Prince Charles and Prince William both released their “family portraits” which were used on their separate Christmas cards. We already got a chance to see the Cambridges’ Christmas card, although it’s nice seeing the actual colors in the official shot. It’s not so washed-out and muddy and at least Kate wore red (and little Louis wore navy). I still don’t get the wood or the “humble country folk” branding, and the shot it way too autumnal. The photo of Charles and Camilla though… poor quality iPhone shot, but maybe that’s nice. They didn’t hire a professional photographer for a photoshoot or anything, it just looks like an offhand pic taken by a staffer. Charles and Camilla’s photo was taken at Birkhall, their Scottish estate. The beautiful flowers all around… it reminds me of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s backyard, where Meghan filmed her CNN video.
Meanwhile, did you know that Charles’ approval has sunk steadily since The Crown’s Season 4 debuted last month? LOL.
Prince William should overtake his father Charles to succeed the Queen on the throne following backlash over the new series of Netflix’s The Crown, a devastating royal poll has shown. Prince Charles has faced a barrage of online criticism over recent weeks due to his portrayal in popular Netflix show The Crown. The historical drama’s latest series explored the doomed marriage with the late Princess Diana, as he appeared to be more interested in love interest Camilla. Now it seems the heir to the throne is losing popularity as the next King.
Voters in a new YouGov poll have said they would prefer Prince William, who is second in line to the throne and the Queen’s grandson. The Duke of Cambridge saw a two per cent rise in opinion since June. This is compared to The Prince of Wales, who saw his popularity as King drop by five percent in the last five months.
YouGov tweeted: “The Crown effect? Prince William now holds eight point lead over Prince Charles in public preference to succeed Queen. Prince William – 40 percent (+2 since June), Prince Charles – 32 percent (-5).”
I mean… Charles’ approval rate deserved to go down. His careful, 20-year campaign to rehabilitate his image deserved to blow up in his face. Plus, he completely mishandled the whole Crown thing – he and his people tried nitpicking it and vaguely denying it and they just kept drawing more and more attention to it. At no point has Charles ever said “Of course if I had to go back and do it all again, I would have done a lot of things differently, and yes, I didn’t treat Diana properly.” Think about how differently so much of this would have played out! But whatever… I still think Charles will make a better king than William!
Photos courtesy of Clarence House & Kensington Palace’s social media.
All I see is the green topiary on the left. Oh and the lovely not quite lavender flowers. That’s my something nice.
That poor topiary looks like a green poop emoji. It’s rather unfortunate.
they are both nice pictures but neither of them are Christmasey at all. Charles and Camilla’s one particularly is a lovely picture of the couple but its clearly nothing to do with Christmas
Love Camilla in jeans, a white shirt and blue jacket.
But I don’t get what Charles is wearing. The pants and jacket do not contrast enough nor do they match. It’s varied shades of boring and awful.
But she does look nice in her blue jacket. That’s all I got.
This is the companion pic to the one they took when Charles travelled WITH COVID to Scotland to quarantine there. They’re wearing the same clothes.
While Charles may make a *better* king, in the sense that even though he’s a shitty, selfish, petty person and lousy father, he DOES seem to care about doing things to improve the lives of others (to an extent: ie: Prince’s Trust).
PwBIGT seems to only care about the “showy” parts, and doesn’t even turn up consistently for those (only since Harry left have we seen so much of him!). He wants to play the landed lord, with all the money, and time to “garden”, and the hell with everyone else.
After Petty Betty goes, let Charles “wrap it up”, and end it. I think PwBIGT will be relieved in a lot of ways. He’ll have the money and servants, and none of the duties of “being seen to be believed”, and God knows Keen Katie, will be thrilled…she’ll finally be able to spend time sailing with Ben Ainsley w/out cameras documenting her making googly eyes at him.
