Queen Elizabeth II was not a big fan of the then-Duchess of Cambridge. I’m not saying QEII had beef with Kate, but QEII did have some subtle ways of showing that Kate was far from her favorite married-in. QEII waited six and a half years to give Kate the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II, which is usually something given to royal wives after three or four years. QEII also waited until April 2019 to give Kate the Royal Victorian Order, and it felt like Kate was given GCRVO specifically because Kate was (at the time) weathering a lot of rumors about her husband’s alleged affair with their Norfolk neighbor, Rose Hanbury. Five years later, and Kate is once again in the middle of another sh-tstorm, likely of her husband’s making. So King Charles has dusted off a new shiny medal to give her for sticking with an unmoisturized Huevo.
Kate Middleton and Prince William are taking on new royal appointments. On April 23, which happens to be the sixth birthday of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ son Prince Louis, King Charles announced several new appointments, including for members of the royal family.
The King, 75, appointed his daughter-in-law Princess Kate, 42, as the Royal Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour. In a history-making twist, she is the first Royal Companion named to this order. The Order of the Companions of Honour was founded by King George V in 1917 to recognize outstanding achievements in the arts, sciences, medicine and public service. Members are limited to 65 at a time (although people from outside Commonwealth countries can be counted as additional honorary members) and currently include David Attenborough, Elton John, Anna Wintour, Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.
Prince William, 41, was appointed by his father to be Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. The role had been vacant since 2022 after King Charles, who held the role from 1974 to 2022, acceded to the throne.
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath was established by King George I in 1725 but is believed to originally date back as far as the eighth century. It is awarded to members of the military or civil service for exemplary service.
Queen Camilla also received a new appointment from her husband as the Grand Master and First or Principal Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The Order of the British Empire was established by King George V in 1917 to honor a broader cross-section of society, both military and civilian. It comprises five classes, the two most senior of which makes the recipient a knight or dame.
The title of Grand Master has twice before been held by the monarch’s spouse with Prince Philip (1953 to 2021) and Queen Mary (1936 to 1953). King Edward VIII, who was known as the Duke of Windsor following his abdication, held the role from 1917 to 1936 as the Prince of Wales.
Keeping with the tradition of appointing new Companions to the Order of the Garter on April 23, the feast day of England’s patron saint St. George, King Charles named four members. This included a member of the royal family: the Duchess of Gloucester. The Duchess, 77, is the wife of the late Queen Elizabeth’s cousin the Duke of Gloucester and a full-time working member of the royal family. Her appointment marks the first time a non-blood royal who wasn’t a spouse of the monarch or heir received the Order of Garter honor. The other three new Order of the Garter members include Air Chief Marshal Lord Peach, the Right Honourable Lord Kakkar and Lord Lloyd-Webber.
It’s insane to me that the Duchess of Gloucester is getting the Order of the Garter honor and she’s the first married-in royal to get it. Like… I’m sure it’s about seniority, but damn, you know both Sophie and Kate would love to get the Garter robes or even the Order of the Thistle robes (I love the Thistle robes, they’re emerald green velvet and I would wear that cape everywhere). Kate will probably be pleased with the Royal Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour, although it does feel like a “lesser” honor, something given to placate Kate. Will she accept the honor in person?? LOL. I don’t think that’s how it works – it’s just some fancy doodad which will appear with her sash and her few other medals for state dinners and state occasions. As for William’s new position… again, he should have been taking over ALL of Charles’s former positions right from the start. It’s shocking how long it’s taking to hand off everything.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Kate Middleton. Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton. Coronation of King Charles III, May 6th 2023. King Charles III and Camilla the Queen Consort, members of the Royal family and VVIP’s arrive at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation service,Image: 774185156, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Unknown / Avalon
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- Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton. Coronation of King Charles III, May 6th 2023. King Charles III and Camilla the Queen Consort, members of the Royal family and VVIP’s arrive at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation service.,Image: 774185241, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Unknown / Avalon
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- William – The Prince of Wales and Catherine – The Princess of Wales arrive for the Coroation at Westminster Abbey, London, England, UK on Saturday 6 May, 2023.,Image: 774187119, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Coronation of King Charles III in London, United Kingdom, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774227083, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Marc Aspland The Times/Sunday Times / Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales at The Coronation of King Charles III at London”s Westminster Abbey 06 May 2023,Image: 774252025, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Mark Stewart / Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales at The Coronation of King Charles III at London”s Westminster Abbey 06 May 2023,Image: 774252171, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Mark Stewart / Avalon
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- The British Royal family make an appearence on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Coronation Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- The British Royal family make an appearence on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Coronation Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: Cover Images
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- Prince William of Wales and Catherine Princess of Wales during appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the flypast after the procession and the coronation of the new King and Queen at Westminster Abbey in London, UK. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
I, Scooby Gang, hereby bestow upon myself – for my grand achievements of doing things and stuff – the honorful title of…
Great Superior Fancy Pants of the Order of the Grand Hoity-Toity.
