The Cambridges brought a huge team of flacks & personal staffers on the Flop Tour

Ever since the service of thanksgiving (memorial) for the late Prince Philip, there’s been a lot of hand-wringing about Prince Andrew and his relationship with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Long-time royal-watchers are probably thinking “what’s new?” but casual watchers were apparently stunned to see the disgraced, degenerate Andrew walking down Westminster Abbey with the Queen, especially since she fired him in February. The Daily Beast has a long story which is mostly a rehash of how… no one can do anything about Andrew while the Queen is alive, basically. As long as the old woman lives, she’s going to protect her rapist son. Andrew knows that. Charles knows that. William knows that. What was curious about this Daily Beast piece though was that they’re already thinking about how best to insulate Prince William from the Andrew mess, except that William quite clearly has his own messes.

The focus now is not just on when and how King Charles III and Queen Camilla will ascend to the throne (the queen will decide when she is of a mind to) but how the back-ups, William and Kate, will play as a generational change of face for the institution. That’s why the fallout from their Caribbean tour matters. William tried valiantly to recognize that the crown has no future role in the islands: “We support with pride your decisions about your future,” he said in the Bahamas. “Relationships evolve. Friendships endure.” But whether he really understood that it was the past, not the future, that was the elephant in the room is unclear.

…William might also address the issue of the carbon footprint of his royal tour. The Cambridges brought with them an entourage including two private secretaries, a team of flacks and high-maintenance levels of personal staffing—all riding aboard a luxuriously-appointed Airbus widebody jet from the Royal Air Force’s “VIP Voyager” fleet, normally used by that habitual freeloader the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and his foreign secretary, Liz Truss.

Last year, William was scathing about the so-called “space tourism” rocket rides being sold by Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, saying, “They should be trying to repair the planet, not trying to find the next planet to live on.” That now seems like the same kind of hypocrisy practiced by his father, who similarly avoids flying commercial while preaching about the need to take urgent steps to save the planet. (The queen is more grounded. Speaking of climate summits, she reportedly said of world leaders, “It’s really irritating when they talk, but they don’t do.”)

In any case, what is the purpose of royal tours if they just consolidate the impression that the royals are living at this level of personal comfort and in a bubble of historical denial? The full burden of that question falls more on the Cambridges than anyone because they were supposed to be different, true inhabitants of this century.

Charles and William were the enforcers of Andrew’s excommunication (although sources told the Telegraph William’s role in this was “overplayed”). The assumption was that it would be permanent. There is no sign that he will be allowed to resume any of his old regular public duties. Charles and William must hope that the queen still agrees to that. But, once Charles is crowned, the problem becomes more urgent and personal to him—and to William. Should Andrew then be finally cast out as the Duke of Windsor was, following his abdication, and sent to a life of embittered exile?

“Ultimately, while the Queen remains on the throne, it will be for her to decide what future role Andrew has to play in family life,” the conclusion of the Telegraph’s post-memorial service article read. “But as far as the Firm is concerned, he’s finished.”

[From The Daily Beast]

“The Cambridges brought with them an entourage including two private secretaries, a team of flacks and high-maintenance levels of personal staffing…” LMAO. They really brought their A-team, the whole Kensington Palace clownshow kit-and-caboodle and even then, that white supremacist brain trust couldn’t problem solve or adapt in real time during the tour. And yes, while the royal reporters covering the Flop Tour failed to mention this, Will and Kate used a private jet throughout as they limped along from country to country with a crack team of, like, twenty sycophants and morons. Anyway, with so many people eyeing the future of the monarchy, it seems like everyone has a huge blind spot about how William and Kate will operate as Prince of Wales and Princess of Wales? Because that sh-t is going to be a f–king mess too.

Photos courtesy of Instar, Backgrid.

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90 Responses to “The Cambridges brought a huge team of flacks & personal staffers on the Flop Tour”

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  1. Harla says:

    W&K are not going to do more, be better or care about others more once they are P&P of Wales. What we’re getting now, is what we’ll get for the rest of their days. I don’t understand how people think that once they’re this or that, it’ll all be different and they’ll work their fingers to the bone, they won’t.

