree with you 100% re: Will’s treatment of Kate, and was moreso questioning how a reporter could claim to know William’s innermost thoughts, feelings which are unknowable to anyone but William. My “wtf?!!” tone was about the fact that a reporter would make such a claim, not at all toward you for repeating it. Definitely one of those instances where my tone was not conveyed well in writing! You’re right, he’s treated her hideously and I have a hard time reconciling his “love” for her with his (alleged) cheating on her over the years.

        Thanks to all of you who responded – no snark here at all, I am just a newer follower of the Royal coverage than many of you and I had never heard of James Whitaker so I was honestly asking where I could read this story – I did not realize it had been covered here before and that was probably before I discovered CB. I actually very much appreciate all of your insights on the W&K posts and have learned a lot. 🙂

    • Imo says:

      Agree. Whatever reasons people can give for the relationship the fact is that he wanted to marry her and he did. It was no fairy tale but it was certainly no death march either.

      • hmmm says:

        Or maybe he was pressured to marry her. That would also fit with his victimised narrative.

      • Imo says:

        No one pressures William into doing anything.

      • bluhare says:

        I agree with Imo on this one. He didn’t tell his family about the engagement until right before the announcement. Whatever reasons for marrying her, it wasn’t family pressure.

      • COSquared says:

        Jeez why didn’t he tell HM beforehand? The time between him proposing & the annoucement was enough for him to do so. He directly broke the law by not asking for HM’s permission. This is how he’s “modernising the monarchy”. Blergh.

      • Imo says:

        CO2
        I think not telling gran was more of a power posture than not thinking she would allow it.

      • bluhare says:

        I know, C0S. The story is he told his family a few hours before the official announcement. I’d be surprised if his family didn’t think it was coming as there was no one else on the horizon, but he didn’t tell them. Maybe he wondered if they’d try to talk him out of it. No idea.

      • Natalie says:

        I think they were originally going to announce earlier in the year but William’s fury over the Tanna pictures led him to delay, so the Windsors knew they were engaged but no one knew when William would actually publicly announce it. Kate disappeared for most of 2010 and was already much thinner by the summer when she was photographed in a sea foam green dress at a polo match.

        The DM also ran a story months before the announcement that the Royal Mint had secretly started making the wedding coin -though granted it’s the DM.

      • Charlotte15 says:

        @Natalie, what were the Tanna photos you referenced? (Sorry, I’m trying to play catch-up with a lot of this!) I do remember that she wasn’t seen much in 2010 until the engagement announcement, but don’t know anything about the possible reasons why.

      • Natalie says:

        Sorry about the super late reply! -The Tanna pictures are of Kate and siblings playing tennis during Christmas vacation 2010

    • BlancheDB says:

      There are a couple of pictures on Getty that show them looking very solid indeed, rejoicing at the victory. I may be reading too much into it, but they look like soulmates.

      • FLORC says:

        Photos mean so little. A happy couple can have lots of pics where they look like they hate eachother and the other way around. And regarding WK only the preapproved photos get printed. Very, very rarely a not great one makes it in.

        I’d say assuming they’re soulmates from these photos at a sports game is flawed logic. Many friends or even strangers will act like this. Rejoicing in a team victory with a fellow fan.

    • Natalie says:

      They’ve seemed much happier together since Charlotte’s birth.

      They’re very deeply bonded. I wouldn’t necessarily call it an emotionally healthy bond but they’re clearly very close.

      • hmmm says:

        I doubt they are deeply bonded. The heir and the spare has released them both. They’ve done their royal bit, now they can reap the perks of that, I am sure with the everyone’s blessing.

      • Imo says:

        Natalie
        Your observation sums it up perfectly, imo. For some there is no middle ground – everything about William and Kate must be absolutely negative or the conversation stalls and a lecture is forthcoming.

      • Pipa says:

        Actions speak louder than … Wiilnot is controlling -a good actor/fake (& Cannot) PR to his role as ‘heir’, except to duties and service to the people. It’s also curious how much time away from his ‘normal’ job he has for the past weeks…

      • suze says:

        Yes, this. They appear to have a deep bond, and are, occasionally, rather affectionate in public. It would seem, from what we can tell by observing them, that they love each other. Sometimes they are oddly disengaged, too, but it might be due to other things and not lack of commitment.

        The,” soul mate” and “can’t keep their eyes off each other” is overblown rhetoric, and absurd, fairytale stuff for adolescents. But so is the idea that their marriage is purely one of circumstance and a daily slog.