And present to myself, from myself, the…
Royal Haughty Golden Gong of Scoobyshire.
#RoyalDistraction
#WhatCoverUp
🤣🤣🤣
It’s something you would expect from Monty Python! It sounds more ridiculous than poncy.
It’s a ridiculous institution and of course Monty Python could have only originated in Britain.
That was exactly my first thought – it sounded like something straight out of Monty Python.
LOLOLOL!!!
Your titles and honors sound as good as their made up stuff.
I’d say, BETTER than their made up stuff 🙂
Congrats!
Bahahahaha….I was thinking the same thing. I need a title for reading this blog and sipping coffee in my jammies.
Also, CANNOT stop snorting over “Most Honourable Order of the Bath” I know it’s not a literal bath but….BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
How about an accompanying award for Most Honourable Order of the Shower? With medals representing loofahs and scrub brushes.
The scepters of the order are the scrubby brush and loofah while the “orb” is one of those meshy scrubby blobs with the hanging lanyard. I can picture it now.
how can you be serious discussing being the master of the Bath? lol scrubby brush and loofah lol
Looks like negotiations between huevo and kkkhate are doing well. She got that new top ceo membership there.
Anyway, im pretty sure I mentioned this somewhere but that blue outfit and the aluminum “tiara” on kkkhate on clowing day was horrible and everything looked so overkill. To much and not harmonious at all.
In French, “shower” is “douche”. Seems appropriate.
Lololol. Thanks , you have made my day
Congratulations, Great High Scoobs!
wait, do I need to curtsey now? this stuff is so confusing!
👏🦴🏵️🏅
Oooooh, fancy-like. I doff my cap and tug my forelock to you, Great Superior Fancy Pants Ma’am.
Speaking of silly names, I swear to God I read that the first time as “The Royals Order of Thirsty Robes” instead of Thisle Robes. Come to think of it, I like my reading better, it fits then somehow.
Apologies if someone has posted this further down in the comments but I had to share this response from the guardian. At least it’s not just us calling out the shenanigans.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/24/royals-william-kate-camilla-honours-monarchy-archaic?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Highlights include: Kate is now a Companion of Honour, an award reserved for those who have excelled in the world of the arts, medicines, or science. Is this perhaps for creative doctoring of photographs?
@sarah – hahahaha – awarded for Excellence in the Art of the Photoshop!
Honour for photoshopping! lol.
These are ridiculous. Why royals who
already have status thanks to made up titles continue creating more to gift to themselves is beyond me.
If it is to recognize people who have significantly contributed to arts, science, etc, don’t cheapen it by handing it to Kate simply because she got married and had kids.
🎯
Oh, I know, I know. The honor must be due to her mastery of pie charts, posing, piano tinkering, and of mumbling in a fake accent! 🤪😜
Seriously, the biggest question is, Who is she Companion of Honour to? 🤔 Don’t try to tell us it’s Peggers. If that’s the wishful thinking, I guess she was given the useless honor as some kind of message to him. Or as a pacifier, or ongoing negotiation tool.
Oh dear – this RF is so out of touch with reality. So laughable- amidst all the cancer challenges — Chuck should organised An Order for Holistic Healing etc etc etc. Sidechick Camilla also suffers from osteoporosis. Gee whiz — 🤦♀️
I want one too 😂
Based upon the timing of this award, seems more like a bribe than an honor.
It’s definitely a bribe! Willy did something heinous.
Why a bribe?
Definitely a bribe.
A bribe to stay married to Peg. I don’t know what he did and there are lots of theories, but it must have beenn so bad that SHE wants to leave HIM, and KC3 is panicked as hell about that.
So, a new random shiny title to pacify her, keep her in line or convince us that she’s alive and well. Which one is it?
Talking about shiny things. Is that a tiara with diamonds? I have never seen it before.
Are you talking about her coronation tiara? No, its literally fake. It cost 400k or something ridiculous and its fake and she was being passive aggressive because Camilla said no tiaras, LOL.
I’ve never noticed the cheap wires that that “tiara” is made of. It really is a Michael’s craft project.
Looks like a swimming cap.
