The Duchess of Cambridge and I are actually similar in some ways. We have the same hair length and we prefer to wear our hair down. Neither of us has any shoe game. We both like the color blue (I prefer richer, more saturated red-blues than Kate) and we both love sapphires. Here’s something else I think we have in common: neither one of us gives a sh-t about Halloween. Maybe Kate’s kids care about dressing up in costumes, but to Kate, that’s just another day. She loves a costume in everyday life, especially if that costume involves doilies or buttons. So it’s not a surprise to me that Kate has scheduled a solo event for Halloween, her first solo event in months and months and the first since her pregnancy was announced. What will our fair Waity be doing on Halloween? Tennis stuff.
Kate Middleton is going as a tennis fan for Halloween! The avid player (she and Prince William have a court at home at Anmer Hall) will spend the spooky day courtside during a visit to the Lawn Tennis Association on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
During the sporty engagement, she will watch several on-court sessions, including a wheelchair tennis demonstration, and she’ll take part in the Tennis for Kids session – an LTA-run program which teaches young children, ages 5 to 8 years old, how to play and enjoy tennis. She will also have the opportunity to meet some of the country’s top junior talents, as well as other members of the training team including coaches, nutritionists and physical therapists.
The royal mom isn’t the only royal with exciting plans for Halloween. Prince Harry is coming stateside for the inaugural summit of the Obama Foundation in Chicago on Tuesday. The visit means a reunion with his pal and fellow champion of veterans, former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Kate, who is expecting her third child in April, became patron of the LTA in December 2016, taking over the patronage from Queen Elizabeth, who held the role for 63 years.
I’m more excited about Prince Harry and Michelle Obama, honestly. But it will be good to see Kate doing another “fun” event – she seems to like it when she gets to do something athletic or athlete-adjacent, especially when it involves tennis players or Ben Ainslie. Even though I suspect that tennis is no longer “fun” for her now that she’s actually patron of the LTA, she usually gets up for this kind of event. Maybe Andy Murray will be there! Or Ben. She always dreams that Ben will come to every one of her events. She dreams of that… and shiny gold buttons.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I like the outfit she has on in these pictures. Anyway this will be good for kate. She seems happiest around other kids so good.
I wanted so bad to be able to go to the Obama Foundation summit because the Obamas. *sigh*
“Here’s something else I think we have in common: neither one of us gives a sh-t about Halloween.”
Halloween isn’t really a thing here in the UK. Well it is more now, since grocery shops and cheap costume shops figured out they could monetize it, but wasn’t when she was growing up. If you live in the UK, and are older than 8 years old, and talk about looooving Halloween you’re either a Yankee or weird and getting a big side eye from me.
At my end of the world, there are Halloween parties but mostly at the clubs. I reckon the US expat neighbourhoods may have kids going from door to door. I can’t imagine if that part of Halloween is adopted here. I’d be too annoyed having to greet kids every few minutes.
Yup, I do see young kids dressed up in the week beforehand for (presumably) school things, and I’ve heard from friends with kids that there’s increasing pressure in their social groups for someone to take on the burden of having a little costume party for them on the closest weekend to Halloween. I was in Kensington this morning and was full of even more plastic haired women than normal, and took me a moment to realise they were mums in costume wigs with their little Elsas and vampires and etc., and not just the normal cheap extensions.
And obviously, my partner is a big fan of buying sacks of mini chocolate bars after Halloween. But hopefully the door-to-door thing doesn’t catch on. I grew up in an incredibly safe town and when I think of doing that now I have no idea how our parents weren’t terrified, sending us out. Less of “stranger danger”, and more of excitable kids in clunky costumes running around the streets.
I loooved the kid greeting and candy giving! I lived in something like a gated community so we got loads of the young children. Saw the outfits. Handed out huge candy bars. Then after 9pm the adults had a block party. That helped. Handing out candy can get tiresome, but there’s the unwritten rule built in.
If the lamp post or porch light is off… you don’t knock.