        I guessing they have a typical upper class marriage that is foreign to most of us. They spend a lot of time apart, pursuing their own interests. But at the heart of it they trust one another, and they both show up for each other when the chips are down. And that is essential to both of them.

      • FLORC says:

        Imo
        Agree with your agreeing.
        Times I think people want them to fail or want to criticize. W was horrible to her and he’s still only appearing less than consistenly to be with his family, but he’s there. And they do appear happy spectating a game. I will say they seem about as happy as anyone watching a game and having fun doing so.

    • anne_000 says:

      I think it’s a case of two people (plus Carole) being on the same team with the same agenda and the team leader being William and Carole is his assistant leader or even co-leader and Kate’s just happy to reap the rewards.

      I think W&K like each other to a point with Kate being more emotionally dependent on his liking her and William knowing that there’s no way that Kate will ever break up with him no matter what he does. Didn’t someone say that he had done tests on her before he proposed? They each know the rules and the way the situation is set up, always in his favor though. They both use each other for their common goal.

      But woe is the day for Kate if and when William falls hard in love with another woman who can out-Wallis Kate and make him look better than he is and be OK with all his bratty ways. Someone smarter, better looking, more worldly, just as tolerant and ambitious or more so. Someone who doesn’t come with meddling in-laws that encourage the man-child image that William has now. And remember that the kids go with the Crown, not to the Middletons.

      Kate (Carole) is smart though in what she’s doing which is focusing on William’s approval rather than on the public’s. She & Carole have done this throughout the Waity period and are continuing it in their marriage. He comes first. She has her days open to be at his beck and call. Diana might have thought that her popularity with the public might help her in her marriage, the mistress issue, the divorce, and post-divorce, but in the end, it was about getting Charles’ approval which is where all the power was, what with the BRF’s influence over the media.

      People say that Carole is a Diana-student, so I think this is what she learned. It’s not about Kate doing good work to become popular with the public, but about always being on William’s good side. So of course William married Kate. Nobody else and their family was around to play better at being puppets.

  13. realitycheck says:

    I really have no respect for kate, having such poor work ethic makes her so unappealing. Being a public figure you need to engage people and she fails at doing that. Her speeches and her words have no power or meaning to them at all. What a waste of a royal figure. I’d rather she stay home and not come out as she provides no purpose. I really can’t stand her.

  14. snowflake says:

    I think Kate looks great,her skin looks the best I’ve ever seen it.wonder what she did? It doesn’t look sun damaged like it normally does

  15. wolfie says:

    Although much like a’ la the Olympics, their PDA was milder. I did not realized that there were rumors that their marriage was in trouble, but they obviously made an effort to squash that one. Word is, that they are more in love than ever and can’t keep their eyes off each other (aol). Kate also wore print trousers! – so Jason seems to be working hard. Usually the DM has these sorts of stories in their femail slider, but this event was simply tucked away into the news of the day – no femail gushing. Who knows what is going on at the DM, but it seems like they are fawned over a great deal more in US media outlets (and it’s irritating rather than entertaining). The photos and story isn’t even on the Telegraph’s homepage for the royals. I wish Jason would leave the American’s alone, but I believe there are many there, who are way more vulnerable to a fairy tale. People mag seems to be his mouthpiece (I wonder who he knows there) .

    • frisbee says:

      I wish Jason would leave us Brit’s alone as well! 🙂 I think everything these two do in public has one eye on PR. I find it helpful just to see them as hereditary celebrities and just like any other celeb they need to control their image. Hence the PR team to keep an eye on all the media out there (including social media) and start tweaking the public image accordingly. They have a long holiday in Mustique looming and the annual appearance figures are way down (as usual) and this autumnal flurry of appearances is par for the course.
      It’s an interesting idea that they are aiming this internationally and not just in the UK (we only pay for their upkeep after all). I had no idea they were fawned over more in the US than here. They are certainly more co-operative with the US media which is why I’ve always thought that if Normal Bill doesn’t follow through with the succession he’ll end up in the States and is working now to ensure a bolt hole/warm welcome. Pure conjecture on my part (and not a little wishful thinking either!)

      • hmmm says:

        David was popular elsewhere as well. Hiring an American makes one wonder. The emphasis on People and getting news out there to the Americas makes one wonder about the long game. Given that the York girls ended up in the States that there is interest there and supports your idea that something might be up- perhaps Willy’s Plan B. Bottom line, it seems that they hired someone who would push their celebrity.