    • Gillysirl says:

      Agreed. They are who they are and they certainly aren’t going to change at this point.

    • Chloe says:

      They aren’t but they’ll make sure that their press buddies will make sure they look like every bit the modern royals. I’m enjoying some other (non UK) press carefully calling them out. I think this is the first time i’ve seen a publication point out their carbon footprint.

      • Debbie says:

        Yes, but I sensed they were still handling Bill with kid gloves, like saying that he was “valiantly” trying to recognize that the crown has no future role in the Caribbean. Really, valiantly trying, not “desperately” or “belatedly” trying? Come on, now. And I’d like to know the titles/functions of all the staff they brought, don’t just lump them all together. You know there had to be hairdressers galore, and make-up artist perhaps.

    • equality says:

      Will won’t do anything himself but will take credit for all the environmental changes that PC has made in the Duchy and palaces. He already did in his documentary.

    • Nic919 says:

      Bingo. The main difference will be that the media and other institutions will cover for them even more than they do now.

  2. Chloe says:

    Yet more proof that everything that happened on this tour was very particularly planned by William himself and that he’s very upset by the outfall and backlash of it because he genuinely didn’t expect it

    • PaulaH says:

      It was absolutely planned by William. That Land Rover had to get to Jamaica from the UK so yes it was all planned.

      • Chloe says:

        For the queen this tour was about keeping the CW tight and keeping her (and Charles) head of state.

        For William this tour was to try a dig at Harry and show him how royalty is done and that he is just as “cool” and loved. Colonial vibes is exactly what william was going for because it seemed to most royal to him and he probably thought it would impress people. Instead it reminded the people of the Caribbean of a very painful past that the UK has yet to apologize for.

      • Elliott says:

        Oh you must be joking?! Of course I know you’re not and I don’t know why I’m surprised he shipped an entire car for this mess, but my mind is blown what a dipsh*t.

      • WHAT says:

        The rota is out as far as the Netherlands so I think the coverage for Harry begins on the fifteenth of April. William and Kate tried to be the English version of California and it had them running back to palace with losers plus Elizabeth is being dragged for Andrew. The rota is ticked cause the ☁️ has been lifted over and revealed in my Eminem voice that the real William and Kate stood up. And the press is being the real slim shady about the coverage

      • Cairidh says:

        I read it was already there, since the 50s.

  3. Scorpion says:

    So much shade in that DB article 😂😂😂😂😂

    Even I caught it 😬

    • The Hench says:

      Haha – not even shade – downright criticism. The gold standard advisors just got called “a team of flacks”. I don’t even know what a ‘flack’ is but I’m going with a portmanteau of ‘fail’ and ‘lack’.
      Hahahaha.

      • JayNay says:

        A flack is a colloquial and slightly flippant term for a press person 😉
        so what the article is saying is basically “they brought a whole crowd of PR people and still couldn’t find anyone to do the job.”

      • The Hench says:

        Thank you @JayNay – every day a school day for me 😂. I will add ‘flack’ to my lexicon!

  4. Eurydice says:

    I like ” high maintenance levels of personal staffing ” – all those wardrobe changes and hair-straightening and make up and jewelry, plus teaching the bartender how to make a crack baby…

    And there are two elephants in the room – the past and the present.

    • Kelly says:

      I was going to say, who are the elephants? tweedle dum and tweedle dee? The two biggest crocks of shite imo.

    • First comment says:

      Remember also this: they brought a specialized (and I imagine expensive) photographer for their scuba diving. Everything was well planned from the beginning, everything in this tour was their choice. They wanted those photos out there, oblivious to the optics of the tour… and nobody has called them out. Side note, has anyone made the total cost of Kate’s wardrobe during the vacations?

    • Jais says:

      Am really curious about who pays for housing and food for the staff. Will and Kate or the host country?

      • equality says:

        And did the staff get to stay at the fancy resort or have to check into a budget hotel?

      • notasugarhere says:

        It is never W&K who pay. The taxpayers of both countries pay for travel, lodging, security, including a chunk from the foreign office for her disastrous wardrobe.

