Angela Levin: Duchess Kate wasn’t cowed by being criticized for her laziness

The Funeral Of Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh Is Held In Windsor

I have a question and it’s something that seems like a consistent issue: certain British royal reporters are taking back-handed swipes at the Duchess of Cambridge, correct? Meaning, they create these sugary, sycophantic narratives around Kate but then they add in these asides like “and of course she’s not really lazy” and “she’s completely perfect except for how terribly middle class she is.” It felt like that infamous Keen Guevara piece was full of swipes too, but I’m not even entirely sure they’re doing it on purpose. Anyway, Angela Levin (royal biographer) has written a cloying piece about Kate in the Telegraph. It’s supposed to be a saccharine puff piece about how Kate’s positivity means that she’s perfectly suited for… something. Queendom, I guess. But Levin threw in all of these weird little pseudo-swipes.

Kate is super-positive: She has often been described as selfless and resilient, but on Saturday it became clear that it is her positivity – a characteristic she has had all her life – that outranks all these other qualities and stands her in such good stead. Not only can Prince William count on her, but his rather confused brother and the wider Royal family can also be grateful they have such a positive influence in their midst.

Her beauty is not skin deep?? She accepted and understood what the country and the monarchy expected of her with elegance and dignity. Her beauty is not skin deep. Instead of complaining about her position, she has learnt to appreciate what it can offer to others.

She didn’t seek revenge?? Stepping forward to talk to Prince Harry and you could tell by her soft movements that rather than get revenge for the criticism his wife Meghan Markle had aimed at her during Oprah Winfrey’s bombshell conversation, she was trying to break the ice. As William joined them and Catherine quietly stepped down off the pavement to give the brothers space to chat, she then quite naturally stepped back to talk to Sophie, Duchess of Wessex, occasionally taking a glance at the two men.

Carole strikes again: Significantly, Catherine comes from a solid middle-class family. Her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, have been strong role models and given her traditional values. She is also close to her sister Pippa and brother James and has thrived on the warmth generated by a close family.

The pain of Waity Katie: And even then when Kate was mocked, ridiculed and called “Waity Katie”, she kept her feelings to herself, doing her best to look for the good in things.

The dullness of Lazy Katie: After their marriage some people called her “lazy” for giving up work. But, instead of being cowed by such criticism, again she quietly turned a negative into a positive using the time she did have to thoroughly research what patronages she wanted to take on, getting a real understanding about how they worked to ensure she could be of use. Again this positive approach to the task in hand worked. Now, far from being seen as work-shy, she is recognised as one of the best-informed and motivated Royals.

She doesn’t tell moms what to do? She believes that detecting problems when children are small can make a huge difference to their lives as adults. Much of her work has been around supporting and reaching out to young mothers, not to tell them what to do, but to share their feelings so they feel less alone. During the pandemic she and William have regularly Zoomed with frontline workers, teachers and parents, appreciating their hard work to help them feel more positive about their lives.

[From The Telegraph]

I keep thinking about how weird it would be if the Duchess of Cornwall was this endlessly needy and desperate for sugar-coated embiggening. This whole energy around Kate really does make me appreciate Camilla so much more – which is probably why Charles hasn’t shut down William and Kate’s competing and diverging press machines. Will and Kate are making asses out of themselves and Charles is just like “well, let them.” Also: Levin managed to throw “Waity Katie” AND “lazy” into a puff piece. Was that the point?

The Funeral Of Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh Is Held In Windsor

Photos courtesy of WENN and Avalon Red.

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181 Responses to “Angela Levin: Duchess Kate wasn’t cowed by being criticized for her laziness”

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  1. Persephone says:

    Wow…this Angela Levin woman again…I guess cows gotta moo…

    • Red Snapper says:

      Lone Ranger Funeral Truther here to remind everyone that there is a gap in the footage from when the family was walking away from the church. Kate was walking with the brothers behind the Wessexes. Then we see Beatrice stop, turn around and gape at something. Then we see that the brothers are ahead of Sophie and Louise, and Kate, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief falls in beside Sophie who rubs her shoulder consolingly.

      Ergo someone made Kate cry sacred white Duchess tears at a funeral.

      • Becks1 says:

        Red Snapper you are going to take this to the grave aren’t you lol.

        (I’m just going to say that I had a longer comment about this in the post from yesterday, but I rewatched it again yesterday and your timing is off. but Kaiser is going to start blocking our comments if every thread devolves into a rehash of this lol.)

      • Nivz says:

        Lol I love how committed you are to this idea.

      • Lorelei says:

        Funeral Truther I agree with you that someone (Bill) probably said something rude to her, but it’s also occurred to me that the whole “wiping her eye with a handkerchief” could have been total BS for the cameras. To make it look like she was so overcome with emotion that she’d “brought the brothers back together” or some nonsense. She’s awful enough that I wouldn’t put it past her.

      • Donna B. says:

        @Becks1 😂

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        Red Snapper, I agree. I swear when I saw it on Saturday the video actually showed her quickly slow and join Sophie.

    • lanne says:

      love it! Psycho the Cow moos again!

  2. harla says:

    “best informed and motivated royals”??? Bwahahahaha!!! Thanks Kaiser, I needed a good laugh today!!

    • My Two Cents says:

      yes! that was the best line ever! i was however, greatly impressed that Meghan wasn’t mentioned at all and Harry only as the rather confused brother. I mean, that’s almost a compliment!

      • Carmen-JamRock says:

        Ooops! You missed this part:
        “…and you could tell by her soft movements that rather than get revenge for the criticism his wife Meghan Markle had aimed at her during Oprah Winfrey’s bombshell conversation…”

      • Becks1 says:

        such gaslighting. Meghan didn’t criticize Kate, she called her a good person, she assumed Kate was not ALLOWED to correct the story – she was criticizing the press and the courtiers. Ugh.

      • El says:

        @Becks1 – Yes, that gets me too. Every article seems to state that, but Megan seemed to go out of her way to say nice things about Kate and emphasized that it wasn’t a contest and you could like them both. But I guess for those who didn’t watch the interview, this gives them another reason to dislike Megan.

  3. Lauren says:

    Wow. If it wasn’t for the source I would say that this is a sugary fluff piece turn into a hit like the Catherine the Great story. This is bad, bad, bad. If even the most loyal commentators are telling you that you are lazy, dull, dumb, and unremarkable then it is time to stop whatever you are doing. I did not think that Angela Donkeysanctuary Levin had it in her.

  4. Cecilia says:

    “After their marriage some people called her “lazy” for giving up work. But, instead of being cowed by such criticism, again she quietly turned a negative into a positive using the time she did have to thoroughly research what patronages she wanted to take on, getting a real understanding about how they worked to ensure she could be of use.”

    That takes 10 whole years???? I wish my professors would give me this much time to search for research topics. And why are they talking as if she isn’t equipped with a whole staff? She’s not the regular mom Angela.

    Not to mention that meghan did is literally within a few months. Remember that cookbook? Smartworks collection? Vogue? All a succes and she did it while pregnant/ postpartum too.

    • ADS says:

      When the Black one does it, ‘it is showing off’ you see. Having visible talent, ability and graft is just tacky in a non-white Royal – when you add charisma and personality – well that is the most unforgivable of American modernities that we will not abide in the UK.

    • equality says:

      Really. I think she needs to give a few examples of what Kate came up with to help her patronages during this research period. And why is there no evidence of this help? Did she need that long to figure out how to visit and smile?

    • Becks1 says:

      Also, “worked to ensure she could be of use” – is that why she refused to attend the EACH fundraising gala? Is that why her charities are closing down?

      • Cecilia says:

        @becks1 it doesn’t make any sense because the projects she eventually rolled out made 0 impact in peoples lives. I cringe every time i think about that log bench.

