In one of last week’s many Kate Middleton tabloid cover stories, I read a line that I can’t get out of my head – I think it was from Us Weekly, but now I can’t find it, so whatever. Anyway, the line was that this Christmas would be Kate Middleton’s last one with her parents, because when she and William get married, she will be “forced” to spend the Christmas holiday with the royal family, and her parents won’t ever be invited. Thus, I tend to think of the royal family as the mob or witness protection. Once you marry into them, you have to give up your old life completely, even if that means never spending a holiday with your parents again. Well, anyway, People Magazine has more details on this “Where will Kate spend the rest of her Christmases?” issue – and apparently, it’s more complicated than you would think:
With an extravagant April wedding to plan, Prince William and Kate Middleton may be happy to enjoy a low-key Christmas holiday this year – away from the rest of the Royal Family.
In fact, for the holiday the prince, 28, is on duty at his base, RAF Valley, in North Wales, his office confirmed to PEOPLE, meaning that he will not be with Queen Elizabeth and the extended family at their royal retreat of Sandringham House, Norfolk, on the festive day.
His fiancée is not expected at the annual gathering of the Windsors either. But whether she will be with her parents for one last Christmas as a single woman or spend it with William, who will be flying his Sea King rescue helicopter, remains to be seen.
As for the future, William is expected to ensure that the Middletons are very much part of his life, and not ignored by the royal system. And he has reportedly indicated that while he has the excuse of working this year, it is not certain he will be at the Sandringham gathering every Christmas.
The prince made a big point of the fact that he is close to the family, whom he referred to as “Mike and Carole” in his official engagement interview on Nov. 16. And Mr. Middleton had earlier paid tribute to the couple, saying “They’re great fun to be with, and we’ve had a lot of laughs together.”
A palace source would not say whether it was a signal that the future king might spend some Christmases with his in-laws. “That is the future,” says the source. “The fact is he won’t be there this Christmas.”
Another palace source adds, “It’s quite obvious that Catherine comes from a close family and her parents are very supportive of both of them and I’m sure that will continue.”
[From People]
It’s funny that it’s considered somehow shocking or groundbreaking that a girl marrying into the royal family might not be comfortable with cutting off ties to her family every Christmas. Bunch of dysfunctional loons. Anyway, I do hope that Prince William fights for the Middletons’ right to spend time with their daughter – after all, it was through the Middletons’ largesse and years of understanding that Kate was able to wait around for William for nine years.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I’ve always liked her. She seems put together and mature. She’s cute too! They will have lovely royal babies after a lovely royal wedding that I will be watching
I think William will be changing many things the royals do now. He doesn’t appear to be nearly as stuffy as they are. The stuffiest of the bunch is Prince Philip and when his racist ass kicks the bucket, William will be able to completely change this so-called family.
“Bunch of dysfunctional loons.” lol. true dat.
I think there is a lot of Diana in William (thank goodness) and he will stand up for Kate & her family. He seems to have a very good relationship with them and I don’t see that changing once they are married. Take that Liz & Phil!
To be fair to the Brits: I think most royal families does this thing. Just proves how out of date royalty is these days.
To me, this makes the “put off getting married for as long as possible” plan look smarter and smarter.
I agree that I will not miss Prince Philip one little bit when he is gone! Hope Charles doesn’t behave like an ass when he’s in charge.
Charles my never be in power, it all depends on what the Queen decides…
Oh Kaiser, how quaint and “Christmas Past” you can be at times. Of course one must sever all ties with any commoner (especially family) once one becomes royalty. Goopy must be having a good chuckle at the pedantic concept of celebrating the holidays with the likes of Prada standing in the same room as JC Penny.
The crazy thing is that Kate did not meet the Queen until May 2008. That is 7 + years into her relationship with William! Now she’s expected to give up her family and be absorbed into the royal fold? It may be protocol, but there is nothing “normal” about it. I really doubt that Kate will be as alienated from her family as Diana was from the Spencers.