      • equality says:

        I am curious if the press have to pay or do they get a free ride on the airplane?

    • Debbie says:

      As long as the Windrush deportations is still ongoing, or unresolved, then the present is very much an issue too.

    • Surly Gale says:

      Three elephants in the room: past, present and future…IMO
      Apologies for past
      Apologies for present (especially this tour and the cos-playing)
      Commitment and PROOF of how they will do better from here on in. Commitment to do SOME work. Commitment to stop stealing and taking credit for others’ work.
      Commitment to reduce not just carbon footprint re transportation (and numbers of people) but re the clothes, etc.

  5. Cessily says:

    The Queen should probably have food testers and stop sleeping with pillows about now.

  6. Merricat says:

    What if Charles just held on to that title? Lol, can he be the PoW AND King?

    • equality says:

      Don’t know if he could still be titled as POW but he can withhold it and not crown Will as POW.

      • EBS says:

        Yes, but PoW is not where the money comes from. That comes from the Duchy of Cornwall, which will automatically be William’s when the Queen dies.

      • Steph says:

        If Charles doesn’t inherit his parents longevity and passes while George is still a kid, will he still automatically bc Duke of Cornwall and get all the money?

      • EBS says:

        George would become Duke of Cornwall when Charles dies, but he wouldn’t get the money as a child. Charles became Duke of Cornwall in 1952 when George VI died, but he became entitled to the income and took over the management in 1969, when he was 21.

      • equality says:

        So was the money banked for PC until he came of age or used for the benefit of charity?

      • EBS says:

        I don’t know – it was probably banked for PC. When the Queen was heir presumptive and there was no Duke of Cornwall, the money “reverted to the Crown” which means it went into the general government coffers. Now we have the Sovereign Grant Act 2011, which specifies that revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall pass to the heir to the throne, regardless of whether that heir is the Duke of Cornwall. When the heir is a minor, 10% of revenues pass to the heir, with the balance passing to the Crown (and the Sovereign Grant is reduced by the same amount). This is to deal with the fact that a woman can’t be Duke of Cornwall (but a woman can be Duke of Lancaster, the Queen is Duke of Lancaster). Yes, I know it makes no sense.

    • Lizzie says:

      There was no POW from 1936 until Charles was created POW July 26, 1958. It skipped Elizabeth’s generation as it is only given to males.

  7. Lady Digby says:

    Today in UK headlines are that our energy bills will rise by 700 pounds and many people are struggling to feed their families as well. I take a dim view of UK tax payers struggling whilst Bwana and Barbie and their entourage live it up in style only to rattle looted jewellery and unmerited medals around the COMMONWEALTH. Anybody know if Bwana snuggled his latest cutie with his band of experts?!

  8. M says:

    The irony of that article calling the Prime Minister a freeloader when he has an actual job (even if he is terrible at it). I’m pretty sure most countries provide a means of travel for the head of their government.

    • equality says:

      It is funny in an article about W&K to call Boris the freeloader. The article implies that Will is slow so maybe they think if they distract by insulting Boris, Will won’t notice he’s been insulted.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        I wondered if this was included because the PM is using the transportation for personal use. Does anyone actually pay attention to his travel and why he’s there and how often that’s happening? I understand Airforce 1 for the President, but I don’t think the taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for the misuse of it which is what Trump did.

    • Becks1 says:

      Right?

      Air Force One is pretty nice and I would like to ride on it lol, but I don’t think the president is a freeloader when he uses it for business trips (Trump going to Mar A Lago every weekend is a different story…..)

    • Nic919 says:

      Canada has a plane for travel for the PM and high level cabinet ministers for out of country travel. And when they need to travel for elections, they switch to their own party plane which is not funded by taxpayers. Other than a few partisan diehards, most people don’t begrudge the PM using the plane, but then again he is usually going to a summit like the G7 or NATO and not a tropical holiday.