      • ShazBot says:

        yeah, the fact that nobody can point to anything she’s *actually* done in 10 years…

        Off the top of my head, I don’t know any major initiatives Anne has done, but she works a lot of bread and butter so there’s that.
        Camilla does bread and butter, and I know she did those kits for victims of rape, and she has her book club, so there are some things with her name on it.
        Sophie seems to do a lot of volunteering “on her own time” and I feel like that’s also to not overshadow Kate in the court circular?

      • Harper says:

        Thinking about the tea that the Rose and Will thing was at least a three-year affair, it makes even more sense that it was going on at that EACH fundraiser at Houghton where the classic Turnip Toff Triangle photo was taken. We know that Kate doesn’t care about EACH and the fact that Will willingly showed up in a tux makes me think he promised Rose he’d be there to help make the event a success. Those local fundraisers for a good cause go on all the time in their circles and we know Will doesn’t do anything he’s not forced to do.

      • Becks1 says:

        I also just feel like you can associate the other royals with causes. Anne is harder to pin down because she does so much and has so many patronages, but I know she is the patron of Save the Children.

        Sophie – women’s rights (this is what the bulk of her international visits focus on, women and girls), and she is involved with a few vision related charities (Lady Louise was born with a congenital eye condition that required surgery I believe) – she does more than that but those are two that stand out to me AND where I can provide you with some additional info (like not just “women rights”, I know that’s what her international trips are typically about, you know?) Sophie also biked…..from Scotland to London? maybe not that far…it was something related to the DoE awards I think.

        Camilla – reading/literacy (love her reading room on IG), rape survivors and domestic violence (she visits a domestic violence shelter or support group on every tour, even if it doesnt count as an official engagement), osteoporosis (her mother had it).

        Charles – Prince’s Trust, environment/sustainability/climate change/organic farming

        Kate – early years? she did a survey?

        It’s not just that the other royals work more, its that they all do the bread and butter engagements AND are actively involved in specific causes that have meaning for them, and because of that meaning people can associate those royals with those causes. And all those royals do a lot more than that, that’s just what comes up off the top of my head. So all that to say – the fact that after 10 years there is really nothing to associate with Kate, no strong charity work, no strong initiative…it’s sad.

        Sorry Edward, I’ve got nothing except that you like the theater lol.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Anne works extensively for Save the Children, serving as president from 1970 to 2017, and has been patron for over 50 years.

        This is not a “Royal” appointment or “Royal” patronage. Anne is a patron because she wants to be and was President of the organization because Save the Children wanted her as their president. Save the Children is a private patronage just like the Invictus Games is a private patronage.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Becks I just mentioned this in a comment on another article but I can even associate *Eugenie* with something specific and meaningful. She works with the Scoliosis Association and posted photos of her x-rays to help the hospital where her surgery was done raise money, and then she wore the wedding gown that purposely showed her scar (I loved that btw). Can you imagine Kate ever doing anything of the sort?!

        https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45835711

    • anotherlily says:

      ”giving up work” ? She didn’t have any work to give up.

      • SarahCS says:

        Thank you, that was going to be my comment!

      • (The OG) Jan90067 says:

        “….admitting that she “gave up work” after getting married…”

        Of COURSE she “gave up work”! Her work was done! She got Big (Tarnished) Blue and the Welsh Gold Band. Mission accomplished…well, she *did* still have to “lay back and think of England” until the Heir and the Spare were pushed out. THEN she was officially “done” with “work.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Meghan gave up her pre-marriage work too.

    • Elizabeth K. Mahon says:

      And several of Kate’s patronages have shut down since her marriage, so how was she able to offer them support, when most of them apart from the really big ones like the National Portrait Gallery, haven’t even seen her since she took them on?

      • Lorelei says:

        Wasn’t addiction supposed to be one of the causes that she was passionate about? I feel like that was announced in 2011 or 2012 but have we heard anything since?

      • Becks1 says:

        @Lorelei she’s patron (I think?) of Action on Addiction and I think she’s done a few events with them but not that many (surprise surprise.)

    • Yvette says:

      But … didn’t Kate have a ‘cow’ over the Tatler article about her poor, tired, because the Sussexes!-blamed, overworked arse? So much for owning ‘the lazy’ and turning lemons into lemonade.

    • Tessa says:

      I remember the excuses made for Kate. That she was “researching” and doing this”behind the scenes” and she really really was working. Apparently she had no advance interest in anything (though she had ambitions to be Patron of Wimbledon). Also the “Malta” excuse was used which ignored that The Queen was busy helping her father who was ill at the time and she did not spend two consecutive years living in Malta.

  5. caitlin says:

    “Her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, have been strong role models and given her traditional values”

    Pray tell, what are these “traditional” values because work ethic has surely skipped a generation. Maybe it’s generosity and kindness?

    • Seraphina says:

      Ma Middleton gave her “traditional” values do what you have to to marry the money.

    • Nic919 says:

      They mean the tradition of chattel where women are simply property to be sold to the highest bidder.

    • Ann says:

      I don’t know, I think the biggest target audience for the Royals is the Middle Class. The Aristocracy don’t GAF because they are just as privileged in a way, and without the scrutiny and BS expectations of “Service” (AKA cutting ribbons). The Working Class think The Royals are useless and can think/say so openly and honestly, because of course they can and should. I sure would. But the Middle Class, which really came to be in the age of Queen Victoria, HAVE to be “respectable” to hold onto their often tenuous positions, above the “Plebes”, not quite Posh but often striving to be, so respecting and being supportive of the Royals is one of their weapons and crutches.

      Just my American two cents.

  6. Betsy says:

    I don’t know why the continued laziness of this woman and her husband bother me as much as it does? But to read that bit about her being recognized as one of the best informed and most motivated (this must be the phrase to replace “keen”) Royals just scrapes at me. She’s not. She’s not anything. Her husband isn’t anything.

    If she had really chosen to make a difference in early childhood issues – and that’s a serious issue! Many, many, many people are damaged by conditions in their early childhoods! – she could have done so much. She could have visited various daycares, children’s hospitals, preschools, mothers groups, and probably a sht ton of other things with vulnerable populations. It just makes me see red that she had this amazing platform and she did NOTHING.

    • Cecilia says:

      Probably because it makes a complete mockery of the people who actually work hard with those charities. The volunteers, the people who work with them everyday, donors etc etc. While miss keen here visits them once every 8 years and gets all the glowing coverage and the charity takes second place

      • Betsy says:

        That’s probably part of it. I mean, I don’t expect a lot from Royals (also I’m not in a commonwealth nation, so I don’t really have a vested interest) but to squander this type of opportunity? JFC she could have gotten in touch with best and brightest in neurodevelopment and related fields and blasted the messages about child development. Not everyone knows about child development; lots of people still believe you can “spoil” a baby for crying out loud. People who might need resources don’t know them. It just makes me see red.

    • swirlmamad says:

      It bugs the hell out of me too, and it’s because the RR are doing the absolute most to troll us and convince us that she is the complete opposite of what she truly is. I have never seen such an obvious, try-hard embiggening campaign in my life. Anyone with eyes can see that every word they write about her is complete fiction. I don’t think THEY even believe what they write — they know it’s all a load of BS.

      • Betsy says:

        I think that’s part of it, too. I don’t like lying and puffery – especially when it’s so much lying and so much puffery.

    • Nic919 says:

      It is offensive that they pretend Kate is anything but the shallow dim bulb that she has always been. She can barely string a sentence together a decade into the marriage and that’s not including the “training” they claimed to have happened in the decade before that.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Nic my first thought about this preposterous article was why now? It’s like a random little mini-biography of Kate, just dropping on a Thursday…wtf? But then I remembered their 10th anniversary is coming up, so they’d probably planned to do lots of these retrospective type “looks back” at her ten years as a Royal. But there has GOT to be a better way than this bs. Talk about what a great mother she is to George, Charlotte & Louis, and how so many of her photographs have been showcased or whatever. Because these puff pieces full of blatant lies are just embarrassing.