My Halloween’s are the same, FLORC. The kids are so hyper and excited and having a ball. Especially the ones you know. They try so hard to pretend to be the character of the costume they’re wearing, and just love it when you react like there is a real Iron Man at the door, or once a year have a princess curtsey to you on your deck. Hand out a ton of candy because they only get it twice a year, on the 31st and Christmas. We also have the same ‘if the porch light is out, or the jack o’ lanterns are no longer lit, don’t come knocking.’
Also, candy sales in the States in 2014 for Halloween were over $2.5 billion.
I thought it’s not a thing in most of Europe? It’s not in my part at least. Clubs sometimes do Halloween nights but that’s it. Kids goin door to door is a thing we do for maškare in February, just before Ash Wednesday.
The older generation is actually quite anti Halloween because it’s juat before All Saint’s Day ( a huge public holliday) so they think it’s offensive.
My guess is that her parents’ careers as party supply retailers exposed the Middleton children to the more Western version of Halloween. Kate is probably more familiar with it than most Brits.
Um, I lived in England as a child and we definitely celebrated with scary masks, chasing the ghosts, bonfires and torches, buying bad spirits’ favour with sweets and so on which IS Halloween. Halloween IS an European tradition and a very old one.
I dunno, she seems to be in costume a lot as a hard working Adult. I mean the handful of appearances seems like hard work….. eyeroll.
+1000
So unbecoming…..
I think jewel tones are definitely better on her. Loving the shorter hair!
Glad that she’s over the worst part of her HG, and stepping at a kids’ sporting event is a good way to start. But remember, it’s almost Nov., and the BRF always pumps it’s numbers up before the holidays.
I hope the kids are on the Christmas Walk with them again this year, although it’s TQks “turn”, isn’t it? We don’t usually see the kids on the Church Walk with the RF when they’re that small.
I too am more excited for pics of Harry and Michelle! They are so much fun together. Fingers crossed that we will get to see Barack, Michelle, Harry, & Meghan hanging out at some point in the future.
Yes, I can’t wait to see the coverage too, and can’t wait to see all 4 of them together too. 🙂
With all respect – I disagree and hope these appearances dont continue after or much longer with the Obamas.
This hold on HRH seem inappropriate re Orlando IG for potential HRH King Henry to be so closely affilitated with any one President.
Oh okay.. 🙄
don’t you ever get tired of typing out “potential king henry” in every single comment you leave here?
love,
potential queen olive (hey, it could happen!!!)
To all who mock “potential king hHenry.
A girl can dream, right? And it beats having to explain what PKH might mean.
Not at all. Harry likes them, and they like him. Nothing wrong with that. He isn’t going to associate with the Neo-Nazi in the white house.
Halloween is rooted in North American culture, it’s not a holiday or celebration recognized in other parts of the world. It would be extremely odd if Kate acknowledged it, as Britain does not.
I usually love Celebitchy writing, but this is off. It’s like ‘well, Kate doesn’t have any plans for American thanksgiving…4th of July, memorial day long weekend.’ .
Halloween is a Western retooling of All Hallow’s Eve, a centuries old European calendar event. America, in particular, has monetized it and it is a huge commercial coup.
One billion dollars worth of candy is sold in the week leading up to Halloween in the States.
Wow, Lady D, I didn’t know it was that ridiculous. I hate to contribute to the sale of all that candy, but no one wants to be the ahole handing out boxes of raisins. Lol
We are having a Halloween party. I hope it isn’t too cold we are decorating the terrace and carving pumpkins. Maybe toast marshmallows in honor of James Middleton. The kids can eat some dessert and take home a little bag of treats. Going door to door in the city is a joke.
I don’t like how commercialized it is either, but there are ways around it.
Yes, Sophia. No one wants to be the crabby old woman on the block handing out toothbrushes to the kiddies.
It’s such a commercialized holiday now that the candy industry was able to get Daylight Savings Time extended to after Halloween so the kids can trick or treat when it’s lighter, therefore more candy sales.
The UK does acknowledge Halloween, I was going trick or treating as a kid decades ago. The difference is that in Europe it is a legacy of our pagan heritage and culture, not an appropriated mass-commercialized excuse for fancy dress costumes.