A bunch of my non-Meghan obsessed friends randomly started a thread about how shitty the Cams card is—like too brown, too much wood, no Christmas, too obnoxiously try-hard to be middle class. I actually don’t think it’s middle class at all, I think it’s signaling hard that they’re old aristos who wear “outdoor shoes” in the country. It was a random but welcome hate fest lol.
This! It’s a beautiful garden, but looks like spring, not at all Christmasy.
It WAS spring… when Charles was quarantining with Covid in Scotland.
I thought the exact same thing: not Chrismasy at all!! (And I think it’s odd that Charles isn’t looking into the camera for a Christmas card shot!)
It is an odd choice. I don’t like the “casual” clothes they wear.
I think Charles definitely would be better King than PWT, in spite of personal limitations. At least he has ideas and implements them. Right ideas.
And I like their card better. I like that it’s not super polished.
Maybe I’m reaching but apart of Louis every one look strained in Cambridge’s card. Char is simply standing there even not pretending, PG makes himself smile. He reached the age when child’s spontaneity is fading, so maybe all this become uncomfortable for him.
Don’t want to talk about their parents here.
👍👍
I mean Charles is engaged and informed.
He’s a POW who actually speaks Welsh – amongst other languages.
By the time he was 40 he had successfully established the Prince’s Trust and initiated his architectural campaign that would become a staple of the British skyline.
William at the same age, has done what exactly?
He doesn’t speak Welsh. He can say a few words in a rehearsed speech.
Aside from their respective qualities, I’m just shocked that so many people in the UK (I believe the poll was taken there) don’t understand how the monarchy works.
I’m an American and even I know they can’t just “skip over” Charles if they don’t like him — that’s not how it works! It’s not a popularity contest ffs. It’s asinine that they’re even taking a poll about it.
I have kids G and Cs ages, and it is nearly impossible to get them to both smile nicely and normally at the same time. I can only imagine how many takes this took and how grating it was for all involved!
@Gina, you’re reading way too much into it. It’s very hard to get several children to pose nicely for a picture all at the same time.
@ABC
But Charles lived in Welsh counties for a year before his investiture.
He attended the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth, studied Welsh history and language.
All that and he can only say a few words?
He was there for one semester 50 years ago. Even he doesn’t claim to speak Welsh.
At this point I don’t get what it means to be a good king. I guess you are a leader about social causes etc? All Charles cared to do during the pandemic was whine about the crown constantly so I don’t think he’s going to be good for much leading. I know he has “causes” but I can’t give him much credit for environmentalism when he’s still condoning baby owls dying in snare traps on his estates. Beyond that, what does it actually mean to be king? Not much.
They have to do the humble thing, they can’t show off in a year where the nation’s kids are being fed by UNICEF. Optics would be terrible.
OASN – Can’t wait for the Sussexes. I know they release it through a charity. I hope it’s a photo of them decorating their tree 😊
Many people have the fantasy including William that throne will skip Charles. Prince Charles will william before letting William on throne before him. Prince charles is clever and also very cunning as fox. Compare to him William is dumb as brick. As for their card just bunch of inbreeding white people. The kids are coming out of cute face. Crown princess victoria kids are very cute than cambridges.
How clever could he be if he recently made an absolute ass of himself with all his feet stomping about the crown? Honestly his behavior during the pandemic echoes his portrayal in that show remarkably closely.
Vanity and selfishness are kind of limiting to intelligence.
dumb as brick! so true!
The Cambridge look like a Tommy Hilfiger ad!
LOL
Prince Charles is 90% of the time photographed with his flowers, or a garden in his Xmas cards.
I 😉😉 at his consistency.
This card remains my favourite of him, William, & Harry.
http://everythingroyal.com/everythingroyalchristmascards2.html
Bad reputation aside, Charles is more qualified to be king than William. William is lazy. All raging fragile male ego and PR spin.
Honestly Charles, just admit you were a terrible husband to Diana, apologize for it and move on.