      (There was an early scandal with Trudeau getting a holiday paid for by the Aga Khan, but even there he wasn’t using the government jet)

  9. RoyalBlue says:

    They definitely overplayed the Bully’s role in Andrew’s excommunication. I am sure they didn’t invite him to the big boys’ table, because he is such a featherweight and dumb as bricks.

    • equality says:

      They all scrambled to take credit for exiling him and now they all have to scramble to deny involvement. It’s kind of funny.

    • Fawsia says:

      I agree with you. William is not making decisions about Andrew, but he tells his friends in the media he is ultimate decision maker!

  10. equality says:

    “The Queen is more grounded” only because the Queen is literally grounded and stopped doing foreign tours. She has no need to sneer at other leaders not making changes when she literally gets herself exempted from environmental laws.

    • Merricat says:

      Exactly. And the queen is surrounded by family members who talk and don’t do; it’s practically a way of life for them, lip service only.

    • Dollycoa says:

      Exactly. She is the only landowner in Scotland who doesn’t have to comply with environmental legislation. And when she talked about peoplevwho ‘ say but dont do’ was she talking about her son, with his 800 strong staff or her grandson, flying around in the helicopter she bought him?

  11. RoyalBlue says:

    “Relationships evolve. Friendships endure.” Willileaks said that with a straight face. What is this friendship with the UK that he speaks of? Did we become friends right after they ‘freed’ the enslaved? Maybe the friendship started when they reimbursed the slave owners for their loss? Or perhaps it was when they started deporting people with the Windrush scandal.

    I don’t know, but let’s dig deeper into his shallow words shall we.

  12. Amy Bee says:

    It will be interesting to see what staff changes will take place over the next few months. Granted KP has a high turnover rate, so there will be some who had one foot out the door before the tour.

  13. Lizzie says:

    The basic problem is KP thinks work means setting up and performing photo ops. They won’t add depth in the future, they will just arrange the photo ops to appear as if there is more depth. More pie charts probably.

  14. aquarius64 says:

    This is the future head of state of the UK. We Americans had/have messy leaders, but at least the limit is eight years and we can vote them out.

  15. Rapunzel says:

    A team of flacks…and still such bad PR choices and inability to pivot when things go sideways. Who the heck are these fools hiring? The incompetence is mind blowing.

    • nina says:

      People with actual skills and talent are taking their skills to the private sector. Nobody is interested in working for the honor of serving them. Doesn’t look like the younger generation is scrambling to work for them either. They are going to have to adapt and pay people what they are worth or continue with the mediocrity that they have now.

  16. Patty says:

    The sad saga of the RF is Petty Betty and her mother banished Wallis and Edward for loving and leaving. Harry and Megan tossed under several busses to make the RF look good. And yet the RF pay for Andrews crimes against women.

    • Jennifer says:

      But at least he didn’t leave!

      • nina says:

        Didn’t leave or couldn’t leave, because he doesn’t have the money, skills or intelligence to take care of himself. His wife Fergie is just as useless, she had to crawl back to him so she would be taken care of. Epstein is dead and he is of no use to the Russians and other people seeking influence with the RF, if he is no longer part of them. So it’s not a case of didn’t, its a case of can’t leave.

      • equality says:

        Why would he leave? He got a long lease on a very large house for peanuts paid by mommy. In contrast H&M got a short term lease on a supposed “wedding gift” and ended up paying repairs for a house they don’t own and didn’t even get a long lease for without paying even more. Mommy will defend him in the press and publicly support him.

  17. Becks1 says:

    Of course they traveled with a huge entourage. That’s their thing – privilege, luxury, spoiled.

    Charles has a large entourage as well and some of the stories of him….well, he’s spoiled too. But he at least does the work to sort of make up for it. Again (bc we say this a lot), we can discuss whether what he does is “work” (although I would say his work with the Prince’s Trust and as duke of cornwall is decent), but at least he does it, right?

    William and Kate want all the privileges and luxury of being royal without any of the pretense of working for it. And working as a royal excuses a lot of your mistakes/criticisms/issues. Look at my comment above….Charles may be spoiled BUT he at least works. That “but” does a lot of heavy lifting and W&K haven’t figured that out yet.