Exactly. Thank you. I was wondering which England I lived in and how come All Hallows’ Eve suddenly stopped being an European tradition. In fact, it’s a descendant of Samhain. In Northern Europe it is also celebrated. Buying evil spirits’ favour with sweets is centuries old.
Samhaim is a 9th century Celtic tradition. It was celebrated between October 31 & November 2nd. It became Halloween in the 10th century when the calendar was changed and All Saints day began to be celebrated on the first of November and All souls day followed on the 2nd. In fact carved pumpkins came from the use of gourds that people used to carry embers from the Bonfire that was held to ward of the evil spirits. You took the embers with you to protect your home.
Celebrate how and where you wish, the origins aren’t really important if you are having fun
I am all for having fun, but I think it is a bit ridiculous to be celebrating Halloween in the southern hemisphere at this time of year. Samhain is an autumn festival that celebrates the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark time of year, and downunder we are heading rapidly towards summer. Despite this incongruity our shops are full of those hideous brightly coloured plastic Halloween items and children and adults alike are wearing them in the streets, and shops have Halloween packs of sweets for sale. You can bet your sweet bippy the people who buy this stuff have no idea what the festival is actually about and the inappropriateness of celebrating it at this time of year, but that doesn’t stop them having fun with it. The appropriate pagan festival is the spring celebration of Beltane, and people should be turning their backyard Hills Hoists into Maypoles and celebrating fertility and sexuality, instead of dressing up as witches and vampires and eating far too much chocolate.
As an adult in NYC I love Halloween! Taking our Yorkiepoo terrier to the annual dog costume parade by day and revelling in skimpy costumes all weekend with the hubby equals a lot of fun for this normally buttoned up homebody. Yay!
+100
For kids – candy treats, costumes – and Hollywood, its how NA has commercialized to their advantage
Royalsparkle
Indeed. You can see this reflected in what costumes are considered hot/on trend. The pop-up costume and decorating shops alone make millions.
Its even spooky in of itself – as such celebration inspire the less desirable.
The cost to make a cheap outfit… very little fabric. And the markup it’s sold at… that’s also major profit.
Royalsparkle
That is precisely the reason my mother never let us trick-or-treat as children. We had parties in the church basement to celebrate autumn instead – candy, caramel popcorn balls, apples, nuts, steamed cider and bible trivia games. Good times!
FLORC
Not to mention how quickly they fall apart. I buy ones that are made well but get them from ebay. I end up payingbonly about 30% more than the shoddy ones but they look amazing and last forever. It’s the accessories that cost so much lol. I love how a lot of teens today are making their own costumes because theirvinfluences aren’t always mainstream and so are not stocked as costume ready-to-wear. Last year my niece was a 19th century steampunk scientist/detective and shecassembled her costume for $20!
I’ve lived in the cooler end of the states… tjose shoddy, skimpy costumes were terrible. And yes they fall apart by the end of the night. And always the person with the homemade costume or something that was warm was the hit of the party. Total envy!
Lol I froze one year because I decided to be a cheeky cop – hubby was my inmate in a very warm prison jumpsuit ha ha.
Last year my son got a small night table and a lamp shade. He cut a hole in the table, put his head through and stuck a lamp shade on his head and then went to the bar as a (one) night stand.
Haha!
It is fun. Our party is going to be fun for the kids but they are getting hyper with excitement already.
Hmm…a solo sporting event again. Was it yesterday, the DM had an article about Kate’s nude nail polish, how it is ‘required’ versus a color for engagements. The comments were hilarious, many noted that Diana wore red and since Kate doesn’t do a lot, what else can be written about her? ha
I always thought Halloween wasn’t even that big in the UK? I don’t see why she should care about something that’s probably not that culturally relevant to her lol.
When I was growing up, Halloween was just for kids – it’s only in the last couple of decades that adults got involved. I live in Canada and yes, Halloween is a big event, but I don’t know anybody who doesn’t work on that day, whether they have kids or not. Halloween parties are held in the evening, either on October 31 or the weekend before. So even if it were as popular in the UK as it is in North America, why shouldn’t Kate work on that day?
