Prince William is ‘constantly furious at media intrusion into his family’s life’

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It’s no secret that the Duchess of Cambridge watches her weight carefully, especially following The Great Breakup of 2007. Since then, Kate has lost a lot of weight (excluding her pregnancies). Over the years, we’ve heard stories about how Kate and William are health-conscious to a somewhat extreme degree. Their requirements while traveling on royal business often involve ONLY salads and little-to-no carbs, protein, dairy, sugar or meat. So it’s interesting that while William and Kate were doing their charity event on Saturday, William told the kids that he was “not allowed” to eat the proffered cupcakes.

Her svelte figure is the envy of women everywhere. And it seems the Duchess of Cambridge may also be encouraging her husband to watch his waistline – after William revealed he has been banned from eating cake. William made the confession as he and Kate marked World Mental Health Day yesterday by visiting youngsters who have battled back from mental health problems to help others cope with similar issues.

As he walked past a trestle table holding a display of cupcakes at the event in Harrow College in North-West London, William said: ‘I’m not allowed cakes. Also it is very difficult to talk to people when I am eating cakes. I would cover all your tops with chocolate. It’s not very good.’

In a previous interview, Carolyn Robb, a former personal chef to Prince Charles, revealed the Prince’s boyhood love of cake: ‘Princess Diana was very keen that her boys should have a really healthy diet, but they had treats too.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Diana famously had a sweet tooth and she loved cakes and baked goods especially. It seems like William might have inherited that. So, does Kate “not allow” William to have cupcakes? That’s harsh. But I wonder if Carole might have more to do with how William’s diet is dictated. After all, she’s the one running Anmer Hall!

Speaking of Anmer Hall, as we discussed last week, the Cambridges now have a no-fly zone imposed on Anmer. The Daily Express’s Richard Palmer (@RoyalReporter) was discussing the situation on his Twitter and he basically made it sound like the no-fly zone was given not because of any particular security concern, but merely because of William’s privacy concerns. Palmer also believes that the no-fly zone indicates that the Cambridges really are at Anmer full-time and that the costly Kensington Palace renovation was money wasted because Will and Kate rarely use that space. As for the “privacy concerns, that’s what The Daily Beast said too, in a lengthy new piece about the Cambridges’ “privacy.” You can read the DB’s piece here. Here’s an interesting part:

Sources tell the Daily Beast that William is constantly furious at media intrusion into his family’s life. Diana’s eldest believes his mother’s death was caused by paparazzi. It’s no wonder that he was, apparently, the driving force behind the recent Kensington Palace letter regarding the children, just as he was behind the “legal action” taken against a still-unnamed photographer who snapped pictures of Kate sunbathing topless in France in 2012. Those efforts have now been quietly shelved and forgotten as the utter impossibility of pursuing the case to a successful conclusion became clear.

This latest Royal Family measure may be much more about William’s hatred of the press in general and the paparazzi in particular than anything else. Yes, of course, the desire to protect his children is utterly genuine, but is he really going about it the right way? The policy of “We won’t let anyone take their picture without our consent. Ever” is as ridiculous as it is doomed to failure. It is also an utterly self-defeating strategy in terms of the harassment levels the family endures. After all, the price publications will pay for a clear set of pictures of Charlotte and George will likely rise with each day that goes by without those photographs turning up in a picture editor’s inbox. A threat to “accidentally” shoot photographers pursuing the royals doesn’t appear to have stopped anyone either.

The key step in the Cambridges’ increasing isolation–or protection from paparazzi as Kate and William see it–has been their wholesale move from London to Norfolk, where the no-fly zone and the vast Sandringham estate of the Queen means protection officers can easily identify and remove photographers.

[From The Daily Beast]

Bam. It feels like the press is working through a national therapy session with William and it’s getting very, very interesting. William has struck me as petulant and immature for years now and the only thing fatherhood has given him is a built-in “excuse” to retreat even further from the media and public/royal life. And this is going to come to a head in our lifetimes, trust me. In fact, I think it’s going to come to a head in a big way in the next few years.

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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184 Responses to “Prince William is ‘constantly furious at media intrusion into his family’s life’”

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  1. Shambles says:

    Does the man ever unclench?

    His, uh, his jaw, I mean.

    • BW says:

      Hahaha! I was thinking the same thing about the clenching.

      If he doesn’t want the king job, and wants to be just middle class, he should just take himself out of the line of succession. Harry, at least, seems to be working and doing lots of charity work, despite being seen as the “wild” one. Wouldn’t it just be a kick in the pants if Wills finally gets to be king and immediately abdicates?

      • Splinter says:

        But then the next in line is poor George.

      • epiphany says:

        You wouldn’t wind up with a King Harry even if William did abdicate. William’s son, George, would be next in line. William can remove himself from the line of succession, but he has no constitutional ;power to remove George. That’s a heck of a burden to foist on a baby. I suspect William so reviles the notion of becoming King that he’s already checked all of this out.

      • Sixer says:

        *If* Normal Bill decides to step aside*, the succession will be whatever the little cabal negotiating the process decide it will be. Harry or George or or or. The delights of an unwritten constitution. They’d hammer out a deal and fit the appropriate legislation around it.

        *I doubt he will step aside. He’ll just spend a lifetime being a moany, miserable King Cnut who sincerely believes he’s been dealt a bad hand in life.

        (By King Cnut, I don’t mean the Viking king of yore. I mean interwebz spelling. Cos I’m rude).

      • Betti says:

        @Epiphany – it can be done, all it takes is an act of parliament to remove George and Charlotte from the succession. If he doesn’t want to be King then am sure he won’t want his kids to be Monarch.

        Laws can be changed.

      • LAK says:

        what Sixer said.

        An unwritten constitution means anything goes. All the abdication precendents won’t mean jack if Parliament decides to get rid of him.

      • Sixer says:

        Presumably, what he’s actually hoping is that his grandmother lives for another decade so that he doesn’t have to be PoW for ages yet and can justify to himself almost total ducking of his civic reponsibilities until at least then. And once pater is King and he is PoW, he’ll be hoping to minimise that role as much as possible and that pater also turns out to be exceedingly long living. Who cares about being King if you can put it off until you’re virtually in your dotage?

        I honestly don’t think he has the intellectual capacity to rage against anything other than doing what someone’s asked him to do on that particular day. Still less the motivation or desire to create a meaningful life for himself.

      • aaa says:

        I think that William may not have wanted to be king when he was a teen in the wake of his mother’s death, but is OK with the prospect now. William has it pretty sweet now and things will only get better. He has a grandmother and father who let him do whatever he wants, pays for his lifestyle but demand little of him.

        When William’s grandmother dies he automatically inherits the Duchy of Cornwall and will then have access to considerable funds, so he can actually tell his father to go screw himself and not suffer financial repercussions, not that his father will do anything other than make a polite request to which William may or may not acquiesce.