I agree, but is his mea culpa owed to the public? I sorta don’t think so. Also, if he was womanizing everything in a flowered skirt then I would have a different opinion than him essentially being in the committed relationship he wanted from the beginning?
But he wasn’t just being in a “committed relationship” w/Camilla. He had AT LEAST three other “ladies” that we know about. It was NEVER some big love story. That’s just PR that was pushed to get the public to accept him with Camilla after Diana died.
Exactly! I wouldn’t be surprised if those other mistresses pop up next season…I hope Netflix is like, you want historical accuracy? Fuck around and find out then.
I’m just putting this out into the universe now plz make it so.
Camilla was married to her first husband for 22 years. Much of the time she was “devoted to Charles” was when she was married to another man. ANd he was married to Diana. He did not want Camilla when he first met her, he said he was not ready to marry and did not tell her to wait for him. He had serious relationships and flings, and was also involved with Lady Tryon, who seems to have been airbrushed although there are articles about her that can be retrieved on Google. Janet Jenkins of Canada said she had an off again on again relationship, and love letters between them were put up for auction a few years ago. The spinners for Charles tried to rewrite history.
I actually liked the Cambridge’s card last year with the bikes but this one just looks off. Charles and Camilla’s card looks the same as their other Christmas cards.
I do hope we see the Sussex’s card this year. If we do, we probably won’t see it till closer to Christmas. Maybe it will come out when their holiday podcast comes out?
I actually hope they don’t.😜
I hope they give the ******** of our British media NOTHING.
No Archie, no clicks, no money. Nothing. Zip. Nada😠😠😠
As much as I’d like to see their little bambino, I hope you’re right and they publish nothing.
I like the idea of the picture coinciding with the Archewell Spotify Christmas podcast! Add it with the press release! GREAT way to promo it and get all eyes on their debut.
Can’t they do what Kate does — if one of them takes the picture themselves, they own the copyright and would get paid every time it’s reprinted? 🙃
Selfishly, I hope they do because I would love to see little Archie, especially after this hellscape of a year.
I think the Charles and Cam one is lovely. Nice bright lighting, a beautiful garden and I like the more casual vibe. The wood is too much in the Cambridge pic. Very autumnal, as you said.
And despite all that happened with Diana, which is awful, I do think Charles will make a better King than William. He has built the The Prince’s Trust into a powerhouse. It’s a trope, but William and Kate are lazy compared to Charles (and Anne), who are elderly and would both be beyond retirement age in any other line of work. William and Kate are not the only people in the world with young children, though most of us do not have a bunch of household staff to help out. They need to work, like Anne does. Do the banal, unglamorous work, or you don’t need the job.
I hope we get a Christmas card from Harry and Meghan! With Archie and the dogs, on the beach.
Yes, and no benches!
Oh my god a money shot of a cali beach would be amazing. Christmas t shirts in a golden beach. I’m crossing my fingers.
(Btw I used to live in SF and while visiting a friend in London was assured by a bunch of drunken British party goers that every Londoner has a pet fantasy of running away to California. I choose to believe this is true lol).
There is a big, thriving Brit ex-Pat community in Santa Monica. On 2nd St. (2 blks from the beach) and down Wilshire Blvd. you have pubs, stores, tea rooms, etc. that cater to British tastes, foods, etc. And scattered around the city are other shops featuring the same as well. I used to get VHS tapes of my fav Britcoms, and packets of biscuits from this one store on Wilshire Blvd 😊 Ahhh… mem’ries 🇬🇧
@TheOG – omg that’s really funny. the one time we were in Santa Monica, years ago, we stopped at a bar that was close to the beach and it was a total British pub style of place, pictures on the wall were of all these British movie stars, I remember thinking how random it was, but now it makes sense lol.
My wish for their Christmas card is Archie playing a baby-sized gold piano like Schroeder from Peanuts. A nice trolling call back to the Queen’s Christmas address in which she sat in front of her gold piano and talked about sacrifice.