Yeah – it’s a ‘big’ deal but not insane. I stock up on candy (we haven’t gotten a single trick or treater in the 4 years we’ve lived in our house) and hide most of it away to pull out occasionally. Our niece is a bit older this year – she’s 2 and a half – so I enjoy seeing her in costume, but that’s the extent of it.
Sometimes people do a half day at my office because their kids get out of school by 2 or so – and they’ll bring them in to visit. The office has a costume contest that I don’t bother with – and that’s about it.
When I was a kid our parents would discreetly follow us down the street for safety, but it would have been super-weird for any parent to actually dress up and trick-or-treat with us. Now it’s practically expected.
What is it with her and buttons? I counted 16 buttons on that blazer and there may be more in the back. Well, at least she’s “working” if you can call this work and she isn’t ‘t flashing anyone. Talk about living the life of Reilly. What a waste of money the BRF is.
I want to talk about that article in L&S where Kate wants to reduce her workload while she’s pregnant and has William’s 100% support, and doesn’t like working. Before I get yelled at, of course I don’t mean she should be out and about if she’s still ill.
Workload?🤔
This story… there is hardly in the middleton marriage years that petulant Willnot has visited Balmoral while HM is in residence/ the RF there – except when ordered and warnings to step up Royal Duties given to both Wand km. A few weeks ago DM had a photo with Willnot heading to Church in HM Bently alone. She was smiling, as usual it seem – while she may be handing out ultimatums – Willy did seem too happy.
And we had the ‘mysterious ‘ surprized waitie showing up at this event, after cancelling previous apoearance with both Prince …
I know! I rolled my eyes too!
These articles are coming out saying Kate doesn’t want to work outside the home. Which really, all this reducing the workload stuff wouldn’t be happening if she (a) had a sense of duty, or (b) liked doing it. I think she’s the only one of William’s girlfriends who actually doesn’t mind the baggage that comes with being royal. After all, titles!!!! And I think it’s really pathetic that the future Queen consort of England doesn’t give a big enough shit to go out and open a few hospitals and make some people’s day.
This “easing Kate into her royal role” crap has done her no favors. It was not easing her in. It was delaying the ineveitable, and now it’s staring her in the face she’s trying to get out of it. I believe the story; I do.
Bluhare, do you think these articles coming out is KP’s way of testing the water so to speak, seeing how the public would react to the Duchess stepping away from her royal duties?
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to focus on your growing family, especially given the often less than pastoral rf parenting style. But then don’t spend millions renovating your homes, indulging in couture wardrobes for “work”. Don’t have Charles and the queen doing everything they can think of to give you the life befitting a future queen consort only to let them do all of the work. Don’t do the bare minimum, keeping a meticulously guarded veil of prim discomfort between yourself and the hardworking people who foot the bill. Don’t take every advantage of the life you’ve been given and not leave anything in the till. And if there’s more to the story than what we know such as a mental or psychosocial disorder or Charles’ master plan then fine, whatever, but ffs stop jerking everyone’s chain about being so bloody keen to step up. Just come out on the balcony at BP and hold up a sign telling everyone to sod off until further notice.
Hi Harla, they could be floating trial balloons; they’ve done it before. Thing is, I think Kate has been so dull and lackluster in her appearances I don’t think anyone will care. I know I’m starting to lose any interest I had in her, and back in the day I had quite a bit.
Would they float it in something like L&S though? People is more #PoorJason’s style.
She knew all along that marrying the Prince would involve royal work. Even “full-time” it is three days a week, 5 months of the year (thank you Mark Bolland). Why is that so difficult for her to face?
All of the other royal ladies had kids and did their royal work. Camilla didn’t work outside the home before marrying Charles, but even with her health issues she managed 221 last year. She’s learned type of “work” comes with the territory, and she does it in an engaging and open manner.
KM’s unwillingness to show up even 5hpw cannot be excused with “Oh I just want to be a SAHM fully supported by the taxpayers for two decades”. We’ve seen too often how she spends at last 10 hpw away from the kids shopping and grooming, the separate skiing vacations away from the kids the same weekend, leaving the kids behind to go on vacation, etc.
