The fundamental contradiction within the Windsor clan is that they prefer, represent and embrace conservative tradition above all else, yet they desperately need to modernize to survive. Everything is currently being done to represent, defend and apply Queen Elizabeth’s preferences and conservative, colonizer, traditional mindset. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are not modern because they don’t have to be modern. That’s not what the Queen wants, and no one in the monarchy demands it. Kate is “successful” in the Queen’s eyes because Kate had babies, stayed with her philandering husband, and represents the (white) status quo. So, would you like to hear all of that in a sugary royal-commentary way? Here are highlights from two separate Us Weekly stories about how the Queen trusts Kate.
Kate can be trusted: “Over time, Kate has proved to Elizabeth that she can be trusted and they’ve developed a great relationship,” a source exclusively reveals in the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now. “Elizabeth feels confident that Kate will make a great queen.”
Kate was uneasy in the spotlight for ten years? It took 10 years to conquer the feeling of being “uneasy in the spotlight,” the insider tells Us, but Kate has become a “fearless” public figure and “knows [the protocols] like the back of her hand.”
Kate was nervous around the Queen: “During the early days as a royal, being around Elizabeth made her nervous. She was so desperate to impress.”
Kate is also “slightly nervous” about becoming Queen: “She’s always up for a challenge, believes in herself and feels that she has developed the wisdom, courage and strength to be a success,” the insider explains, adding that both Kate and William have been in contact with Elizabeth about their future roles. “The queen feels confident that they cross all the boxes to rule.”
Majesty’s Joe Little: “The queen very much regards Catherine as … a safe pair of hands. She’s been a member of the royal family for 10 years now. … I think given that all that’s going on in the past few years in the royal family in terms of the fallouts. … The queen has great trust in Kate. Kate has found her own niche within the royal family.”
Kate’s royal order: The monarch, 95, also gave Prince William‘s wife, 39, a strong confidence boost by bestowing her with “the royal family order, something that’s only given to the female members of the royal family who have been around for quite some time and are deemed to be of great support to the queen,” Little explained. “I would say that the queen has great trust in the future Prince and Princess of Wales William and Catherine will be one day and, you know, in the fullness of time … King William and Queen Catherine.”
Kate the keen team player: Over the years, the queen has begun to view the Duchess of Cambridge as “a team player” within the palace. “Kate has found her own niche within the royal family,” Little told Us. “And she focuses on things that mean a great deal to her that she feels that she can give something to the charity … in a great way. Kate was very gradual. She appeared occasionally, but for the first few years, it was really [as] William’s wife rather than a working member of the royal family.”
Kate is old-school: Little believes the queen appreciates that Kate “adheres to tradition” instead of bending the rules. However, the family members still recognize that “the modern royal family has to evolve.”
I realize it’s Us Weekly and all, but some of these quotes and descriptions are bonkers. “Kate has found her own niche within the royal family.” She’s going to be Princess of Wales and Queen Consort, neither of which are “niche.” She’s married to the future future king and she gave birth to the heirs. She’s not a niche!! Now as for Kate being seen as a “safe pair of hands” – I would not doubt that the Queen and her courtiers do regard Kate that way, more of a lazy, chaotic neutral overall. Kate’s not leaving her cheating husband, Kate’s not reinventing any royal wheels, Kate’s not causing wall-to-wall drama within the institution. She’s just lazy and she barely has any friends besides her mother. That’s what a “safe pair of hands” means.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red and Instagram.
“Safe” means “don’t make waves.” But, you know, even if the Queen doesn’t feel that Kate is any good, what can she do about it? W&K still have to wait until both the Queen and Charles die, Kate has to hope that William will still want her by then, and they both have to hope that Britain will still want a monarchy.
as if women and little girls around Britain will look up to Kate and strive to become “safe pair of hands” to someone. what a joke
Do little girls in Britain look up at the RF as role models?
I think that not making waves is exactly what they Royals look for. Safe, traditional, boring. They’re not exciting or flattering qualities, but in the minds of those who are behind the monarchy, they’re the key to success. The monarchy doesn’t burn bright, it’s a dim, slow burn that they hope will last.
I really hope that little girls in Britain don’t look up to the British Royals or any other Royals for that matter. We heard with both Kate and Meghan, how little girls dreamed of marrying a prince and becoming a princess. Perhaps others feel differently, but I don’t think it’s a healthy thing to be teaching girls to aspire to. It’s not overly different from the aspiration to find a wealthy husband. All the same fairytale derived misogamy, privilege and materialism.
@GraceB, I think everything you said is 100% true. I think Kate is the only one who hasn’t gotten the memo. If she wants to be everything that the queen wants her to be, as well as the monarchy in general, then she just needs to be be that boring, willing doormat that they love. Her problem is that she wants it both ways. She wants to also be the spotlight hogger and the “modern” royal. She wants the star quality that Meghan has. But she can’t be that and be the traditionalist royal. The same goes for William. They both would be better off embracing their own dullness rather than trying to compete with the heavy hitters who don’t even live on their continent anymore.
Kate is a doormat. Beyond the day most of us buy our doormats we don’t give it a second thought unless it becomes unbearably dirty. Kate is also tolerated and liked by the general public in the Uk but she is not loved and that’s a problem. They spent years telling us she never put a foot wrong in contrast to another Duchess that sane people began to see that she never actually moves her feet anyway because she is lazy. They can excuse her ‘shyness’ and ‘nervousness’ of nearly two decades away but she’s a tenacious mean girl who will hang on till she gets that tiara and title. What a way to live.
She’s a doormattress.
Kate’s job is to walk behind William and shut-up….that is all
Yup to all of this. But what interests me if why they are pushing this narrative through American media now? Do they think the tact of “she is trustworthy” because she has never dared to have an opinion, a thought, or something she wanted beyond securing the crown is going to appeal to a new audience.
Kate is what she is at this point- a lazy, vapid, dim-witted mean girl, who is pretty enough to dress up, is happy to focus on raising the royal children, and that is about that. Kaiser really nailed it is saying the Queen and the courtiers absolutely value tradition but what they really need is some degree of modernization.
I am just shrugging at this story and wondering whose camp put this out and for the love of God, why???
This is 2021. Things have been different for decades. When I think about the children’s books, for example, that have been written to try to encourage girls and their self awareness, for example, or accepting difference, or compassion for the world, it is mind blowing that this drivel is being written and believed. I actually think it’s some sort of a complex code for some very traditional people to feel better about their extremely backward thinking, and safer about the world.
Doormattress😄But with hidden spikes or pine😄
This is what I’m always saying. The bar is low for Kate and she meets or exceeds it. She’s a docile wife and she’s produced healthy babies. I think we mostly believe the monarchy will be abolished before George is king, but that’s not Kate’s doing. Her role was to ensure the continuation of bloodline and at that she went above and beyond. (And before anyone slams me for praising a woman merely for having kids – or in some way insulting women who are unable to have children – I’m not making a sweeping societal statement here. I’m just saying Kate had one job and she did it.) I enjoy making fun of her as much as the next person in the 21st century, but I guess a tiny part of me feels bad for her in the way I feel bad for the Kardashians. Low self worth is a terrible thing, even when wrapped in mansions and jewels.
I wonder if this is a warning to Wiglets, in case she gets it into her head to bolt (or has already made the preparations to do so). ‘Look! The Queen relies on you! She gave you an Order! Let’s remind you of your future title! Surely you don’t want to give all this up…?’
(Or they’re trying to appeal to the MAGA crowd by fanning up the ultimate Karen, the safe white pair of white hands at the pinnacle of the ultimate white institution. Both things could be true.)
