One of my favorite things about royal-approved messaging from palace staffers is that they always try to make it sound like they’re super-busy doing everything else but working on the giant crisis they themselves are responsible for. The entire world is asking if the Princess of Wales is still on this plane of existence and why someone who had serious abdominal surgery would manipulate a Frankenphoto as proof of life, and Kensington Palace’s staff are gaily briefing, “we’re too busy to deal with that, we have do much other stuff to do!” Like, Kate has not worked a day since Christmas and William looks like he fell ass first into a bottle of tequila, what else are their staffers doing with their time? Be a manager! Do your job! Speaking of, Harper’s Bazaar got this exclusive:
The entire world seems to be awaiting Kensington Palace’s next move following the unexpected controversy over the family portrait released on Sunday, which showed Catherine, Princess of Wales, for the first time since the firm announced she’d been hospitalized for a “planned abdominal surgery” in mid-January. But we are told Kate and her team are holding steadfast through the storm.
A royal source tells Bazaar that the atmosphere at Kensington Palace offices has been “tense, but there is a sense that this will pass. They aren’t too worried.”
A Buckingham Palace insider adds: “Some staff can’t quite believe how badly KP have cocked things up by not paying close enough attention to what was being released to the world. Didn’t anyone there think to check the photo before it went out?” The insider adds that King Charles III is being “kept abreast” of latest developments, but “isn’t too concerned” about the current situation.
As for Kate’s recovery, a source says the Princess of Wales is “doing well, all things considered,” adding that the princess has left the house at least three times in the past two weeks. On one of those occasions, just over a week ago, she was “smiling, upbeat, and enjoying being out.”
A royal insider says, “[This situation] has caused some stress for the princess, but she tends not to pay attention to online chatter or even the press. I think people forget that this was simply a mother wanting her family to look their best in a photograph that was going to be heavily scrutinized. She was protecting her children.”
Regarding the various rumors surrounding Kate’s so-called disappearance, the source added that the palace is ignoring the “ridiculous conspiracy theories. It was always made very clear that following the princess’s surgery, she would recover in private until returning to duties after Easter. Nothing has changed on that front.”
The Buckingham Palace insider says that, while “this is all rather unfortunate, there is also a sense that, despite the hysteria and fevered online response, it will also blow over soon. This is not the first storm to hit these parts!”
Note: this is the first time I’ve seen unnamed Buckingham Palace staff criticize KP’s screwups. Beyond this, it’s been radio silence, which is another story altogether. While there’s a lot of incompetence to go around, at least BP’s staffers can do their jobs without tripping over their d-cks 24-7. That being said, ostriching is not the answer here, and these people have literally no concept of how social media or international media function. They’re like “oh this will blow over, it’s no biggie!” Agence France-Presse’s director compared the Windsors to North Korea and Iran. The biggest international press agencies in the world have said that the palace has zero credibility and they’ll be going over every press release and photo with a fine-toothed comb. The British media was caught with their pants down, having colluded with the palace to bury these issues for months, and they’re mad as hell.
And if Kate is choppering off to Norfolk regularly and getting out of the house, why are they not planning to relaunch/revive/resurrect Wiglet Christ Superstar on Easter Sunday? Why are these sources like “we told you AFTER Easter?”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and William, Duke of Cambridge watching Novak Djokovic (SRB) playing his quarter finals men’s singles match against Jannik Sinner (ITA) on Centre court at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club, London, United Kingdom,,Image: 705268624, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter van den Berg / Avalon
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- Clitheroe, UNITED KINGDOM – The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit NHS staff and patients at Clitheroe Community Hospital and hear about their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic, in Clitheroe, East Lancashire. Pictured: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 20 JANUARY 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Burnley, UNITED KINGDOM – The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Church on the Street, where they met with volunteers and staff in Burnley, Lancashire, UK. Pictured: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 20 JANUARY 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Ballerup, DENMARK – Catherine Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) pictured during a visit to Forest Kindergarten in Ballerup, on the second day of her 2-day visit to Denmark. Pictured: Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 23 FEBRUARY 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Copenhagen, DENMARK – Catherine Duchess of Cambridge visits the team leading the Playful Learning Programme, a partnership between the six university colleges in Denmark and the LEGO Foundation with a vision to enhance children’s creative and experimental approach to learning. Her Royal Highness will be given an overview of the program before joining a group of students taking part in activities as part of their learning. The PlayLab is a creative learning environment for students who are training to be early years professionals. The idea of playful learning is based on the concept that children who play develop the essential skills which will help them navigate through adult life, including problem-solving, negotiating, adapting, and thinking strategically. Pictured: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 22 FEBRUARY 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Belize, BELIZE – The Duke and Duchess will travel to Hopkins, a small village on the coast that is considered the cultural centre of the Garifuna community in Belize. Here, Their Royal Highnesses will spend time with Garifuna people and witness a demonstration of Garifuna culture. They will then meet a small group of marine conservation specialists to learn more about Belize’s unique marine environment. Pictured: Prince William and wife Kate Middleton, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge BACKGRID USA 20 MARCH 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attends The Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2022 in London, England. Pictured: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 10 JULY 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Liverpool, UNITED KINGDOM – William, Prince, and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which opened its doors in October 2022, replacing the old hospital which had served the community for over four decades. Princess of Wales Wears: Coat – Holland and Cooper Dress – Cefinn Bag – Mulberry Shoes – Gianvito Rossi Pictured: William, Prince and Catherine, Princess of Wales BACKGRID USA 12 JANUARY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – The Princess of Wales officially opens the Young V&A in Bethnal Green, London. Pictured: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 28 JUNE 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
So they are just going to bring a squirt gun to this wildfire. Yes they are all good and happy and not problem in the world. Sure sure.