They are just such odd people. Do they work with, like, normal people PR firms, or is it all people that have worked for the royals for generations? They need much better PR
It’s all minor nobility and families that have worked for the royals for generations. After The Crown’s first season, I started googling the lesser-known characters like Tommy Lascelles and Michael Adeane. Tommy Lascelles was Sir Alan “Tommy” Lascelles, grandson of the 4th Earl of Harewood. Michael Adeane was made Baron Adeane, and was the grandson of the 1st Baron Standfordham. Robin Janvrin (remember him from the movie The Queen?) is the son of Vice Admiral Sir Hugh Janvrin. All of them have great accomplishments to their names, but none are particularly versed in PR, modern media, or communications. But God forbid any of the people who serve Petty Betty be mere commoners.
Well of course, can’t have the cult’s Great Chosen Ones served by unbelievers. They can only be properly served by The Right Sort. The Great Chosen Ones require appropriate veneration at all times, obviously.
I like Charles and Camilla’s. Never really seen her in jeans so I was like “wow” when I first saw it but they both look good and it’s colourful so there’s that.
As for the King stuff, you can’t just “skip” the throne. Charles is getting the throne after Lizzie, no matter what unless he dies first. Charles can abdicate, sure but that’s basically a “nuclear” option and only if and only if Charles astronomically fucks up. And Diana/Camilla isn’t enough to trigger one IMO
Love Camilla in jeans.
I prefer Christmas card photos that are a bit more Christmassy but it’s still a pretty picture.
I wonder if the Montecito royals will do a card this year. If they do, here’s hoping for one of Harry with his arm around Meghan in their £11million mansion, while she holds up baby Archie to help him put a star on top of a beautifully decorated tree. Not only would it look crazy festive, but the collective rota and Karen tears would keep me hydrated for months. Fingers crossed 😂🤞🏾
Lazy William doesn’t have a clue about being king. Charles will be much better. Will’s generation doesn’t seem to have that loyal attachment like Charles’. They may gripe about him but they don’t really expect him to be skipped. I think Charles is a wimp but at least he’s not afraid to work and I don’t think he’d do any of the stupid PR stunts that Will and Kate try.
Charles will make an excellent King.
He used to be one of my better liked royals, however Charles is a world class coward. That type does not excel, but if one of them can make president, I’m sure they can also be a king.
I’m amazed at the press every YouGov poll gets in Britain. You’d think every citizen was forced to vote in it through threat of death.
Right? It’s ridiculous how seriously they’re taken, and how the RRs will refer to them as a valid source if the results are favorable to their narrative.
Charles truly has a creative spirit. The Prince’s Trust, Duchy Originals, Poundbury, his gardens, his clothing lines, and more. His ventures seem to stem from a passionate interest and he could probably do so much for the monarchy if he got to the throne. William can’t compare to his dad in that regard, and it’s okay if he wasn’t born with the same passions or a lot of passions or any passions. I think Wills tried to find his thing, but he probably doesn’t have the self-discipline to apply himself repeatedly to build up anything substantial or lasting. But it’s really too bad that the British people can’t appreciate the workhorse they have in Charles. And this poll and it’s publicity? Might we be seeing some retaliatory leaks from Clarence House aimed at Willileaks?
Thank you for all this. I think both can be true: he was a shitty husband to an ill-matched wife, in a toxic family environment AND he has done tremendous, original work for his country and wanted to leave things better than he found them.
Human beings are much more complicated than the media likes to portray.
There was no woman IMO that would have put up with Camilla’s presence and Charles idea of marriage, unless he got a pre nup and the woman agreed to put up with it all.
Charles may have deserved to go down in popularity but did William do anything to deserve to go up? Charles has still had far more successful initiatives and comes across as more intelligent than William.
Their card looks odd because he’s dressed so typically formally, but Camilla is in jeans. Clearly not staged for the Xmas card, just a candid photo snapped on a day when she stopped in from her own place to visit him.