      • Beach Dreams says:

        @Lorelei: I feel like if all of these pieces were connected to the big anniversary, there wouldn’t be so much focus on Kate alone. William’s barely been an afterthought in most of these stories, which is quite weird considering HE’S the blood royal and future-future king. Also, the press spent the last 2-3 years rewriting the Cambridge relationship and marriage to be one great love story. It’s quite odd that they haven’t been doing that in light of the 10 year milestone. Even before Philip died, there was hardly any fanfare for their wedding anniversary. You’d think they would’ve jumped on promoting it to redirect attention from the fallout of the Oprah interview. A lot of strange vibes concerning House Cambridge all around as of late…

      • Lorelei says:

        @Beach Dreams that’s a good point…they really haven’t mentioned William much at all. Even if it’s true that their marriage is a mess, you’d think they’d still be writing about Bill and his happy, normal family. The truth never stopped them before.

        I don’t know. This tsunami of stories about Kate, especially so close to Philip’s funeral, is baffling to me. I don’t understand their agenda at all. They’re making Kate look infantile and ridiculous while probably angering the rest of the family.

      • Amy Too says:

        I’m thinking that the lack of “Happy 10th Anniversary!!” articles combined with the absolutely plethora of “Kate is a Literal Goddess in All Things!” articles means that William is very, very close to shutting this marriage down (maybe there really WAS a ten year contract?) and Kate is trying to resell herself to him and to the public so that he won’t leave her. For a couple that is so shallow and relies so heavily on puff pieces about themselves, you would think they would have gladly leaned HARD into cover stories and 10 page glossy spreads about their wedding, their marriage, their anniversary, their relationship in general since it’s such easy PR and it’s easy content for the tabloids to generate. The only reason I can think that the tabloids aren’t doing it is because KP (William) specifically told them to lay off of the wedding anniversary coverage.

        We’re seriously getting articles about Kate’s “10 year anniversary of joining the firm,” focusing on the work she’s done or the ways in which she’s “matured” and become indispensable to the Queen and such, which seem to completely ignore the fact that the whole reason she joined the firm 10 years ago is because of her wedding to William. The wedding and the marriage are strangely glossed over, in favor of articles that specifically state why Kate is so good and special and ready to be Queen, and how she, specifically and individually, is crucial to the continued success of the Firm, and even listing her entire Middleton family by name and talking about how they, specifically, are so important to the royal family because of the influence they have on Kate and the kids. Nothing about how Will and Kate’s marriage and loving relationship is special and good and important and crucial for the future of the monarchy. If we get anything in that vein it’s more like “this is what Kate can do for William” and it’s usually about calming him down or helping his family man image. It’s not about how their mutual love and equal partnership has shaped them both and prepares them to take on the future together, in their committed and loving relationship.

    • Dee says:

      It would take real work, something she’s not capable of. It takes all day to get her hair and makeup done, to show up for a half hour visit and photos.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        It is not that I think Kate is shallow, it is that I do not believe she is capable of anything other than hair, makeup, clothes, jewelry and her children.

        I cannot honestly say that I think Kate is stupid or a dull tool in the shed but it seems to me that she has no backbone other than that which she is given by Ma Middleton’s propping-up.

      • Kristin says:

        Gotta respectfully disagree BayTampa; I absolutely think Kate is shallow and a bit of an idiot. I base this on the fact that she shows zero interest in anything beyond the frills, like the clothes, jewelry, nice cars, and country houses that her position affords her. Normally I wouldn’t begrudge anyone the comfort creatures that they’ve earned in life, but the key word is “earned”. Her luxurious lifestyle is completely unearned and 100% provided by the British taxpayers, which means she’s supposed to actually get off her lazy ass and DO something every once in awhile. And I don’t believe for a second that it’s her husband holding her back from doing more. She spent nearly a decade after university doing nothing but clubbing and going on beach and ski holidays. She held no job, no real charity work or interest in philanthropy, NOTHING. Her current lazy attitude is nothing new, it’s who she’s always been.

    • (The OG) Jan90067 says:

      Let’s start closer to home: she had a pregnant SIL, who was being mentally abused throughout her *entire* pregnancy, to the point she was suicidal. Where was Keen, Kompassionate Kate? Did she come out and say anything? Support her SIL? Even in private, let alone in public?
      Nope. MIA, in fact, adding fuel to the fire.

      She can STFU and STHD, taking ALL the seats.

      • Dl says:

        This! I lost my brother to suicide. I will never forgive Keen for the abuse of Princess Megan

      • Ann says:

        The woman probably has one empathetic, intuitive bone in her body but it has been deadened through her marriage……her mothers machinations and what she had to squelch since. Well, that, plus her general nature. I used to be OK with her but now I kind of loath her.

  7. Maria says:

    I’m legitimately curious as to why we are getting these puff pieces almost every day.
    Very strange to me.
    Once a week or something I could see from a PR standpoint even though it’s nonsense. But almost daily?

    • MF1 says:

      Yeah, I noticed this too. Even when Meghan was around, the Katie Keen articles weren’t be rolled out this frequently. Most of them seem to be coming from Ma Middleton, not Kensington Palace. I’m starting to believe there really is something bad happening in the Cambridge marriage.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Maria I just said the same thing in another comment. It’s very bizarre, especially considering Philip just died and yesterday was the Queen’s 95th birthday. It seems oddly disrespectful for there to be so much focus on Kate.

      The only thing I can think of is that they planned to do a lot of these pieces “reflecting” on her ten years in the BRF since her tenth wedding anniversary is coming up. But even that isn’t until the 29th, and we’ve been being fed this nonsense for days. Shouldn’t this kind of thing be next week? So I really don’t know. But whoever is behind it is really misjudging how it’s coming across, imo.

  8. GuestWho says:

    Of course she wasn’t cowed by being called lazy. If she had been, she would have stopped being lazy.

    These pieces of fluff really aren’t doing her any favors. What I’m reading is that she knew what was expected – put up with a cheating spouse and don’t espouse any original ideas or speak up on anything not approved.

    I especially love the part about her “giving up work.” LOL for days.

    As far as Charles shutting this nonsense down – never stop your “enemy (how sad is that)” when they are making a mistake.

    • Myra says:

      She didn’t mind being called lazy because she had no competition. Royal watchers only focus on fashion and hair. It’s when Meghan came on the scene that being called lazy suddenly was a problem. Meghan was giving fashion, great hair and having an impact with her work, while pregnant and postpartum. Since she couldn’t compete, it was ‘destroy Meghan at all cost’ on their part. Now Meghan’s gone, they are back to the fashion and hair royal-watching, even at a goddamn funeral.

  9. Me says:

    The average RR is just as envious and spiteful as anyone else in that toxic stew. The problem, for the Middletons, is that when your are a social mountaineer, you will be constantly reminded that you don’t really belong, that you are just nouveau and that nothing about being nouveau riche is good except the money. The Rose bush’s family are climbers too, but they’re a generation further down the track. (Mummy, however, was just as anxious to see her daughters married to titles. Rose made a good deal with Chomondeley, but the older one had to settle for being the third wife of some loopy earl.)

    • BayTampaBay says:

      The Earl of Durham: A loopy Earl whose second wife is now the current wife of Dominic West.

      Rose is family is more like 10 generations further down the track as her grandmother, Elizabeth Lambart, is the eldest daughter of Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan

      • Ann says:

        Wow, I didn’t know West’s wife had been married before. That whole situation is SOOO weird.