@Becks — Seriously? So that thing cost enough to buy me a comfortable house and a few nice baubles. I was one of the few who thought that thing was kind of cute — and thought that Charlotte’s was even cuter — at the time. Mentally though, I was probably pricing it like my own middle class idea of a Really Nice Hat. 400k -ish is obscene. I hope the milliner that crafted that thing had a few fun chortles once the bills were paid.
Anna – the 3rd
I believe it’s a parting gift and probably has been part of the divorce negotiations. Just my theory.
You may be right @ Susan Collins
Title is for those who have made significant contributions to the Arts, Sceince, mince & public service & is limited to 65 members. None of its members are royal. It is said one of them just died so a vacancy has come up.
Why give the award to Kate when there are so many unsung heroes who are more deserving of the award & give her something that is in line with what is awarded to the royals?
I don’t think this is an honorific award , more of something given in the absence of nothing else .. may be to placate her??
Award would be completely useless if she were to leave the RF as any of her so called achievements would not match up to the calibre of what the other recipients have achieved in their field of endeavour.
At the end it may turn out to be more of an insult and demotion.
The occasion of its bestowing is either a divorce or a death, not sure which. But something quite final. (I admit to some wiggle room in the theory that he pushed her into the great beyond, but just a little…). Or maybe the death is his…
@Jammy, it reminded me of the fact that Melania Trump allegedly got an “Einstein” Visa. This is just as meaningless. Kate hasn’t made significant contributions to anything except maybe tabloid sales. And Meghan’s misery.
Kate didn’t look good that day. The tension on her’s and William’s face and the lateness made it obvious they had a huge row.
I think she copied Mary of Denmark’s headpiece that she wore at the christening of her first son Christian.
Dear BRF,
Ugh.
Enjoy your chocolate medals and cosplay, I guess.
Meanwhile: Andrew is still a credibly accused sexual predator and the US Department of Justice would still like to speak with him. Wouldn’t want you to forget about it because you’ve been busy thinking about how much scandal you can hide under velvet robes and fancy hats. Big ones, we hear.
Sincerely,
Literally Everyone
We can totally bestow upon Andrew a very non-royal Order of the Orange Jumpsuit.
It would suit him.
I’m picturing sashes made of toilet paper. Bottle cap medals.
Andrew’s *sash* should be Soap-on-a-Rope. Practical and useful….and, if there were justice, necessary.
These titles sound like something from a Monty Python movie! All we’re missing the piss boy from History of the World. 😂
I read it as an The Onion headline…
Mock all you want, my life’s goal is now to be “Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath”. I loves me some bubble baths!
^^ 🤣🤣😂😅😆👌🏽👏🏽 🛁 🧼 🫧 🚽
Rub-a-dub-dub! 🎵
The one that kills me is “the most excellent”, is there one for “least excellent”?
“Most excellent” just reminds me of Bill & Ted.
Anybody familiar with the quote (attributed to W.C. Fields) – “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, blind them with bullish*t”.
Ladies and gents, I hereby present the BRF.
I do and use it on many an occasion. Such a great saying and so suitable for the BRF.
“Oh, Pith Boy!”
My favorite quote from HotW:
“Sire, the peasants are revolting!”
“You’re telling me, they stink on ice!”
Giving Kate this order makes it completely worthless for the other members. I hope they will think twice before accepting it in the future because this makes it an utter farce. She hasn’t done a single thing to deserve this, unless it’s services into altering pictures making Kensington Palace an untrustworthy source.
Same goes for William.
Mediocrity prevails again.
Abolish the monarchy.
yeah, I don’t think the royal family realizes when they create new honors for someone like Kate, to make her a “royal companion” of the Companions of Honours, it just emphasizes how fake the whole thing is.
Agreed Becks, they really can never seem to read the room properly. Especially as we’ve just been told we shouldn’t expect to see her (or her lazy cracked Huevo) back to “work” for the rest of the year. Chuckles and his advisors are so 👏🏽 stupid 👏🏽 to not realize this is not the time for more honors and awards.
As others have said, this must be about creating some sort of proof of life evidence. The fact that she just can’t be seen live – as proof of life – just makes me think she can’t be seen live, period.
Well said! It’s time these appalling grifters supported themselves and were not relying on the public purse. Vile creatures.
Oooh. I think it’s because they threw her under the bus for the North Korea photogate fiasco so they had to pacify her with this nonsense honour.
What a horrid name for a meaningless award, it sounds like what you give a paid companion. I’m sure Kate and her family are thrilled, the Wisteria Sister scores again she’s a professional companion!
@Inge that’s a good point. It’s so insulting to actual artists. I wonder if any of them will give them back, like Michael Sheen did with his (I think?) knighthood?