      • frisbee says:

        hmmm “Bottom line, it seems that they hired someone who would push their celebrity.” Exactly.

      • COSquared says:

        Pushing their American PR is beneficial on a global scale. Internationally, media source their royal info through American publications. So if they feed the US press trash, that trash will become become global perceptions of the Cambridges. Just an observation based on South African media & Cambridge articles.

      • Vava says:

        Well, People Magazine and E! will certainly cater to the Cambridge love affair. The deal is though, there is a lot of America who couldn’t care less about these two. They have more pressing things to be interested in. I guess if they want to be celebrities, more power to them. But one day you’re in – and the next day you’re OUT.

    • Imo says:

      People is quite cloying, no?

      • Pipa says:

        American PR – more celebrity like (Kartrash)- NO noble/regal RF but hrh help (with the donothing willnot&cannot)- place them above other hardworking celebs.

      • Charlotte15 says:

        “Quite cloying” is a vast understatement if you ask me! People has always been the most celeb-friendly publication, but they’ve really deteriorated quickly over the past couple of years. The Cambridges, the Duggars, and a few others rotate through with consistently glowing, fawning coverage. It is not even worth picking up in the waiting room of a doctor’s office to kill the time, it is so full of crap!

    • Tough Cookie says:

      Print trousers!!! I imagine them being printed with sparkly tiaras and big blue rings and ugly wedges.

  16. Betti says:

    Well done Wales but poor Harry – come to Celebitchy and we’ll console you 😉

    As for the Dolittles – another notch for their tally.

    While i think the marriage will probably last a long time i don’t think they will see the throne. Charles is waiting for his mother to pass before he makes his move with these 2. My tinfoil hat prediction is that he will give them a couple of years to prove themselves as PoW and then use her family as leverage to get him and the kids out of the succession. Charles is not going to sit back and let the Middleton family become the power behind the throne. Particularly with their dodgy connections i.e. a Uncle that ran a drug and prostitution ring – that gift has a LOT more to give. And as for Party Pieces given the lengths the Mids have gone to hide the company finances from the public – we’ll that’s shady in itself as it begs the question what are they desperate to hide? We know that they are not as wealthy as they like to make out but we also know Uncle Gary likes to fund the family business ventures (see James 2 failed startups).

    • Chrissy says:

      @ Betti
      From your mouth to God’s ears. I wish that someone would dig into Uncle Gary’s finances and find the connection to the Midd’s Party Pieces and the sponsoring of his nieces’ and nephew’s lifestyles/ business ventures. I suspect money-laundering and questionable tax write-off. Also, I wonder what kind of deal he has with Carole and her family with regards to their eventual role in the BRF. I bet some promises were made to help legitimize him and cover up his dodgy activities in exchange for financing them. Something smells rotten with this family and IMO he is the key.

      • Betti says:

        There was some digging years ago and thats when the drugs and other ‘allegations’ came to light but they were also covered up to a degree. Make no mistake Willy is actively protecting them – especially now that they married and have kids.

        He apparently made some joke about getting a wing at Buckingham Palace – but it has to be something like that.

        The Mids need Willy to stay in the family fold as the press protection he gets extends to them. If that protection is removed – its open season.

      • Pondering thoughts says:

        With surveillance through secret services and such…. why does nobody have any real dirt on the Middletons?

        My guess is that some people have some dirt already and wait and bid their time. Knocking William and wife out of the line of succession as soon as Harry has had enough time to appear as a saviour and with a suitable wife makes sense.
        They use William and his cute children for as long as he delivers a positive impact for the monarchy. When William and his wife get too bad a reputation they will get “fired”.

        In my opinion William could be excluded from the line of succession already because he married without prior consent of the Queen. But she gave permittance post engagement, didn’t she?

      • FLORC says:

        Pondering Thoughts
        William had written consent from the Queen before the wedding. She was told of the engagement about an hour before the interview was going to begin taping.
        Between the engagement and the wedding there was time to give consent and I think it arrived a week or so before the wedding.

      • Pondering thoughts says:

        @ FLORC

        That is the point. William got permission AFTER announcing the engagement. Too late. The proven intention to go against the law is enough and announcing an engagement without permission is intention.

        I do amusingly notice that you take the utmost care to comment on each of my comments.