        My take is that William does not like doing the kind of royal work his grandmother and father do but I don’t think that translates to him not wanting to be King. I think that his game plan is to be the kind of King he wants to be and if he does things his way and the people and the press like it then he’s a happy camper. If the people and press don’t like it he will probably rationalize in the short-term and in the long-term try to keep the hounds at bay via PR strategies.

        I actually think that William will ultimately abdicate but he will not do it until George is well into adulthood. Perhaps his abdication will be under duress or due to him getting fed up with the job, but it is also quite likely that William’s abdication will be akin to a retirement because he does not wish to emulate his grandmother and work well into his 70s and beyond.

      • anne_000 says:

        @ aaa

        I think you’re right that he’s waiting to get control of the Duchy of Cornwall money. He’s not going anywhere. Once he gets hold of that money, he’s more firmly in a position to tell everybody to screw off regarding full-time royal duties.

        I wonder if Charles can do an end run on William and break up the Duchy, putting most of it in trusts or different corporations with most of the income then going to the kingship instead of to the eldest son?

      • LAK says:

        Anne_000: the only way that income can bypass William is if he steps out of the line of succession.

        We might not have a written constitution, but we are pretty clear on who benefits from the duchy of Cornwall.

        It is set up for the HEIR. Currently we practise a system where eldest son is the heir, BUT if the heir apparent were different, the funds would go to them or held in a trust until a declared heir apparent was available.

        In other words, if William steps out of the line, and takes the kids with him, he will never receive the duchy money nor will the kids. They will depend on what Charles chooses to give them from his personal non duchy funds + whatever money is available via William’s personal trusts (royal + Diana) + whatever money Kate brings into the marriage.

        If the next heir is Harry, the duchy goes to him. Even if William + Kids are still kicking about, but not in the line above him.

        If William steps out of the line, but the kids are kept in it, the money will be held in trust for the kids who are still in the line, one of whom will have become the heir instead of William the father.

        The second scenerio means that at best William receives an income from the trust akin to child support of the heir he is raising, but will be cut off as soon as that heir comes of age. The bulk of the money will simply be held in a trust. This was the scenerio when HM was Duchess of Edinburgh and later Queen whilst raising Charles the heir apparent (declared age 3).

        The second scenerio is also mirrored with the current arrangement whereby Charles is giving William financial support simply because he is of his household. A technically Legal loophole exists whereby Charles could be a financially withholding father where the duchy funds are concerned and he would be legally OK since the duchy is set up for the heir’s household, NOT the heir’s descendants even if one of them will eventually become the heir.

      • ncboudicca says:

        @Sixer: King Cnut? that made my day. I hope that’s what his royal security codename is…

      • Sixer says:

        nboudicca

        Bit rude. More than a bit appropriate, right?! 😉

      • ArtHistorian says:

        Sixer,

        I don’t get the Cnut reference. Can you explain?

      • Sixer says:

        ArtHistorian

        Reverse letters 2 and 3 for a rude word!

        Also, I think, slightly punnish in that Normal Bill is certainly trying to hold back the tide (of ever-impending public service). 😉

      • bluhare says:

        And a rude play on words on King Canute! (Knut?)

      • Crumpet says:

        Giggling at how cute ArtHisotorian is.

      • notasugarhere says:

        English is her (AH’s) second, third, or fourth language I think. No wonder she doesn’t always get jokes in English!

      • Sixer says:

        bluhare – Cnut is an alternate – and arguably more correct – spelling of Canute. It is indeed he to whom I referred!

      • Pipa says:

        Willnot is crazy paranoid like a fox (while taking all the perks for his family of four), he knows he wont last in the public eye.

        And George is not POW heir- he is Willnot. Without King (heaven forbid) Will-not, there is no George middleton the heir to throne.

        William is useless and not fit for the British Throne (the people of GB UK CW) Line and title. The sooner HM/POW, The Firm give title and perks to POW dedicated spare heir – Prince Henry – the better The Monarchy survival.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        Thanks Sixer. Though I feel like a bit of a blockhead. *sigh* I usually pride myself on keeping up with the idioms but this one flew right past me. Did like the King Canute reference – he’s one of the great Danish kings – Canute the Great, son of Sveyn Forkbeard (Svend Tveskæg), son of Harald Bluetooth (Harald Blåtand).

        Btw, Canute’s Danish form is Knud. QMII’s uncle who she displaced as heir) was named Knud. Apparently, he wasn’t very bright and hence gave birth to the saying”one more time for Prince Knud” as code for explaining things to someone who’s a bit dense.

      • Katie says:

        I don’t think he would abdicate. In fact, I think he’d relish the job. He doesn’t truly want to be middle class. They both like the perks of royalty far too much to give it up.

    • evermoreOriginalhere says:

      I’m convinced he’s working on decades of complaints to the public and press, so when he steps down and leaves the role, he can have all these reasons as excuses.

      No matter how much people continue to say he loves the position and won’t dare step down because of Kate or Carole. I don’t believe it. I honestly believe William does NOT want to be King, does NOT want the role and it will flesh itself out eventually, even if it takes two decades for him to say it and do something about it.

      He is always complaining about something. He’s very prickly, he always has excuses.
      I AM So glad that Richard Palmer has been calling them out for their BULL Crap!

      • Sixer says:

        Title of future Amazon non-best seller: “Normal Bill’s Dossier on the Evils of the Press”. WithOUT photos!

      • chaine says:

        wasn’t there a story years and years ago that when William and Harry were kids, William was jealous of Harry and said, “You can go be a firefighter if you want.” It has been so many years since I read this that I can’t recall where it came from.

      • anne_000 says:

        I don’t think he’s going to step down unless he gets the Regent position with his son as King, and gets to keep the Duchy of Cornwall money.

        I’m thinking that if it’s his plan to keep the Duchy money instead of letting it pass to George, then he must have been really happy that his second child was a female, because of the male heir clause.

      • TotallyBiased says:

        Male heir clause? That’s a thing in Britain?

      • anne_000 says:

        @ TotallyBiased –

        I got that male heir clause from the Wikipedia article of the Duchy of Cornwall:

        “The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits possession of the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at birth or when his/her parent succeeds to the throne…”

        So, I’m thinking that if William had only girls, then neither daughter would have gotten the Duchy money.

        But then further down the article, it says “eldest heir,” so maybe the eldest daughter could have gotten it, if George was born a girl. I dunno.

      • LAK says:

        Anne_000/Totallybiased: the duchy of Cornwall remains a peerage title. In the haste to change the succession law to remove gender bias, the peerage laws were not changed.

        Peerage laws are very clear that only a male heir inherits. There have been rare exceptions, but those required special permission from parliament.

        Therefore as currently written, we have a situation where the eldest, if female, would be declared POW, but they can’t be DOCornwall or inherit the duchy. The wording is very clear…. male heir.

    • Crumpet says:

      This!

    • Zombie Shortcake says:

      Unclenching would be necessary to get that stick out of his ass, but it’s up there so far I don’t think it’s possible to remove.