  10. Anne K says:

    They’ve built up this woman for so long, put her on a pedestal. I can only imagine when they inevitably turn on her and knock her off that pedestal it’s going to be a long fall.

    • Snuffles says:

      I think it’s starting. They don’t have Meghan as a target anymore. And she’s probably going to be laying low for the rest of the year with the new baby. Picken’s is slim, so it’s time to go after someone else.

  11. Sunday says:

    “her positivity – a characteristic she has had all her life” is giving me 1984 “we have always been at war with Eastasia” vibes…

    • equality says:

      Linking her positivity to a funeral is what I find offensive.

      • Lorelei says:

        Making *anything* that happened at the funeral about her is offensive! How do they not realize this? I can’t imagine the other members of the family appreciate this; she’s co-opted Philip’s death into a narrative all about her. JFC

      • Ann says:

        No kidding, YUCK. I am no fan of Philip but to make a funeral about yourself is tacky to the utmost extreme. Everyone else was dignified and solemn and subdued, as it should be with a family funeral. Kate did Pap photos and tried to make a show of herself as “peacemaker”. It was gross.

  12. Victoria says:

    GIrl, bye!

    They are so disgusting. Literally up until Meghan’s name was released, they were low and high key dragging Kate for EVERYTHING. Now, was it as vitriolic as the shit they said about Meghan? No. There was, however, a perpetual state of shade thrown at her and Williams on a regular basis when their two year plan to get Kate acclimated into her role turned into a hot eight.

    They switched up almost immediately once Meghan became official AND was doing work before she even had a ring. An official royal girlfriend working for the family and doing it well was just too much for them to take and BM just saw millions of dollars being made creating competition and racist click bait titles for the lames that were on their death bed at the thought of even white passing half Black girl finding love with Prince Harry, the same Prince they simultaneously praised and threw under the bus when Wililnot and Kantherine were acting up.

    It’s just so phony and I don’t believe for one second that BRF supporters actually are fooled. They know these people aren’t shit and they are fine with it as long as they use Meghan and Harry for their bloodsports. Like, I Kan’t.

  13. Over it says:

    I wish these people would remember that Camilla not Karen is next in line. I despise Angela unhinged levin. I heard a pot shot at Megs in everything I just read.

    • Elizabeth K. Mahon says:

      Especially the comment about a “confused Harry.” Harry is not confused and never has been. He knew exactly what he was doing by getting his family away from that toxic environment.

  14. Becks1 says:

    Wow to the lazy comment and admitting that she “gave up work” after getting married. Angela is just flat out admitting that Kate didn’t work.

    No one considers Kate the best informed and motivated of the royals, I don’t think even her fans think that (they like her for her clothes and Diana cosplay, not her work.)

    These pieces are starting to seem weird. It’s like they list criticisms of Kate but then say BUT REALLY SHES NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL! She’s not just a pretty face! She’s not workshy! She’s not lazy! She’s not out for revenge!

    Like they’re told to write sugary pieces on Kate but even the RRs feel stupid doing it.

    • anotherlily says:

      Everyone knows she had no work before marriage so had nothing to give up.

    • Seraphina says:

      I used to like Kate and follow, this was discussed yesterday somewhere I believe, but this was years years ago. Her wardrobe slips and lack of work ethic started to tarnish my opinion. Add what she did to Meghan, I now see her for the nasty mean person she really is. Lord only knows what she did to secure that position as his wife.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Becks I wish Angela had elaborated on exactly what work she “gave up”

  15. Over it says:

    Ps. Whoring your children out to the highest bidder does not class ,warmthand stability make

  16. TheOriginalMia says:

    She isn’t shamed by being called lazy because it’s the truth and she has no shame. Levin is smoking crack if she thinks anyone believes Kate is researching her patronages and working so hard behind the scenes. I mean…it took her damn near 10 years to release a 5 question survey. She’s working at a snail’s pace.

    Kate married a lazy man, who wanted a wife who would put up with his cheating, wouldn’t outshine him, and wouldn’t be curious about the world. She’s the best mannequin for the job.

  17. J ferber says:

    Because she embraces her laziness. Typical white privilege. It should be enough for us that she exists. Let the little people do the work and pay for her luxurious lifestyle. The rich are just . . . better.

  18. Asking for a friend says:

    Oh, Waity Katie kept her feeling to herself. How keen! The insinuation being that Meghan should have suffered in silence. As Piers Morgan demonstrated, these people who think Meghan should have sucked it up wouldn’t be able to deal with a fraction of the negative comments she’s put up with.

    On a superficial note – now that some of y’all have pointed out the photoshop in these photos I can’t unsee it!

    • Andrew's Nemesis says:

      And yet… there was a furious riposte in the House of Commons – the lower house of government! Which should be dealing with, I don’t know, important matters of education, health, welfare, terrorism, climate change, transport and social equity – re Hilary Mantel’s piece on BarbieKate, and other furious denials regarding wiglets and Botox. So Keen *can* get off her button-covered behind when anything personal is directed at her, and demands sympathy in so doing.
      She doesn’t understand or belong to the sisterhood, though. Had Meghan been my S-I-L there would have been an absolute shitstorm of PR, newspaper injunctions and public declarations of support.

      • Jais says:

        @Andrew’s nemesis- Thank u- I like how you said if this had been my SIL, you would have given a shitstorm of public support. Kate didn’t do that and instead had an active part in the smear campaign. This, more than her being work-shy or anything else, is why I really don’t like her.

  19. Rare0217 says:

    She should have been cowed about her laziness. She should have been quite cowed. Keenly cowed, perhaps.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Rare0217, lmao, that’s exactly the point that they’re missing. She SHOULD be quite cowed. The fact that she’s not is disturbing, not something to be praised! These people are so backwards.

  20. equality says:

    I think Kate would do better to stick with a being a full time mother story than to appear ridiculous with a story about taking years to decide on patronages.

    • Tessa says:

      Kate is supposed to be working. Two of the children are in school and there is a full time nanny.

  21. Woke says:

    Unpopular opinion: I don’t believe all these puff pieces are coming from the palace, some of it yes but not all.
    And I wonder why ? Why the press is doing this, it’s just too much and over the top.

    • ABritGuest says:

      Maybe they need fetch to happen to get their clicks back. Like how they are trying to make Sophie a thing- they want the royals they have access to to be more popular with the public at home and abroad so they can dine out on them on podcasts, tv shows etc. Plus if there is a threat to the monarchy’s survival these royal ‘experts’ are out of a job.

      Plus the likes of Angela Levin, Camilla Tominey and Phil Dampier are white supremacists who are hyper invested in Kate being the better duchess.

      • Lorelei says:

        I agree that’s what they’re trying to do, but it’s a losing battle. Sophie is NEVER going to happen, and I think they’re realizing the same about Kate. They’re still going to try, though, because that’s all they’re left with.

  22. Kateeee says:

    This one makes me angry because I see it as yet again trying to coopt victimhood. “Kate was just so viciously maligned in the press for years, poor Kate, but she is not an angry black woman so a little positivity and poof, right as rain!”

    But uh… if I were incredibly rich and got to do whatever I wanted for the rest of my life, I think I too could muster the strength to let stories of my laziness roll off, ya know?

    • JT says:

      Kate wasn’t maligned in the press, the press was telling the truth. She was hella lazy. She chased William until he gave up. She literally waited for 10 years for the ring. All she does is get pregnant.

  23. Amy Bee says:

    How many articles do we need about how exceptional Kate is? I think KP and Kate were really rattled by the Oprah interview and the royal rota and commentators are desperate to repair the damage done. Her antics since the interview all point to this. But I don’t know why she’s so worried, she’s being protected by the press and the Palace. She didn’t have to do a thing.