Maybe there is a new category. Stalking, social climbing, mumbling, flashing, rewriting your history, plus removing anyone who gets in your way, and being paid public funds to do nothing other than focus on yourself. The newest recipient is a shining example of self centredness. Previous awardees have now been downgraded to having received a joke award. What an embarrassment to the BRF.
Seems perfect for Kate. The group doesn’t have meetings or do any sort of work.
As I said yesterday in the *links* post, Kate’s achievements are truly for the ages, and people a few generations down the line will admire her for her contributions to… being singularly ignorant and incurious.
So here are my favorite contributions as to why she deserves that particular honor:
In arts:
• “Are they still being made” to QEII at BP about the Fabergé eggs.
(no idea how she got that degree in Art History)
In science:
• “Can you test the smell by smelling it?” to the master tea maker at Fortnum&Mason
• “Is this your best specimen?” at the fertility research center at Oxford University (?) – just as Meghan had miscarried
Public services:
• mumbling about Airrly Yarrs, and showing her ass figuratively and literally
• bullying Meghan and Harry out of the country so they could soar – after a period of (mental) recuperation
I’m sure there’s more, and Chuck III should be ashamed to award that symbol of misogynoir mediocrity anything, much less make her a CoH.
And, as Paintybox wanted to know – yes, she said those things on camera and the way she behaved showed she meant it. She really is that dumb.
Her sliding down that slide is another example
Grabbing Will-not’s @$$ repeatedly in public (usually in church) when he clearly cannot stand her touching him/looks uncomfortable, the many, many incidents of flashing or near flashing (most recently during a South Korean state visit) and wearing a too small mask to PP’s service to pose for pics (and getting snapped at publically by William when she attempted to play keen peacemaker) also come to mind.
Flashing the royal hoo-haw and thighs getting out of a limo when she met the South Korean President and First lady. That was real classy…
That day was when I lost all respect for her. I had a scintilla before that, but that sealed the deal for me. It was so trashy and an obvious scream for attention that was so unworthy of her role and title.
Meghan being beautiful and successful, keen is not measuring up so let’s give her another honor.
Oh, a sympathy award. Isn’t that the kind that all kids get in Kindergarten?
Seems that there’s another photogate with the prince louis’ birthday pic. Sleuths on twitter show tht the very same pic was used on GMA & ABC in 2022 to wish him happy birthday that year.
So……..TWO WHOLE YEARS AGO!
KP used a 2-yr old pic of Louis for his 2024 birthday photo & said the pic was taken “a few days ago” by his mother.
No, that screenshot is fake. His 2022 birthday pics were of him on the beach in Norfolk.
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/photos-prince-louis-released-4th-birthday-84242804
The royals and the tabloids are counting on people to believe that story. They think everybody is as stupid as they are.
no @Kingston, this has been faked on the GMA website. Besides Louis would’ve looked much younger 2 years ago. This picture is new. I think we should be careful at the conspiracy theories.
No it’s not new. In the photo Louis still has only the same one missing tooth as he did months ago in photos, with no new tooth grown in anymore than it was. That’s NOT how it works. That photo is at least several months old.
@K-peace yesterday multiple people told you that the still-missing tooth wasn’t that unusual.
And if the photo of Louis from the March frankenphoto was taken at any point in February-March, and this photo was taken within the last two weeks or the last month – the missing tooth makes total sense.
Do I think the photo was taken two days ago? I don’t know. But the focus on the missing tooth is misplaced.
and even if the picture was a few months old, that’s very different from the current conspiracy theory that its from 2 years ago.
People were also insisting the photo can’t have been taken in April on the grounds that it’s too cold in April in Britain to go outside in a shirt and shorts (even though that’s obviously not true), while simultaneously claiming the photos were taking 3-4 months ago ie the depths of winter.
The photo being taken on a warm day shows it has to be either very recent or from last summer, and it obviously wasn’t taken last summer as Louis has visibly grown since then.
It’s honestly not helping to push the idea of weather or clothing as “proof” all the time. It makes us look bad. When this all started, people were saying the mothers’ day pic was fake because a navy sweater is too wintry for March, and claiming that in March people only wear light coloured spring clothes. (Yes the pic was fake, but not because “people don’t wear navy in March.) Then when the farm video came out people were insisting it was filmed in December even though the people in the background were in white t-shirts and other spring clothes. And now we’ve got “no one wears shorts in April because it’s too cold so the photo must have been taken in December…” because Britain is notoriously warmer in December than in April??