    • Nic919 says:

      Everyone but W and K have more substance in their engagements. Anne, Sophie, Edward all usually can give a brief speech about the issues they support and not read cue cards like it’s the first time they have seen them.

      The Cambridges are a joke and the media skates around actually saying this.

    • Lurker25 says:

      The Daily Fail published a long giddy article about the crack team of experienced, smart pros they were taking with them at the beginning of the tour. Named and identified the new Jason Knauf, etc.

      I posted the link in two comments yesterday. Both are deleted.
      Are we not supposed to post links?
      Replying to Becks1 bc I think you would be interested in that article (definitely clear which aid was the source for those Kate crying/embiggening/Meghan’s scary stories) and also might know the CB rules as a long time commenter.

      • Becks1 says:

        I did see that article and thought it was interesting bc it was published a few days into the tour. Like, we already knew Kate wasn’t surrounded by this crack team of experts, it felt shady.

        so I def saw your link not sure why it was deleted, sometimes links are deleted if they’re too long or if Kaiser wants to talk about the story the next day or something.

      • Lurker25 says:

        @becks1 thanks for writing back with a possible explanation – really appreciated it.

        I wonder if some of the ppl named in the article will be the heads that roll after the fiasco tour. If they were named at the beginning, makes it easier to hang shame on them after. Kind of surprised it hasn’t happened already tbh.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        Lurker25, I’m still seeing your comment w/link in the inquest post. Comment #27?
        I was wondering about David Watkins and if he was still working for them. KP posted back in Nov. for a Digital Communications Officer. I thought that was Watkins position.

  18. Mel says:

    Oh Kate, my Mom has a dress just like the yellow and white floral . She wore it in the 80’s. The red and white pants outfit is very aging also. Yikes!

  19. Digital Unicorn says:

    Hmm, sounds like they forgot the kitchen sinks.

    And we know they have multiples of those.

  20. Scal says:

    I’m no Will/Kate/Charles fan, but I hate hate HATE the narrative the media tries to sell of ‘oh if you criticize the large corporations and governments that make up 70% of the world’s contribution to climate change and then ever fly anywhere you are hypocrite.’ They do the same thing to Harry and anyone else that tries to speak out about the dangers of climate change.

    It’s trying to stop people that care about the environment from affecting real change by making the average person think that if you don’t unplug and live off the grid or do anything that isn’t ‘perfect’ environmentalism that you can’t tell people to recycle or tell corporations to do better. It’s tacky.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Scal, I understand what you’re saying, but I think with the royals there’s something very different being pointed out. They can’t seem to get 60 miles down the road without taking a helicopter or a private jet. I think we all know that Clueless and Keenless couldn’t live without the helicopter. Also, doesn’t Chuck take private planes for engagements within the country? They make choices that thumbs their noses at conservation. As an American, I’m used to long trips in a motor vehicle. This is a vast country, but I don’t use a jet in lieu of a 3 hour drive.

      • Scal says:

        I can see the argument there for inside GB for short jaunts (theres a train), but this article is also about them taking a royal tour to the Caribbean. How else were they supposed to get around? Same goes for when Harry went from the Uk to Switzerland or Charles going to Ireland.

      • Merricat says:

        They are figureheads. They don’t need helicopters in tiny GB, and they don’t need to travel outside GB unless they’re trying to mooch a free holiday.

    • Kit says:

      These oversea tours is meant to prop up the royal image. These royals don’t cobble trade deals. It isn’t really soft diplomacy either. It’s not like Jamaica (or Pakistan) and the UK are now better BFF because of the tours.

      The biggest winners aren’t the people of Britain or host nations. It’s expensive to fund these tours. The security logistical cost alone is staggering given the continuous budget cut to adequate police staffing and training by the government.

      The biggest winners are the royals. They need raison d’être for their extravagant existence. These tours domestically and internationally provide that. These things generate numerous daily articles about their greatness, generosity, leadership, etc.

  21. Lizzie says:

    So will the Wessex upcoming tour be axed or scaled back severely so as to not show up W&K? I assume no matter the reporting will be minimal to non existent.