    • Zapp Brannigan says:

      She is worried because she has finally figured out that her being the FFQ is not a dead cert, Willnot can always move on to another and Kate will be out of the royal fold. That is what has her and Carole panicked IMO, I think that someone is in the background that Will could be serious about long term, not just another fling.

      • Andrew's Nemesis says:

        I bet PWT has already moved on to Kate’s successor. Not his longstanding affair with Tuber Rose, but another woman who is probably unattached, and of better breeding, intellect and more passionate and motivated than the Lazy-in-Waiting could ever be. He and Kate live apart as it is. Perhaps he’s waiting for the Queen to die before he debuts Kate’s successor, and all these ‘natural/difgnified/effortless/compassionate’ (ha!) Ma Meddlesome pieces are a desperate attempt to show him the tsunami that will rain down on his gleaming pate when he ditches her. And perhaps the Meddlesomes are trying to get ahead of the equal tsunami of negative PR he’ll inflict on Kate at that juncture. After all, the woman has never covered herself in glory (only wiglets and buttons). She has never ‘worked’, even in her early prince-pursuing days. She offers nothing of value to the nation.

      • (The OG) Jan90067 says:

        AndrewsNemesis, while I have no doubt TOB is having at least one, if not multiple affairs, I do NOT think he’s looking to replace Keen Guevara. She gives him the “stable family man” image, and NO aristo wants/wanted life in that fishbowl (when they already have the ££££ and social standing). They might want to SHAG the FFK for bragging rights, or shits and giggles, but nothing more. And he SURE as hell doesn’t want anyone “motivated”; that’d mean HE would have to get off his lazy arse and do some *real* work, and we all know that ain’t gonna happen!

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Has William not studied history of the Windsor Family? Does William not understand the damage his father’s affair did to Charles and the monarchy. Does William not comprehend what a divorce from Kate would do to him and what little popularity he has personally.

        No matter how much KKKeen is disliked, I believe women, out of common sisterhood, will take Kate’s side if William leaves her for another woman.

      • Greywacke says:

        Hmmm. Divorce is now normalized in that family. Charles, Anne, Andrew all divorced, and they have ended up with the people or life they want. I think Will is arrogant enough to think he can have his legitimate heirs AND a better woman, and he likely isn’t wrong. People aren’t going to lament the replacement of Diana by Camilla like they will for Kate, especially if it is someone with a personality and glamorous like Rose Hanbury.

      • Lorelei says:

        @GreyWacke: I don’t disagree that William would think that. But is there any sane woman who’s witnessed what both Kate and Meghan (and Diana, for that matter) have gone through marrying into that family and would want to sign up for the same treatment?

        As someone else already said, William can definitely find people to cheat with — if only for the fact that people like to brag that they slept with the future king — but finding someone who actually wants to marry him? Especially the type of person that *he* would want to marry? Yikes. I don’t know.

        This is a wild theory but here goes. Does anyone think it’s at all possible that William saw how Harry was so proud of Meghan and her accomplishments and how happy he was to step aside and let her have the spotlight when she deserved it, and how much people loved Harry for it, and now thinks, “Well, if my wife is always going to get more attention than I am anyway, I might as well be with someone as smart/accomplished/perfect for the job as Meghan was?” He is visibly embarrassed of Kate whenever she speaks, and maybe he wants to prove he can get someone as “good” as his brother did? His ego is so enormous that I think it’s a long shot, but he’s also an idiot with terrible instincts, so anything is possible.

      • Nic919 says:

        I don’t think the sisterhood would come to rescue Kate especially since she threw her pregnant sister in law under the bus for good press. The racists would but there is a large portion of women who have been mightily turned off by Kate’s actions against Meghan.

      • Ann says:

        I don’t know for sure what is happening in that marriage or what William is willing to do. Charles is such a S**t that despite having thrown over his wife for his longtime mistress, he might begrudge his son the same. That said….would it really be so bad for Kate if Will divorced her? Her parents are rich and very supportive of her, it would seem. She would still be mother to the heir and the spares. She would want for nothing. She’d become the object of sympathy.

        I don’t get it.

  24. Jais says:

    I don’t know why but Tominey’s article felt a little more backhanded than this one. For some reason, Angela Levin doesn’t strike me as v bright. It felt like she was just making sure to counter any past criticisms of Kate as she rhapsodized about the white duchess. Which of course just reminds about the criticisms but not sure it was intended? But maybe it was idk?
    I do think it’s funny about the positivity and beauty within. Meghan is often praised for her genuine kindness and this feels like another usurping of everything that is Meghan. They are trying to make Kate the Kind happen…which is just a hell no after everything. Get the f—k outta here.

  25. Golly Gee says:

    I definitely think this is a Middleton leak. I don’t think the references to lazy and waity Katie are shade. I think The terms have come up so much recently that they are hoping that by addressing them the references will go away.
    “His rather confused brother“. My thought is that Kate‘s feelings are hurt that her approaches to Harry at the funeral were probably rebuffed. So he must be confused. LOL. They went into great detail about how she approached him but nothing was said about them talking. That detail would’ve been included if it had happened.

  26. Osty says:

    “Recognised as one the of best informed and motivated royals ” 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😄😄😄😄🙃🙂🙂🙂🙂😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😀😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃🙂🙂😃😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

  27. IRMAVEP says:

    With all this speculation doing the rounds of a fourth pregnancy for Kate, I was reminded of when she was hospitalised with morning sickness while first pregnant with George. During her stay in the Edward VII Hospital, London, [the same hospital Philip was in during his last illness], a midwifery nurse put a call through to Kate’s hospital room. The call was allegedly from the Queen and Prince Charles but it was a prank call. The highly respected midwifery nurse, who had twenty two years experience at the hospital, was mortified with embarrassment and felt humiliated. The following day, she took her own life. The Palace PR was swift to deny that the suicide was the result of Kate making a complaint about this nurse, or giving the nurse a dressing down. William allegedly dropped a bouquet of flowers around to the nurse’s house – she was married and the mother of two children. Kate never expressed her sympathy. Nor was she ever blamed – she looked too demure. But in that black mask and veil, her cold appraising eyes look ruthless. So, I wonder…..

    • swirlmamad says:

      This is a good point. I remember this incident, and no, we never did hear a word from Kate about how tragic the whole thing was, did we. Surprise, surprise. WTF is wrong with her that she just leaves it to William to drop flowers (like, SERIOUSLY?) at the nurse’s family’s home? Any sympathies should have come from her OWN MOUTH. I really can’t stand this vapid B.

      • Andrew's Nemesis says:

        I’m surprised that Waity didn’t use this nurse as a way to boost her profile – she has a proven track record of exploiting dead people, after all…

      • (The OG) Jan90067 says:

        I remember that as well. But I also remember the nurse’s husband said that she grappled with mental health issues and had tried suicide before.

        Still… The Keen Kouple did little more than offer a weak, lame statement along with the flowers.

        THIS is all Brits can expect from their FFKouple

    • MF1 says:

      Yeah, I don’t like the implication that Kate is to blame for the midwife’s suicide–that’s a choice the midwife made for herself.

      However: it is epically shitty that Kate’s response to the woman’s death was “It’s not my fault, I swear.” Her defensiveness and propensity to make every situation about her is not a good look.

    • Red Snapper says:

      I remember that differently. At first William was predictably incandescent with rage, then after the suicide, it was no, of course William wasn’t angry, he was always compassionate and understanding and the stories of his fury just disappeared.

      • Lorelei says:

        It’s also just like…get OVER yourselves. What was the absolute worst-case scenario of the nurse putting the phone call through? That someone in Kate’s room might have to speak with a peasant for a few minutes? These people.