    • evermoreOriginalhere says:

      Very sweet photos of Harry w the Queen last night at the Palace.
      He really makes her smile. It’s so cute seeing Harry and Queen doing an event together.

  2. suze says:

    I think the “not allowed to eat cupcakes” was just a convenient excuse not to eat them. I think some royals – Kate and Wills, particularly – hate eating in public.

    More interesting is the continuing media war. I agree, Kaiser, that this will lead to some type of dramatic conclusion in a few years. It is escalating.

    Kate is looking rough (not in an ugly sense, in a worried sense) in that bottom photo. Carol drinking publicly, Michael Middleton disappearing, Kate retreating, William threatening, there is some type of escalating tension in that perfect world, I feel it in my water.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Suze
      Agree about the cupcakes. I doubt she said anything – he was just joking/making an excuse. I think eating in public for them would be like trying to eat at your own wedding. You take a bite and someone asks you a question – mmmfffwawa- it’s just not worth it. Do I have food in my teeth now and all the rest.

      I wish he would handle the media better. It’s not going to go away and making them hate him if they already don’t is just self-destructive.

      • LAK says:

        one of the royal reporters said on twitter some weeks ago that generally there is not a good word to be found amongst journalists/editors vis a vis the Cambridges.

    • evermoreOriginalhere says:

      Me too…. I can feel it, something stirring behind the scenes.

    • anne_000 says:

      I wonder if the real reason he refused was over security or health concerns. You never know what someone might have put into or onto it whether on purpose or by accident.

      • Olenna says:

        Wow. Maybe Normal Bill should to get an official food taster. 🙂

      • anne_000 says:

        @ Olenna

        If he could get 100% control of what photos won’t be published, he’d probably walk around with not only a royal food taster, but also a royal hand shaker, a royal smiler, and a royal imposter so he doesn’t have to show up to work. 😛

      • Olenna says:

        anne_000, I’m LMAO at the thought of a royal imposter! Maybe he could hire that guy the DM uses in those stupid Will & Kate photo skits!

    • Swack says:

      He could have politely taken one or two and said he would eat it later. JMO. Also, boo hoo about the picture taking. Suck it up buttercup or get out. It’s part of being in the spotlight.

    • FLORC says:

      Suze
      Agree. It’s a polite and common excuse to refuse the cupcake.

    • MrsK says:

      I agree. My husband has milked the “She Who Must Be Obeyed” gag for decades, turning down anything he doesn’t care for on the grounds that the Missus forbids it. As did my father before him, and as do most husbands. That’s one of the oldest ‘long-suffering husband’ routines on record.

      He just didn’t feel like cake and health (i.e., fitness) concerns are always a convenient and legitimate excuse. Also, in our circles at least, no publicly-available cake ever comes even close to a truly home-made offering, so if we want to splurge, may as well splurge on something worthwhile. I’m not sure William gets home-made baked treats but nonetheless, don’t see anything wrong with declining to eat in that situation.

  3. Aussie Reader says:

    He sounds like a whiney pain in the butt. He probably moans about everything to divert everyone’s attention to the fact that he doesn’t really have anything else to do but complain about stuff.

    Does he realise how pathetic he sounds, a grown man saying he isn’t allowed teacakes? Good grief. Truth be told, he probably doesn’t want to eat anything made by riff-raff commoners.

    • I know right? Hey, genius…YOU’RE THE FUTURE KING. THERE ARE NO BREAKS.

      • Pipa says:

        Willnot whining is leading to set-up/excuse out ( ‘mental’) for removal of his Line (fix carol the meddletons); he is crazy like…. another ‘Ed/wallis-like’ coming – maybe explain how aged limpet snowflake is while pampered workshy and home (carol the meddletons public drinking around Prince Harry). Maybe Palace talks/plans, training the people’s Prince Henry (?)

        Will can then ride in the sunset with Jecca.

    • MinnFinn says:

      He could have said ‘They look delicious but no thanks’. There was no need to blame it on Kate. Psychologists say there are 4 types of humor and I hope I’m wrong about this but Wm’s seems to be the “aggressive” type because he often ends up putting down Kate or Harry. It is not a healthy way to build or maintain your closest relationships.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humor_styles

      • Crumpet says:

        Why do you think he was trying to blame it on Kate? It might as well be his fitness trainer. Interesting link, thanks!

      • Betti says:

        I’m beginning to think he has some sort of personality disorder – and with all the enablers around him it will only get worse. The family and press used to be able to hide it but now its becoming harder to – he’s too arrogant to see that he’s shooting himself in the foot. As the saying goes ‘give them enough rope…’.

      • MinnFinn says:

        Crumpet, Kitchen table psychologist here but my take is that Wm has a highly anxious neurotic personality. Absent good role models for forming secure relationship attachments, his anxiety rules. It appears to me that his neurotic anxiety causes him to attach to Kate in the style called ‘fearful avoidant’ which means he gets close and clingy if he feels rejected but then he feels trapped when they are close. The avoidant component causes him to use humor at her expense. That type of humor used at another person’s expense helps him feel more distant from her which alleviates any anxiety about feeling too close and trapped.

        This is my not very well thought out and very amateur view of Wm. I’d love to hear feedback on it.

        https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/compassion-matters/201307/how-your-attachment-style-impacts-your-relationship

      • Crumpet says:

        Oh, MinnFinn! I actually love it! I have taken a leave of absence from armchair psychologist/psychiatrist, but I do love to read a good speculative analysis with lots of well thought out points. 🙂

    • Christin says:

      Deflection, deflection and more deflection.

      And I agree with the above about not blaming or making excuses about the cupcakes. Just politely decline. The humor type is an interesting observation, too.

  4. Catherine says:

    Well, what does he expect? He’s 2nd in line to the throne.

  5. Betti says:

    The press are really digging at them and yes it’s all going to come to a head sooner than we all think. They are either going to piss the press off big time and they let loose or they piss his father/grandmother off – we can all see he doesn’t want the throne, someone is going to have to grow a pair and take it from him as he won’t give it up unless pushed.

    He’s a man with serious issues that have never really been addressed – those issues are sadly being enabled by his wife and her family and that’s why his attitude has gotten worse of the years. Its all just a very sad affair. He’s taking his anger out on everyone else and that it not healthy.

    • Suze says:

      I know that sympathy for Kate is rare around here, but that bottom photo of her talking to Wills is scary. She looks 20 years older than the day she married.

      I think marriage to Wills is no picnic and I don’t envy her.

      • Betsy says:

        Stress + pretty hardcore diet + stress + migrating fillers = this

        I do wonder if we’ll see another abdication crisis.

      • Betti says:

        Personally speaking I don’t have a lot of sympathy for her – she chased him and the lifestyle for 10 years, she knew what she was getting into not only with the job but with him. And to me she looks quite happy with her lot – she got what she wanted.