She hasn’t been seen and people think she might be dead and so stressed out because of her recovery and the scrutiny, closest staff havent seen her and now all of a sudden, she’s been seen 3 times by outsider upbeat and laughing? Nobody has any idea of what is happening 💯
Just some appreciation for “Wiglet Christ Superstar” — after all this reporting and all this time, Kaiser never fails to make me spit coffee all over my laptop.
Came here to say this!!!!!
Best name ever – I cracked up, too!
This may be one of my first comments here ever, but I had to pop out of lurk-dom to wholeheartedly agree. WCS has sent me into a fit of giggles.
Also, can we discuss the purely altruistic motive for the Frankenphoto? Protecting her kids? I’m sorry, do what now?
I cannot.
Exactly! My daughter (10) said ‘so what she’s saying her kids are ugly?!’ Imagine dragging kids into this mess as a shield. IMO they want people to think (and many do) that Kate was just fixing a few stray boogers or wrinkled clothes. That’s not going to get your photo internationally killed, sweeties.
If Kate is out and about then why haven’t there been any sightings? The obvious way to dampen all the rumours is to have Kate being papped when out shopping or out for lunch but ……..
Did no one tell them that the Emperor in Andersen’s fairytale was actually naked? Good grief. Yesterday we learned that K has been out of sight and radio silent towards her staff. So exactly who from KP is responsible for this report?
One of Pegs yes men. Or Carol.
If it’s even true, “out and about” could just be “on the grounds of Windsor.”
That quote gives me visions of Kate being rolled around the grounds of the facility with her sunglasses on and a blanket on her lap. Look Kate, ducks on the lake! and Kate smiles and says in an upbeat tone how cute the ducks are.
Ooh, Harper, that is chillingly evocative.
Harper, the fit of giggles this sent me into lol. Idk why but I pictured the wheelchair as wicker and I think that had something to do with it.
If she was papped shopping or going out to lunch then she’d likely be asked why she cannot commit to Trooping of the color in June.
This! If she has recovered sufficiently from her “planned abdominal surgery” to be out and about, then why is she not able to be seen on Easter Sunday and at Trooping the Colour?
At first I thought her condition was mental, like an ED. But while her continued absence is consistent with that, the inability to be decently photographed is not. That fake photo sent all kinds of warning bells off, particularly since they tried very hard to disguise the children’s clothing so the public wouldn’t notice that the picture was from December. Combine that with two full-time nurses and Spanish report (that they refused to retract) that Kate was in a coma, and now I’m starting to think she had a stroke or needed a medically induced coma following the “planned surgery.”
Now I suspect she’s getting rigorous speech and physical therapy to get her into good enough shape to be seen at Easter. There has been so much build up to the Easter date that there’s no way the royal family can *not* produce her. But if Kate still shows effects of a stroke or other mental issue, her appearance will be limited to brief, far away shots, and we won’t hear her speak.
Oh please. All she has to do is smile and wave. Proof of life.
If they think that “ta-da, here I am!” on Easter Sunday will make everything better, then these idiots are even stupider than I thought. Then all the questions will begin: what were they hiding all this time?
Every time I think they *cannot* possibly behave any stupider, KP shows me how wrong I am.
“Oh ye of little faith,“ they say, “hold my pint.” It’s truly jaw-dropping!
More competing stories from the palaces – BP says there’s nothing to see here, everything is great! Oh, Kate? Yeah, she is out doing…things…gosh, you just missed her! But she’s definitely here!
Meanwhile, KP is mostly screeching about the Sussexes and how everything is their fault, while other sources are putting out that she is cracking under the pressure and stress. It’s incoherent at best.
Also? Any media team that could look at the past couple weeks and say “We’re not worried” should update their resumes.
“you just missed her!” lol! Like someone who’s on two dates at once or someone dodging a legal summons.
The dueling courts is another own goal for both, because it makes them look idiotic on the world stage – by all means BP, rein Huevos Rageros in if you can, but do it on the quiet so people can’t see what a mess Cluck made of his Egg in the first damn place!
BP’s messaging here tells me:
1. They don’t have control over KP comms like we thought they did last month
2. Cluck is as AWOL as Huevo
3. Bride of Clucky is still driving the Rota bus, but it’s now unclear if she’s Driving Miss Clucky or if Cluck’s been left by the roadside
Cluck needs to buck his ideas up if he doesn’t want to lose the monarchy on his watch.