I think this marriage will be extrodinarily different than Charles & Diana’s. First of all, William seems very modern and very well-adjusted; Charles was a mama’s boy without enough self-esteem to buck protocol. Second, William chose Kate himself, they’ve been together for years and have trust and loyalty between them; Charles was in love with Camilla when he married Diana, who was chosen for him by the Queen as a suitable aristocratic virgin.
It’s like comparing apples and pond scum.
Goop is probably still kicking herself that she let the Prince of Spain get away from her. They were dating, don’t you know? She could have been the next Grace Kelly…
Ms Lewis- Prince Phillip has NO say so in royal protocol. The Queen is the one who has all the power. Plus William has no authority until he becomes King.
I think this girl is very pretty, but I also think it looks as if she’s sunbathed a BIT too much.
Ms. Lewis and Devilgirl- the Queen really has no say in the matter either. When she dies, Prince Charles becomes King. When he dies. Prince William becomes King. It would take an act of Parliament to change the Laws of Succession. Technically, I think the Queen could abdicate as her Uncle did in the 30s but he was never crowned and he never took an oath. At her coronation, she swore to reign until her death.
Yup the Queen isn’t going anywhere yet
The queen has all the power, yes, but it’s rumored that she defers to her husband quite a bit. Probably as a sop to his pride, which by all accounts is formidable.
Kate has such an Irish grin- I love it. Is she pure English, does anyone know, or is there maybe a little Celt in there?
Edit to add: I’m referring to pics from other threads- where her top lip disappears because she’s smiling so widely. Not that goofy-looking photo of her in black shown here. (Ugh. Someone pissed off the photog.)
My roommate and I were discussing all of this. Diana had to have a virginity test in order to get married….will Kate have one too? I highly doubt homegirl is a virgin after a relationship that long!
The Queen has NO power! She can’t even walk into Parliment without an invite.
It’s all ceremonial to get tourists to come to England.
Silly, really. To keep this “monarch” going!
I don’t think QEII is being given enough credit. I am hopeful she has learnt from Diana’s life and the public balls-up the royals made immediately following her tragic death. I doubt there will be any decree requiring Kate to forego Christmases with her parents. Besides if they’re based in Wales I suspect she’ll sometimes be hosting her parents. Of course there will be Christmases she’ll be at Sandringham (only) but spending Xmas day with only one side of the family happens to regular folks too.
@NancyMan and MeMyself-
I’m pretty sure the original posters (mslewis and devilgirl) were discussing royal protocol, not the succession.
I sincerely doubt that Kate will be totally 100% cut off from her family once she & William are married.
I also highly doubt that she is still a virgin after all these years LIVING with William. When they announced their engagement Charles said something along the lines that it was about time since they have been playing at being married for so long
I read somewhere that they have to have lunch with the Queen every year and it’s royals only. So unless the parents come to town she will never be at her home on Christmas again. Why can’t the parents stay in a hotel nearby and have dinner with her family. Royal protocol is so odd.
Their names are Mike and Carol?? Like the Brady’s?! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I don’t know why, but that really, REALLY, cracks me up.
This is all cool. I cannot wait for the wedding, it might just be for show but I love it!
I agree with those who say that Prince William is a different kind of royal. Diana had about thirteen years to teach him how to buck tradition & be his own man…unlike Prince Charles who is the definition of a p*ssy. Here’s hoping William becomes the “People’s Prince” in the mold of Diana. Also…Prince Charles, remounce the throne for William. It’s the right thing to do. But what do I know…I’m just a chick from “the colonies”!
“…I tend to think of the royal family as the mob or witness protection.”
Or Scientology.
Ever since William and Kate’s first joint interview, Kate has really grown on me. She was so fumbly and nervous while William kept saying (oddly-is this an upper class thing?) about how often they’d had a “giggle”.
In any case, I respect him if he’s trying to buck the system and take care of his future wife instead of just getting shoved around by his grandmother. I suspect Chalres just goes with the flow, so it’s up to William to assert how he wants his marriage to be.