I don’t think Kate wants to bolt. I think she wants to stay by any means necessary. And she is doing the MAGA Karen tradwife cosplay. She’s the Wife of William. The ultimate Serena Joy. And just as unhappy, I guess. Doesn’t she spend a lot of time coloring?
Yes, colouring, working out, going to cooking school, shopping. Anything but working (or raising the kids, that’s the Nanny Army’s job).
Kate isn’t going anywhere and the BRF will continue to reward her for staying.
I’m convinced all of this, whether it comes from the courtiers or the Middletons, is aimed at William, to try to convince him not to drop her like a hot rock once the Queen is dead and Charles is king. I think the Queen and Kate are the people most invested in the Cambridge marriage enduring, and once the Queen goes Kate’s position will not be as secure as it is now.
It seems like the Windsors realize they need to modernize, but at the same time they want all their married ins to be this “safe pair of hands” who stay quietly in the background and don’t rock the boat. So do they want the heirs, the men of the family to be the modernizing ones? That’s going to be hard to make happen: 1) these guys have been raised in the royal family forever and because they get the most perks out of the status quo by being the heirs, they’re the least likely ones to want to modernize the system. If they’re waiting for Will or Charles to be the modernizer they need, it’s just not going to happen. 2) I think the public in general would expect and believe one of the married ins to be the modernizer, and it would be an easier sell that the RF truly is modernizing if one of the outsiders was the one spearheading it. It just makes sense that Kate, the middle class outsider, or Meghan, the American biracial outsider, would be the modernizers. People are more likely to believe that they would be modernizers, that the modernizing they’re doing is real and actually happening, and that the modernizing is going to benefit the public since Kate and Meghan came from the general public and thus would have a better idea of what that world needs. Like if they try to sell Charles as the modernizer, who is going to just freely accept that Charles’ “modern ideas” are truly directly in line with the changes the public actually wants to see from their royals? How would he know?
It’s like if they were trying to write a new diversity policy that would benefit women and POC in the workplace, but instead of asking the black woman on staff to write it, they asked the oldest, whitest, most conservative/traditional, racist guy to write it. Who is going to believe that that guy has the *best* ideas for how to treat women in minorities in the workplace?
How can kHate be sold at this late date (20 years later) as a modernizer for the monarchy? Charles wd be much more believable than kHate as a “modernizer” given the evidence of his work over the years. kHate’s ship, as anything more than a (former) breeder for the monarchy, sailed a long time ago.
Yeah, it wouldn’t work so well now, but they’ve been saying for years they need to modernize, so it might have worked better then. Meghan was another good choice and chance to use her and her entrance into the family for modernizing. The press was independently writing those types of articles anyways. I just think it’s so weird that they supposedly want to modernize and realize they really need to in order to stay relevant and attract younger fans (as evidenced by the constant PR about how cool, young, normal, and modern W and K are and we should be super interested in them and their amazing work, plus stuff about how Charles has all these restructuring plans, plus W K C C are the new Fab Four— no wait, now it’s a spectacular 7 or whatever, plus it’s Sophie’s time to shine—never mind, we mean Louise ), but then they won’t let the people who could most easily modernize or be used as the face of modernization to actually do it. It’s like they’re just crossing their fingers waiting for one of the born-in blood princes to spontaneously espouse modernizing ideals , but they keep raising all these people in the same toxic, old school Victorian set up that hammers traditional conservative ideas about hierarchical duty into their heads from birth.
Just the idea that they want to modernize but it has to be AN HEIR doing it and making the choices because he’s THE HEIR and we only listen to HEIRS. If you want to modernize, maybe loosen the grip just slightly on the whole “ideas can absolutely only come from the people at the highest level of the hierarchy”……because rigid adherence to a hierarchy is not the type of environment where modernizing ideas are going to spontaneously pop up and thrive.
Amy Too, could you please write a book about this ..? I really mean this. You have more intelligence, insight, and understanding than any so called ‘Royal reporter’ I’ve ever had the doubtful privilege of encountering. Love your comments. Totally agree.
Back to Embiggening, I see. safe!hands!trad!Kate fits better than kingmaker or revolutionary, anyway. This sugary take is at least entertaining. I think it’s also true that the whole Rose brouhaha has convinced the BRF that she will not do a Diana and go speaking to the press.
Wasn’t she also Top CEO? They keep spinning and spinning but the biggest problem is the inability to connect with GenZs and Millenials. Right now the UK is going through a tough time and even the queen is under fire. As much as the disco ball dress was praised, some also questioned the cost and the appropriateness at this time. Ma Middleton needs to be careful. The UK will soon go back to reminding her of her roots.
Not shocked at the embiggening. This is coming from Majesty magazine. Ingrid Seward is the editor-in-chief and Kate is this month’s cover feature.
Wait a minute. US Weekly? Someone doesn’t want to concede to the popularity of the Sussexes in the US. They are drumming this up, trying not to lose favor with Americans. Safe hands my @ss, those hands don’t do work.
@Esmerelda, I have a vague hope that someday — and idk what would precipitate it, maybe just getting fed up to the point where she cannot take it anymore — that Kate will shock everyone, grow a spine, and do a Diana-like interview or book. It would be the best plot twist ever.
Oh puleease… A safe pair of hands?
Is this another outing of PR as crafted by Ma Middleton at her kitchen table? (She’s too humble to use a desk 😉
Sure sounds like it.
Hmmm, last time I heard that description it was Sophie.
A safe pair of jazz hands.
If they’ve reached the point at which Kate is their best hope…YIKES. What a sad state of affairs for the BRF.
Kate is very reliable.
She can be relied on to do nothing.
WORD!
Exactly, the queen trusts her to be a doormat and brood mare to ensure the succession. Nothing more. Change nothing, follow protocol, repeat. Much as TQ may be disappointed in her ‘work’ ethic given how little she does of the expected royal engagements (those ribbons won’t cut themselves), better that than someone who disrupts the status quo. As we all saw!
She had one job, and in the Firm’s eyes, she did it — birthed the heir and two spares to boot to ensure the continuation of the monarchy. Liz probably gave up on Kate long ago — it’s pretty clear she’s not setting anything on fire or inspiring anything or anyone. If she keeps pretending to actually like her husband she’ll keep the powers that be happy.
Liz has little choice but to hope Kate holds up. Unless, of course, Bulliam did want to divorce her but was told no….
I think he was told to put up and shut up, that a royal divorce right now would be lethal for the family as it would mean an all-out leaking war between the Windsors and the Middletons. That’s why he gets all sulky like he’s been forced to play nice in the sandbox with the kid everyone dislikes whenever he’s with her.
Word.
“ That’s why he gets all sulky like he’s been forced to play nice in the sandbox with the kid everyone dislikes whenever he’s with her.”
Omg, he really does look like the popular kid who got paired up with the weirdest, smelliest, most pathetic girl in class for a partner project, and now that they’re up in front of class presenting together, he needs to act all derisive and dismissive to prove that he didn’t pick her on purpose, he’s stuck with her, she’s still really weird, and he’s very embarrassed right now.
The American PR push is starting to feel weird, right? I know they’ve always had these kinds of articles in Us and People, the super sugary royal articles, especially if there’s no other gossip, but it feels aggressive right now, like it felt back in the spring, right before William benched Kate from the unveiling.
This is the first reference I’ve seen in a while to William and Kate being Prince and Princess of Wales. That feels very pointed to me for some reason, IDK.