    • anne_000 says:

      I hope that Charles practices tough love on William. But the signal that he’ll start doing it is if he includes the other younger Royals in working to improve the BRF’s PR image. He can do that while the Queen is alive or not.

      I think his streamlining gave William a sense of more power within that structure. It made him feel more indispensable regardless of what little he does to earn his place, imo.

    • Vava says:

      I hope these two never reach the Throne.

  17. COSquared says:

    This event shouldn’t count for DK, she’s no patron of any rugby union. If it does…won’t be too surprised.

  18. Murphy says:

    Seriously what is she on?

    • Vava says:

      I know people get worked up at spectator sports, but Kate just overdoes it every single time. Too bad she doesn’t show the same enthusiasm for learning how to give a decent speech.

      I think the makeup and facial expressions are making her look very clown-like.

    • India says:

      Every time she is in the public eye she appears to be totally wacked out.

    • Tough Cookie says:

      her facial expressions remind me of Crazy Eyes on “Orange is the New Black”

  19. SavageGrace says:

    I won’t even go into the “looker me” antics of the DoesLittles (I see you Harry – and I sympathize) – especially Kate’s – but… Can we talk about the fact the polka dot pants copy-Kate was wearing are identical to polka dot pants Diana wore…? The red scarf matched the red top Diana wore with said pants – only adding to the creep factor. Wouldn’t be so bad if the blue jacket she wore to the opening ceremony wasn’t identical to one Diana wore. She’s so… there are no words.

    • Betti says:

      The Diana copy cat clothes have been done on here before – I think most of us are over it. Both of them are cashing in on his mother for their own purposes.

      • SavageGrace says:

        It’s all the worse when it’s clear William is supporting this ickiness. There is just no way he isn’t recognizing these outfits. How this man can happily strut around with a woman wearing his mother’s clothes (okay not her actual clothes but still)… ew. Get to a psychiatrist, William.

    • anne_000 says:

      It’s weird how William won’t help out his father with the Prince’s Trust because he wants to create something in his own image, yet he keeps falling back on his mother’s image as if to give him some easy PR-image credit.

      When is he going to be his own man without depending on his mommy to buoy his image and good will with the public?

      • SavageGrace says:

        I think he honestly believes if he uses his mother’s image, he won’t ever have to lift a finger. I really doubt he’ll ever see beyond his own selfish, self-serving interests; he’ll forever be a lazy man-child with self-entitlement issues and – most of all – severe mummy issues.

    • Vava says:

      Not sure it’s a direct copy, Diana was wearing leggings back then. Printed pants are sort of a thing, but to be honest, I don’t think they are doing Kate any favors. She was just trying to change things up, and in my opinion, it really didn’t work. Kate doesn’t have the attitude it takes to wear fashion forward things. She should just stick to modern classics when she has these photo ops. Those would bode well for her historical lookbook.

  20. pat01 says:

    “Cute”?? It hurts to look at her, so no.

  21. Sarah01 says:

    She looks tweaked for sure, can you guys not cover the Swedish royals or any other royals. I cannot stand these ones.

  22. wendi says:

    Is it just my imagination or is the time commitment greater for these sporting events she attends v.s. visiting one of her charities? In any case, her breasts must get painfully engorged when she is away from her newborn for hours at a time!

    • Imo says:

      Wendy
      I was in total agreement with you until the breastfeeding concern trolling.

      • wendi says:

        Imo – i’m speaking from personal experience, it doesn’t take long to get engorged and if you are nowhere near a pump or nursing infant, it can hurt like h*ll. how is that trolling, or do you simply have a problem with breastfeeding?

      • kaiko says:

        How is that trolling? Wendi’s right. I still have phantom let down near a crying child a year after weaning! 🙂
        Though I think Vava is right, it’s obvious she’s not breastfeeding anymore, if she ever was, especially since she obviously went under the knife not long after giving birth. It’s very hard to keep up with nursing when you have surgery or are hospitalized for any length of time, unless you have tons of milk or you pump (which is exhausting, been there when my youngest was in hospital at 6 months–doubt the duchess would do that)…which if you remember from birth #1 she struggled with bf. I only remember because I had very similar experience and sympathized after reading that about her and George….now, not so much. Though I don’t think I’ve seen anything about her nursing Charlotte, or did I miss it?

      • wendi says:

        Thanks Kaiko!! So true…

        PS — Had another scroll through the comments and while I’m not criticizing anyone or calling anyone out, there are plenty in the anti-Kate camp that seem more worthy of IMO’s wrath than mine.