@SamuelWhiskers LOLOLOL at “Britain is notoriously warmer in December than in April.”
@Becks and @SamuelWhiskers, I agree with you both and all of your points. But I just remembered that allegedly the Waleses went on a “family trip” over the Easter break. So it’s possible that the photo was taken recently, just in a warmer locale.
However, that brings us back to KP specifically stating that the photo was taken in Windsor. No one will ever know the truth because they lie like we breathe ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I think the picture of Louis is very recent. Do I think Kate took it? That is another matter. I think that she is incredibly ill. It is telling that the DM has had colon/bowel cancer stories every other day since Kate’s announcement. Including one with Kate’s picture beside the article. A two week hospital stay is almost unheard of – especially for someone with Kate’s resources.
@Jane: I also noticed those stories, particularly profiling young patients.
Pathetic new order. Wehen I think companions, I think companions for elders.
The pics have me wondering back to the coronation garb and the big star appliqué with the V. I thought it was for the GVCO – which based on link below is a Maltese Cross – which she is wearing.
The sew on look is so tacky. I had thought when I first saw the pics that it was pinned on. No, looks like a Girl Scout Iron on/sow on.
Here are what the other orders look like.
Royal Family Order
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Family_Order_of_Elizabeth_II
Order of Companions. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Companions_of_Honour
GVCO: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Victorian_Order
She actually wears some beautiful dresses at these banquets but they are ruined by the decorations she wears spoiling the lines of the dress, the one that looks worse to me is the QEII one with its yellow ribbon.
Totally agree that the sash ruins any pretty dresses she wears on those occasions! It’s so ugly and tacky looking.
Is this a posthumous honour….either way it’ll make them look bountiful after they announce she’s gone.
Weren’t the Palaces updating eulogies just the other week? This made me wonder 💭 if they realized there was virtually nothing in hers🫣.. I feel bad for anyone that actually earned this award for achievements, what a way to devalue the integrity of the award.
Either ahead of her (announced) death, or ahead of Charles death. He gave out medals to Kate, William and Camilla…Who knows. I am going to make that my name on here, WTHKnows.
“Royal Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour.” 🤦🏻♀️ The WTF of what now?! Is this the *royal equivalent * of a participation certificate
Participation certificate!!!! I’m cackling
I have had a good laugh over these ridiculous award names. I really don’t know how they keep a straight face when they read this stuff out.
Not even North Korea is this ridiculous.
And yet, there’s not even much participating. How many days out of the year does Kate actually do service?
I’m picturing Chris Traeger with a big “Participant” sign giving the thumbs up!
So if Kate is a Royal Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour, is there a Peasant Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour? Or do they not distinguish the two? 😏
😂
My thinking is (assuming she is still living) this is a divorce honor. Every single other person to receive it has been a regular person, not a member of the Leftover Royal Family. Although why she’d need to receive another honor on the way out the door makes no real sense (not that anything that family does makes sense).
My other thought is this honor is services rendered for taking the fall for the photoshop debacle. This is an honor given to people making great strides in the arts (among other areas) so is this some trolly photoshop shoutout from Chuckles?
If it’s neither of those two ideas then I have no idea. This family really has no common sense – and just doesn’t care – about how things will be read by the rest of us. And all of their stupid machinations are hastening their own downfall. So, in that respect, bring on more fake medals and honors that sound like a joke. Master of the bath? Companion to the order of companions? You can’t make this shit up!
I think so too. I think its either a bribe to stay married or I think its a final honor so she has more letters after her name after the divorce. He made up a new thing to give her – he didn’t do that because he thinks she’s going to be around for the rest of his time as king.
Yes, and imho it’s significant that he made up a new thing and it’s not really a royal thing, it’s more cultural – like, if *Kate* was the one being appointed to the Order of the Garter, that would be huge for her, but instead of being aligned with an international order of royals and govt heavyweights, she’s grouped in with the celebrities, just like Uncle Gary. (not that the names listed here were anything to sneeze at, but it doesn’t have the same shine or afford the same access or privileges.) It’s something they won’t miss in the split, and I find it hilarious that they’re so petty they had to create something they wouldn’t miss because if it already exists, it’s already been claimed by Will or the firm.
@Sunday yup, similar thoughts here. If she was made part of the Order of the Garter, that’s not something that is easily taken away, I don’t think – and then she would be at the annual garter ceremony every year, divorce or not. I don’t think Diana was ever made a member, but its a significant honor – camilla didn’t get it until 2022.
They literally just made up a new honor for Kate to avoid giving her a more significant one, even if not Order of the Garter. And I think you’re right, its something they won’t miss in the split.