  22. Tursitops says:

    No doubt each one was competing for the coveted Upperclass Twit of the Tour award. A dubious honour, indeed.

  23. SnarcasmQueen says:

    These two are about as smart and aware as Nicholas and Alexandra.

    Thank God England isn’t an absolute monarchy.

  24. JFerber says:

    Will feels he was born to it, so why should he work for it? Kate feels she married it, so why should she work for it (beyond her 10 year marathon to bag him)?

  25. Robert Phillips says:

    I have a question about the unspoken contract between the press and the monarchy. Does anyone know about when that went into effect? I wonder if when the Queen passes if the press will still agree to it. I know the Roto will. Because without the monarchy they have no job. But will the regular press still stick with it?

    • kirk says:

      Not bona fide answer to the question, but am guessing that there was gradual shift in late 1800s to early 1900s as the media gained in power while royal family influence lessened. They started handing out baronetcy to newspaper publishers then elevating to viscounts about then or a bit earlier. Wikipedia says baronetcy came into common usage in 1600s as means of raising funds for crown.

  26. nina says:

    Her orange jacket with white pants reminds me of the outfits my gran used to refer to as her leisure suits.

  27. Jumpingthesnark says:

    Of course they had their huge incompetent entourage with them! Someone had to plan the worst tour ever and then leak to the tabs when it went badly!

    • Merricat says:

      No one had to “leak to the tabs.” The Disaster Tour was covered by actual journalists from outside Great Britain. As for who planned this debacle, it’s about as Cambridge as it gets, all arrogance and racism.

  28. Lizzie says:

    Did they bring anyone besides valet’s, dressers, makeup and hair people and their photographers?

  29. Kit says:

    This close ecosystem is what will render the British monarchy obsolete. These royals are deliberately ignoring the hardship of their own people with their daily actions. They give empty speeches and spend more time curating expensive OTT outfits and photo ops than taking the time and care to invest in the people.

    Their many charities number in the thousands which explain why they’re more name association than anything of substance. This idea that charities can solve child hunger, low wages, lack of adequate housing, failing social safety net, poor child care, and shifting tax burden on the most vulnerable while rich royals and oligarchs can party hardy in private resorts and expensive designer outfits isn’t a winning plan. It isn’t political to champion human rights and protect the weak and the vulnerable. If Will can chastise people for space flight tourism, then he can chastise people for profiting off the back of poor, working people in the UK and the Commonwealth. Of course that requires courage, leadership and recognition of one’s own failures.

    These royals are thin skinned and use the tabloids and right wing news to explain and complain about everything multiple times daily. Their ‘never complain or explain’ motto is pure bunk.

    They refused to tone down their pomposity and extravagance. There’s no sense of shared sacrifices here. It’s Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette all over. They don’t serve the people. Their motto is the people serve them.

  30. Isabella says:

    Do they travel with the rota in that jet? I wonder how that works.

    • RoyalBlue says:

      Rebecca English was on the plane with Kate and she said that Kate went around and wished them a happy Mother’s day on the flight home.

      • Nic919 says:

        I’m sure it was just a coincidence then that Becky English made sure to print a story about kate being super mom and sending what app messages about sleep schedules and ballet class.

      • JD says:

        Did Kate wish them a happy Mother’s Day with a tray of Crack Baby cocktails? She really is the worst.

      • RoyalBlue says:

        @Nic You got that right. it’s all about the quid pro quo.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      It’s my understanding that most of the rr’s do fly on the same jet. Don’t recall if the story came out previously, but in The Princes and the Press, Rhiannon Mills shared the tidbit about how on the plane on the way to Pakistan with W&K, Will called the rr’s to the front of the plane to thank them for coming, yada yada and to consider it a ‘group hug’. This was Oct. 2019 around 2 weeks after Harry & Meghan got back from their South Africa tour and they announced the lawsuits against the Murdoch & Rothermere publications.

      I’m guessing Will’s group hug helped hide gaffes/negative truths from the trip and embiggened what W&K actually did. As per usual. I believe this Caribbean FlopTour really showed more of what actually happens when the Cambridges go on tour.