    • anne_000 says:

      I think you’re right that the sports events are hours at a time while the charity visits are about 45 minutes, more or less.

      With the recent one to the children’s mental health clinic, some people have said that (by reading Twitter posts of those who were watching the timing) Kate showed up one hour late and stayed about 45 minutes.

    • Vava says:

      I doubt she’s still breast feeding.

  23. Cl says:

    Is it just me or is her eyeliner a bit blueish as well..?

  24. anne_000 says:

    I saw in the DM article, the video of William’s speech to the Wales club. After the team sang the Welsh national anthem, he opened his speech with a joke that he hopes the players do better at the game than they do singing. He got some mixed reactions including some loud boos. He’s the patron of their organization, right?

    I know he was trying to be a snazzy speaker and thought he could be playful, but there’s a time and place. Joking about how people sang the national anthem? Maybe not a good idea. Another song? Maybe if it were done in fun.

    I don’t know, but from the way he and the players were shaking hands with each other, it seems as if he isn’t much involved with them in the first place. If he barely shows up and is rarely involved, then he overplayed acting chummy with them in his opener and when he was trying to strike up a conversation as the players came up the stage to accept their medal or whatever it was and as they tried to make their way to the next guy’s hand to shake and then to the other side of the stage.

    Imo, he doesn’t have the social suaveness that his dad, grandmother, Harry, and the older Royals do. That may come in time from practice but first he has to realize that he may be tone deaf to social situations. I can see why China allegedly wanted Harry to visit rather than William.

    Didn’t someone say that he tried to make long, boring, insipid chats with foreign dignitaries while on an official tour? That he thinks he’s being appealing but he isn’t? Remember when Obama had to cut him short so they could do the obligatory photo ops? Remember that story in the DM that while at the kitchen table, people love to hear him talk and laugh at his jokes? I guess it’s different when you’re surrounded by yes-men than in real life.

    • frisbee says:

      Oooh, I didn’t watch the video he irritates me so much I can’t stand to watch him do anything tbh! Joking about Welsh singing is totally tone deaf (sorry, no pun intended). The Welsh are famous for being unusually musical – the Welsh Male Voice choir is internationally renown. I went to Uni in Wales a used to go down to the old Cardiff Arms Park – as it was then – just to listen to them sing the national anthem before the rugby matches, they sing with such love, pride and totally natural harmony it can reduce you to tears. Music is very much a part of Welsh culture and identity and Normal Bill the berk stands and cracks jokes about it! He’s just as thick as a plank and twice and dense basically.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFxK003nlA

      Land of my fathers in Welsh. They mean every word of it, believe me. I think it’s the most beautiful National Anthem in the world and no, I’m not Welsh.

      • bluhare says:

        I have a lot of Celt ancestry; mostly Welsh and some Irish and Scottish, and my inner Druid priestess gets all misty when she hears that. 🙂

      • frisbee says:

        Racial memory (Jung). Unfortunately I only have Anglo Saxon and Norman (i.e Viking) ancestry, I dream about being exotic like what you are bluhare! 😉
        “Welsh evolved from British, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Britons. Alternatively classified as Insular Celtic or P-Celtic, it probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth.
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Welsh_language#Origins
        As it’s Ancient Brit and Celtic I reckon it speaks to my inner Bouddica 🙂

    • SavageGrace says:

      The only thing William seems to have an interest in is Tusk Trust. I can’t recall the last time I heard of him actually going to one of his charities. I can’t even remember the name of any of them, actually. LOL Unless there is a big to-do (ie: his yearly BAFTA awards appearance), he seems to avoid them like they all have the plague.

      Actually, didn’t he even skip BAFTA this year? (Aside from a video message). And, IIRC, the press wasn’t kind about it, even being sarcastic over just what he possibly had to do. LOL

      • notasugarhere says:

        Yes, they arrived home from two-three weeks in Mustique four days before BAFTAs. The BAFTA party was held at Kensington Palace. He didn’t attend either the party or the Awards.

    • Natalie says:

      These stories were from a few years ago but the impression I got is that William thinks he’s funny -like comedian level funny. That’s hilarious if they booed him. Don’t start none, won’t be none, William.