And finally of course the Queen likes that Kate is boring, the same way she likes that Sophie is boring. She appreciates that Kate keeps her mouth shut when William cheats on her. She probably wishes Kate worked more, but eh, win some, lose some.
The Queen herself is boring. And I think, in general, the public wants a boring monarchy. That’s how I interpret being “non-political.” As soon as someone becomes active and gets actual work done, they stand out and become the subject of opinions – like with Meghan. Best to live like cardboard cutouts – doing the expected at the expected time and expected date.
But do we? I get that there is a big part of the population that wish we still lived in (their perception of) the 1950’s but I find it profoundly disturbing that acts which encourage genuine charity and concern for others, respecting everyone’s right to a healthy and fulfilling life (you know, that the Church of England supposedly promote) have been so politicised. It scares me.
@SarahCS – I don’t know, do you? I’m not trying to be confrontational, but I see so much about the monarchy being the glue that unites, and so forth. And I see the RF doing a variety of superficial things and getting praise for it. And I see any visible attempts at actual work being derided. So, I assume that the general public wants things with the RF to stay calm and quiet and free of controversy.
I don’t think it’s about going back to the 1950’s – I think it’s about having things stay the same until the end of time. So, the RF have developed this hunkered down position where they’re all symbols and not people, where they appear in fancy dress at the expected time and then go back onto the shelf until the next time.
@Eurydice
I agree with you. I’ve lived for several years in the UK and i am now based in Belgium ( which also has a monarchy) and the feeling towards the monarchy is roughly similar. They are viewed as characters of a daytime soap opera that people sometimes talk about if something really scandalous happens, and every so often, people will complain that they cost too much, but overall they are not looked upon as role models, nor do people expect them to be relevant or value for money or perform real acts of kindness or charity.
If anything, i’ve noticed what people really resent is being told by royalty what to do, that and complaining.
All monarchies has been outdated and irrelevant for decades now, so i’m not sure they really need to be modernised in order to survive.
@Eurydice I’d rather they weren’t there at all. Having gone from being very much a supporter I now feel that the veil has been lifted and I resent the power and resources they hold. Once the Queen dies it will be very interesting to see how perceptions shift as Charles is going to represent a very different era of British monarchy to what most of us have known for all our lives and our parents lives.
@SarahCS – thanks for your perspective. I’ve sensed that more and more are feeling this way, but I’m over here on the other side of the world.
@Becks, I think the fear of a “rival court” is very real. The BRF does not want to lose one of their biggest/richest markets, so they’re working overtime to push these types of articles.
but they also risk getting their brand caught up with the MAGAts, because they are the only ones openly espousing the message of the mute wife. That’s not a viable long-term option for the global brand of the RF
Lila,
The problem is, their brand really doesn’t appeal to most Americans. Or like Lanne says, they appeal only to the MAGA types. The ones who long for the old days of the 1950s housewife and male dominance.
The Sussex brand appeals to the modern American and their love story is very compelling.
I do find it continually hilarious that they’re so reliant on selling themselves to the press and populace of a country that was literally founded on the ideal of getting rid of the monarchy because it was too elitist, powerful, unfair, corrupt, and expensive. Have you fixed any of those things? No? Then why do you think we’re going to suddenly, not just give you our co-sign, but like actively love you and post fawning things about how you’re the bestest monarchy ever and we super want you to be around forever about you on social media and in our newspapers?
The Queen’s entire life has been about duty – duty she unexpectedly had to shoulder in her 20’s on the death of her father. No doubt she had different hopes and plans for that part of her life, but she did what her position required. From that perspective, there’s no way Kate is anything but a massive disappointment, and TQ’s total snub when they returned from their train tour showed exactly what she thinks. Judging by William’s “do over” when TQ dragged him back to Scotland with her, she’s not thrilled with him either. It’s been said here before, in terms of work, Kate and William are the outliers with their laziness and ineptitude, and, gushing PR aside, that reality stands out like the proverbial sore thumb to anyone with any sense. At her age, TQ may be glad Kate is quiet and willing to put up with William, but I can’t imagine she feels good or optimistic about what the future holds. Sophie is right there as an example of everything Kate should be, but isn’t.
And however she feels about Charles overall, TQ knows he puts in the work; maybe she hopes after she’s gone he can give William a good kick in the rear and set him on a better path. I doubt she gives Kate a second thought at this point, has likely written her off as a total loss. Certainly at the moment, her focus is on Andrew.
To be clear, I did not say the Queen liked Kate. I said the Queen probably does like that she is boring. As Eurydice said above, the Queen herself is boring to the public.
I don’t think the Queen has any personal affection for Kate.
Oh, I realized what you meant there – I was responding to your last sentence, “She probably wishes Kate worked more, but eh, win some, lose some.”
I think Kate’s work performance – how little she does, how bad she is at is, and also, how there’s been little to no visible attempt at improvement over the years – is a very big deal for TQ. That Kate’s quiet, boring, and puts up with William may be preferable to the alternative, but she’s failed to perform a very important part of her job.
“Duty”….seriously what has TQ really done?? She gets a lot of respect because she is basically older than 99.9% of the world’s population. But really what has TQ contributed? Maybe her impact is limited to the UK and The Commonwealth? Outside of that I think Americans view her as a relic of a past life that is still around that lives in a castle/palace with beautiful jewels etc. Presidents love to meet her as a rite of passage and Americans love to take pictures outside of BP because it’s what you do when you go to London otherwise….??. Americans really do NOT care about the RF. Meghan and Harry are different. Meghan because she is American and married into what we have come to learn as fake BS. Harry because he chose love over the fake BS (seriously this guy could’ve spent the rest of his life living off the backs of others and without a care in the world. Taking the easy road). Maybe the RF’s goal is to try and put the genie in the bottle after the curtain has been pulled back that revealed all the fake BS to the world. The problem for them is they can’t. Maybe with the UK they can but outside of the UK the BS has been EXPOSED!
@WindyRiver – oh, gotcha. And yeah, I definitely think the queen wishes Kate worked more and was more professional overall. Kate has advantages that the queen did not – ample time to prepare for her role, formal higher education, raising her children while not monarch – and basically the best thing the Queen can probably say about her is “well, you didn’t cause a fuss when you found out William was cheating with your friend, good for you, here’s an Order.” And I honestly think the last point is what people mean when they say that the Queen likes that Kate is steady or whatever. It just means the Queen appreciated Kate’s relative discretion at that time.
I think we’ve seen ample evidence that the Queen doesn’t particularly like Kate as a person, the way she obviously seems to like Sophie.
Honestly @windyriver, I’m starting to think that the idea of the Queen coming to the throne as being some type of sacrifice for duty is nothing more than half-century-old PR story that stuck. She knew she was going to be Queen so it’s not like she had other career plans that she drastically had to switch. They knew her father had been ill for some time and so did she. I’m sure she was happy with Philip at the time but it was never a fairy-tale marriage and she was never that maternal. She came to the throne at 25, young but not unprecedentedly so. And as far as sacrifice, it was the others around her who had to sacrifice things for her, not her herself. She was allowed to marry the man of her choice. She was allowed to do what she wanted. She let the courtiers/prime ministers/etc manage her because that’s who she is, not because of her youth. She definitely put in more engagements and participation than Kate ever has but she also has a job Kate will never have. I personally think at this point there’s no dislike on her part, no especial fondness but no especial dislike (more aligned with the Don Draper “I don’t think about you at all” attitude I suppose) – and she appreciates that while Kate is lazy, she’s bland and boring and submissive.
Which is why I want these people to go, I guess, lol.