I guess I’ve become too American because I don’t understand the worth of this “honor” as a bribe. It doesn’t come with any money or land or a house, does it? It’s just another bit of crap to pin onto her ceremonial outfits, isn’t it? If I were on the verge of divorce, I’d want a big, fat, personal Swiss bank account.
I think it’s significant that the Duchess of Gloucester got the order of the garter because it’s unusual for a married in who isn’t the consort to get it. It’s likely because she’s worked a decent amount for royals.
Kate getting a made up award that doesn’t even get her a new sash seems like Charles gave her the bare minimum thing that doesn’t really matter.
Titles and honours are everything to royals, aristos, assorted elites, their hangers-on and sycophants in the UK. It’s still a bit like that in Australia too.
@SussexWatcher: “Master of the bath? Companion to the order of companions? You can’t make this shit up!”
Well, George Villiers, assisted by his mother, palace intrigue, and the king’s roving eye, became Master of the Bedchamber to King James I. Villiers was not content with that designation alone. He rose to being a public favourite of James I, ultimately becoming a duke, and then, without any qualifications whatsoever, he was named Lord High Chamberlain of England (under James’ son, Charles I — yep, the English king who literally lost his head). Many Britons were killed in ill-conceived military battles launched at Villiers’ behest. 👀 Some of this story is being dramatized in ‘Mary & George’ on STARZ.
FWIW, when the current King Charles was born, mayhap they shoulda stayed away from any association with the British monarchy’s Carolingian era. 🫣
As long as the tabloid press readers are happy then they are happy.
@Eurydice, I’m with you, but for some reason these “awards” are taken super seriously by a segment of the population. (Hasn’t David Beckham been angling for a knighthood for years?)
Even though it’s utterly meaningless, Kate and CarolE could definitely see it as a “win” if in fact divorce negotiations are going on — for the exact reason someone said above: Kate will have more letters after her name. To people like her, they’re important status signifiers.
@Lorelei – A knighthood is different, that elevates Beckham’s status. But Kate is already a princess and duchess, she’s already the mother of the heir. I don’t see how an additional bow on her sash would improve her situation in life, especially in the case of a divorce. As it is now, the toffs don’t respect her – will the Order of Etc. Etc. suddenly make her palatable, even after she’s out of the family and living in a cottage somewhere?
@Lorelei – ETA. Where I think this makes sense is not as a bribe, but as a sign of support by Charles. Giving Kate an honor might be a way of showing William he should back down.
@Eurydice, I agree. I also saw it as a show of support for Kate/ signal to William.
It’s a bribe for staying quiet and letting them throw her under a bus over the photo.
Apparently this honour is lower than her previous award ‘’Dame Grand Cross of the Victorian Royal Order’ because it is just a badge and doesn’t come with a sash. It does seem strange that they invented this new honour for her (which really seems like a participation badge) instead of giving her an existing honour that comes with a grand ceremony and fancy robes like the knight of the Garter.
She made the mistake of questioning the colour of someone’s skin within hearing of a leaker. You can be as concerned as you like but don’t allow the world to know.
Well, allegedly Charles did, too, yet he’s the one handing out the awards, having received no real blowback himself. The entire family is hypocritical and gross.
The only consolation is knowing how stupid they look parading around with all of their fake-ass medals, which everyone knows are BS and unearned in any way. (Except the military ones, which they were petty enough to ban when Harry was present. Unreal.)
I think this honor was given to placate Kate for what William may have done to her on 12/28/23 and to switch gears from Louis’ birthday photo. New X app conspiracy theories are going.
If this is the case, she – or her family – really settled for the bottom of the barrel in terms of honors! This is the best they could negotiate?? Yikes.
Kate makes those weird faces in the coronation robes and made up tiara. Charles should have waited a year to give William promotion to prince of Wales. At least a year. Now all the bots will go on about how much Charles adores kate
She gets a medal for breathing and existing.
These crappy medals are the equivalent of the kindergarten pupil of the week.
‘My Daughter in Law is Princess of the Month’ on Charles’ Bentley window.
@BeanieBean 😂😂😂😂😂
@BeanieBean LMFAO 😭
I’ve seen people saying that Kate got the order usually given to celebrities. I tend to agree. Why didn’t Charles give his beloved daughter-in-law the Order of the Garter instead?
Bit rubbing people’s nose in it when he is working despite being elderly and having cancer and chemo, when she is doing nothing while should be better from the op by now, doesn’t have cancer, but getting chemo and is middle aged.
Sure, for her contribution to the art of photography.
Eurydice, and here I keep thinking it was for the art of baby making.