OMG! Huervo Rageros!!!
Also, “at least three times”? well we know about at least 4 – the car with her mom, the car with William for the alleged “private appointment” and at least two trips to Anmer in the helicopter.
So is she housebound to the extent that she can’t attend Trooping, or is she fine jetting off in the helicopter to Anmer every other week?
The reason the photo got the kill order was that Peggers said he took it the week before it was released. The photo was not taken the week before but frankenAI’d. Trying to use a photo to prove KKKATE was alive and well the week before photo release. The photo was cobbled from a Nov 2023 snap. So, Peggers lied about taking the photo and lied that his wife and children were together that day to take the shot. Agencies threw out his proof of life photos cuz fake.
Where is KKKATE and where are your children PeggySue???
I thought she is suffering from stress induced illness – one of yesterday’s posts.
I know, right? The cognitive dissonance! 😂 She’s intensely sick with stress and can’t work or answer any questions but she’s out there bouncing around, being upbeat! No worries!
This is what infuriates me most about coverage of them, even in the American media no one ever points out the diverging stories. She’s having a grand ol time yukking it up, but she’s so ill that she doesn’t want her photo seen because she’s sensitive? She needs a long time off because she had major surgery, but she’ll also be working from her bed? She can fly to Norfolk with her kids in helicopter for school breaks, but can’t look away from a wall so people can see she’s alive? If she does pop up on Easter too many people will just ignore the absolute dumpster fire of comms that has taken place all this year, but especially this month. And this is how you keep abhorrent people in power.
Also, she is outside, but no one saw her? How come no one talks about seeing her if she is just living her life when there is so much discussion on SM & media about where is Kate?
This is so awesome, Dee(2). The most perfect summation of the contradicting narratives too. “And this is how you keep abhorrent people in power.” Chef’s kiss 💋!
KP’s credibility is on par with North Korea and Iran. BP is shocked and appalled. KP isn’t too worried. 😂
don’t forget that after three years of waiting around for Meghan to come back, it’s all Meghan’s fault for not being around to do their work for them.
“Wiglet Christ Superstar”!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That’s going to be running through my head all day now – thanks! 😜
“What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s-a-happenin’, what’s the buzz, tell me what’s a happenin’
Why should you want to know? Why are you obsessed with Big Blue … 🎶🎵
Wiglet Christ! Superstar! Do we think you’re where they say you are?
Wiglet Christ! Wiglet Christ! Who are you, what have you sacrificed!
(It practically writes itself! 🤣🤣🤣)
@Bklne
10/10 no notes
Whoa! I literally snorted tea up my nose. Spot on, Bklne!
🎶Every time I look at you I don’t understand
How you let the things you do get so out of hand🎶
Wiglet Christ, Wiglet Christ who are you what have you sacrificed?
Wiglet Christ, Superstar do you believe what they say you are?
Somewhere between that and ‘I Don’t Know How To Love Him’ may lay the answer.
Yes! “I don’t know how to lo-o-ooove him, 🎶 what to do, how to mo-o-o-o-ooove 🎵🎶 him, he’s an egg, he’s just an egg…”
But the real winner IMO is “Herod’s Song”:
Catherine! We’d be overjoyed to see you face to face!
You’ve been causing quite the fuss all around the place.
Heading from surgery, working from your bed, now you’re photo-altering, at least that’s what you’ve said ….🎵🎶
SO, you are the Christ, you’re the Great Wiglet Christ,
Prove to us that you’re not dead, show a pic with your real head,
That’s all you need do, then we’ll know it’s all true,
C’Mon, wannabe Queen!
Catherine, you just won’t believe the mess you’ve caused around here!
You are all we talk about, the scandal of the year!
Oh-ho-ho, what a pity it’s all a heap of lies!
Still I’m sure that Will will make it worse – we know he tries…
SO 🎵🎶 if you are the Christ, yes, the Great Wiglet Christ,
Prove to us that you’re alive and you’re going to survive.
If you do that for us, then we’ll calm all this fuss,
C’mon, wannabe Queen! 🎼🎶🎵
Gah!!! *HEALING from surgery…
Between you and Kaiser, my day is made. Chef’s kiss!
Perfection! That song was always one of my favourites. I’ll be hearing that all day.
Finished the second half:
(🎼🎵16-measure dance break 🎵🎶)
We only ask what we’d ask any superstar
What is it that you have got that puts you where you are?
Oh-ho-ho 🎶 we are waiting, yes we are captive fans:
We’re dying to know what went down that night at Sandringham!
SO 🎶 if you are the Christ, yes, the Great Wiglet Christ,
Show to us some proof of life, how much longer William’s wife?
Or has something gone wrong?
Catherine, why do you take so long?
Aw, come on, wannabe Queen!
Hey, are you scared to be seen, O Great Future Queen?
You’re a joke! You’re not “keen”, you are nothing but petty and mean!