        And yes he’s no picnic – he’s a difficult personality and always has been, his mother commented on it several times. But I don’t think she’s a picnic either and sadly that has created a dysfunctional and unhealthy relationship. They enable each others negative personality aspects. He treated her like crap for many years and she let him – i can’t respect someone who has no respect for themselves and i’m speaking about the both of them.

        Kate has always been obsessed with thinness and dieting – something that she gets from her mother. There have been many reports over the years of her and her mother embarking on the latest diet fad. Plus, William has always liked his women on the very thin side.

      • bluhare says:

        All true, but sometimes you don’t know what you’ve asked for until you actually have it.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Bluhare, she had it for ten years. If she thought he would change and become thoughtful and loyal once they were married, that was her choice/mistake.

      • bluhare says:

        Marriage and non marriage aren’t quite the same. She wasn’t eligible for all the perks, nor was she under his protection as she is now. She had more freedom then. Plus she wasn’t part of the royal machine. Now she is. I bet it’s quite a bit different.

      • notasugarhere says:

        I was writing in reference to the relationship with William, which seemed to be the original poster’s point. She wasn’t writing about royal duties. She had plenty of press and police protection while a girlfriend. There are photos through the years of uniformed police officers protecting her. It might not have been official or legal, but there were lots of protections in place. Far more for her than for Chelsy.

        She is barely part of the royal machine. They’ve been handed massive perks in exchange for next to nothing. They are coddled and get everything they want, even freedom of the press has disappeared because of their complaints. They hide their vacations more effectively now, that is one change, but they still take multiple expensive vacations every year.

        What hasn’t changed, IMO, is that William doesn’t treat her any better now than he did then. And she isn’t any easier to deal with now than before, with the decade of rumors of her being a meangirl being mirrored in more recent articles about her prickly behavior.

    • Beatrice says:

      I had not thought about the Middletons like that but you are right–they are self-serving enablers. No wonder he likes having Carol run his and Duchess Dolittle’s lives.

      Suze: I was generous when I saw that photo and thought she looked 10 years older than her true age. Let’s split the difference!!

      • antipodean says:

        It’s funny how genes will out. The Spencers are known for their dysfunctional relationships, and the Windsors have a long history of the same. Poor Bill hit the jackpot in that regard, a double whammy you might say. Also, that nose!

  6. sensible says:

    Kate’s fringe is really starting to look poufy and if a hairdresser did that to me, I would be furious. She is just a much less fabulous version of Princess Mary, imo. Also over the african belt William wears….. You are both very boring! Yes agree with all, Kate looks bloody rough, but no more so than I did with a newborn+ I was fat to boot.

  7. MinnFinn says:

    Two thousand feet is too low to prevent terrorist events so that’s why I think the no fly zone over Anmer is all about preventing photography. Also if security were the real reason they would have a year round no fly zone over the Queen’s Sandringham house instead of just the 3 months around Christmas when she holidays there.

    • Sixer says:

      If security were the reason, there would be a no-fly zone over the Prime Minister’s official country residence and/or constituency home. There isn’t. Tells you all you need to know, doesn’t it?

    • bluhare says:

      I don’t blame them on this. I think it is because of photography too, but would you want to be out in your back garden playing with the kids and see a drone overhead staring at you? And Kate’s got every right to expect some privacy if she wants to air the girls out at the pool in her own back yard on a nice day too.

      I think there are plenty of things to pick at them over, but not this one.

      • MinnFinn says:

        bluhare, I agree that it would be intrusive and an invasion of privacy to fly over Anmer for the purpose of taking photos of people there. What I object to is that they lied about the reason for the no fly zone. You and I do seem to agree that it was not for security.

        I don’t know about aerial photography of private property and legal remedies for breaches of privacy in the UK. But if there are already protection laws, then I would also object to a no-fly zone being established over Anmer.

      • bluhare says:

        Oh I understand you, MinnFinn. I just cannot believe there’s a parent out there who’d be totally cool with drones focused on their kids. The peep factor is off the scale.

        But that brings us back to the point that if they made their kids more available (releasing photos and video occasionally), the market would drop. And it’s the fans who create the market and I hope they’d be satisfied with regularly released tidbits.

  8. Nancy says:

    This is the man who will be King and it must be a royal pain in the a$$ to have those nasty paps intruding into his life, but your Highness, this is the life you were born into.

  9. Krishan says:

    Media intrusion…he means the media questioning his actions or rather, the lack thereof. He doesn’t like the fact that he can no longer hide at St. Andrews and his shenanigans kept from the public. He resents the fact that he’s no longer excused from being a lazy buffoon who doesn’t want to do any work to pay off the generosity of the public. William is all about power and control. He doesn’t like not being on top. So he’s lashing out the only way he knows how: accuse the media of making poor wee Willy cry, because some gullible people will still associate William’s stupid tantrums with “the media killed Diana and they want to hurt William, too! Why won’t they leave him alone?!” excuse. He won’t accept responsibility and blames his shortcomings on other people.

    He’s a disgrace and he should be embarrassed that this is the issue that keeps him occupied instead of his actual lack of credentials and work experience, and still having the gall to demand the respect he thinks he deserves.

    He wants the adulation and blind praise for his title and his position, not on the merit of his work. He must know he’s inept but doesn’t want to improve himself. And that is more shameful than anything else.

    He should drop his Yes men, then go to therapy and deal with his demons in private instead of taking it out on other people, making huge changes that benefit only himself and his paranoia, and using the public dime to compensate for his inability to grow up and cope.

    He wants privacy? Then send him to live in Timbuktu or the deepest part of the Amazon. That should satisfy his requirements for privacy.

  10. kath says:

    He is overly sensitive about the media intrusion and has played the Diana sympathy card for far too long – but I don’t see the connection between Kate’s weight, turning down cupcakes and the media? Maybe I’ll head over to the DM and read the comments and get “up to speed”.

  11. original kay says:

    It seems, on this site, there is a thread about change- just because it’s the way something has been done in the past, does not mean it should always be that way.
    So if we can rally around change in so many other areas, why not for Will and Kate?
    He hasn’t backed down or changed his mind about his privacy issues, for his family. Does this not indicate he is sincere, and not a man-child or petulant about it?
    Actors/Actresses speak all the time about the lack of privacy, and they are right. So is Will, he is right to want to protect his kids. He didn’t ask for this, he was born to it. Should he step down and not be King? Probably. Will he be allowed to? Maybe this is his way of forcing the issue?

    I am a Will and Kate apologist, I admit. I would not trade my life for what they have, ever. I think he should fight for what he wants for his kids, future King or not.

    • Wilma says:

      I think there is ample evidence out there (looking at every other royal in Britain and Europe) that there is a different and better approach to this. It seems to me that most monarchies have a managed to find a balance with their media as to the amount of access that is given. As long as he’s taking the money and extras that come with his privileged position, he really should do a bit more giving than he’s doing now.