@Maria – I love this comment, so astute. When Elizabeth was 18, didn’t they change the laws so she could be a counselor of state in case George was out of the country? And with Edward abdicating in 1936, she would have expected from age 10 that she would be Queen someday. From an early age she’s been described as dutiful and responsible, so it’s not like she gave up her dreams of being a ballerina or an astronaut or something – her main interests have been dogs and horses and she been able to pursue them easily as Queen.
As for Liz’s feelings about Kate, they would be part of this duty to the “imperial family.” Kate provided the heirs (just as Diana did) and if she disappeared tomorrow that would be ok in the big picture – just as long as she doesn’t cause a fuss and scare the horses.
The way I see it,people look to America for their opinions and views. If Americans buy it, the rest of the world would follow and they see how well received and liked Harry and especially Meghan are. So they want some of that for themselves because they know the world doesn’t give a damm about the keenbridges. So tapping into the American market is crucial to their survival
Yeah, I think their current PR push in general is starting to feel weird. I know last week people were convinced it was just a continuation of their freakout regarding the successful NY trip, but it’s really starting to feel like April and May again. It’s that desperation and insistence that Kate is special, Kate is necessary, Kate is (again) the monarchy’s cornerstone (though that exact phrasing hasn’t been brought back this time…yet.)
It’s like after April/May they were told to go home and make some revisions to their embiggening campaign and resubmit in September/October with gentler, less obvious “Kate is the only one, she must be made queen Right! Now!!” language. So they changed the vibe from “the Future Queen and her husband” language to “William’s wife” language, and re-centered William as a character in the story.
When someone is said to be a good team player, I’ve found that it very often means that that person is lazy and prefers to be part of a team because there are other people around to pick up the slack. They just hang back and wait for the task to be completed, only emerging to take credit for the whole thing.
I take it to mean the person doesn’t complain, no matter what is happening, and just sits there and shuts up. (like “Becks, why do you make such a fuss about the sexist comments the boss always makes, be like Kate, she is such a team player.”) and I agree with your interpretation as well.
I rarely take it as a good thing.
That, or it’s just filler on a resume or job application.
Team Player = Does as she is told.
Not a team captain or not an important player. Just another position of lesser importance that nearly anyone could fill and is replaceable.
I’ve found that “team player” is a fiction to keep people in line and their mouths shut. Men use it a lot on women when they try to raise their heads and show their own work – “She’s only thinking of herself, not a team player.”
When I was in HR the term “team player” meant a follower, someone who took instruction blindly without an opinion, and didn’t stand out from the crowd as a leader or “out of the box” thinker. So Kate gets propped up like a cardboard mannequin to represent the need for a monarchy that “holds the country together” and supports the people. Well that’s about as useful as a rubber crutch and does quite the opposite — most of us have realized how lazy, vapid and useless she is, but she also has no people skills or warmth which is crucial in a position like hers. Neither does her feckless twat of a husband, so between the two of them, it’s a lose-lose situation for the British people.
On Wall Street it meant – “We’re all one big team working toward a common goal and we share all the credit.” Which was a big fat lie to get the women thinking they were equal to the men – because at the end of the day the men took all the credit and the lion’s share of the bonuses. But, if you tried to complain you were tagged with “not a team player.”
I’m late to the discussion, but I’ve found that when used in the workplace, ‘team player’ means you’re going to get the scut work dumped on you & if you complain, you’re ‘not’ a team player.
Yes, I agree she’s a safe pair of hands. She dimmed her image and personality so that she would be accepted by the family and the press. She does exactly what she’s told and has no opinions of her own. Her role was to not be Diana and I think she has succeeded.
I wonder if Kate ever stops and thinks what a terrible, doormat. No opinion robot she is role modeling for her daughter. She should be ashamed of herself. Women have had to fight too long to be more to just turn around a d have her just stand there and be the way she is . Especially with the stage she could command if she cared to do so much more and better.
Kate never stops and thinks. Her end goal was to marry William and be Queen Consort. She doesn’t care to be a role model to her daughter.
Kate DID NOT dim her image or her personality. If she truly wanted to be in the background she would have welcomed Meghan and we wouldn’t have endless pr articles talking about how wonderful she is. Kate wants the limelight and the adulation, she just doesn’t want to do anything other than be a fashion model to get attention. Kate never had much personality and never will because that’s who she is period.
I never said she wanted to be in the background. I said she wanted to be accepted by the family. There’s no doubt that she has made herself complaint and unremarkable to fit in with the Windsors. Ingrid Seward said that all Kate has to do is keep quiet and look pretty and she has done that to great success. This is what the Palace wanted.
Spot on! Kate was allegedly mean to a number of Harry’s girlfriends and the York sisters. Lots of personality and centering there if you ask me.
I don’t think Kate had much of anything to dim. She’s just there and always has been. She only got the job of being Burger King’s side order of fries because she just stuck around. And I don’t think the queen is happy with Kate at all. The queen blanked her at Christmas in favor of Sophie and even Charles kind of ignored her at the Bond premier. Even though the monarchy doesn’t want anyone to make waves, Kate doesn’t even do the minimum that is actually required of them, which is being seen. She doesn’t do the bread and butter events like the other royals do and she disappears for months on end. And Kate absolutely wants to make waves; her little disco dress is proof of that.
@MJM, thank you!! She wants and craves the adulation! Everything she has done in the past 5 yrs is push herself to the forefront of the media. She played the game even pushing her children just to get the press attention she craves. In turn, she’s label the dependable, supportive, trusted by the queen, traditional member of the family. She’s not this doormat that people think she is.
She’s always doing what is best for her and her Middleton family.
She’s very strategic, I’ll say even more than William. She’s secured the bag!
I wish Kate wanted more for herself. I wonder if she realises ,this moment in time is the most Powerful she has ever been. The RF need her more than ever. With Sussexit,Peado Andy and Acces for cash,they cannot afford anymore scandals. If she snapped and threatened to pull a Princess Charlene it would be chaos. Too bad she doesnt know her worth beyond what she has been conditioned with.
Kate has a very overinflated view of her worth imo. She never had to work a day in her life to earn a living, is entitled and out of touch with reality. Kate should get off her butt and do meaningful work that benefits someone other than herself. I can’t imagine the RF stopping her as they have no reason to fear she will ever be like Diana.
They don’t particularly need her. She’s not done much for the UK public apart from looking good and keeping her mouth shut. Diana who was way way more popular and loved was pushed out so who is Kate? It would be so easy to leak so many outrageous things about her and her family and the public will lap it up. I really don’t see many coming to her defence if they use the same playbook on her that they did on Diana and the Sussexes. So it’s really stalemate at best.
@ Elizabeth Regina they may not ‘ need’ her but it would not be a good look if she also rocked the boat. But she doesnt even have to do that,if she is unhappy she could state what she wants and im guessing it would include no rose bush trimming. They would listen to avoid anymore kardashian esque scandals.The Queen has been known to sometimes cater to the married ins to avoid further embarassment.
When the queen goes, Willy will cut Kate loose.
Kate is not indispensable. The firm does not begin and end with her and it would survive without her. Before Meghan, the public’s perception of Kate wasn’t all that positive to begin with. There were plenty of Duchess Dolittle articles written about her. The BM could easily cover Kate like they used to, which would drop her approval ratings quite easily. Look at what they are doing to Harry for goodness sakes. They’re trying to destroy the People’s Prince, the war veteran, the most popular royal behind the queen as we speak. Why do people think that Kate is untouchable? If they want her gone she will be and won’t be nearly as hard as trying to take down Harry. Hell, it wouldn’t even be some huge scandal with the right framing. Her incompetence alone would get the job done, plus I also believe that Kate will take heat for Sussexit.