      I’ve got kind of a similar sense of humor where I like taking the mickey but the point is I want the same treatment right back and I learned a long time ago to only do that with people who have absolutely no problem throwing it right back at me. Not sure if William is the same way. Anyway, it’s not like they could mock him back in that moment, so it was inappropriate of him to say that.

      It’s not a good sign if he has trouble discerning between being professional but friendly and behaving like he would with his actual friends. Like when he relaxed too much at Wimbledon and made that tasteless joke about the transport strike.

      • frisbee says:

        It’s all context. He has no grasp of context appropriate remarks – how could he? He lives in a little bubble of his own creation surrounded only by people who ‘support’ him. Everything is about supporting William (it’s yet to be established what he needs supporting for) and he’s not maturing as a result but has remained the upper class Hooray Henry twat he always was. Hence he makes dick-head comments and thinks they’re funny, he’s just running true to his type.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Like when he “joked” with the President of Singapore about the view from the President’s hotel near Kensington Palace? “You can probably see into our bedroom window which is a bit worrying – I wouldn’t look too closely.”

        He needs diplomatic training. NOW.

    • Vava says:

      William just doesn’t have what it takes to make people comfortable. He doesn’t have the charm and therefore his sense of humor falls flat. Maybe in his personal life people find him endearing, but his public life is something much different. Even when he’s poking fun at his brother, it rarely comes off as truly amusing, lighthearted, or funny. He should just stick with the straightman approach.

    • Pondering thoughts says:

      So William told the Welsh they can’t sing?

      What’s next?
      Tell the French they can neither design nor cook?
      Tell the USA they can’t play American Football?
      Tell the Germans they can’t play soccer?
      Tell the Italians that Italy never had any culture?

      I see Britain will be blessed with a king who will manage to insult plain anybody and consider that “humour”.

  25. India says:

    He along with his Worthless Wife are such an embarrassment.

  26. Prolly says:

    I think they look happy and contrary to most posters I think their marriage is solid, they seem well matched. I also think she looks pretty good here minus the bangs which are awful.

  27. msthang says:

    Polly, it’s a charade!

  28. HoustonGrl says:

    I don’t know what she did, but she did something! Her face looks very different.

    • Patty says:

      I was thinking the same thing! Especially in that first photo. I think she got something done to her nose, it looks thinner or something. She looks cray cray in some of the pics too. She has looney eyes.

      • Pondering thoughts says:

        Fillers, facial (dermabrasion or such) and botox, my guess. Her face doesn’t move much and her wrinkles are less.
        Nose job: possible.

      • FLORC says:

        Botox can make a person look weird. Nose job seems out. She’s already had one and in side by side views i’ve posted on previous thread there’s no difference in her nose too noticible. That can occur from pregnancy as a woman’s face will change.

      • Olenna says:

        Agree; she’s been tweaked. I’m thinking she had some of it done right after giving birth to Charlotte and what we’re seeing now is more botox than surgery. IMO, her nose is less bulbous and there’s a slight cleft on the tip of her nose that shows up in some photos that I never noticed before. The cleft could be due to fat loss, but the nostrils look thinner or flatter (see link below about nose change during pregnancy). She looked fine before giving birth, but maybe she wanted an Angie nose. Who knows. TBH, she gave me a Jackson family fright when she first came out of hiding. http://www.realself.com/question/Bulbous-nose-pregnancy-return-normal

      • Pondering thoughts says:

        Upon looking at it again I tend to agree that Kate might have tempered with her nose again. The tip looks more narrow and that slightly bulbous tip is gone. It looks more and more like Angelina’s nose and less like that slightly button nose Kate has had before.

        Also what strikes me are her eyes: less droopy eyelids than before and her eyebrows seem to sit higher up. She has that near-hollow-above-eyes-effect that you get after tempering with your eyelids / tightening of the forehead.

        And I think she overdid the botox. I don’t really know how to express this but that is what is looks like to me: She has no more “normal” control about her facial muscles and therefore overexercises them in order to produce any mime. Therefore the overly animated mime.

  29. kaiko says:

    Dude, she’s so obviously had a face lift….bangs to hide scars anyone?? Oldest nip/tuck disguise in the book.

  30. Deedee says:

    Harry’s face while looking at Normal Bill is everything! Someone should make a meme of it. Maybe add, “I see you haven’t yet used the Crest Whitestrips I gifted you, Brother!” Kate and William have never struck me as a couple that are “in love” with one another, but as good companions when they need to be. Kate knows who butters her bread, so she puts up with WillNot’s disagreeableness.