There’s another video making the rounds from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s sole event this week, their Wednesday visit to the Ukrainian center in London. I don’t know how long they were there, but it was long enough to speak to the volunteers, do some light donation sorting, drop off Kate’s “homemade” brownies and granola bars and for William to make a complete ass of himself on the global stage when he said “For our generation, it’s very alien to see this in Europe.” It’s possible he didn’t say anything specifically about how war and refugee crises are “less alien” in Asia and Africa, but the quote is bad enough as-is. But what about what William said here?
It’s been reported that the Queen, Charles and Camilla have all made personal donations to help the people of Ukraine. Prince William and Kate Middleton? “Sorry we can only offer words… the odd smile here and there” pic.twitter.com/NAUKMlqTgT
— Anna (@Anna__with_an_A) March 10, 2022
William: “I’m sorry we can only come and give words…but we are thinking about you the whole time and we really care a lot about what’s going on.”
Ukrainian volunteer: “Sometimes it does more than financial-”
William: “Well, we can give you the odd smile here and there, that’s all, so-”
Okay, while this is being interpreted as William telling the volunteers that all he can do is turn up and smile occasionally, I actually think people are missing some context, and missing the fact that he was actually aiming for “humble”? The context is that he was likely being thanked for coming by and highlighting the work being done by the Ukrainian center, and William was trying to say something like “oh, you guys are doing the real work, all I’ve done is show up and smile.” But of course he’s such an incandescent dolt, he makes it sound like they arrived empty-handed and all they’re going to give anyone is “the odd smile here and there.”
As for William arriving empty-handed… a week ago, the Daily Mirror had a curious story that Prince William (along with Prince Charles) made a “generous” donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). DEC funnels money into 15 “leading aid agencies.” DEC was the one to confirm the donations from the Queen, Prince of Wales and Prince William – as far as I can see, Kensington Palace has not confirmed the donation from just William or the Family Cambridge. I’m also curious about where the donation came from – William’s own bank account (unlikely) or The Royal Foundation? I suspect it came from The Royal Foundation.
“All we can give you is the odd smile and JAZZ HANDS!”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
-
- 9th March 2022, Ukrainian Cultural Centre, London, UK The Duke and Duchess of Cambridgea arriving at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe. Amanda Rose / Avalon.red,Image: 668191956, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Supplied by AVALON – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Amanda Rose / Avalon
-
- London, UK, 09th March 2022. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe.,Image: 668411360, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGEPLOTTER / Avalon
-
- London, UK, 09th March 2022. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe.,Image: 668411550, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGEPLOTTER / Avalon
-
- London, UK, 09th March 2022. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe.,Image: 668411650, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGEPLOTTER / Avalon
-
- London, UK, 09th March 2022. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe.,Image: 668411767, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGEPLOTTER / Avalon
-
- London, UK, 09th March 2022. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe.,Image: 668411839, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGEPLOTTER / Avalon
-
- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe. Meeting with members of the Ukrainian community and volunteers, Their Royal Highnesses will hear about the services offered at the centre, the incredible amount of donations they have received and the challenges they continue to face to get material aid where it’s most needed. As part of this The Duke and Duchess will be invited to help with some of the sorting and packaging of items donated.The Duchess gave homemade cakes to the workers ,The couple where shown around by Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko and his wife Inna Prystaiko.,Image: 668443483, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Ian Vogler / Avalon
-
- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe. Meeting with members of the Ukrainian community and volunteers, Their Royal Highnesses will hear about the services offered at the centre, the incredible amount of donations they have received and the challenges they continue to face to get material aid where it’s most needed. As part of this The Duke and Duchess will be invited to help with some of the sorting and packaging of items donated.The Duchess gave homemade cakes to the workers ,The couple where shown around by Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko and his wife Inna Prystaiko.,Image: 668477814, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Ian Vogler / Avalon
-
- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe. Meeting with members of the Ukrainian community and volunteers, Their Royal Highnesses will hear about the services offered at the centre, the incredible amount of donations they have received and the challenges they continue to face to get material aid where it’s most needed. As part of this The Duke and Duchess will be invited to help with some of the sorting and packaging of items donated.The Duchess gave homemade cakes to the workers ,The couple where shown around by Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko and his wife Inna Prystaiko.,Image: 668482593, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Ian Vogler / Avalon
He’s a dolt.
The blue sweater makes Kate look like Andy Sachs at her first day at Runway magazine (“cerulean”, sorry!) and she looks just as clueless too.
On the outfit – I respectfully disagree. I actually think it’s one of her better looks. Her hair on the other hand is just too much. Cut off some of that length woman and stop with the sausage curls! It really drags her down and looks so dated.
On the dolt – 100% agree.