Take her away, she’s got nothing to say,
Go on, you wannabe queen! (repeat 3x)
@BKLNE
“he’s an egg, he’s just an egg…”
“working from your bed, now you’re photo-altering, at least that’s what you’ve said ….🎵🎶
SO, you are the Christ, you’re the Great Wiglet Christ,
Prove to us that you’re not dead, show a pic with your real head”
😂😂😂 👏👏👏
We need a full animated Tik Tok 😂😂😂
MUCH applause for the lyricists! Awesome job Bklne @Interested Gawker! Lol
Terrific! 👏👏👏🌟🧔🌟
Thanks, y’all – it was fun! And it DID practically write itself. Credit to Kaiser, too, for lighting the spark. I do not have the skill set to turn it into a TikTok video, unfortunately, but if anyone else does, just please remember to include LOTS of JAZZ HANDS!
🎼🎵🎶👐😃👐😃👐😃👐😃👐🎵🎶
(Also, tiny Edit: i now think “you’ve been causing quite the STIR” would be better in the first verse)
Thanks, y’all! And thanks to Kaiser for sparking the inspiration!
Far too late now to edit the original, but I would make a couple of tweaks: in line 2, “you’ve been causing quite a STIR…” (better variety bc “fuss” is needed elsewhere for the rhyme scheme). Also, I forgot to include the JAZZ HANDS in the dance break!
🎼🎵🎶👐😃👐😁😜
BKLINE and Gawker, bravo! I was sitting here singing to the original tune and laughing my butt off.
😁
For anyone unfamiliar with the glorious camp of the original:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NEmScsUkbo4
(And apologies for the double post earlier today)
“I think people forget that this was simply a mother wanting her family to look their best in a photograph that was going to be heavily scrutinized. She was protecting her children.”
Wow, way to throw 3 innocent kids under the bus. Stellar PR. Really.
And Wiglet Christ Superstar just made me aspirate my coffee! 🤣
The gaslighting! They keep claiming this, when in reality, it wasn’t innocent touching up, the photo was faked! Like North Korea fake.
This. You don’t reach North Korean levels of subterfuge by tweaking a few things to make your kids look good. Aside from the fact that Kate’s whole head was taken from somewhere else and plopped onto a body that or may not be hers with hands that may or may not be hers. That was about what she looked like, not her kids. And it was about lying to the public.
Exactly. This isn’t just using a beauty filter, it’s simply fraud.
Read Pete Souza’s comments about how this shouldn’t be called photoshopping when it’s just 💯 fake.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/comments/1bewush/pete_souza_obamas_white_house_photographer_on/
The problem with that is none of the pointed out fixes. Make anyone in the photo look better. The zipper was fixed. Charlotte’s sleeve was fixed. And Louis’ jumper was altered. None of that would make the kids look better. So why was it done?
Right Robert the alterations are utterly bizarre. I looked at it again and yes it’s obvious the hand was photoshopped on top of Charlotte which becomes more obvious when you zoom in on her sleeve/contour of sweater.
The reason the photo was pulled wasn’t because she made Louis’ smile a little bigger or whatever. That line of defense is ludicrous. The photo was pulled because its a frankenphoto!
Protecting her children? Then why post the picture at all? So SHE deserves privacy from having others take/publish her photos while she’s ill, but her children don’t have that same right to privacy, while their mother is ill?
And why is SHE in the photo, what woman posts a mother’s day tribute to herself? Either Kate had nothing to do with the photo, or she is so vain she will post tributes to herself while exploiting her kids, or both.
Now I know that Us Magazine is not credible but aren’t they saying that some of her senior staff haven’t spoken with her? And when was she pictured smiling? We already know the Mother’s Day pic is a fake and we saw the back of her head in the car (allegedly). And she sure wasn’t smiling in the car with Carole (if that was even Kate). This is gaslighting on an enormous scale if they can get a national publication like Bazaar to cosign this foolishness.
MSIAM. I believe that article from US Weekly. Why would you print something like that: during K’s absence, she’s talked about G’s school choice, hired a secretary and supposedly apologized. So to run something like this saying that actually, K is not in touch with anyone at the moment runs counter to what they want us to believe. It’s easily disproven if fake. And yet, the source went out of their way to not piss W off (kind of like Gary Goldsmith). At this point, W is running the show, and he wants us to know that everything is fine.
Frankly, this:
‘…the princess has left the house at least three times in the past two weeks. On one of those occasions, just over a week ago, she was “smiling, upbeat, and enjoying being out.”’
makes it sound like she’s an infant taken out for a stroll in her pram.
Could be close to the truth if the ‘recovering from a stroke’ theories are true.
Just not the occasion when she was with Will or with her mom.
Maybe she “left the house” she’s staying in at the Swiss rehab. If she’s anywhere in the UK, this doesn not wash.
Tiger McQueen, I thought the exact same thing when I read that! I do wonder if she’s had a stroke, the wording was just so infantalizing.
Did the gopher see its shadow?
Nice to hear, finally, BP staff shaking their heads at KP staff. Bring on the shade, Chucky.