      • IRMAVEP says:

        Lorelei This whole ugly mess reached critical mass because the callers, who were pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles, were pranksters who worked for an Australian radio station. So when their phone call was put through to Kate’s room, the conversation was also going out live over the radio! And the nurse in Kate’s room who spoke to the d js – believing them to be the Queen and Charles – discussed Kate’s medical condition with them.

        Apparently the two d j pranksters never imagined their call would be transferred to Kate’s room. So the poor midwifery nurse who had transferred the hoax call became the object of international scrutiny. She took ‘the blame’ in emails before she died.

        Rumours circulated than the nurse Jacintha Saldanha had mental health problems, or had attempted suicide previously, but these rumours was proved to be unfounded [she would hardly have been employed for 22 years at such a prestigious London hospital, in a responsible position, were that the case]. She wrote to her matron that she was afraid that the duchess’s nurse – who spoke to the pranksters about Kate – would be blamed.

        The story circulated in the press for some time as an inquest was held, and interestingly, the word ‘blame’, in relation to both nurses, comes up repeatedly. So while no disciplinary action was taken, apparently, there was certainly some finger-pointing and ‘who was to blame’ in conversations at the hospital and in the press. As I said above, I wonder…..

  28. ShazBot says:

    “During the pandemic she and William have regularly Zoomed with frontline workers, teachers and parents, appreciating their hard work to help them feel more positive about their lives.”

    This is offensive. Is this what they think they’re doing? That these hard working people “feel more positive about their lives” because Will and Kate have deigned to zoom with them? Holy Cow.

    • MF1 says:

      Massively offensive. Frontline workers don’t need a pep talk from these useless idiots. They need higher wages, better benefits, and for the government to take the pandemic seriously.

      The fact that Will and Kate don’t understand that tells you just how privileged and out-of-touch they are.

  29. Aaliyah says:

    Looks like the rota is starting the lazy comments again, yet this is a sugary article…This seems strange, there are too many articles like this now…Something smells fishy

  30. Andrew's Nemesis says:

    Sounds as though Carole Meddleton has struck again, but Levin is interspersing the nonsense with little daggers and darts of her own. Comparisons to Catherine the Great are not flattering; she was ruthless. And these endless hints at ‘revenge’ – as if Wiglets were a f*cking Borgia – show the woman to be incredibly thin-skinned and narcissistic.
    I’ve said before that we’re witnessing the beginning of Knives Out from the tabloids. Without Meghan to endlessly criticise, as she’s off doing her own dignified and classy thing on her own, the only way the Heil et al will be able to get clicks is by turning on PWT and Lazy-in-Waiting. Karma is richly deserved by this fatuous pair.

    • IRMAVEP says:

      Andrew’s Nemesis. Well said! I’ve made a similar comment in relation to the RF allegedly not wanting Harry and Meghan back in the UK. The usual suspect leaking so many of these acid piece is Carole, who is known to have close ties with at least two influential press sources – one being the Telegraph editor, the other the DM editor. Carole is never heard and rarely seen by the public – yet she wields enormous power from the shadows. Her proximity to the RF gives her opinions authority in the eyes of the press. And her ‘invisibility’ gives her plausible deniability. I hope Harry and Meghan are not drawn into believing some of this piffle. And I agree with you. Karma awaits! How amusing if Wills spat the dummy and insisted on marrying Rose H. Like father, like son?

      • Andrew’s Nemesis says:

        @IrmaVEP You can always tell Carole’s grubby little fingerprints are all over these articles because she always praises her family and its ‘stability’.
        H&M are far too intelligent to ever fall for Carole’s little games. She probably seems quite sad and pathetic to them.

    • Lorelei says:

      It seems like the entire family has decided to STFU and let this ridiculous campaign go on — no matter how offensive it is to be using Philip’s funeral like this — and as Kaiser said, let them keep digging this hole. But that won’t last forever. Charles is going to snap at some point and I would not want to be Kate when that happens.

    • FicklePickle says:

      Yeah, I know most people probably just think Catherine the Great was probably some really awesome ruler of Russia and that’s it, but the aristos DEFINITELY remember Catherine the Great as someone who usurped her husbands’ imperial throne AND for quite a while there usurped her son (who was probably not the legitimate son of her husband) and seemed to be seriously intending to exclude said son from the succession…in favor of his own sons whom she had removed from him shortly after birth so she could personally see to their care.

      We’ll never actually know as her son Paul I had her will burned, but the fact that he then immediately put through new succession laws that explicitly put the line of succession as male-preference primogeniture is generally considered fairly, um, suggestive.

  31. Merricat says:

    “Significantly, Catherine comes from a solid middle-class family. Her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, have been strong role models and given her traditional values.”
    Lol. Those traditional values must include adopting a weirdly posh accent.

  32. Sue says:

    1. “his rather confused brother.” Stop. Infantilizing. Harry. He’s a grown ass man who makes his own decisions. He wasn’t confused that the family wouldn’t protect his wife and son.
    2. I have a strong suspicion that her parents and her siblings are her only friends.
    3. “And even then when Kate was mocked, ridiculed and called “Waity Katie”, she kept her feelings to herself, doing her best to look for the good in things.” Does that include falling out of clubs drunk and dressed in cheap Halloween store disco costumes? (which…b t dubs there’s nothing wrong with doing that in your 20s. But this was someone who was doing it for the future king of England’s attention. While Meghan is constantly mocked for having an actual career in acting before her marriage, Kate gets a pass for acting like a drunk mess.)
    4. God, they are so proud of their Zooms.

  33. We Did It Joe says:

    I couldn’t get past “Not only can Prince William count on her, but his rather confused brother and the wider Royal family can also be grateful they have such a positive influence in their midst.” 🙄🤮

  34. anotherlily says:

    ”As William joined them and Catherine quietly stepped down off the pavement to give the brothers space to chat, she then quite naturally stepped back to talk to Sophie, Duchess of Wessex, occasionally taking a glance at the two men.”

    That is not what happened.

    Any one watching the live broadcast would have seen that:

    a) The Wessex family left the church ahead of William, Harry and Kate and were walking in front of them .

    b ) As William left the church he strode off on his own then appeared to gesture to Harry to join him. Kate followed with Harry and she walked at the side of the pavement, not on it. The three were talking and in the live broadcast this section showed both William and Harry speak to Kate in what appeared to be an animated way. William had taken his mask off. Kate stepped back and at that point the camera moved to those further up the hill.

    c) Kate was next seen walking with Sophie and Louise with all three behind William and Harry. What wasn’t seen was when Sophie and Louise turned back to join Kate. If there had been raised voices they were close enough to hear.

    The point where there may have been some heated exchange and Kate stepped back has been edited out of the video footage now available.

    I was watching this live on BBC iplayer and I clicked back to re-watch this section because it looked as if one or both of the brothers had said something to Kate to make her step back. The fact that this was subsequently spun by the DM as ‘Kate the peacemaker’ who ‘delicately stepped back’ to allow them to talk raises my suspicions that it was really a rebuff .

    • Red Snapper says:

      The Lone Ranger Funeral Truther approves of this analysis. But you left out the sacred white Duchess tears. That’s okay. Welcome aboard the Truther train!!

    • Lorelei says:

      @AnotherLily ITA with everything you said. I’m just curious as to how they’ve been able to get it edited out and buried to this extent considering it was a live feed that millions and millions of people were watching? I still have it recorded on my DVR; I’ll have to go back and watch that section again.

      • anotherlily says:

        @Lorelei It’s really bugging me. There are numerous videos on youtube showing them all walking up the hill with slight variations of angle depending on the video. William strides ahead then turns and gestures, either to Harry or Kate or both of them, depending on the angle shown. The three walk together with Kate on the road and Harry on the pavement between her and William. All images show the Wessexes in front e.g.
        https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/celebrities/news/a36152433/harry-william-kate-reunite-after-service/ Sophie has taken Edward’s arm. It’s a short walk to where they reach the corner and by that point the bird’s-eye view shows Kate with Sophie and Louise walking behind William and Harry.