That’s how I see it, Merricat. He wanted to cut her loose several years ago, but Harry and Meghan happened. That was some of the earliest talk around why William resented Meghan; because it meant he couldn’t sideline Kate right then.
He and Charles will make a deal. William won’t be made POW until after a divorce from Kate is final. She’ll remain D of C, no HRH, while he, the kids, and the new wife move on to Wales as their title and surname.
@Merricat and Nota – that’s what I think too. I think that’s part of the reason William was so “incandescent with rage” over Harry leaving – not just because it meant he lost control of Harry (Although that was a big part of it), but also because it meant he had to delay his separation from Kate.
I think at this point divorce is off the table while the Queen is still alive, but I think it will happen once she passes and I think, if Kate goes along nicely (as in, does her duty and remains boring), it will be very quiet and presented as “college sweethearts who grew apart but still care about each other and their family” etc.
I think that’s also why the Prince and Princess of Wales mention felt so pointed to me in this. I don’t think Kate will ever be Princess of Wales and I think she and her mother know that.
If William remarried, do you think he’d get another big splashy wedding? Or at least a smaller, but still public and splashy wedding? He’d be a divorcee, but presumably the new wife wouldn’t be, and hopefully they’d do the PR right so they wouldn’t be branded scandalous cheaters who were with each other while he was still married to Kate with the affair being the reason for the divorce.
I ask because I think that a year or two of divorce press would keep the press happy and it would give Will a reason to not work, and the press wouldn’t be focusing on his work: William is focusing on the kids right now during this transition. And then after that, a big wedding would also give a bunch of stuff for the press to write about and would also take the attention off of Will’s lack of work, giving him an excuse to not do much while the press focused on the wedding. But also, the next big splashy wedding will be one of the Cambridge kids’ and that’s not going to happen for 20-25+ years. The Windsors could use a PR win and the Prince of Wales, the immediate heir, getting married and a new Princess of Wales coming in would be a big, fun, happy story for them that they could capitalize on in terms of public goodwill or at least in terms of the sort of royal spectacle that people like watching.
@AmyToo – I don’t know. I think it would be more in line with Charles and Camilla’s wedding, but part of the reason that was *relatively* low key for the Windsors was because of their history obviously. If William divorces Kate and two years later announces his engagement to Lucy Lawyer, who is pretty and stylish and pretty much scandal free, then I think it would be bigger than Charles and Camilla’s, but not like his first wedding. Maybe the wedding would be at Windsor like H&M’s and Eugenie and Jack’s or at St. Mary Magdalene’s by Sandringham or something, I don’t know. But I doubt diplomats would be invited or anything like that. So it might end up being more glamorous and less protocol-driven.
The civil ceremony was low-key, but Charles and Camilla had 800 people at their blessing service. Not exactly a small event.
Nope, she realizes she has no power and does as she is told.
don’t care about her or her husband unless they smear or obstruct the people that I DO care about.
Well the queens judgement is shit. So who really cares what she thinks if she does say this. If the queen gave. Shit about racism and children, she would have been better to the black duchess and not pay her pedo randy legal bills .so yeah, off with all their buried heads
Right!? The queen is senile, racist, overindulged, bad person. She pit her kids against one another, chose a favorite, supports a pedophile, her husband and chucky were bffs with other pedophiles and rapists and she has always been dull, dim, and childlike.
Translation: she’ll tolerate any infidelity and poor treatment William throws her way with nary a peep and she’ll never make waves of any kind for anything.
This is the type of royal wife the royal family wants and Kate plays the role well. Is this the type of royal wife that the royal family actually needs? Debatable.
Now if only she would do some actual work, learn how to speak in public and not embarrass the institution with her willful ignorance about literally everything.
She doesn’t need to do any of those things as long as the media writes articles like this. Most people are never going to see Kate in person – they’re going to get the “reviews” from the media.
People keep saying that but that will only work for so long. She already embarrassed herself in front of Jill Biden. And with Meghan out there setting a new standard, people will be expecting Kate to step up more. You can only BS your way through life so far. Especially now that their scapegoats/workhorses have left the building.
It will work as long as the RF and the media have their “unspoken contract.” The public get their opinions from the media – if professors are quoted as saying Kate is an expert in early whatsit, why would the public question that? We scour through video clips, but do most people bother with that? And if something faintly negative about Kate pops up, the RF has it squashed. We saw what happened with Meghan – if the media (being fed by the RF) hadn’t trashed her so much, would the public have had the same opinion of her as they do now? And so far, the BM have trashed H&M as the ones BSing through life and the “true” royals are doing the real, modest, proper work – so, why would that comparison be bad for Kate?
@eurydice
Your assuming most of the public is buying it. I think the old school royalists are but not the younger generation. And with Brexit destroying the British economy, it won’t be long before the public starts turning a jaundiced eye towards those useless, money wasting royals.
We’ve seen that from the start about W&K, Snuffles. The older the crowd, the more they are welcomed. The younger the crowd they deal with, the more the disdain from the crowd appears. They quickly learned to stay away from teenagers, because those teens were openly quoted in papers saying how useless and costly W&K are. And kids constantly give Kate and her babbling the side-eye.
Oh please, in de last year the Queen has publicly ignored Kate in de last outing so has Charles , to her face no less !!! Seriously who likes Kate at this stage , how can she stand to live and stay in that family but here we are, she continues to stay and be humiliated again and again …….
I think the Queen hates Kate. She totally snubbed Kate at the end of the Choo Choo Train Covid Tour. In contrast, The Queen chatted up Sophie like they were old friends.
I agree. The Queen has never been a fan of Kate. She barely tolerates her in public. It took the Queen a long time to do a solo engagement with Kate.
I agree. Kate’s little fashion show cosplaying Cruella DeVille at Phil’s funeral could not have helped their relationship, either.
The queen famously asked ‘what does Kate do?’ I bet she’s still asking the same questions nearly 12 years later.
Oh absolutely, I think its pretty clear she can’t stand Kate as a person. I’m not even sure how much the Queen likes William, there’s not a lot of affection when you see the two of them in public. But it’s also clear that she appreciated that Kate did not raise a big public fuss over William’s cheating (hence giving her the order as a reward.)
I don’t think anybody over at the firm likes Kate, especially right now. William can’t even look at her and Charles just blanked her at the Bond premier. And you’ve all mentioned the queen has never been really fond of Kate. I personally think she’s on thin ice right now despite many here thinking that Kate seems secure because???? The more H&M succeed the more the royals will turn on Kate. I said this up thread but chica is totally going to get the blame for Harry and Meg being pushed out.
Kate has been there over a decade and the Queen has maybe done two events with her alone. That’s not the sign of someone who likes Kate. Meanwhile she does events with Sophie or Anne pretty often and she did a solo event with Meghan far sooner than she ever did with Kate.
I believe a large part of the problem is that Kate expects to be catered to and that doesn’t work when the Queen is there. And Kate is pretty dim which I bet makes the Queen impatient. Kate is tolerated because she gave them an heir and spares and she doesn’t attract the same press attention as Diana did. Otherwise I don’t think the Queen thinks about Kate in any great capacity.
The problem is that I think the Queen genuinely liked Meghan. I think that’s one of the reason the KP flunkies worked so hard to tarnish Meghan’s reputation. It would be embarrassing for Will-di Amin if the Queen liked Harry’s wife more than his own wife. Kate didn’t get a solo train ride with the Queen–Meghan did. I think the BP and KP courtiers got together to create the We Hate Meghan narrative–BP because of racism and KP because of racism and jealousy.