Having such a platform to do anything to help, then looking around at the state of the world, and thinking, “Nope, I’m not going to do anything but get my extensions re-sewn in today”?
“Reduce her workload?”
To what? Hahahahahaha
Hahahaha! Hahahaha!
The one where the Queen was “icy” when William told her this? Who knows if it’s true, but the Queen cannot be thrilled with the laziness she sees from those two. Kate wants to be a stay at home mom and yet spends 200k a year on clothes? That’s not the deal. It’s not like she has to go work in a factory 40 hours a week.
She still hasn’t bothered to see her neighbours who lost their homes at the Grenfell Towers. Their lives are turned upside down so the very least she could do is take an hour to go a few blocks down from KP to see them. But she doesn’t care. She hasn’t been doing anything of note for the mental health causes she is supposed to care about.
That’s the one!
I thought the article said she wanted to reduce her workload to the bare minimum in order to be a SAHM, not just while she’s pregnant? While I doubt if this story is true, I don’t doubt that Kate hates doing engagements (except for the new clothes/jewelry/shoes/clutches part), she always looks so uncomfortable (except around Sir Ben) and self-conscious while trying to look interested and caring. What I don’t understand is how she looked more comfortable and secure doing engagements when she was first married then she does now. I thought one was supposed to get better with practice not worse?
You are correct. The article did not say it was pregnancy that would be the reason for slowing down, but just to raise her kids… which if she didn’t have two nannies and household staff might make sense. As it is, showing up a few hours a week outside of the house, when she does as much if not more just to go shopping really shows a massive level of selfishness. Even if the article is not directly sourced, it is coming from rumblings within and just by seeing what has happened since 2011, it is obvious that Kate really isn’t interested in the “giving back” part of what is expected as a senior member of the BRF. But keep the 200k a year wardrobe coming though.
The one I saw specifically said pregnancy. But perhaps that was one of the ones I read online.
So if it’s a negative article on her its to be believed because someone in the know. If it’s positive towards her the magazine is trash anyway or full of lies.
I don’t know if the article is true or not, but I can definitely believe it because if Kate really wanted to be out there meeting, greeting, and cutting ribbons she would. All we hear is why she *isn’t* out there, even after all the “keen” press releases.
How can Catherine be a SAHM if she is married to the heir? And I know there is always some disagreement about what part of her income comes from Charles through the Duchy and what part comes from taxpayers, but can she accept any public funds if she is NOT having a royal role?
Technically she should not accept public funds if she’s not undertaking public duties. Ditto all of them.
…but in Kate’s case, how to separate out her personal funds from the public funds (Charles or taxpayers). Very difficult because they are intertwined. A possible solution would be the **Duchess of Kent’s choice.
In the early aughts, the Duchess of Kent gave up her HRH, bodyguards, palace life and lives a very lowkey life as a music teacher at a school in Kingston. Once in awhile she appears in public, but 99% of her life is completely normal and not funded by the public purse. I’m not even sure she draws a salary from her teaching career.
There are reasons why DssoK withdrew from royal life, but she is a private citizens now and so is her life.
LAK, could Kate do something like the duchess of Kent while married to Will, being who he is? Is that a possibility for her? It’s obvious she doesn’t like public life, so if she could give up public monies and step back it seems she’d be much happier. 🤷🏻♀️
I think they’ve been hinting at it for a while now. Kate doesn’t like working, or what passes for work if you’re royal. I now fully believe that, as she’s shown me nothing to the contrary. People who like to work, well, they work. I remember reading not too long ago that Kate sees her job as supporting her husband. Which I think is code for doing sweet bugger all outside the house.
I think William is too high up for her to not work. Camilla never worked outside the home while she was married before, but she does 200+ engagement a year now even with her health issues. The main line doesn’t get to do nothing, especially with Charles’s slim-down plan (if it really exists). Given how much happier and calmer Charles is now, she manages to both support her husband and do her royal engagements.
The Duchess of Kent had multiple things going on, including severe depression after miscarriages and a late-term stillbirth. Her husband tried to divorce her and HM said no. Duchess of Kent moved away (back to Yorkshire?) for 20 years working as a music teacher, even had her own apartment in London not living in KP or using any taxpayer funds. They’ve been effectively separated for 30 years.