The outfit is fine even if cosplay, she’s just clueless anyway. 💀 I like the pants even if they’re just copying Meghan.
At least the curls give a bit of bounce. The whole curtains of hair thing drags her face down so much, like you said. Definitely copying Meghan there too!
She looks like a spaniel with all that hair, most of it coupons which is why she holds her head in that weird way while getting out of the car.
The outfit is fine but she didn’t need to get a new $700 cashmere sweater to visit a centre helping to bring refugees who have nothing. But kate is clueless so what else is new. I’m sure she had plenty of older blue sweaters she could have worn instead.
Hair parted in the middle like Meghan. Pants look horrible on her skeletal frame. Her waist is this small, no hips/butt to balance it out thereby making the pant legs look ridiculously large swallowing her up completely.
@nic919- She’s been doing that upward head tilt a lot lately and I figured it was overcompensation to avoid any double chin pics. Hadn’t considered the hair heaviness.
You must be kidding @Mia Girl, et al! The outfit isn’t actually doing Kate any favors. 🤪
Plus, her wiglet looks even worse, and her face is a mess. The way she’s exiting the car with that faux, performative gaze and half-smile at falsely cheesing Will, has Meghan-cosplaying written all over it. 🙄
ITA @Pentellit!
W&K ‘cannot compete, because they don’t compare’ in any way, shape or form!
eh, the sweater is forgivable because she’s cosplaying Ukrainian flag colors. surprised she couldn’t find a way to incorporate the yellow anywhere.
Oh I knew she was cosplaying and I expected the blue. It just reminded me of that scene, lol.
I don’t think she’s got on the right trousers for it the sweater. She needs something more like a high waisted baggy retro eighties style with a belt.
He probably did mean it in a way to make the volunteers seem like the real heroes. But thats the problem when you have no warmth to speak of ,you cant even exude a nice sentiment.
he’s not being humble. he is telling the truth. That’s all he can offer them because he has no substance to be able to actually help them for real. No way he’s going to donate any of his money or any of his actual real time (beyond the 5 minutes of PR) to make a real difference. His grandmother and father have done more than him.
They were there for (most likely) under an hour, and he has a litany of things to apologize for. Honestly the only solution going forward is to muzzle William whenever he leaves the house.
I finally understand why Kate has that weird mumble – if you can’t be understood, you can’t be misquoted (or even directly quoted). Can’t make gaffes if no one can hear it.
@Niqgee, my first response was to laugh at your comment, but it really is true! My god, what a sad state of affairs for the BRF. I wouldn’t trust William or Kate to run a lemonade stand, let alone be “rulers of the realm.”
That picture of her getting out of the car 😬. Her face is changing rapidly.
What about the photo of him looking at her with condescension and disdain? I asked for that photo yesterday and Kaiser answered my call.
If my husband looked at me like that I would leave him so fast his head would spin off his shoulders.
In my web surfing the other day, I happened across a set of pic of W&K in around 2016 at some outdoor kids event, and they appeared to actually like each other and be happy to be around each other.
Comparing old and recent appearances, the difference is stark. Kate now appears more desperate to look happy, and he appears to actively loathe every minute of every appearance.
Don’t forget wiglets and buttons.
Kate will never be parted from her buttons. There will be no giving of buttons.
I would say give the Cambridges proper media training but they would need to humble themselves first…and not be lazy layabouts.
I know we will never find out, but I am dying of curiosity over who Willnot is blaming over a PR disaster that can only be blamed on him. There is no way he’s taking accountability for any of this.
@Christine: SAME
His ‘listening with concern’ face is very concerning. That is such a fakey, “I’m trying to be a compassionate human” look.
Kate needs to stop with the fillers. Her face is falling apart.
“Odd” certainly describes the Cambridge “smile.”
At this point I’m not even interested in what William “probably meant” or what he was “trying to say.” If he really can’t figure out how to word things better than this, then he needs extensive media training. The volunteer saying “sometimes that’s better than financial…” is clearly trying to…..to what, make them feel better about not donating? IDK, but the volunteer knows damn well they need financial help too and they would probably prefer that to a few smiles from W&K.
Even if they brought over non perishable supplies that would be something.
For all the good it does, send over a couple cases of canned soup and keep the smirks and jazz hands at home. It would be of more use and not waste the volunteers’ time.
It sounded like the volunteer was trying to agree with will and make him feel okay about bringing nothing, but then William cuts him off mid sentence to defensively double down on his “just words and smiles” stuff. It’s like he’s not actually listening to the people around him, he’s always in rude, ragey defensive mode.
That struck me, as well, @Amytoo – for a couple that seems to be constantly “listening and learning”, William sure does interrupt a lot, huh?