She doesn’t pay attention to stuff online? Meghan posts about her glorious new venture, and today there’s a deluge of Kate doesn’t care about gossip, Kate is fine, blah blah. If this shows anything at all, it sadly shows that deep down Kate is driven by a jealousy of Meghan, still, after all these years. She’s moved to let news of her condition and state of mind ripple out more by Meghan than her derided dishonesty across the whole of the UK. Meghan obsessed.
Her IG burner account has already signed up to Meghan’s site. There is no way she isn’t online in some way.
Which one is it? Is she upbeat or distressed?
The Windsors have weathered many storms, but they have never been so incompetent with their dishonest pr that they have been compared to the most fascist regimes in the world. Most past scandals seem tame in comparison because this series of scandals exposes symbiotic ties between certain royals and the rota, deliberate/outright dishonest images/messages presented to the public through compromised segments of the media and deeply troubling issues with William. The faked pic is still up on the Wails instagram. William has guided this mess from the beginning. Constantly complaining, explaining and a complete inability to change course are not good qualities for anyone, let alone a future king.
She doesn’t pay attention to the online chatter, but how dare anyone speculate online about her because she’s so fragile.
So which is it. If she’s not paying attention, then the peasants daring to ask questions won’t bother her.
I’m sure this is not entirely unusual when reporting on the royals, but it sort of bothers me that “staff” wrote this HB article and we don’t know their names.
Wiiiiglet Christ Superstaaaar, do you think you’re what they say you are?? LMAO
I get that there are different comms at different palaces or whatever – but maybe they should work together a little more and not constantly throw eachother under the bus. This I think will really affect the monarchy. But maybe Charles doesn’t care what happens after he’s gone
Complete bullocks. A (real) photo of Kate right now is worth 6 figures. If she was ‘out and about’, the world would know.
Lest we forget, a pap once found a way to snap pics of a topless sunbathing Kate on a secluded farm, from behind trees and buildings, ACRES away.
Ain’t Princess Beatrice tech/media savy? Hire her! Still better than anyone from KP PR/media team.
Isn’t she the one that helped arrange Prince Andrew’s disaster of an interview, and said she thought it went fine? If so, perhaps not the kind of help KP needs.
You would have thought that Meghan launching a new business would trigger some response from Kate. Curious that it hasn’t happen so far.
again with the bs of wanting her children to look the best in the fake photo…why is she photoshopping/altering body parts around.
“Some staff can’t quite believe how badly KP have cocked things up by not paying close enough attention to what was being released to the world. Didn’t anyone there think to check the photo before it went out?” They were caught in their arrogance!!! They managed to manipulate, even deceive the public so many times with their photos (such as the queen’s photo with “all” her white great grandchildren, this year’s Christmas photo and others from previous years, Charlotte’s birthday photo with the bizarre arms etc) and they thought that they could pull out the whole thing…after all, nobody’s questioning them in Britain….
This is an article that might have worked in the weeks after the surgery, not months later after a kill order on a photo, a sketchy TMZ pap shot and a face turn away from the expected royal photographer standing nearby coincidentally.
Speaking of North Korea, is Kate still with us? Is she being held hostage? I’m getting Otto Warmbier vibes.
They should discontinue this Easter resurrection of Kate nonsense. It just makes everything farcical. IMO, it’s not the right metaphor.
If I had the strength or the inclination I would be stood banging my head against the wall whilst muttering make it stop it stop, make it stop.
Not since Diana and Charlie gave their television interviews has so much crap been spouted by so few. If keen had been out over the last few weeks enjoying herself?? She would have been down at the pond, in a wheelchair, blanket on her legs minus it seems her two phillipino nurses????? With Carol saying look Kate ducks and Kate saying fucks, carol saying, no Kate, it’s ducks, whilst Louis rolls on the ground, screaming with laughter saying “leave her be nanny, I prefer mums version”
Honest to god this lot couldn’t find their arse or the elbows without a road map, I do wish they would give it up and say, “look, when you lot find out what’s going on, can you tell us please” we are just the Royal mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed bullsht “.
Mary Pester, what does Heather say?
Also, do you know that you have ‘/’ before your name? People don’t know whether it’s really you or an imposter.
imposter–someone’s imitating MPs style. Her handle doesnt have a / in front of it.
No… CB has confirmed on several other threads that this is our real Mary P.
Mary Pester, I see Kaiser confirmed it’s you! Good grief, it doesn’t sound good for her at all. They can’t keep hiding it. They’ve already lost the plot and the narrative. It seems the truth is the only way out of this mess.