She’s contributed heavily to the art of wearing expensive old lady clothes and copying other fashionable women too
And her cosplay mood boards definitely merited that honor.
My theory has always been she’s AWOL. They’re trying to lure her back.
At this point though, why would they care so much to get her back? Surely the damage has been done to their reputation through all of the fake farm shop videos and frankenphotos. And also it sounds as if they’re hinting that if/whenever she does return she won’t really be working anymore, ever.
If I were them, I’d happily cut her loose and then start blaming her for the marriage failure and all of Huevo’s problems. Then he can start his big rebranding as a single dad blah blah blah.
SussexWatcher- the only answer to your question is that reason she’s AWOL is so scandalous that they need her back to prevent it coming out.
But if they were trying to lure her back, wouldn’t they give her a more prestigious award, like the garter one? This companion award seems embarrassing. It’s just highlighting that it’s a made-up piece of chocolate.
She got something much better when she went awol for a few months as the Rose story surfaced. That she’s been away since Christmas and is only given something minor isn’t a good sign in terms of Charles making an effort to keep her happy.
The other day Mary Pester made a reference to Kate being “Gone Girl”. That’s the name of a movie so I looked up the plot:
On their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy mysteriously disappears, leaving behind a trail of clues that suggest foul play. As the investigation unfolds, Nick becomes the prime suspect, scrutinized by the police and vilified by the media. However, the plot takes a sharp turn when it is revealed that Amy is alive and has masterminded her disappearance to punish Nick for his perceived betrayals. The story delves into themes of deception, media manipulation, and the facades people maintain in toxic relationships, culminating in a chilling and morally ambiguous conclusion.
Sounds eerily familiar!
Gone Girl is a good movie but even better book! The author has a few other good books I’ve read as well.
And yeah, eerily similar…
Are there people who haven’t heard of Gone Girl and its plot? It’s literally THE domestic thriller of the last decade. And I dont see Kate as Amazing Amy at all.
Rosamund Pike was so convincing in GG, that to this day I cannot stand to look at her face.
Kate is not smart and too lazy to pull a Gone Girl even if she wanted to.
Kate is fighting to stay part of the royal sham. She’s not awol.
Maybe though she’s had enough. Everyone has their breaking point. She hasn’t been looking happy lately and I do believe she has been very ill. Not cancer, mind, but something serious, regardless.
This is where I’m at, too. She’s had enough.
I’m with others that this is a divorce honour esp as there are other honours that she could have gotten and is the first royal to get this one – wonder why 😉
Also questions would have been asked if she didn’t get one and other senior royals did. This is her booby prize.
There was a lot of trolling about this on UK SM yesterday – us plebs were not happy with Chuck handing out all those pretty baubles to himself and his family.
“The other three new Order of the Garter members include Air Chief Marshal Lord Peach, the Right Honourable Lord Kakkar and Lord Lloyd-Webber.”
As in Andrew Lloyd-Webber?
I thank him for his service in inspiring “Wiglet Christ Superstar“! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
🎼🎵”What’s the buzz, tell me what’s-a-happenin’”🎶
I always found it funny that Kate didn’t receive any honors for YEARS and then as soon as Meghan entered the family she has all of these honors. She is very insecure.
This has to be a joke. Mumbles given an award for doing nothing and achieving nothing other than social climbing and relentlessly posing for photos wearing bad fashion.
So these people are all given their Orders of the Word Salad. Yay. What do these even mean? It’s all so pretentious.
Really, it’s like they drew words out of a hat. But I suppose if you have to ask what these honors actually mean, then you’re not eligible to receive one.
Word salad, lovely.
Camilla is a married in and a member of the Order of the Garter… but yeah… skipping Sophie and Kate from the honours is a huge insult I think.
Sophie has seniority over Kate since she’s been a married in for many years and is duchess of Edinburgh. The queen should have given Sophie this honor ages ago.
Sophie doesn’t have seniority over Kate. Kate is going to be Queen Consort, married to the King. Sophie can go no further. The hereditary constitutional monarchy doesn’t take into account the number of years of service. It’s who you were born to, when you were born, so your position in the line of succession, and if relevant, to whom you are married.
From the article, re: the Duchess of Gloucester:
“Her appointment marks the first time a non-blood royal who wasn’t a spouse of the monarch or heir received the Order of Garter honor. “
The Duchess of Gloucester has been a working royal for longer than Sophie and so Charles likely gave it to her knowing that Sophie will get it eventually. William does like his aunt and so he’s likely to award it to her.