It appears that William obviously hates these type of visits. William seems to not have the capabilities of speaking to those running the organizations OR William is uncomfortable around people that are common peasants or those from foreign countries. William obviously is in need of better training. Plus, his refusal to be respectful with others, as he seems to interrupt quite often, needs to stop.
Did this man say anything, anything at all, at this appearance that doesn’t require an apology, excuses or walking back?! Rhetorical. Notably, Khate kept her marble-mouth closed, but could not have done worse had she been given leave to mumble. At least it would have been incomprehensible, giving the KP comms team plausible deniability.
Superficial bit — I’ve been studying these pics for two days and still haven’t figured out what’s going on with Khate’s left cheek. It looks dented. Or bruised and not covered well by her pancake makeup. Probably bad filler, but it’s weird. Her hair/wiglets have gone over to Cousin It territory. Like the length grows inches overnight, like kudzu. I know she’s copying Meghan’s glorious hair, but it overwhelms her and looks really unprofessional. *sigh* Something nice … the blue sweater is cute.
They are photoshopping kate much less than before but what you are seeing has been there for a while. It probably explains why she does the hyena grins most of the time except she couldn’t do it at the refugee centre.
I’m sure that’s right. Her thin lips and droopy eyes don’t do “empathy” well at all. Just comes across as RBF. If she’s not doing that rictus open-mouthed grin, the cheek fillers settle into their normal lumps. The Photoshopping is far more sporadic, now, so when they go full out, it’s just obvious. This does not bode well.
Consider the stress Kate was under at the refugee supply center. Clearly a situation where guffawing and wide-mouthed grins were not going to work. She knew the photos were going to expose her inanimate face, which seems to be something she works hard to keep from happening. She was also probably instructed to stay silent, so she didn’t even have speaking photos to hide behind. I can just imagine her jumping out of the SUV back at KP, figuring that the story was going to be all about her droopy face that she couldn’t hide, when lo and behold, William’s insistence that he do all the talking lands him in Twitter hell. She must have been very grateful that he drew all the attention this time, but she might still be mad about the brownies being overshadowed.
Harper, I love everything about this comment. 😁
Haha! He does have an odd smile…so, mission accomplished!
No smiley eyes with these folks…unlike the good Duke and Duchess of Montecito
I like Kates outfit here.
They are both so boring, completely lacking in warmth or sincerity.
I feel like Harry inherited Diana’s finer qualities…compassion, sense of decency.
William is like a loaf of stale white bread, Harry has spark.
Yes you are cheap. Poor people were probably hoping for a donation of some sort
I can only repeat that it is within their power to make a solid contribution to the Ukraine crisis as we in the UK with spare accommodation have been asked to take in refugees. How about BRF reposing BP and castles to take in refugees? Or is their concern only limited to 45 minute charity visits?
What are you thinking??? They would NEVER allow a refuge to befoul a bedroom in their Golden Palaces by living in it! They only allow them in to *serve* them.
Even if you gave over an entire wing, and they’d never need to be seen/cross paths, TRF would never even CONSIDER doing it with all/any of the empty properties they have sitting across the countries. LOL Can you imagine if they did, and someone wanted to claim “Squatter’s Rights” after a while?? 😄 😄 😄
PW needs to mind his posture and wear clothes that fit ! Yikes – a man body in children’s clothing 😂
I agree with other commenters – her face is sliding off
This photo-op KP arranged didn’t go as planned, lol.
But the fact is he could and should do more. What’s with the apologetic smiles? And where are the receipts of the “generous donation?” Hell, trump has been saying he’s made donations his whole business life and it’s all a lie. Just so disappointed William is such a wimp in these matters and never looks to his mother’s legacy to be inspired by her service to so many world causes. But his chief cause is always himself. Sigh.
Said it yesterday. William needs PR training. He’s too much of a smug ass to speak comfortably to people he sees as beneath him.
Instead of bringing her own little tray of homemade brownies, why didn’t she donate baked goods from a local bakery? Everyone knows they don’t need to pinch pennies, so spend some money to give these hard working volunteers gourmet goods and support local UK businesses at the same time! Or have her kitchen staff organize something! We all know they have that! Come on! The problem with trying so hard to be normal and just like the common person is that it comes across like they are cheap and don’t care. They could do so much more with just phone calls and requests. They don’t even have to do the actual work themselves! Arrggh! It’s so frustrating.
Correct – they could have asked a local business to cater lunch for all of the volunteers, not only feeding the helpers, but also supporting a local business. They could have brought donations of clothing, toys, books, etc or demonstrated other ways that people who don’t have the means can still contribute. Even just amplifying the stories of Ukrainians who had to flee, because people with a platform just acknowledging that this invasion is happening could be a good thing.