      • Shannon1972 says:

        Comparing William to other Royals actually proves Kay’s point. I’ve never thought of it this way, but are there any other royals (besides Harry) who had their beloved mother taken from them during their childhood, in an extremely public and cruel way, by an over-zealous media and insatiable public? What was he left with? The cold fish of a father and remote grandmother (who some have suggested was actually responsible for killing Diana), and various royal employees?

        I can’t even imagine any child having to grieve for his mother in such a public way, while still having to bravely keep up with his duties in public….that would deeply scar most people. And then he is expected to cater to the very people, who he believes killed his mother, without complaint or resentment?

        I’m with Kay on this one…the lack of compassion is confusing. If he were anyone else, we would be much more understanding, but because he was born into this life of “privilege”, we demand he forget his feelings and suck it up. I wouldn’t trade my mother’s life for any amount of money, and no amount of privilege in my life would make up for her loss. Perhaps, he is reticent to become too public because that is the lesson he learned from his own childhood, and he doesn’t want to subject his own children to that kind of pain.

      • Jessica says:

        Shannon:

        William was 15 when Diana died. He had plenty of time to grieve privately and not have to get on with public duties since he wasn’t doing any at that point.

        It’s been 18 years. One may never get over the loss of a parent in a tragic way, but he should have learned to deal with it by now.

        And if he doesn’t want to cater to the people who “killed his mother” then he should remove himself from the line of succession and go be a normal person away from the spotlight. Just because he was born royal does not mean he has to stay royal.

    • Suze says:

      I appreciate your generous reading of this, but I really don’t think this is about the kids. It’s about William wanting a private life, not a public one.

      Even if Wills decides to step away, George will still be King some day. If Williams were really all about his kids, he would be working to handle this graciously so George grows up understanding and developing a comfort level around his role.

      • evermoreOriginalhere says:

        Exactly Suze.

      • FLORC says:

        And let’s not forget william’s wishes were stated hand picked photogs in good standing with him would be allowed to photograph the kids.
        He’s used them as a bargaining chip almost. It’s not for privacy, its for power.

        And in no scenario is it good for G and C to not be exposed to cameras. They need to learn it’s nothing to fear. Rather a part of the role they were born into. Like Estelle.

      • bluhare says:

        I can agree with what you wrote, Suze, up until the fact that those kids can’t even go outside and play with drones and whatnot hanging around. I think William compounds his own problems with his attitude, but that’s not his children’s fault and, frankly, not his wife’s either. I don’t think she’s near the privacy freak he is, and I think they both have an expectation of privacy in their own back garden.

        If it happens to work in William’s favor in that people don’t know where he is, then that’s OK too. I don’t care where he lives. I care whether he does his job, and he’s bloody miserable at that.

      • Pipa says:

        King Felipe Q Leticia had their two beautiful, lovely daughters out on Spain’s national day ceremony. They were safe, dignified, well behaved children with their parents serving, visiting in public with the people.

        The same with the Swedish RF, even younger children are out in public with their people. And a day after Prince Nicolas baptism event, the ‘new’ Princess Sofia/Prince Carl P was out again with royal duties.

      • FLORC says:

        Pipa
        Royal duties and private time are 2 entirely seperate things.
        As are the press regarding the other royal families. It’s not a simple comparison.

      • notasugarhere says:

        There was a recent drone scare at the home of Felipe and Letizia. They were not there at the time, but drones were able to fly around the porticos of their home several times and were not caught by security. Drone technology has outpaced anti-drone technology.

    • Krishan says:

      Change? William doesn’t want any real change except to bring back an absolute monarchy where he’d he exempt from questioning.

      Should we rally for change for William and Kate? Has the public not done enough bending over for these two, and now we have to support their unreasonable demand for privacy, too? The public doesn’t exist to serve William and Kate. It’s the other way around. I know some people think monarchies still operate like they did in the 1500s, but the roles have been reversed for a while now.

      These two are already extremely over priveleged people, yet we still have to feel sorry because their palaces aren’t big enough to keep the media and public away? 1%-er problems at its most problematic.

      Here’s a thought: how about instead of making changes for them, they make changes for us pesky and demanding taxpayers? How about they give the public a break in funding their lifestyle? How about instead of asking that we treat William and Kate with kid gloves, we ask them to treat the public with less contempt than what they have shown with their laziness and lack of sincerity when it comes to their patronages and charities?

      Why should people lower their standards and expectations when William and Kate won’t raise theirs?

      • The Original Mia says:

        You are on fire today. Too bad there’s no one with the balls around W&K to say these exact things to them.

    • Sixer says:

      Not really, Kay. Either we have a constitutional monarchy and the members of the family acquiesce to a fully public role, or we move to a republic. You can’t have a constitutional monarchy with an invisible head of state, for heavens sakes.

    • LAK says:

      I think the key word is compromise, of which William has shown he is incapable.

      Compared to Celebrities or even non celebrities, they have been afforded more privacy than the law dictates, but he isn’t satisfied. He wants to put in place laws that will benefit him. I’d wager the laws he wants are actually detrimental to his own family because it doesn’t benefit his family to be held/locked up in a tower because William refuses to compromise and the public refuse to give him what he wants.

    • original kay says:

      Thanks for all the replies. Let’s agree to disagree ((hugs)) for all!

      • Dena says:

        William needs the support of a good therapist. If he currently has one, then that person is failing him.

        Asking/demanding for privacy for his family is reasonable but his compulsive and authoritarian approach speaks more to emotion (anger) than logic or even a well-blended mix of both. His body language & perhaps his own characteristics/personality are very telling when he does photo calls & meets @ greets. His disdain often bleeds through. The emotional weight of his mother, her own collusion with the media and then the way she died prohibits him (at this time) from taking a reasonable approach & a more nuanced or even a leveled view of his situation. Everything is reactive or seems ill thought out and reactive.

        Last thoughts; There is the media. There is his mother. There is the media and his mother. Then there is William. He needs to come to grips with his mother’s weaknesses and failures as a woman, as a person, and how he has been impacted, stunted and even robbed because of that. His anger is not only misplaced but he is also “punishing” the wrong people. (William may even think that Charles not only instigated some of it but simultaneously failed to protect them as a family unit. Who knows?)

      • original kay says:

        Now that I can agree with Dena. I just see a man who is struggling, while coping with being in such a spotlight.

      • FLORC says:

        I’ll take a hug! Long friggin day.

      • MinnFinn says:

        Dena, You’ve made some excellent points. Also to your point about William punishing the wrong people, by punishing the press, he punishes his everyday citizen supporters. They are the ones creating the market for photos of him and his family.

    • anne_000 says:

      I think it’s more about image control.

      Of course they want to hide most of their lives, because their true selves are contrary to what their PR message is about them being “keen” and “energized” to work and doing good for others.

      If they want their private lives kept secret, then they should stop giving the press private-time photos of themselves that are designed to show themselves specific to their PR theme.

      • hmmm says:

        I think that’s what everything is about. He wants to sneak around and not be accountable to anyone. He’s a royal Peter Pan trying to maintain Neverland. He needs to grow up, but I doubt he ever will.I don’t know how anyone can endure him. He’s such a sap.