It’s a bonkers card if you ask me. Jeans and blazers seem to be Camilla’s uniform these days and Charles is more formal so they do not jibe. Also Charles not looking at the camera. Just bad.
NOt a flattering photo. Charles laughing seems a bit odd. They seem to be in different moods.
The body language in this picture is so interesting. Just so interesting. So much shame and repression in one photo.
When you cover Willnot’s mouth and focus on the upper half of his face, it looks like he’s raging. I don’t know what’s wrong with these people.
I was actually talking about Chuck and Cammy Queen of Tampons. But yeah Bill Middy looks permanently pissed.
I have lost any regard I had for Charles. Cannot abide him yet completely agree he is better than William the Terrible.
People can say Charles should be skipped all they want but it will NEVER happen people. We can’t even get Andy stripped and banished despite all his crimes, so this will never happen.
I like seeing Charles’s garden and I like seeing Camilla in jeans, but Charles looks like he needs to be wearing sunglasses, lol.
The Cambridges’ actual picture looks better than the leaked photo, but I’m still not a fan of it. Autumnal in itself is fine, except that I think they have done pretty autumnal pictures for the past few years, and the actual picture is pretty boring.
Charles is going to be a much better king than William, Is he a better person than William? Maybe, maybe not, but that really has nothing to do with being a king. Its not based on merit. And we know Charles is not afraid of work.
Mad props on all the pollinators up front in Charles’s garden!! Butterflies and bees, absolutely my favorite part of gardening is watching my bees.
And I think privately Charles is aware he was a gas bag to Diana. I don’t think he’s a stupid man. I think he’s not great at PR for the most part, but I think he’s awkward and private and I kind of don’t think he needs to admit it, though it doesn’t show growth not to just let the subject drop. A hit dog hollers, I know, but sheesh dude. Shhhhhh.
Even if he tried to come out and do some public mea culpa for his marriage to Diana… he’s not winning anything. The woman is dead. She can’t forgive him. The public might or might not, but it would look suspicious and calculating and needlessly dredge up history that no one has the accurate account of, anyway.
I hope he made peace with his children, tries to be the father/ grandfather they need and the husband that his current wife needs. Anything else is no one’s business anymore.
Yet Charles did nothing to help Harry. ANd just let William call the shots.
Diana and Charles did give their accounts. It is out there. There are some letters that have become public where Camilla makes nasty remarks about Diana to Charles. Royal mistresses in history never trashed the wife that way. Alexandra was off limits to be targeted by Edward VII’s mistresses. Charles missed the boat years ago.
Yes, they gave their accounts nearly 30 years ago. I’m saying he may feel differently now, and honestly, we’re not entitled to know their inner lives.
Charlotte’s (age 5) boots cost at least 259 pounds ($350 American) and are a limited edition mini me pair that isn’t yet available to be the general public. Who did they get gifted to for the purposes of being displayed in this photo? Pippa or Carole?
They’re so normal and middle-class though!!
And it’s now been written up everywhere and is an advertorial for the brand. Pure merching.
Like them or not. They really seem happy together. Sometimes life is not fair. But I like them together.
Will and Kate have an adorable family.
Both cards are fine. Good, not great. The Cambridge’s still look L.L.Bean but at least they realized it was better to release the actual crisper photo instead of letting that muddy washed out screen shot be the only shot of it. The kids look cute and W&K basic as usual. C &C look like they’re squinting because the sun is directly in their face, so it does look like a typical amateur iPhone shot. That’s basically what we’re doing this year for our card. No photographer, just pulling random pics from the phone. I don’t think it’s copying the Sussexes but maybe inspired by their chill outdoorsy Montecito vibe.
What is the tradition in the U.K. and Church of England? Are Christmas cards typically family pics, cute Santa or religious? I adore them all, just curious.
Oh look…two tools in front of a wood shed. Their children are gorgeous though.