One thing just occurred to me, which is that the Palace — men in grey, family, even servants — might not have respected Diana in the beginning but by the end of her run they respected her and were even terrified at times. She had power. Kate does not. Hence she is a sock puppet that is deployed for propaganda purposes, mostly. Which — if she had the discipline of the old school consorts — might just work. It takes discipline to be decorous. Tanya Gold had a brilliant piece in The Cut — the zine that published an interview with Meghan a while back — that observed, of Elizabeth II, “it takes sanity to uphold madness.” So true. Like directing a film. You’re the eye of the storm. Kate does not have this anchoring quality because she seems to have no sense of self, only a self-image. People call this narcissism but it’s not — it’s more troubling. It’s a void. Gore Vidal said, “narcissism is a quality we attribute to others more attractive than ourselves.” But what strikes me about Kate is that she seems to live with a crippling need to please people, and to imagine that her only power comes from keeping up appearances — quite literally. Hence the laughably literal flag dressing on occasion, like in Ireland a few years ago. She is most successful when she is low-key, no-drama, and it seemed — for years — that she had that covered. Then, Meghan. And it all blew up in her face. All the carefully cultivated curated image making just went — poof. But I think Meghan’s arrival just coincided with the breakdown of the Wales’ marriage, the Rose affair, etc. The problem is, again, power: she has no base of supporters, apart from the biddies or the harpies who read the DM — and they either nod and cluck or spew bile, which is not of much use as an emotional support system; no landed family with ancient lineage like Diana; no real network from a pre-Windsor life, like Camilla with her hunting / swinging posse; and no professional contacts, as she never had a career. She is a dud. She was good for breeding the next generation. And now that is done. And precisely when Meghan arrived on the scene, is when she ought to have carved out her own niche — after the last maternity leave. And had she done that — had she simply done the bread and butter stuff that Anne does without complaint or drama — some of Meghan’s stuff might have been appreciated as divergent / woke but most likely they would have been perceived as complementary — horses for courses. British people intuitively grasp that it’s a relative world. I’ve lived here since 2007 and the parallax view is amazing to behold. But, really? Leaning into the tradwife role was an epic fail because in Kate’s adopted class, *no one* is a tradwife. Lady Colin Campbell makes this point in one of her books, and she does make a few good points: none of her mothers’ or her contemporaries was staying home to cook, clean, or even raise their kids, at least not full time. Once you were settled, in your married life, whether before or after you had your kids, you *got out* and volunteered. You pitched in. It was a work ethic but it was also a social ethic. These people network through charities and it is a *job.* Their peers are their colleagues, in a sense. That was where the royal work ethic came from — English aristocrats did not sit around the house eating bonbons because they had seen what happened to Continental dynasties who failed to get with the programme. James Pope-Hennessy’s biography of Queen Mary is acutely funny on this point: when she realised that her daughter in law (the late Queen Mother) was not planning to educate Elizabeth, even after her uncle had abdicated, she swung into high gear and recruited the nanny (Marion Crawford, who wrote about it later) to see that Elizabeth received the rudiments of an education. Not a whole one, but one that would make her more than a dilettante or a decoration. Ben Pimlott’s biography of the Queen observes that as soon as she was old enough, she was apprenticed to her father much the way that a boy would have been, at the time, if his father were in trade. Nothing precious about it. Charles did not benefit from this rigorous methodical programme, but, to his credit, he chose his own passion projects and generally stuck with them. Diana had a fierce work ethic, and was amazingly effective in a philanthropic role. Kate is now 6 years older than Diana was when she died. And she has *nothing* to show for her time on this earth, except Big Blue and her kids. And — in all frankness — that is *not* enough. Not even if you have all the money, access, influence, media complicity in the world. None of it can prop up an empty shell. Another Campbell quote: “the emptiest vessel makes the loudest noise.” So true. But with Kate’s story you continually fall back on “if only” scenarios: if only she were just not such a shallow, self-involved b*tch, this could work out somehow. Without the malice. The malice — coupled to the void where a soul should be — is terminal. This personality has nothing to hold it together. Like a planet that failed to form around cosmic debris and never generated its own gravitational activity. Never anchored any sort of life. And here I see the parallax view coming into focus: what Meghan has just launched is a lifestyle brand roughly comparable to what Carole Middleton tried to develop years ago. An aesthetic, bougie aspirational online venue. Both received — and will receive — a lot of traction by virtue of being royal adjacent. All well and good. If Duchy can do it, why not?? But Carole’s world kind of collapsed at some point. I suspect when GDPR legislation came into force, (was it 2018?) she lost a source of revenue. Selling her clients’ data would have generated six figures a year — enough to fund the cash burn associated with Kate’s single girl lifestyle. But that’s all the business ever was — she was never able to dig deeper or reach higher. Probably a lot of people