      • Dena says:

        So, in his own way, is he playing the game his mother played if the context is sneaking and avoiding? Has he picked up where she left off? Only this time with the intent of taming the beast and showing it who the master really is?

        For me, I don’t think the sneaking & avoiding (particularly the sneaking) is William’s main game but that it’s one part of it. In a crazy criss-cross applesauce way (sorry about that. I’ve been visiting elementary schools today and it’s been a variety on a theme of criss-cross applesauce or something about quiet as a mouse in the house for calling the little ones back to attention). Anyway, I think the game he plays with the media, on a conscious level, is about him being the highest authority–the baller & shot caller–and making the media bend to him–drawing that line in the sand so to speak. The problem with is that he can’t and won’t be able to do it reasonably well because of his baggage (the taboo anger that he may have toward his Moma). Everything else is what he says (logical or not) is the patina he uses to cover that stuff up.

        Now, as far as him sneaking, if he/they are doing that, well that’s just a variation on droit du seigneur (in his mind) & the media should do what’s it’s always done—collude, at the highest levels to protect and cover up the misdeeds of the powerful. William can’t see the contradiction or the hypocrisy.

      • MinnFinn says:

        Dena, Please provide more explanation on what you meant by your last sentence that “William can’t see the contradiction or the hypocrisy.”

        And I agree with you that Wm’s goal is total control over the media. He wants them to bend to his will. I’ll take that one step further and claim that he is in general a perfectionist, anxious control freak. One recent example was how angry he became with George on their pap walk after Charlotte’s christening.

      • FLORC says:

        MinnFinn
        What happened with William and George? Was it beynd normal parenting?

      • MinnFinn says:

        FLORC, There might be video but I don’t recall seeing any. Here’s link to photos of Wm scolding George for acting out on their walk back after the christening. Scroll about half way down the page.

        I don’t object to Wm correcting George’s behavior but the photo evidence indicates to me Wm was way too harsh. Wm’s face is deep red and very angry looking. Kate has her hand on Wm’s back and seems to be saying “shhhh” to get Wm to calm down and George looks rather distressed. So imo Wm’s level of anger was way too great given George’s age and that he committed a minor infraction.

        http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3149880/Cambridges-pictured-family-four-time-Princess-Charlotte-s-christening-today.html

  12. Talie says:

    The press has probably buried lots of unflattering photos and stories about William, Kate, Harry, etc… but if they feel disrespected repeatedly by any of them, those can slip out. Maybe not in the UK, but TMZ wouldn’t mind publishing anything embarrassing, as they have in the past.

    • evermoreOriginalhere says:

      Harry’s negative photos usually get published. The British press use to use him as roadkill to bolster William’s golden image in the past(according to Ingrid Seward) The problem is they can’t continue to hide William’s true personality the more he talks like this. Harry on the other hand has earned his good press and public good will, with good works and he just has a much warmer personality, even when he makes mistakes the public is with him.

      TMZ published Harry’s nudes, but TMZ nor any US Tabloid has ever published Kate’s nudes, they all protected her and took the British tone and WIlliam’s ranting that Kate was the victim, even though she freely walked outside and got naked on a terrace. Yet they protected her, coddled her , yet Harry was lambasted. But the public was forgiving of Harry and Harry faced it head on and won the public over. While William shut down a magazine and blamed them , but never addressed the stupidity of Kate future Qu.Consort taking her top and bottoms off outside..

      • Christin says:

        I still cannot believe how completely stupid it was of her to do that (and for him not to stop her, apparently). To strip down outside, within view of staff or any long-range lens, was just idiotic….Unless she fancies herself as a tabloid figure, or really does not care.

        Perhaps it is a mix of all the above.

      • LAK says:

        Christin: On the one hand, people can sunbathe nude without assuming the worst, BUT she was for a time the no 1 pap target, so her choices on that occasion were stupid not just because of that fact, but also because the villa wasn’t secluded, it was staffed, and a road runs below the balcony on which she removed her clothing. as we saw, easy access for paps.

        if anything it demonstrates how protected these two are [or have been] because neither William nor Kate thought about the potential consequences of her actions. ditto the security team. THIS is what William is trying to enforce with his media tantrum. if they can ban the press from writing about them, then they can behave how they like with no consequences.

      • Christin says:

        LAK, you filled in a part I omitted from my mini-rant. She was a media magnet during the engagement/wedding/honeymoon period, when that occurred.

        His protests just make it more enticing to figure out what they wish to shield (and I don’t think it’s the children). People in the areas where they get out and about should consider those micro-cameras that can be hidden on clothing. There has to be a U.S. media source willing to publish photos taken in public.

      • Dara says:

        My only takeaway from @evermore’s comment was that there were nude photos of Harry floating around somewhere…I am now suddenly interested in following every move of the royal family.

      • FLORC says:

        Let’s not forget William has had scandalous moments caught on film, but very few remain. Meanwhile any poor choice Harry has made will be recycled as needed.

  13. MoxyLady007 says:

    Anyone else think he might have narcissistic personality disorder? The playing the victim constantly whiny and put upon version? It’s the secondary kind so not as well know….

    • MinnFinn says:

      That seems very possible. I decided long ago that he is definitely very very high on the neurotic scale.

  14. Wilma says:

    I just don’t get it. I would love the opportunity to spend my life championing causes that interest me. Just take a look at Harry for an example close at home. Take a look at practically every European royal. It is possible to do this and enjoy yourself.

  15. imo says:

    “Her svelte figure is the envy of women everywhere.” –

    WTF??!! You’ve got to be kidding me, DM! At one time – before she dieted away all of her lean muscle and body fat Kate looked good and had what could be considered an “enviable” figure that looked good in whatever she wore. She was fit, athletic and healthy looking and didn’t need fake hair, padded bras, and god knows whatever other “assistance” to look presentable.
    Actually the DM’s comment is beyond ridiculous when you think about it – let’s not encourage eating disorders. I’m sure there are many impressionable teenagers who read that drivel.

    • PHD Gossip says:

      +1,000

    • wendi says:

      In the past I’ve read that’s she’s actually revered and praised on pro-ana web sites. I didn’t see the sites themselves it was in an online news article a few years back.

      • FLORC says:

        This is true today. Those sites tend to use less touched up images too for whatever reason. In a few cases like Kate in the snow with the campers and various other times photos were edited to make Kate look like she had more weight on her because she was way too thin.

  16. NUTBALLS says:

    “I would cover all your tops with chocolate.”

    *snigger*

  17. als says:

    I wonder what Wiiliam’s relationship with his brother is really like and how it will develop in the future. William may not want the royal life but I don’t think it sits well with him that his brother gets all the good-will.
    I don’t see William as the older, wiser brother.