The only thing that kate has done that’s valuable to the RF, besides birthing heir and spares, is turn a blind eye to William cheating.
@Lanne – I think the Queen liked Meghan and I honestly think Charles did as well. Not enough to protect her from the press but more than he likes Kate.
We saw how much the train ride bothered Kate when they made a point of riding the royal train in december 2020.
@Nic – I think that’s a good point. When the Queen is around she is obviously the focus and the star and I bet you Kate does not like that. We’ve seen her try to take over the balcony at various appearances, we’ve seen her walk ahead of Harry at events when William isn’t present, etc. There’s enough evidence IMO to show that Kate wants to be the star, and that means she wants the loudest cheer, the most attention, etc. When she’s with the Queen she does not get that and it probably affects her attitude.
@ Ianne, I agree with you. I think TQ genuinely likes Meghan and was actually very engaging with her when you would see them in each other’s presence. The fact that Meghan traveled with TQ so early on, was a clear signal of the affection by TQ.
The fact that Meghan and Harry were treated so poorly and not protected, I find unforgivable actually from the entire group.
I agree @JT. I’ve noticed that whenever Kate comes back from one of her many breaks, some comments tend to note how “happy” and “content” she seems, which…no shit?? She just came back from doing her latest procedures and chilling out on vacation, of course she looks “happy”. I don’t think her demeanor ever seems much different from all the other times she’s pasting that huge grin onto her face. As for her potentially being on thin ice, the Bond premiere seems to show that at best, nothing has improved since those awkward football match appearances in the summer.
Kate sealed her fate with all the Marilyn moments, appearing topless, etc. No amount of internet scrubbing or learning to dress appropriately in a windy situation will clear her image, especially with TQ who is a stickler for tradition and appropriate dress/behaviour. As far as her marriage is concerned, William may have thought he chose wisely because she’s a doormat without an opinion, but she’s part of HIS image and that image has taken a real beating over the past decade. I’m sure he’s kicking himself for marrying her, and once Charles is Regent Willnot will be expected to pick up his PR game big time, and Kate will be the proverbial albatross around his neck.
@Beach Dreams I personally think the Sussexes New York tour is one of the reasons why she was given the cold shoulder by everyone at Bond. It was a clear sign that H&M mean business and that the firm will not be able to keep up. Tin Foil tiara: I think the problems for H&M, mostly Meg, started with Kate, she got William on board (with the fake crying story as I don’t think he knew that she lied about it until the Oprah interview, hence all of the articles saying that he needed to “protect his wife”), and everything just snowballed from there. The cool reactions towards Kate after NYC was probably the royals (at least Charles because will always looks at her sideways) realizing how much they f*cked it up with the Sussexes. She will totally go down if sh*t hits the fan with her marriage.
Kate was cold to Meghan from the beginning, starting with the shopping incident and finding excuses not to meet her when Harry was arranging meetings. She and her family have been against her from the start.
Here we go again with these desperate PR pieces. It took her ten years to get 10 years to get comfortable being in the spotlight, yet BEFORE marriage she looks quite at ease in the pic I have seen. This entire piece is nothing but PR to push Kate forward. The question is how long will they survive since they want to hold on to the old ways and not move forward with the rest of the world.
It see,s these people always forget about Camilla. And I smell Carole as the Catherine source. No one else calls her that name they so desperately want to happen
She’s incompetent, incurious, and uninteresting (see: roundtable with Dr. Biden, the world beyond shopping, and lack of anything to say). Saying she is a “safe pair of hands” is like saying “She does well as an end table.”
LOL!
On Instagram, someone posted a clip of her attempting to speak during her recent university visit. She horrible. Just a bunch of incoherent words that were thankfully muffled by her too small mask. Ten years on and she can’t ask basic questions. If this is what the Queen has put her trust in…
You can literally enrol in medical school and come out at the other end of your residency in less than ten years. People learn how to save lives in fewer years than it took Kate to learn some protocol and not be awkward at parties. But yeah, safe hands lol
Has she actually learned not to be awkward?
Kate is essentially what they hoped and expected Diana to be. Silent, pretty, controllable. Someone who won’t stand up for herself, or for anyone. Someone who won’t speak or act until she’s told what to say or do. She’s the ultimate Stepford Wife. That was fine for her until she got some competition.
It’s crazy that in 2021, the UK is holding up silence and subservience as the best qualities of womenhood. I have no idea how that can be seen as a viable message for the future of the monarchy, but then again, I’m no aristocrat who got my no-work job at Kensington palace based on where my grandfather went to school.
The Windsors recognize a 1950s housewife Kate is an embarrassment to them. She’s compared to Meghan, Letizia, Maxima, all of them and falling far short. As oxymoron as it appears, there is such a thing as a modern royal woman. And Kate isn’t it.
Toeing the line and putting up with William’s cheating is one thing the family appreciates. Her laziness, ineptitude, and unsuitability for the role has them all gnashing their teeth. Add in her anti-William, pro-Kate PR campaign run by Mummy Carole? No, the Windsors would prefer Kate wasn’t a part of The Firm.
@Nota I agree. Wasn’t Uncle Hookers and Blow on TV a few months ago saying that Kate needs to be on the throne now and that queen should abdicate or something? Who would think that royals would be happy about that? What about the many articles going about Kate being the savior, holding the entire royal operation together? Not only is it a bold faced lie, but the Middleton PR is actively undermining the monarchy. They’ve literally said “Queen Kate and her husband” as if William was the married in. There is no way that the Windsors are happy with Buttons.
What they really want is a Sophie type spouse. Someone who does engagements with skill, but doesn’t get so much media attention that it overtakes the blood royals higher in rank.
Kate’s family going to the media and saying she should be Queen next has got to cause some issues because one of her only selling points was being quiet. If that isn’t happening then what’s the point? It certainly won’t make Charles happy that they keep trying to skip over his wife.
how does the queen look younger and cooler in that first picture than Kate?
barely any time ago we saw the queen totally ignore the doormat duchess, and she’s done it previously. not sure how this piece of fanfiction was written except by camp middleton
“both Kate and William have been in contact with Elizabeth about their future roles. ‘The queen feels confident that they cross all the boxes to rule.'”
What an odd statement; it makes it sound like the cambridges have no personal relationship with the Queen and just sent a formal inquiry her way. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case, but it’s weird to lay it out so plainly, especially in what’s supposed to be a puff piece. (The use of ‘Elizabeth’ throughout the article also seems weird to me.)
Because if they didn’t she would do what exactly? Send the crown down andrew’s line? Pure fluffernutter.
I thought the way all these thoughts were attributed to ‘Elizabeth’ was very odd, too. Not usual? It read quite strangely and whatever formality or distance or respect the role of ‘queen’ inspires was quite missing.
I don’t see how one can be a door mat and a mean girl at the same time. Perhaps she is just playing the long game- to be Queen Consort.
She’ll take whatever is necessary in order to be qc, but she’ll shove every woman she encounters along the way. Her aggression isn’t acceptable as a royal wife, so she takes it out on those she sees as beneath her.
She’s been taking lessons from Katie Couric.
She is. It’s not some big conspiracy or something – Kate’s goal in life is being Queen Catherine and she will do and say anything to make sure she gets there. Everything she’s done from the age of 18 (maybe even before) to now and beyond has been to become Queen. That’s her goal.
Even that Tatler article said this.