went to the site (I never did, but I did receive their print catalogue once unbidden when my son was a baby and thought, “that’s cheeky, I never gave them my address,” never ordered anything, and it never came again) because they’d heard of it by virtue of reading about Kate in the DM. Maybe bought something on a whim, maybe signed up for a newsletter. Twenty years ago, that was a viable business model — just gathering online subscriptions and selling customer data on. They didn’t have to market a product with any real value. And they didn’t. It was pretty standard stuff and stuff like that is now two a penny on Amazon. They rode the wave but didn’t save. Not uncommon. But — here is the thing. My ex was a sort of semi-detached member of this circle who went to a public school and had a mate who worked in Prince Phillip’s office, he did indeed drive a cab, as reported. Wore a peaked cap. Had a bodyguard riding shotgun to “make sure he had the Knowledge.” Lots of his fares knew it was him. Smiles, jokes. All good fun. Also? A very handy way to get around undetected. But. Here is the thing. Their set would be *horrified* by the Middletons. Everything about them screams arriviste, try-hard, tacky, run. Run a mile. I think someone remarked on this site that William actually married Kate to stick it to the Establishment in some way. Harry’s book is actually very sad, when he describes Will being subdued and hungover to the point of bleary on his wedding day. Kate asking him after the ceremony, “Are you alright?” Not good signs. But this whole arrangement was salvageable provided she was prepared to roll up her sleeves, get stuck in, and embrace the life. She hasn’t. You can’t just sit at home with the kids. None of them do. They have better things to do. They have nannies. They have help. They don’t vacuum. You get stuck in and *do* something if only because that is the only way to get a life — to circulate, to socialise, network. Such a basic element of self-preservation is crucial. She never did this. Meghan was much more their speed, on all gears, until the Oprah interview. Airing dirty laundry. Etc. “Snowflake” was the word Private Eye used. So both of these women are now seen as beyond the pale. But Kate — I seriously doubt is in the UK. The whole debacle with the fake photo? It’s not just about getting a “nice” — flattering — image. It’s about the metadata showing that the photo was taken at Adelaide. Could have just as easily been taken at Balmoral, or Anmer Hall, or Kensington Palace — begging the question, why didn’t they just take a photo of the kids in one of their own homes, holding up a card they made for her? Why not have her pictured from a discrete angle, wearing a throw or a shawl? Very close up, just looking at the camera? They can do *anything* with good photography. Light airbrushing. The only reason to fake the whole image is, neither the kids nor their mother are in the U.K. at all. The metadata proves the picture was taken here. They are not here. That’s why it was faked. Otherwise, just getting the three kids in a photo would be easy. Who was in the chair? I’m guessing, Pippa. Or an aide. Or the nanny. Wearing the green screen and a mask, for Kate’s likeness to be superimposed on her outlines. Where are they now? Switzerland? Bit cold for a long sojourn recovery. Mustique was the most astute suggestion, posted on this site. Hence they *cannot* be photographed where they are. Kids are tanned, freckled, wearing shorts, it would be way too obvious they’re on a beach. Where were Carole and Kate when the first pap shot was taken? I’m guessing they touched down on the Windsor estate long enough to collect the kids and pack their bags with bathing costumes. I’m guessing there was no contact between Kate and William, still less between William and Carole. I’m guessing they’re trying to work out a settlement now wherein they avoid a divorce, but continue to live separate lives in a way that’s simply more openly acknowledged. One hiccup is that William cannot use Duchy money to fund a multimillion pound payoff, as the trustees will not sign off. So the Privy Purse will have to take the hit, as it did with Charles and Diana. And it will take weeks for the legal advisors on both sides to draw up watertight decades-long schedules of school holidays, coordinated travel, balcony appearances, payments by instalment, access to Crown estate properties, access to private flights, input into choices about child education, titles, forms of address, to say nothing of the world’s most compendious NDAs for Kate and all of her family. Hence Uncle Gary minting it while he can, as well as others have pointed out here. I suspect she’s in a place where she can quickly hop over to a British crown dependency in order to sign paperwork on British soil, if need be. Then she will reappear. Clearly she had some kind of health crisis, whether stress-induced or self-inflicted, but it really amounts to the same thing. They *cannot* do this again. If she comes back (she will) it will be on a basis that she takes a backseat to public life, after a couple of years, they might formalise a split if Charles is still alive, even divorce. But no need — by that point, it won’t change anything. And it won’t matter anyway. The morale is, when someone asks you who you are, the answer cannot be, “I’m married to William.” Duh. Kate is someone they no longer respect. She has logged a trajectory equal and opposite to Diana, which is cosmically ironic. I have loved this site for years and years and only commented twice. Please accept profuse apologies for such a long screed.
Good read YankleDoodle!
Yankee Doodle, I think much of what you said is likely true. I’ve made the comment that everyone should just stop talking about KHate at this point. Frankly, I believe she would just fade away. She simply hasn’t done anything to make a mark.
The next few weeks/month will be quite interesting.