    • Betti says:

      Diana once said that in order to get William to do something she would use Harry and say ‘Well, Harry will go and have all the fun’. A dynamic that still goes on today – Harry does something that gets a lot of good press, Willy decides he wants a piece of it and jumps on the bandwagon resulting in the spotlight being taken of Harry in favour of the Dolittles.

      William uses and abuses those around him – his father, brother and Kate. And the very sad thing is is that they have let him so now he thinks its his right to behave any way he wants because he’s the heir.

      • als says:

        Wow. That’s a horrible dinamic.

      • Christin says:

        This is why I feel sympathetic to Harry. Posters here have pointed out how he has his thunder stolen, so to speak, and it really is a pattern.

        He seems like a peace keeper who probably just accepts it, but underneath it all, I wonder if he resents it.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Diana taught him it was his job to support his older brother. He does so to his own detriment, IMO.

  18. Citresse says:

    I thought Diana taught William manners. In one photo he’s holding a glass of water, pointing at others and he’s got his elbow on the table.

  19. Natalie says:

    My guess is the Middletons are going to camp out at Anmer Hall again and the no-flyover period is to possibly prevent press from determining which house William’s or maybe Michael’s car is coming from or how long anyone of them stay.

  20. imo says:

    The DB extract above doesn’t include the part about camera phones and how everyone essentially poses a potential “threat” to William and his family’s privacy — i.e. anyone can whip out their phone and snap a shot of Kate doing her shopping or on one of her countless outings to the local park with the kids.

    What he doesn’t address – and I find this a tad interesting – is something I’ve seen discussed on this blog several times – how the protection team won’t hesitate to go up to anyone (a member of the public) and threaten to take their phone if they are even suspected of taking a photo. I’ve seen posters questioning this thinking it to be unlikely that they would be so aggressive and lack the authority to do this, but they are always overruled in the discussion in that it happens. Sounds very extreme, but the fact that you don’t see a plethora of these images adds credence to the idea (unless Kate really has become a recluse).

    • Krishan says:

      I’ve read the same thing many times re: RPOs threatening people who have their phones out in the vicinity of the blessed Cambridges. It would explain why random people on twitter say they’ve seen Kate out and about lots of times every week but no pics to add proof. And I believe it all to be true. Remember when Kate was supposedly having horrific bouts of HG but was healthy enough to go to Switzerland for a wedding or some such 1 month later? There was a video of a guy following Kate and asking questions, then one of her RPOs started coming after the guy’s camera with a mean look on his face while Kate just continued walking.

      This is what William wants: to suppress the media so the public will be left in the dark. When people don’t see what’s happening, they’re not going to think about it and without concrete proof, the issues are easily dismissed and those who bring it up are called liars and haters. That is William’s goal, to bring back the time when monarchs had absolute control and there was no media to spread information and people can’t question what he or his wife get up to when they don’t do any work but still manage to keep their expenses up and paid for by taxpayers.

      • imo says:

        It would explain why random people on twitter say they’ve seen Kate out and about lots of times every week but no pics to add proof

        That’s exactly what I’m talking about. It just seems so militaristic – visualize someone in line at a store and perhaps turning the phone the other way to use it as a mirror and one of Kate’s goons goes all apesh*t assuming precious Kate is being photographed. Drones and the media with their sophisticated long lens cameras and those extremists who hide in the trunk of a car are one thing, but it is unacceptable for someone from the royal protection service to go up to a member of the public in a public place and threaten them or confiscate their phone. End. of. story.

      • Betti says:

        Yes and there’s also the vacation that they went on not long after George’s birth minus the baby (just the 2 of them). George was left with Carole and the nanny on her first week of the job. As you both say THIS is what William wants to control – his image.

        He is all about image control pure and simple.

      • LAK says:

        I remember that video of Kate in Switzerland. the RPO was very aggressive. Kate simply kept walking like it had nought to do with her.

      • Where is the line? A member of the public can have their phone out, it could look like they are taking a photo when they actually aren’t. So, then these individuals have their phones searched or confiscated for simply having them out of their pocket around the royals?

      • mm says:

        Where can this video be viewed? I don’t recall it.

  21. PHAKSI says:

    The no fly zone is probably necessary for their security, even if Bill and Cathy are gonna use it to hide their 3 kitchens and tennis court and swimming pool and nannies and and Carole housekeeper…
    I swear Richard Palmer will just blow and reveal everything he knows one of these days. He is seriously losing patience with these two

  22. Ally.M says:

    I like William….both Princes have a lot of empathy and compassion. The UK press have their knickers in a knot because they don’t like being restricted and Daily Fail is the worst

    • bluhare says:

      What branch of the media *does* like being controlled? Especially when it pertains to public activity? If a government official (and William *is* a future head of state) tried to muzzle the press here, everyone would go batshit. Why should this be different?

      Richard Palmer of the Express, has been the most vocal on this topic, not the DM.

  23. Cerulean Skygirl says:

    Kate’s double whammy of being extremely thin plus the fact that she’s a smoker is wreaking havoc with her skin. She seems to be aging rather quickly. For someone who is supposedly very “health” conscious, it’s amazing to me that she smokes (and tans). I work in health care, and MANY of the serious diseases that affect society are either caused by, or exacerbated by cigarette smoking. Kate needs to get over her vanity and realize that if she gained a few lbs and didn’t have a perma-tan, she’d look a lot more attractive.

    • imo says:

      So true about the smoking – along with her (now) being extremely thin and taking the dieting to extremes, she is jeopardizing many aspects of her health – skin, bones, internal organs to name just a few.

    • ArtHistorian says:

      My health (and my pocketbook) is the reason why I finally got around to stop smoking. The smoking hasn’t really affected my skin but the thought of what it did to my health was very motivating. It is also nice to finally beat a 11-year old habit.

  24. bettyrose says:

    “Her svelte figure is the envy of women everywhere.” I assume this is a reference to the bikini yacht pictures of her from much earlier in their relationship when she had an athletic build.

  25. COSquared says:

    DM comments are such a hoot! They’re the main reason why I even bother with the DM.

  26. Sarah01 says:

    Uh no puleeeeze, the public should be furious because of the brf’s intrusion into our lives!

  27. Kate, let the bangs grow out, they are not your friend.

  28. HoustonGrl says:

    I understand watching your own weight, but not anyone else’s, unless your husband was bordering on obese.

    • perplexed says:

      No one in the royal family seems to have been fat before old age (Charles had a flat stomach in his 30s and 40s i old polo pictures are to believed) or has gone through weight fluctuations, so I can believe the no-carbs rule or no-cake rule was probably in place before Kate come along. These people are photographed all the time — I can kind of see the men deciding on their own to watch their figures.

      • LAK says:

        William has definitely lost some weight. Last winter through to this summer he was alittle too tight in his Polo breeches and you could see his coats were tight around the middle. Google his polo pics from this year……

  29. wood dragon says:

    Okay. I’m beginning to get the feeling that William and Kate are going to usher in the final days of this royal family, kind of like what happened with the Hapsburgs. Unless little George can turn things around when he comes of age, this pair is going to sink the family BECAUSE they are increasingly becoming so insulated and self involved. Contrast these two with George the Sixth and Elizabeth (the Queen Mother).