I like Charles & Camilla’s card. Their garden is gorgeous. Such vibrant colors. I don’t like William & Kate, so it’s hard to be objective. Too much brown. The children are cute. One thing, though, I don’t get people saying these aren’t Christmas photos. My friends send me pics taken throughout the year. I can usually pick out which picture will be their Christmas card and it could be from their summer vacation or a birthday party.
William isn’t going to be king before Charles. No matter what people think of Charles. The Crown is a tv show, and it’s pulled the curtain back on the royals. But…this is also old news to those of us who lived through the War of the Waleses. I just can’t muster up the same outrage I felt 20 years ago. It’s taken me years to forgive them and grow up myself. The truth is people are complicated and no one is perfect. Diana made her peace with Charles & Camilla before her death. I choose to remember her as the woman she became after all of that. Not as a victim of her shitty childhood or her marriage. She became stronger for all the pain she suffered. I’m mad she didn’t get to live the life that Harry has carved out for himself.
I still cannot stand them. Charles had spin doctors and they put out negative stories about Diana. Even his elderly cousins, Mountbatten’s daughters, put out a book disparaging DIana. Charles never made her non negotiable and Junor and Seward had volumes of DIana trashing books. And I don’t think C and C are the least bit sorry. How DIana felt about Charles and Camilla before her death is known only to her. I don’t think she would ever make Peace with Camilla. She would work with Charles on decisions involving William and Harry. I see no excuses for the way Charles used Diana as a broodmare and Camilla was in the marriage the whole time. William and Kate are not nice people either. I worry for the future of the monarchy.
Weird question… Did George lose part of his pinkie on his right hand? It doesn’t look like he has lost the tip though as you tend to lose a nail in one of those painful shut my finger in the door situations. He has a regular length pinkie in earlier photos. So is it just bad photoshop? But how does that work?! I don’t use editing tools so my brain just.can’t.fathom.it.
I think it’s just a weird angle. His pinky is sticking straight out and the other fingers are bent so his pinky looks shorter from this angle. The fingernail appears to be there.
Is Charles faithful to Camilla?
Love the garden! It’s so beautiful! My only quibble is that the photo appears to have been taken in harsh morning light so Charles is totally squinting. It would have been better had it been taken in the golden hour light of late afternoon.
Yes, agree – I thought it was taken right at midday, but same result. Very bright and harsh light. A professional photographer would avoid shooting at that time, find another location, or find a way to deflect the harsh light if possible. In addition to Charles squinting, the flowers are more washed out in the bright light than they might appear at a different time of day.
That aside, it’s a nice, casual shot, and a treat to see some of Charles’ garden.
Maybe it was just the capturing of Charles and Camilla in a beautiful setting more than some great planned photographic feat. I much prefer it to something posed for hours in perfect conditions.
Wonder why Louis doesn’t have to wear the short pants that George had to wear for so long.
I hear the Diana supporters and always believed Charles WAS the villain in the piece. I still do. Diana deserved so much more and better in her life. Charles was an absolute pig to her. The British have been treated to decades of British P.R. shining his reputation to a luster and ignoring/badmouthing Diana. I’m glad people remember her with love, respect and compassion. I know her son Harry and daughter-in-law Meghan are inspired by her and they are a beautiful and righteous example of the good she always tried to do. I’m so glad they escaped that toxic family.
Completely agree. Charles showed then just what an awful man he is and whether it’s due to growing up in that Royal dysfunctional bubble or not, he’s just a horrible person. More recent proof is his refusal to stand up for Harry and Megan. Same goes for Camilla, the Rottweiler. She was so cruel for so long to Diana that shows how hideous she is at her core. Camilla probably enjoys the vile treatment of H&M.
I don’t think she really sees much of Diana’s grandchildren. fortunately.
Tripe. I don’t think Camilla has much to do with William and Harry. She has her own family. She also does many engagements never publicised where she is brilliant.