Fantastic read, YankeeDoodle! You make excellent points! I also agree that Kate is someone who sought to be liked, but never had any understanding of how important it was to be respected. She seems thoughtless enough to believe: “If I do a, b, and c, the outcome will be d.” Her mind took her to the altar and not one step further. This is a women who has shown zero interest in anything. No interest in art, philanthropy, other cultures, fashion outside of adornment, current events. She’s probably embarrassing at parties, considering how idiotically she has spoken at official events and her profound lack of interest in anything she sees. Her thoughts seem to go no further than her own appearance. She can affect an interest in “outdoorsy country aristo life,” but can likely say nothing about it. Would Kate ever give a party at her home to celebrate the restoration of some historical wallpaper (like Rose did at her pile). The fact that she brings nothing to the job beside her own appearance was tolerable until Harry married someone more sophisticated and suited to the job. Then William’s jealousy and her own inadequecy brought them closer together than they likely ever had been–they had a common enemy. But she was too thoughtless to realize that she could be burned the same way that Meghan was–she didn’t even learn that lesson from Diana. I find it shocking that she wasn’t savvy enough to build her own network as a security measure for herself. That’s what makes me think Kate is fundamentally stupid and thoughtless. No other married-in woman in any other royal family would be that stupid–even Diana wasn’t that stupid, as young and inexperienced as she was. Kate is completely at the mercy of William. If you’re right, and they come up with a new “married in name only agreement,” she still doesn’t win. Even if the eagle eye fades in a while, one misstep on her part and the eyes of the world will be on her again. This new scrutiny isn’t going away. I don’t think she has the mental fortitude it takes to survive a fake marriage. If she’s not getting out now, her troubles are only just beginning.
@YankeeDoodle, Great writing, good read. Are you a published author/writer?
And if not….WHY NOT?!
Excellent read
Wow. Great analysis. Thank you. I was thinking the kids were in Mustique but maybe not Kate due to her ongoing medical needs. Nanny Maria could be with them there too as the rumor was she was seen packing her bags….but maybe that was when she was relocating to Mustique with the kids. There are no pap photographers allowed on the island, and the beach and the sun is probably the best way to deal with Louis’ energy in this crisis.
@YankeeDoodle, you make many excellent points, but… have you heard of paragraph breaks? 😂
@YankeeDoodle and @Ianne – what fantastic posts! I put them into a Note I’m starting, so I can re-read them later. I’m doing catch-up reading today, and I’m not sure I could find the correct post later. Both of your comments were so well written, with so many well thought-out ideas. This whole situation has gotten completely out of control, but the constants are that something is not right with Kate, and Bill is a POS who has most likely caused all or part of it. I just hope we will eventually find out the truth. My biggest worry is for the kids. I hope they did not witness any violence between their parents because that trauma doesn’t bear thinking about. Regardless of what went down, this has to be a terribly confusing, stressful time for them. There’s no way they have been completely shielded from whatever happened/is happening, and it’s got to be a struggle for them.
@Yankeedoodle agreed on everything here! Very insightful.
Okay if Kate is not the brilliant photographer that we were told she is , then at least leave me with the illusion that she’ll be rattling off more Rachmaninoff on the piano at this year’s carol service. I must have my fix of her glorious talents as she recovers and belts out Elton John’s I’m Still Standing as a welcome encore! Say it will be so Katie Keen come back and take your rightful place within patting range of FK ‘s butt and be our Global Queen because why deprive the world of your talents? Globe trot with the cardigan wearing sex pot and toss those wiglets at the naysayers who are just jealous of what you getting to unbutton Willy!
😂
“As for Kate’s recovery, a source says the Princess of Wales is “doing well, all things considered,” adding that the princess has left the house at least three times in the past two weeks. On one of those occasions, just over a week ago, she was “smiling, upbeat, and enjoying being out.””
This sounds like the kind of “good news” one would ascribe to someone who is being fed a steady diet of jello and apple juice. IYKYK
I’m getting flashbacks to my peace in a high care nursing home.
Yes, I know.
If she was protecting her children, she wouldn’t have put them in that manipulated photo that she surely knew would be dissected. She could’ve taken a solo photo to say thanks for the wellwishes. Instead, the royal children are, once again, forced in front of cameras and used as a shield.
Kate wasn’t the one who manipulated or sent out the photo, it was likely Will and KP who pulled that very stupid, very obvious stunt.
Oh, for heaven’s sake! Now she’s smiling and upbeat and enjoying herself? What happened to poor, sickly Kate, the tragic victim of KP, the tabloids and social media ghouls? If I could reach through the screen and across the ocean I would smack someone in the face. I just don’t know who.
Eurydice, I suspect there’s more than one. I’ll help.
Maybe Kate ditched her life and pulled off an escape a la Audrey Hepburn in the movie Roman Holiday. The press and the palace have no idea what is going on and the media speculation is all over the place. I’m not a Kate fan but if so, good for her. I hope she’s having a good time with her own version of Gregory Peck.
@ Ann
Or just the trash took itself out.
“On one of those occasions, she was smiling, upbeat, and enjoying being out” is a kind of weird way to describe a 42 year old getting outside or out of her house as part of her recovery. It almost sounds like the way someone would describe a very elderly person, or someone with a brain injury, or someone with dementia getting outside for a daily walk or something. Infantalizing.
My first thought when I saw the Frankenphoto was to wonder why the children were smiling like that. Their mouths are open far too wide, and they have nearly identical mouths upturned at the outside edges. I also thought Kate’s head looked too big and had higher resolution.
I think this is AI. It could be the AI available on iPhones. The photoshopping could have occured later to add K to the photo.
Whatever the explanation that surfaces… it’s all Meghan’s fault.