She’s kind of Tom Wamsgans from Succession. Doormat to suck up to power, mean girl to keep others down.
She’s a doormat when it comes to William, she will just let him walk all over her. But she’s also a mean girl to any woman she deems threatening. Either way both traits are to ensure that she retains her position and becomes queen.
These articles always talk about Kate as if she’s Liz’s successor rather than Prince Philip/Camilla’s.
That’s why this bit is so Middleton–they really believe Kate will have power, but she won’t. It’s Willy’s throne, and he has no intention of sharing anything.
Yes, and it’s actually funny that Ma Meddling thinks that TOBB will share anything with her given her campaign of pushing Kate. Burger King is done with her and everyone knows it except Kate.
Ma is so desperate for Kate to be queen because she knows kate doesn’t quite have as much star power and respect from just being a duchess as she thought she would.
The aristos think kate and the middletons are a joke, plus Kate doesn’t have the star power and charisma of Diana and Meghan. Ma thought as soon as kate secured the bag she would automatically become the new Diana by default, but she didn’t.
Ma needs to realise that even if kate became queen tomorrow, she still wouldn’t be a star, Meghan would still thrive, the aristos would still think she’s a joke and she isn’t getting any kind of power, other than picking out new cushions for Kate’s apartment at Buckingham palace.
The English rose had been hot-house by Mummy Carole. Now she is being protected and supported by the Monarchy and Tabloids media, ie reporters and royal commentators. No criticism allowed.
She just need to put on a golden, heavily sequined and sparkly dress to be widely hailed as the saviour of the Monarchy.
The same queen who snubbed Bill and Cathy when they got back for the covid train tour and gathered with the ‘magnificent seven’?
I can believe the queen sees Kate has a “safe pair of hands” because she doesn’t rock the boat, doesn’t say or do anything out of line, is willing to do whatever it takes to remain Queen and has dedicated pretty much her entire adult life to the monarchy (first by trying to marrying into it and now she’ll do anything and everything to stay in it). She didn’t wear a “revenge dress” when William’s cheating became public, she didn’t contact anybody to do interviews on Panorama. She kept her head down and mouth shut.
Which the queen likes and appreciates because compared to Diana, Camilla, Fergie, Meghan and Sophie in the beginning, Kate for the most is pretty “scandal free” (other than her uncle) aka she doesn’t rock the boat. So she’s “dependable” in that way.
The Queen has never liked Kate, always questioned William’s relationship with her. I’m sure she has massive files about Kate and the Middletons, just waiting to release them when William gives the signal.
Kate doesn’t even appear useful in the short term. She completely inept in this role. Her husband can’t stand her, Charles and Camilla don’t like her. She abused the Queen’s beloved York granddaughters, which will never be forgiven. She’s a pawn, to be tolerated now and sacrificed happily when the time comes.
I didn’t mean she liked her /personally/, I meant that she probably likes that Kate doesn’t rock the boat, keeps her mouth shut and does whatever is asked for her whenever they want. Also because Diana, Fergie, Camilla, Meghan and Sophie in the beginning all have/had drama in a way Kate does not. Although Meghan’s “drama” was palace and media manufactured.
She’s never liked Kate’s laziness nor her tacky family. Now Kate and that family are openly working against The Firm. None of this endears her.
I personally think that Kate does rock the boat quite a bit, it’s just not as noticeable in comparison to Meghan just breathing. Kate’s “jewel of the crown” PR definitely makes waves and was so noticeable that William had to bench her to get her to calm down. Her funeral stunting made waves, as did her C-3PO showgirl mess last week. Her attempts to cut off Rose made plenty of waves, so much so, that the queen had to give her a medal just to leave the house afterwards. She also was a main participant in trying to destroy H&M. Kate isn’t sitting around being some quiet church mouse, she is actively following through with her own agenda, which isn’t in service to the crown. And is absolutely instigating drama.
I think the only thing the queen likes about Kate is that she isn’t Diana and she doesn’t have her star power or popularity. She knows kate absolutely is NOT a safe pair of hands, she’s calculating and manipulative. Kate’s family have literally been campaigning to ‘skip a generation’ just to get her crown quicker.
February-Pisces, so Carole can be alive for the soft power she might wield.
Yeah I think Carole finally did the math and realized that with the Windsors genes, she might not be alive to see Kate as Queen, and she almost definitely won’t see George as king. (figuring if Charles even lives 25 more years, which still puts him at younger than his father when he passes, that would put Carole around 90.)
@Sofia, exactly! She stayed SILENT, kept her head down and turned a blind eye to garden trimming. There’s more than one flower in the garden and I’m sure he’s smelling most of them.
That’s the most important thing she’s ever done. STAY SILENT AND NOW THEY WILL PROTECT HER.
This isn’t the complimentary article Kate thinks it is….
Safe = boring, lazy, and without intellectual curiosity
Dolittle , dowdy ,old fashioned and dull was the shade from this article. Goon tabloids and royal rota are embigging Mumbles but many on social media are questioning entire RF ,s value NOW.
Apres moi the flood said the Sun King.
Are they relevant now?
Question: Do you really think kate has not had affairs on willy?. Really.
Kate does not have enough power to get away with an affair.
Think you are starting to believe that mean girl is shy, and innocent. She is sneaky enough to cheat on willy. Think about it.
I honestly don’t know. I know affairs are common among the aristocracy but I can see William being more like “no, I have the affairs, you don’t.” Like he can sleep around all he wants but Kate better be at home…not sleeping around.
But if we go with the idea that they have completely separate lives than its very plausible that both have affairs.
But really I just think that William is over Kate at this point, and if she was cheating on him that would be the excuse he needed to divorce her.
I disagree. Too risky. She has no power, and a woman who cheats is always judged more harshly than a man who cheats, anyway. Women who cheat must be punished, while men who cheat need to be listened to and understood.
No because an affair by her would give him the ammo to ditch her safely and swing all PR in his direction. It’s the one thing she cannot do and she knows it.
Does she look like someone who has had a good throw down in the past decade? Nope.
I don’t think she has the guts to, tbh. Especially because if she gets caught, William could easily use that as an excuse to get rid of her. Even with his own affairs, he has the power of the monarchy and the media behind him, while Kate has a handful of reporters on speed dial.
No, that would be hoisting herself on her own petard. It would be the final straw and William would have no problem throwing her to the tabloid wolves. If she chose to fight back with her own stories of his affairs, she can say goodbye to a handsome settlement. I’m sure she’s had to sign NDAs up the wazoo anyway.
No. As others have said, it would provide William with easy ammunition that he could use against her for the rest of her life. Next time his cheating becomes public and he can’t silence the press? Leak that Kate had an affair too. Or just leak whenever he wants.
But maybe she’ll surprise us all and it’ll be leaked she’s seeing someone on the side lol
I actually think she does cheat on him. She may have a long term side man. The reason I think she does it and gets away with it is because Willie doesn’t care. I know she flirts with men in front of him and he barley reacts. He may have even told her she could have a side man just to keep her busy, plus he gets to use it against her when it come out he’s a cheater.
So I’m convinced this is Kate/Carole talking to Will through the papers. “Don’t leave me! I’m a safe pair of hands! (That’s why I’m always using them when I talk! 😁)”
Kate being absent a few months with zero glimpses of her anywhere, coupled with the lack of happy family photos from James’ wedding, to me says that Kate and Will’s disintegrating marriage is bad. I think they worked out separate living arrangements and if Will was at James’ wedding, he traveled and stayed separate from Kate and kids. So Kate feels more confident/comfortable about her position, but knows she’s on shaky ground and Will has a main side piece he coukd leave her for after TQ passes. The Cambs may have even worked out their arrangement and agreed not to divorce at the Queen’s behest– when they discussed the future. So Kate knows she’s got until TQ passes to convince Wills not to leave her. She wants to be PoW and QC, and is using PR to convince Wills about her fitness.
