
CB and I have had an ongoing conversation about Duchess Kate over the years. CB tends to give Duchess Kate more of a break, her opinion being that Kate simply isn’t ambitious and having no ambition isn’t a crime. As you know by now, I do tend to take a harsher point of view – that Kate definitely has ambitions, but her ambitions are about “marrying a prince” and “wearing expensive clothes” and “living in a castle” and “going on ten vacations a year”. Anyone who basically puts her life on hold for nine years to wait for a dude to propose definitely has ambitions, in my mind, but those ambitions are not quite as admirable as, say, a medical student’s ambitions.
Anyway, Kate managed to funnel her ambitions and energy into two of her absolutely favorite activities over the weekend, and it’s notable because it’s taken her this long to realize that she could take a vacation AND go shopping AT THE SAME TIME. Happy days are here again!!!!!
As she looks forward to furnishing two new homes, the Duchess of Cambridge was on the hunt for bargains over the weekend. Kate and a group of friends descended on the antique shops of Holt and nearby Fakenham in north Norfolk on Saturday.
The towns are close to Anmer Hall, which has been widely tipped as the Duchess and Prince William’s home after the birth of their baby in July. At the same time the couple will shortly be moving into their new London base at Kensington Palace.
By visiting Holt, Kate is following in the footsteps of her stepmother-in-law, the Duchess of Cornwall, who likes to shop there.
However, the six-months pregnant Duchess left Mews Antique Emporium, which sells furniture, books and collectibles, empty-handed. She spent 30 minutes looking in all 11 rooms, but failed to find anything to catch her eye.
A friend explains: ‘Kate has good taste but she prefers a more contemporary style.’
Says a spokesman for the Emporium: ‘The Duchess looked radiant and well. She was happy to mingle with other customers and security was very low key. No purchases were made by the Duchess, although some were made by her friends.’
[From The Mail]
Gosh, when was the last time Kate and William spent a weekend in Wales? Chuckle. Us Weekly also has a story about Kate’s shopping excursion, but they make it sound like she was taking photos so that some underling could come back at a future time to actually “purchase” (how peasanty!) the items:
Wearing a purple sweater under a brown-leather vest by the Really Wild Clothing Company, the 31-year-old Duchess browsed the wares at Sue Rivett Antiques, the Fakenham Antique Center, and Mews Antique Emporium. A source told Us Weekly she was looking at vases and snapping pictures of pieces of her phone. “She seems to be very organized in her home decorating,” the onlooker said.
Another eyewitness noted that Middleton’s baby bump was on full display. “She was showing,” the source told Us. “She didn’t have a coat on as it wasn’t that cold…She looked beautiful.”
Indeed, a spokesman for Mews Antique Emporium said Prince William’s wife “looked radiant and well” on her brief shopping trip. “She was happy to mingle with other customers,” the spokesman told Us, adding that “no purchases were made by the Duchess, although some were made by her friends.”
Meanwhile, in another part of the U.K., Middleton’s husband and his brother, Prince Harry, were spotted at a friend’s bachelor party at the The Feathers Inn pub in the village of Hedley on the Hill, Stocksfield, Northumberland. “It was civilized, but they were all drinking a lot after eating dinner there,” a local told Us of the fete. “William seemed quite rosy-cheeked.”
[From Us Weekly]
So, while Kate and some friends went antiquing in the country, William and Harry went to a bachelor party in Northumberland? One theory is that William and Kate have been together for more than a decade and there are no surprises, thus there are no worries or petty concerns about what might happen at a bachelor party. Another theory? Kate gets to decorate her multiple homes however she likes and that’s her priority and William gets to do whatever he likes and she doesn’t get to say anything about it.
Oh, and have you heard the latest rumor about the royal baby names? According to British betting firms, “Diana” and “Elizabeth” aren’t the sure-bet names everyone once thought they would be. Apparently, “Alexandra” has had a late surge. Other bets are being placed on Carole, Victoria, Mary, Margaret and Phillippa. How about this… Alexandra Diana Elizabeth Carole? If they called a baby girl “Alexandra” would her nickname be “Alex” or “Alexi”? Or something else entirely? Huh. Sometimes Alexanders and Alexandras are called “Sasha” too, right?


Photos courtesy of WENN.