W&K’s funding comes via the Duchy, but that is ultimately taxpayer funds as are all the funds used for their security (including all vacation security and security at Middleton Manor). The funds are for Charles to use to support his family *in their work supporting the Queen*. They can’t just use the money to live at Anmer and do nothing.
What article is this? Sounds interesting, can you like it? I’m not sure what l&s stands for…
It’s Life&Style magazine. Although I can only find this story on other places like the Daily Express, UK.
It started in Life & Style and has been picked up in British media outlets. Life & Style has had Kate pregnant with space aliens, and quintuplets at one time or another, but what is unusual is the British outlets picked up this story.
But the best royal story this week is Sarah Ferguson’s dog walker having an affair with their butler, and getting fired because the butler’s estranged wife (of ten year duration) ratted them out to Sarah.
SMH about Sarah. FFS, she went on and on about how she lost all that weight simply by walking the hills of Switzerland, but she cannot manage to take her own damn dog on a walk?
Nota
Lolol I had forgotten about that one. Maybe Budgie the Helicoptor has a sequel in the works ha ha.
See Youtube @2:43
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFsToOE6qGM
“Pregnant Kate Middleton’s Surprise Visit With Prince William Prince Harry at Coach Core Graduation” (as if the brothers wondering ‘this wont end well’) – more strange is km looking off towards Prince Harry’s direction instead of willnot.
Keep in mind this is the same middleton PR in past years, stating Willnot was hanging around Prince Harry and friends instead of with middletons – may have been around the time Jecca was on the safari trip with brothers present.
Kaiser, after I read the story, but before I read your comments, I was like, “Why didn’t this story run as PRINCE HARRY AND MICHELLE OBAMA WILL BE TEAMING UP AGAIN!!” This would be the most smile inducing headline in this rather gruesome month…
I don’t understand the connection between Halloween and tennis. A solo event too? Why not use the opp bring out her kids. I see dozens and dozens of pics from the SRF and DRF with their kids at numerous events. That would be fun. But isn’t almost everything Duchess Dolittle of Lamebridge does fun? Even when not necessary errrm at memorials for example.
oh my goodness SoulSPA, what a great idea!!! Taking George with her would be a great opportunity for both of them! I think you should be in charge of putting together Kate’s engagements from now on!
Thank you, Harla! Today I was slightly inspired, LOL. That aside, this would be a great opp to bring the kids out for the public to see them. With all that it would entail.
Yes Joannie I find the vitriol toward her a little unseemly. Maybe she’s desperate to be with her kids. Who knows. What I do know is that if I had thousands of other women dissecting my every move I’d lose my mojo too.
How is thinking she should earn her keep and saying I don’t think she likes royal work vitriolic?
Don’t worry. If she gets her wish no one will say a word about her. Personally if she hates it so.much she should. And her office should quit telling us how keen she is and how much she cares about her work because I don’t think she does. That will free up her a new secretary to get a job with some meat in it too.
It isn’t vitriolic to say it, bluhare, but welcome to the dark side.
There is no way for her to NOT work, there just isn’t. People are fed up enough with them, the second and third children announcements were met with “who cares” and “bunch of scroungers”. If they try to spin that she just wants to be a SAHM (with two homes, two housekeepers, multiple nannies)? I don’t think people would be quiet about it.
I suspect the new Personal Secretary is a Charles/HM plant to get that office organized, get her to work, and decrease the influence of #PoorJason. HM/Charles’s chance came in March when Deacon left, new person announced end of July, and gee, third baby, can’t work, want to be a SAHM.
She’ll fit perfectly in with the Halloween vibe, with all those fillers and creepy capped teeth.
This seems a bit unkind. *shrug*
Agree with Kanga, all she needs is a broomstick. For those who think I’m being harsh, what about the time she was seen bitching about Fedderer’s wife at the tennis with her horrid sister. I do not believe she is a nice person at all.
We just had half term she was probably all dressed up as a pumpkin at the Midds this weekend