        Kate certainly took a step back after both William and Harry were speaking to her. I saw this and re-watched it to see if I’d missed something. Sophie and Louise must have taken several steps back to join Kate but there is no footage of this.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        @Lorelai, please look. I’m recalling seeing something odd too and I didn’t record it. It’s annoying me a bit if it is my memory or not. I did think at one point she was walking on the pavement. I’m not finding a video of what I remember seeing the first time around either. Questioning my memory and if it’s a case of the ending of You’ve Got Mail being different.

        Had to laugh at one of the station announcers saying it was good to see the brothers smiling and laughing together while they were walking up the hill…uhmmm, unless my memory is wrong again, Harry still had is mask on. I couldn’t say for certain he was smiling or laughing.

      • equality says:

        I have heard that there is a lag in live feed in case of anything needing to be bleeped out that wouldn’t make it past censors.

      • Lorelei says:

        Equality, that makes sense. I wonder who was making the editing decisions!

        @AnotherLily & AGreatReckoning: it’s bugging me now, too! I will replay that part later, but in the meantime, I need to know what the You’ve Got Mail comment is about?? Is there some sort of Mandela Effect about the ending of that movie that I’m totally unaware of? I’m so curious now!

      • Jais says:

        Tried to link to this article below? If it doesn’t work go to laineygossip and put the movie title into the site search. It’s about how collective memory can be wrong. Many people remembered an ending scene that never actually existed. This writer of this article actually spoke to people from the film to find out.
        http://www.laineygossip.com › ive-got-answers-about-mysterious-alternate-endin…

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        Yes! The Mandela Effect. Which I’m certain is a more of disease that the British Tabloids/media and Windsor family in England suffer from. Considering ‘recollections may vary’ and they keep pounding out that the Oprah interview caused the problems instead of racism, throwing H & M under the bus, not correcting false stories, blathering on that Meghan critisized Kate in the interview when she didn’t and so on and so on.
        I don’t know the exact workings of dvring-does it replay what was recorded at the time of recording or does it playback what is currently available from the source. I just know that I saw some things live that aren’t there anymore.
        Wishing I had a Cousin Vinny to explain the sleight of hand.lol This is the link to the You’ve Got Mail thing:
        https://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/youve-got-mail-the-mandela-effect-and-collective-false-memories.php

        I apologize if it’s a duplicate post. Thought my first reply went to the internethers.

  35. Miranda says:

    The idea of Kate coming from a “middle class” family…REALLY? I thought the Middletons were rather wealthy, at least enough to fund their daughter’s desperate bid to land a prince. I was reading a book about Queen Victoria recently, in which it was said that she and Prince Albert raised their children with “middle class values”, or something to that effect. Does “middle class” mean something totally different over there? Is it just some sort of royal euphemism for nouveau riche peasantry?

    • Andrew’s Nemesis says:

      @Miranda ‘Middle class’ in the UK is completely different from the US’s interpretation of the term. You can be working class and wealthy, and you can live in a stately pile with most of the rooms shut up to save on heating bills and live on jam sandwiches. The mark of the middle class is usually a good state school, independent school or minor public school; professions (not working is a wealthy upper middle/ upper class habit) include doctors, lawyers, teachers, lawyers and accountants. You speak ‘well’ and enjoy holidays in France, do your house out in Farrow and Ball, and enjoy Pinot Grigio on the terrace (never ‘patio’). Upper middle includes judges, professors and surgeons, and old families that are not aristocratic; they go to good top or second tier public schools. Lower middle includes aping the upper classes, spying on your neighbours and thrusting your daughters into the arms of rich men. The upper class consists of the aristocracy and landed gentry, and you can be as poor as a churchmouse while speaking beautiful RP and having attended Eton.
      Kate is lower middle class. They’re the try hards of the middle classes and grander than grand when they come into money.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Question from a Yank: How can you be “poor as a church mouse” and attend Eton if your “poor as church mouse” parents cannot afford the tuition fees at Eton. As a Yank, I am assuming that a poor church mouse could not afford tuition fees at Eton. Then again, there may a difference between Yank & British Church Mice! LOL!

        Also, WTH is Farrow and Ball?

      • Doulton says:

        @Andrew’s Nemesis: Thank you for this enlightening post. I think people in the USA see class as collated to how much money you have. The English are much more nuanced and telling.

        I have heard that of the 27 or so non-Royal Dukes in the UK at least one has got no significant money at all. The name is the thing, I guess. Is there a more perfect linguistic example than “Middleton?”

      • BayTampaBay says:

        @Doulton – Are you referring to The Duke of Manchester?

      • Lorelei says:

        @Bay idk about the tuition question, but Farrow and Ball is a fancy brand of paint IIRC. I remember they named which shade Kate used for one of the rooms in Amner or something. It’s probably just overpriced paint, but it’s some sort of status symbol.

        ETA: I just googled it and apparently they make wallpaper as well and Anthropologie has started selling it in the US:

        https://www.anthropologie.com/brands/farrow-ball

        @AndrewsNemesis thank you for this fabulous comment. Just from your description, I can picture EXACTLY the type of person you’re talking about, lol.

      • Becks1 says:

        Farrow and Ball is a paint and wallpaper store, its $$$. It’s in the US, we have a store about 7 miles from my house (a county over from mine, the house prices go up significantly when you cross that line, lol.)

      • Talia says:

        @BayTampaBay, letting a wealthy relative or godparent pay school fees is a long-standing tradition of the upper classes. Also, ‘poor’ might well mean they have difficulty paying the bills for the 200 room house that’s been in the family for hundreds of years that they feel they can’t possibly sell. If your yearly bills run into the hundreds of thousands or millions a year, hiving off £70 or £80,000 for school fees doesn’t make that much difference.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Becks I had no idea that Farrow and Ball had any stores in the US! I thought it was a strictly British thing for some reason. Apparently the one closest to me is in Greenwich, CT. (Unsurprisingly)

        @Talia: as someone who used to work as a fundraiser at an expensive, prestigious private school in NYC, your comment made me remember how many grandparents not only paid the tuition (which is INSANE— it’s gone up since I’ve worked there, and it’s now $50K for Pre-K through grade 12. I kid you not, $50K/year for preschoolers, and there’s a long waiting list…pure insanity) but also made the charitable contributions that got the parents onto the list of the highest donors. They’re the ones who would be invited to special receptions with the Head of School, show up as major donors in the annual report, etc.

        All of these parents who appeared from the outside to be incredibly wealthy…not so much. A lot of grandparents were privately bankrolling everything. And we were told in no uncertain terms that this was something that should never be revealed.

        I was so surprised at first when I saw how many checks were coming from grandparents— I know now how common it is, but I’d just never thought about it or realized it before I took that job. So it’s not surprising that the same would be true with Eton and other expensive British schools.

    • Ann says:

      I’m American and while “Middle Class” definitely means something different here, there are some class similarities between the US and UK, at least in some areas and segments of society. I’ve heard of Farrow and Ball. In my neighborhood in Houston (yes, Texas), the name was unheard of twenty years ago. Today the most upper crust homes use the paint and use it as a selling point when houses go on the market. To be honest, I’ve used it myself. It’s nice paint. I was trying to sell my house, and my agent said it would help. I think it did.

      Where you go to school (yes, it’s more expensive here), matters. You can get just as good an education in a state school as you can at a private university, and go on to make more money, but there is a certain cache and currency that comes with, say, an Ivy League degree. I have one, and because I do I know a lot of it is BS. But that doesn’t change the fact that a lot of people place maybe too much of a premium on it.