And if William did feel helpless and didn’t know exactly what to do in the face of the crisis? He was literally face to face with the people best suited to give him ideas about how to make a difference! He could have asked directly! On camera!
A staff member could have checked the center’s website and bring things from the list posted on the site.
Can you imagine if instead of Zelenskyy Ukraine had someone like William as President? William, the statesman, does not have the depth or substance, he would have high tailed it and run.
Willow and Jay, you are far too smart for the Cambridges! Effective ideas that could make a difference is an alien concept that we’re not used to seeing …
It would have been amazing if they had found a bakery or restaurant owned by Ukraine ex-pats. You know there is at least one.
The Sussexes provided them with a blueprint…on MLK Day they catered lunch for workers/volunteers at the King Center which were provided by black-owned businesses.
There’s more ways to help the Ukrainian community than to just make a direct donation that will likely go into some charity bosses pocket anyway. To just say “we can’t offer much” is just a complete kick in the face to all those escaping conflict. Yes you can offer much. You can donate food from local businesses, clothes that the kids may not wear anymore or a few sweaters or dresses from Kate’s bulging wardrobe. The audacity for them to come out and straight up say “we can’t really help, but here’s a smile anyway” is just vile. You can help, we know you can help, we know you have all the resources, you just can’t be bothered because you’re just lazy ghouls!
Kate could borrow from Camilla’s idea of recovery kits for rape victims after their exams. Kate could have small bags filled with toiletries, a lipstick or two, a package cookies and juice boxes, scarf or mittens in their country’s colours for the evacuees etc. They are outrageously lazy.
If we are to believe Palmer the visit was “chaotic”. I think it was hastily arranged and there was no proper plan for the visit and so it just turned out to be a mess. William was not properly briefed and it seems his comms team didn’t give him cues as to what to say. Or maybe he’s just stupid and can’t take direction. I get the impression that William and Kate are still competing with Harry and Meghan. But they just don’t have the charisma, thoughtfulness, compassion and intelligence to pull it off like Harry and Meghan.
I feel at this stage , William should just offer a blanket apology stating that him and mcMutton buttons are monumental racist f-ups . We will always be lazy racist f-ups and we know it but we are way to lazy to put in the work to make ourselves better humans.And quite frankly we just don’t care because we exists in our own asses.
Over It, I hear you, but they don’t have to say, “We don’t care” when every action and inaction proves it time and again. As far as I’m concerned, they are already wearing the signs Camus said people wear in hell, telling exactly who and what they are. His reads, “I was a prince and I did nothing for the people.”
Well said!
I wonder how much their foundation actually gets in donations without H&M to help.
They use access to the palace. Jeff Bezos donated all the money for Earthsht and next thing you know he’s at the palace meeting with Charles. ; )
Maybe “Sir Bezos” shortly?
These two morons are worthless.
This man should not be king.
I’m constantly baffled at how someone in such a public position can be so incompetent and irrelevant at the same time.
Serena, they are irrelevant because they are incompetent. And they are incompetent because they want to be. But irrespective of their incompetence, they have fortunes dumped on them: palaces, money, vacations, golden p.r. (provided by the tabloids) and laughably (to me) approval by the English people (at least the Brexit set). So, unlike in the real world (except in the case of trump, in which public and private failures led to the American presidency and a grift that will last into the afterlife), they suffer no consequences for their failures. Thus, they will always fail publicly. And Will will always wear rumpled clothes for public duties (with the unbearable clash of brown and blue ) and green velvet jackets to celebrity events. There you have it.
Actually the video shows him to say its his “job” to come smile & wave and “cant” do more =implying they should be grateful he graced them with his presence 😤🤬willywonka inadvertently exposed how pointless these visits are which are essentially just for pr
Well that remark makes it worse! So he’s there because it’s his “job?” He doesn’t even have any genuine concern? If he weren’t a prince of the realm he would just go on with his self-indulgent life?
If an actual royal prince, with all the resources and privileges that go with it, can’t do much, what good is he? How are the rest of us supposed to do anything with our very limited resources and lack of royal privilege? SMH, abolish the monarchy.
Her outfit is too casual. She should have worn a jacket with the outfit.
Well, Waity does make very odd faces when she attempts to smile, so he’s not wrong…
I would love to see one of those people who specialize in analyzing microexpressions do a study of Bulliam’s face. Look at his eyebrows in his “Listening With Concern” face. It’s as if soneone coached him: “now, Sir, when you wish to appear concerned, bring your eyebrows together, not in a frowny way, but more like when you cannot manage the maths homework.” But he can’t pull it off. If he is innately unable to understand or experience a range of true emotions…well, that would explain a lot.