Very little gets past children in unstable marriages, even from an early age. William continues to demonstrate that he learned well from his parents’ disaster marriage. I am also optimistic that he will NOT follow the time honored tradition of having mistresses as his father and grandfather (yes, wrinkly old Prince Philip) did before him.
Just when I thought Kaiser might go through the whole story without bashing Kate, she manages to throw this in as part of the last sentence, “after all, it was through the Middletons’ largesse and years of understanding that Kate was able to wait around for William for nine years.” Just couldn’t pass up the chance to take a dig at Kate. How utterly boring and predictable.
Agreed, REALIST. I thought she was ok before, but she came across a bit like a newly-hatched chick in the first sit-down and it really endeared me to her.
I am WAY obsessed with this Royal wedding. Charles and Diana married before I was born and my mom used to always talk about them, so now this is MY royal wedding to watch!
Kiki-you may not like what Kaiser said but the statement is completely accurate. Kate would never have been able to have no job, expensive cars and holidays, daily gym dates, designer clothes, and land a prince without her parents wealth. It’s just a fact. Actually, Kate is the one who is boring and predictable.
As long as the Queen is alive, Kate (once she is married) will not spend Xmas holidays with her family. If you’ve ever read stories about Xmas dinner at the Queen’s table, it’s an absolute riot. She treats her family like subjects. The Queen will never abdicate either. When Charles is king (and he will never be skipped over), he may be a bit more lenient where holidays are concerned and the Middletons may figure more prominently in their daughter’s holiday schedule. When William is king, he’ll do what the hell he wants. He may even spend his Xmas at the Middletons!!
I don’t know why so many condemn Katie for waiting all these years. She obviously knew all along they’d marry. I doubt his popping the question was any surprise at all. It has been a matter of when not if. I think the reason they have waited this long is they know they’ll be expected to leave off the birth control from the minute they marry in order to get the heir and spare on the ground as soon as possible and they weren’t in any hurry to be parents. On the other hand, as she nears thirty I imagine the pressure was on to get going with the heir making.
As for Christmas, most couples have to split holidays between the two families. Why should they be any different? However, I don’t see why her parents couldn’t be invited to a royal Christmas occasionally. Are they really that stuffy that a commoner couple can’t sit at the table?
I’ve never been interested in William’s love life so did not know they had a little house near the base and lived together. I was shocked that the Queen allowed that. So if Kate was a virgin when they started dating I seriously doubt she is now.
Also wasn’t aware the Queen had NO power. Why do the English support such an expensive family if they have no power?
Who wouldn’t be chomping at the bit to marry into a family of half-wack inbred racists? Really puts the ‘common’ in Commonwealth–Philip! Oh, and it’s not that your humour is so sophisticated that all of us who come from family trees that actually fork can’t grasp it, it’s that none of those statements actually qualify as jokes because ‘jokes’ are funny. That’s where the cognitive disconnect occurs, get it? Probably not. Well then, crown the altar and deck the shrine, I’ve got some dishes that I have to continue not washing.
Dear Diary, I can’t wait until the brain-sucking device erases all the schooling that I acquired after the seventh grade, then I’ll fit right in!
I’ve got a craving for well-read maniac and world-class rudeness-slinger David Starkey and cheesecake. That I’m lucky enough to have access to both today means that this is a good day. Peace out–or in? Maybe it’s Bachman-Turner Overthrow, I don’t know. Just have a good day.
@Jo Mama Besser, dammit, now you’ve reminded me how long it’s been since Starkey’s last book came out. Boo.
I also can’t see how this is different from any other couple having to choose which set of parents to visit on Christmas.
@Jo ‘Mama’ Besser – Ummm…what??
Um, what?
I feel sorry for her..sort of..okay not really. This is what she asked for but still NEVER being able to have Christmas with your family. How this has been able to go on for so long is sad and tells you about the Royal Family and why they nicknamed it “The Firm”. Makes me feel for Diana more though. I thought she was being dramatic with all her stories about isolation.
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I do not think that she will not be allowed to spend holidays with her family. I think that as long as there will be no special royal duties for those days, she will be able to be with her family.