    • aaa says:

      Even if William and Kate were stellar royals the monarchy they will inherit will be vastly different than the current monarchy. I predict that the Commonwealth William will reign over will be much smaller than Queen Elizabeth II’s monarchy mostly because the countries themselves don’t feel the need to be part of the realm. Once Queen Elizabeth is no longer with, major changes will come about.

    • Jensbend says:

      Rather it will be the media and paps that usher in the final days of the royal family because the royals will get fed up with being hunted.

  30. Ankhel says:

    William clearly longs for 19th century Britiain. Those royals had little to consider except for syphilis.

    • bluhare says:

      Speaking of that, did you see that threesome chair? I wasn’t quite sure how that worked, and I looked at it from a few angles!

  31. wendi says:

    I don’t recall any reactions to some of Kate’s profound comments at the Mental Health visit, but this one is particularly insightful and packed with wisdom: “I keep thinking about what else we can do and how we can raise awareness. Keep the ideas coming. We think it’ss so important, so really well done for being ambassadors. ” Love it.

  32. wow says:

    He has every reason to be concerned. Some of the media are extremely invasive. Royals should expect some intrusion but there are some of those media who are beyond agressive with it. But people who feel like they have to photograph their every move and go to extremes to do so are stalkers. I like them and will read about them in general. But they are not that interesting to justify all of that, geez!

    The designated times they appear are enough. The pictures THEY choose to release are enough. Regardless of what the public think, they don’t own him or his family. Paying taxes is the law in most countries, but we still don’t own every thing about our leaders lives.

    • Nic919 says:

      What about when their security goes after regular people who may or may not be using their phone in public? Why do they get rights regular people don’t have?

      And really the monarchy exists only because the people are agreeing to support it. In exchange they need to justify what they do with the money provided. Sure the paps go too far, but they haven’t really shown that they deserve the perks paid for by the government. After all, France got rid of its monarchy, and they are doing quite well on the tourism front.

  33. Jade says:

    All I see is a user who wants his way all the time. He just doesn’t want himself or his movements to be accountable and accounted for and he doesn’t want to have to explain himself. Which is perfectly fine, if you’re a private citizen not receiving an allowance from your own countrymen. You’re not. There is a certain percentage you have to give up in exchange for oh I dunno, the paid security, privilege, backstage access to celebs, free housing, protected career path, centuries of wealth? I disagree that he has to give up his privacy 100 percent but there is a better way to handle his request which at the root of it, is not unreasonable (who wants a drone above their house). But he and Kate don’t even try to contribute more to society to help even things off. It sounds crude but something has to give to get something back!

    Sadly, why do we even bother sometimes. When he is King, he can do things (royal work) his way, and he and his family can stay rich, protected and privilleged. Even if he abdicates, he will ensure that in exchange, he and his family remain rich, protected and privileged. He wins because there is no need to do royal work. If royalty is abolished, he and his family can still live off their centuries of inherited wealth and stay privileged and then pay for private protection, without having to do royal work or maybe any work. I can’t see how he can ever be made to feel grateful for his platform or “punished” for his ways. It’s just his good fortune to be born. Do correct me on this aspect if I’m wrong because I would also like to know from the dear Celebitches who are steeped in royal knowledge if there is any way Wiliam can be so called made to clean up his act and be a contributing royal.

    • Cora says:

      The short answer is no, I can’t see how William can be punished. Even when these people get caught in serious scandals with potentially serious crimes involved (see Prince Andrew) they get to wiggle their way out of it. So I can’t see scandal bringing him down. At least if the monarchy is abolished they won’t be benefiting from taxpayer money anymore, and that much needed money can go to better things. I realise the royals have enough private money to live very high off the hog, but at least my money would no longer be funding them (and their adventures in palace decorating), which would make me happy.

    • Pondering thoughts says:

      There seem to be ways to convince kings to abdicate. As they have no written constitution the whole thing is somewhat difficult to describe.

      The last king who abdicated was King Edward VIII, brother of the Queen’s father. Officially he abdicated in order to be able to marry Wallis Simpson.
      Inofficially there were many people in high places and in parliament who didn’t like the King’s sympathy for Adolf Hitler and a couple of other royal ideas.

      I think William does have some kind of psychological issue that makes him unsuitable to become a king.

  34. ickythump says:

    William is playing a dangerous game – it might not be up to him if he becomes king or not. Th BRF relys on th goodwill of th british people – kate n williams reluctance to perform their royal duties and arrogance is starting to grate on those who were in support of th monarchy. They need to be relevant and visible to survive. What they need to remember is they need us more than we need them.

  35. notasugarhere says:

    The title of this article could have stopped at “William is constantly furious” and it would have been accurate. He seems angry about everything in his life, and he’ll lash out at anyone and blame anyone.

    The photos of the kids that were published in Australia’s Woman’s Day have disappeared from their website. My guess is he threatened the publication.

    • Citresse says:

      If William is going through life “constantly furious”, that’s so sad and such a shame. Diana would be so disappointed.
      And what a contrast from the images I just viewed at DM. Harry, HM et al meeting with the English rugby team. Harry appears to be such a lovely man.

      • LAK says:

        What always strikes me when Harry + HM do engagements together is the sheer pleasure of her facial expressions and body language.

      • Betti says:

        Those photo’s are lovely – you can see who TQ’s fave grandson is and that Harry adores his grandparents.

      • evermoreOriginalhere says:

        Yes wonderful photos. The Queen’s genuine joy with Prince Harry is so evident. I love the photos.

  36. LadyLoo says:

    I think I speak for underpaid, underprivileged, one-holiday-a-year-if-we’re-lucky people around the world: Boo-fricking-hoo.

  37. caitlin says:

    Hey FLORC, you’re quiet today. Are you celebrating (CDN) Thanksgiving?

  38. perplexed says:

    I don’t think she’s ugly but I don’t think she’s beautiful either in these sets of pictures. If she weren’t thin, would her actual face be recognized as gorgeous?

    • kath says:

      I think her face would actually look better if she was at a normal weight – remember how she looked before she started dieting?

    • Pondering thoughts says:

      At her normal weight her face was kind of round-ish and not as angular as it is now. Though I suspect some surgical help with her current looks, too.

  39. ladyg says:

    They suck.

  40. Vava says:

    Open letter to the British Press:
    TAKE WILLIAM DOWN NOW.

    • The Original Mia says:

      Co-signed

    • FLORC says:

      He needs tough love

    • Pondering thoughts says:

      He needs therapy.
      If he is constantly furious although the press does clearly not photograph his every step then something is wrong with him.
      Yes, he gets papped a lot. But there are lots of celebrities who get papped a lot more. Allegedly some celebrities can’t even drop their children off at school because it would cause hysteria. Things around William aren’t nearly that bad.