Seriously, he seems like he won’t talk to her in person, so she’s got no other choice.
The queen could conceivably be around for another ten years. Do you really see William keeping Kate around for another decade? Our boy Billy the Basher is just not that patient or subtle.
Honestly, I kind of agree. The fact that he basically refused to acknowledge her at the Bond premiere, an event that had more than just British press attention, is pretty telling. There’s also the fact that things are going to be BAD for the Windsors after Elizabeth passes. Murdoch alone indicated that the press has held back on (most) royal scandals out of respect for the queen. After she’s gone, all bets are off. Will divorcing Kate while Elizabeth’s still around might be better for him in the long run, especially since the press clearly has a mountain of dirt on him. The press would be less inclined to unleash that dirt out of respect for her.
It would certainly be smarter to divorce now while they have the living Queen’s goodwill shielding them. But they’re not smart. And it certainly seems like a) the Queen isn’t supporting a divorce yet and b) there’s no divorce immediately coming.
During that round table, did Kate just mumble inanities when it was her turn? Did we get photos of Dr Jill looking askance at her? I forget what exactly happened.
She made some very Kate-like statements that didn’t really mean anything, and after like 15 minutes it ended and Dr. Jill said something like “wait we’re done? But I have so many more questions!” Dr. Jill apparently did not get the memo that THIS duchess does not work.
So embarrassing that Dr. Jill was essentially cut off mid event.
@Roo, This is the nonsensical thing Kate had to say at the round table with Dr. Jill:
“I’m really interested in how we can best prepare the next generation to become parents themselves. So, actually the focus isn’t on parenting itself, but actually how can we give them the tools so they are having their babies and raising their children with these greater tools.”
Omg what an idiot. One meaningful statement she could have recited but nooo.
I find this telling in how it was worded:
“The monarch, 95, also gave Prince William‘s wife, 39, a strong confidence boost by bestowing her with the royal family order…”
“Kate” didn’t get a royal family order, “Prince William’s wife” did. So it’s not about Kate as a person and how well she does the job of being a working royal. Basically any person who happened to do the “right thing” as Prince William’s wife (accepting the cheating, staying quiet about it, not leaving him) would have gotten this order.
Yup. I also think it’s telling that it took Kate 7 years of marriage before QEII gave her the family order. Meanwhile Diana got it soon after the wedding, Sophie got it in 3 or 4 years or so after her wedding even though she wasn’t even a working royal for the first few years, and Camilla got hers fairly quickly too in comparison to Kate. Coupled with the way QEII blatantly cut Kate and was all smiley with the Wessexes at that Christmas family photo session, I think it is rather clear what her general opinion is of Mrs. Cambridge.
Kate only got the family order when Harry started dating Meghan and they knew it was serious. And they tried to say she got it earlier than she did even though that is not the kind of thing that would have been kept quiet for over a year. Somehow we were supposed to believe that there were no photos of Kate with the order the first year she got it but they managed to take photos the “second year” she had it and that there was media silence for all that time, despite the fact that many were starting to question why it was taking the Queen so long to give her a family order.
And the Victorian order was obviously given for Kate not to make a public fit of the rose story, despite having disappeared from public view for almost 2 months in the spring, not a usual time for her to hide from work.
Why is this in an American publication? She works for the UK, not this country. Kate does enough to satisfy the Queen and keep the Rota happy. She shows up, smiles, shakes hands and dresses in something. No one should expect any more than that and no one really does. Meanwhile, the salty ones are going nuts again because Dior gave Meghan a shout out for having their handbag in NY ( which is sold out despite the steep price).
Kate is getting compliments because she is easier to control. If Kate presented her own ideas and tried to change the establishment she would be called hard, not of presentable work ethic, etc.
What the f*ck are these quotes? Calling the queen “Elizabeth” is weird. The American US Magazine employee who wrote this piece of fiction showed their hand with that.
Us Magazine should be renamed the Kate weekly. There was her grinning picture in the gold dress on the cover this week. How is that an accomplishment dressing up to go to a “fun” event like a Movie Premiere?
I call BS on all of it. ALL of it. The queen knows William and Kate are a pair of duds and this is just another “embiggen Kate” article. Wash, rinse, repeat. *yawn* “Still writing bullshit for a living?” — Prince Harry
“Safe hands.” LOL. One could never say that about Andrew’s hands….
This feels like a plea for why Kate “deserves” to be Queen next ( she’s been preparing soooo hard for it, guys! Decades! Even the queen herself thinks so!), and, by extension, maybe it’s an attempt to remind William that Kate’s blandness is an asset to them both, so don’t go getting any ideas, ok?
If this drivel is trying to appeal to the American media market, as mentioned above, it’s a pretty bad misread – America’s whole deal is that they love to stick it to longheld traditions, they like to see hard work rewarded, and they will always back an underdog. Describing a politician as “a safe pair of hands” might work elsewhere (wasn’t that Theresa May’s line?), but I think I would find it insulting! “Safe” is what you say if you are convincing yourself to settle for something or someone.
Or is this line of thought more like a warning for Kate – see how nicely we wrote about you here? Remember that shiny medal and all that talk about how keen you are to help? Keep playing nice, and we’ll keep it up! The rota giveth, but the rota also taketh away.
The references to the “future” prince and princess of Wales is new, though. Almost makes you forget that the position is currently filled…
please make this nonsense stop, please!
I would never trade places with Kate (though I might seriously consider a body swap with Meghan) but I would love a week of just pampering and shopping and blissful ignorance of the problems of the world. What a life.
Are Kate and Wills fighting more and more? That’s all I can imagine whenever these unprompted “Great Kate” articles spew out.
It is made to sound in the PR she will be next monarch. Misleading.
Kate has no real power or influence. She’s still married to heir to the heir. And even if she gets to be Queen Consort would have not much influence. I think she will continue her low work numbers.
Oh here we go again…sigh. It says a lot about the mediocrity of the RF that Kate would be considered such an asset. (Although the momager’s fingerprints are all over this.)
What criminal trial is starting soon?
What civil case has been given the go ahead so far?
This is what the British Royal Family would love to distract Americans from. That they’re trying to smack Meghan and Harry down is just a bonus.
It’s fascinating and equally puzzling the soft media PR campaign to enlarge her and her value. Objectively, she is a lightweight. She is as physically insubstantial as her work and workproduct are non-substantive. All of these things, of course, wholly or in part, are based on personal choices. It’s papier-mâché, paper-mash. They are producing pulp to build up a carapace. There is no there there.
ArtHistorian are you here? Read about the new jewel exhibit for Queen Margrethe II’s 50th Anniversary in January. Hope you will be able to attend.
Every time a Kate- or Will-embiggening story comes out, I imagine Charles saying, “Hello! I am RIGHT HERE!!!”
I think what’s frustrating to me about Kate is that she married into toys family knowing it would mean speeches, projects, ribbon cuttings and looking very interested in shit that’s mostly interesting to the shower, not the observer.
And yet she cannot after all this time manage this position even in the most conservative approach. Cutting ribbons, kissing babies, and generally looking like you give a shit are not difficult tasks. You could easily do 250-300 of them a year and never rise about the strain of a part time office worker or kindergarten room mom.