      In the most expensive cities, like New York, the private school tuitions are downright insane. In many cases, it comes down to this: The parents are richer than the teachers, but the teachers are better educated than the parents. They all hang around together and think of themselves as similar……but the former have houses in the Hamptons, and the latter don’t, unless they have family money, which is why they can afford to be teachers in the first place.

  36. FC says:

    Show don’t tell, Cathy.

  37. Sofia says:

    “talk to Sophie, Duchess of Wessex”

    I’m sorry but who is the Duchess of Wessex? I only know the Countess of Wessex. I know the truth isn’t Angela’s strongpoint but come on, these things can be googled.

  38. BayTampaBay says:

    “that rather than get revenge for the criticism his wife Meghan Markle had aimed at her during Oprah Winfrey’s bombshell conversation, she was trying to break the ice.”

    “Criticism”, what is this woman talking about? This Angela The Bitch Levin must have watched a different interview than I watched. Meghan took up for Kate. There was no “criticism” from Meghan.

    • CrazyHeCallsMe says:

      Meghan setting the record straight and telling the world that Kate made her cry is the criticism referred to.

    • swirlmamad says:

      They twist every last thing into knots so that it doesn’t even remotely resemble the truth. It would be laughable how inaccurate this entire piece is if it wasn’t so appalling that they do this and attempt to pass it off as truthful journalism.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      So Frosty Keen, who publicly cold shouldered them/Meghan at Commonwealth Day, is supposed to be considered an ice breaker now? If she was trying to break the ice it was due to her own bad behavior.

  39. Cessily says:

    “Catherine comes from a solid middle-class family.“
    It is my understanding that their financial wealth is substantial, they may be commoners but if what I read is correct they are far from Middle class.

    • Sofia says:

      In the UK class system, they’re considered middle class. Here, your class isn’t dependent on your wealth but family background.

      Upper middle class, yes. But still middle class in the UK

      • gah says:

        there’s also an old system used by advertisers in. the UK to rank people via a classification system. under that rubric, the Middletons would be lower middle class. my husband went to a public school (not Eton but still a good one) and attended uni then went to Anderson consulting so he was technically higher class than his father who was the CEO of a consumer products company which is lower.

        in the US class is usually a stratification around finances (tho it’s a bit more complex when you’re talking about WASPS and First Families of Virginia).

        in the UK, your lineage, then profession and its perception, then education are more indicative of class. wealth is decidedly not what determines class there.

        I don’t love the class systems in either country tbh but I do believe there is greater mobility in the US.

      • Robin says:

        My UK opinion they are middle middle class. Her mother in particular would not have been considered anything higher than lower middle class at the point of marriage.

  40. florencia says:

    Ugh, that funeral outfit. Is it really necessary for her to dress 40 years older than she is just to attempt an aura of “queenliness”?!

    • Nyro says:

      Beatrice and Eugenie looked great, chic and age appropriate. They totally overshadowed Keen. They’re both consistently better dressers than her, imo, so that was no surprise. Kate’s ensemble looked more suitable for a 70-something like Camilla. She has an affinity for dressing like it’s the 1940s or dressing like someone born in the 1940s. Dowdy is her name.

  41. February-Pisces says:

    There might be back handed compliments but to a keen stan it won’t read like that. All of Kate’s sugary puff pieces are written in an over the top ridiculous way, but it’s ok cos her stans just eat it all up. Do we really believe she spent 10 years researching her patronage’s? She has less than 20 and doesn’t bother visiting them for 8 years.

    • L4frimaire says:

      Her stans sees all that syrupy infantile coverage as reverence for her basic ways.

    • Lorelei says:

      @FebruaryPisces/L4Frimaire it’s so hard for me to understand how that many people are that stupid, but they really are. Every once in a while I’ll read the comments on a post at What Kate Wore, and I feel like I’m in an alternate universe.
      Just yesterday, in the post covering W&K’s most recent engagement, someone commented something like “William and Kate were so attentive and interested in this event, as usual” — and they meant this sincerely.

      I feel like we must be looking at two different sets of photos, but nope. Idk where they see “interest” from either one of them, except when they’re at a red carpet event or visiting Harry Potter/Downton Abbey/Star Wars related exhibits or whatnot.

  42. aquarius64 says:

    The Middleton/Boleyn’s are campaigning so hard you would think Kate is running for reelection and she’s down in the polls. I think something is going to blow on the Cambridge marriage and close to the 10th anniversary.

    • swirlmamad says:

      Could you imagine if they announced a separation/split right before or after the anniversary? I am sure this won’t happen, but it certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility. I think whoever mentioned that Will may be waiting for Liz to pass to make a move is on to something. Something is VERY rotten in the state of Norfolk.

      • ennie says:

        If she is compliant, nothing will happen, IMO.
        PWT does not strike me as a man who aspires to be happy in a marriage relationship. He seems set in his own life and hobbies, and if she is tolerant, he will stay there.
        Harry instead, seems that he was looking for a meaningful relationship, a true family.

    • A says:

      Let’s not compare the Middletons to the Boleyns, please. Yes, they’re both thirsty, but thirsty families trying to climb the ranks of society is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. Aristocrats do it and don’t get called on it. The problem with the Middletons is not the social climbing–it’s their lying. They pretend like they’re just a happy, tight-knit middle-class family that just got so incredibly lucky, rather than a family that schemed their way into this position. The lying is what’s aggravating.

      • Nic919 says:

        Carole (and Mike) encouraging her daughter to tolerate a man who will cheat on her without remorse would seem to be Boylen like though. Except in this case Kate was both Mary the mistress and then Anne. A decent parent would have steered their daughter away from a notorious cheater who treated their child with the same disdain William has done. But they want the access to the aristo class.

  43. Gobo says:

    The tabloids are thoroughly enjoying reminding the rest of the royals that the tabloids don’t have to play nice. These swipes are the fist under the velvet glove. That fist is threatening to smack the shit out of the Royals if they don’t keep on giving them what they want.

  44. ennie says:

    The photographer who took these pics is married to her stylist, Natasha Archer. Suspect.
    She has already received a royal honour, for her services to the crown, I think it was a present for their wedding.

  45. Lizzie says:

    Ignoring legitimate criticisims is not ‘staying positive’. She is too good to do any work and no one can make her. Just like her husband.

  46. iconoclast59 says:

    I’m surprised we haven’t seen any articles about the sharp uptick in diabetes in the UK, what with all the sugary, syrupy treacle that Team Keen is shoving down everyone’s throats. GAG.

  47. L4frimaire says:

    This is the typical Kate article but Angela Levin is an obsessed mood bump conspiracy theorist obsessed with Harry who writes really nasty stuff about Meghan. I don’t know how anyone takes that unhinged woman seriously. Her ideal royal woman is mute and 3 steps behind. I honestly don’t think this woman actually understands the concept of real work and thinks being decorative is a job. Levin is an insufferable creep.

  48. Rnot says:

    I suspect that there’s more hostility expressed in some of these recent puff pieces than is readily apparent to those on this side of the pond. Yanks and Brits speak the same language but the cultures are different enough that both sides frequently miss things that seem obvious to the other side. The British caste system underlies a lot of their sarcasm so Americans are prone to miss some of the nuances when they throw shade.

  49. Lorelei says:

    Duplicate comment

  50. The1trueQueen says:

    Sorry what? LOL “Now, far from being seen AS work-shy, she is recognised as one of the best-informed and motivated Royals.” So she is NOT AS lazy as before, but still not a hard worker, just well informed and motivated (“keen”). We’re aaaaaalmost there guys LOL

  51. The Recluse says:

    They just turn themselves into pretzels making excuses and trying to justify Keen’s mediocrity, don’t they?
    Ugh.

  52. Sansa says:

    *Oprah voice* were you cowed, or were you A Cow