I think poor Kate will feel totally embarrassed as to how the rest of the world will now view her being given this award because she does not have the high qualifications like all those before her to deserve it. She barely works and the Queen said she was lazy. It’s nepotism, that’s all…she’s really being rewarded for something secretive! Angela Levin said she gave somebody a kidney so maybe Charles was the recipient because there was a royal insider CLOSE to the RF who let it slip that Charles did not have cancer but refused, when asked, what he really had. True or not true, it’s interesting none the less!
Charles has siblings who would likely be a better match. And what else are Ed and Andrew there for? (s)
Kidney donors don’t take all that much time to recover.generally speaking.
I donated a kidney to my Dad 30+ years ago. They opened up my side, went through 4 layers of muscles & removed a rib bone to remove it. I had 40 staples on an 8 inch incision. I was driving at 3 weeks pretty much back to normal at 6 weeks and finally able to pick up my 2 1/2 year old then. I think they do it laparoscopically these days so much less invasive.
Even setting aside that Charles has blood relatives who would probably be better matches, I just can’t imagine that there would be enough money in the world to bribe Ma Middleton to keep her mouth shut if her precious Kate had LITERALLY saved the monarchy like that.
I don’t believe for a second that she donated a kidney but a big IF she had, would they have yanked it out of her or would she have sold it for this ridiculously meaningless title?
This kidney business is just another conspiracy theiry. Consider the source. Angela Levin?? Please.
The kidney thing is Levin eating too much cheese before she went to bed and having a fever dream.
h/t SamuelWhiskers for the Little Nemo reference! mmmm, melted cheese…
Kate doesn’t have the capacity to feel embarrassed.
Bingo.
“I think poor Kate will feel totally embarrassed…” No. A shameless, bottom showing & limelight grabbing person would not feel embarrassed whatsoever.
I wouldn’t put much stock in a fancy Order title regardless but it seems self-aggrandizing and frankly insulting to the people who actually deserve to belong to one of these Orders for their stated purposes, to then give titles away to themselves. We all see what they do for work. “Aren’t you an impressive little royal, you cut 15 ribbons this year, all while smiling and waving! Amazing! And next we have… Dr. Treats Pediatric Cancer for Free… I’m sure you’ve done something important for the greater good too.”
Another shiny thing to wear to what? It’s not like she’s out and about performing royal engagements and being princessy and regal. I don’t imagine this is enough of a bribe to get her to attend to her tax-funded duties. Even that tacky tiara she made for herself wasn’t enough to get her promptly to the coronation. And what in everything that’s good and holy does one have to do to earn such an oddly worded order/trophy/honour/badge/sticker (I give up, I have no idea what this latest KP crap is meant to band aid over).
Seriously, the only time I recall her actually wearing that sash is to state dinners, which she happily attends anyway since she gets a new dress and a tiara. They need to think of something to get her to work on regular weekdays.
Feels like Camilla pulled a fast one on CarolE. The Middletons were gunning for a bigger honor, and instead they get the equivalent of the lamest Cracker Jack prize–a sticker or a temporary tattoo.
Charles couldn’t avoid giving an order or something to Kate without provoking a new cycle of “where’s Kate ” and speculations…so he just chose one to her.. otherwise, she would have been left without just like Sophie.
Goodness, Kate and William are going to have to get a bigger dressing-up box to take all the fancy robes. In anyone else this would be called cos-play.
Kate got the previous honour when she’d gone to ground over Rose rumours? Maybe Kingy is placating her again? He has made show of support for her as his beloved DIL with fulsome statements, Is he shoring her up because he has refused to sign off Will’s request for a divorce ? I suspect KC is too mean to pay for a divorce and also doesn’t want the uproar while he’s alive. I suspect if FK wants a divorce that he will have to wait until he inherits.
What’s this? My Husband Misbehaved Awards (Rewards)?
I just HAVE TO said this: Everyday I despise the BRF, especially the WanK and her mother, BM more and more. These (even less than) white mediocre got praised is really ridiculous. I don’t care you have kids, your are ill, many everyday people are in the same situation; but you STRIVE to be an even meaner, dishonest, dishonorable and sh!tter person through & through.
The renewed attack on Madam Duchess Meghan (whom I didn’t know of before 2017) only made me abhor the British Media & BRF (that I was indifferent before 2018) even more. They are NOT Christians, they are NOT SERIOUS people, they are racists & classists; are they even redeemable, I wonder.
“I am the very model of the modern major general”; Pirates of Penzeance, comic opera.
Oh, we are definitely in Grand Poobah realms.
These honours are so ramdomly given, I swear. The Guardian had a very good opinion article on the subject : https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/24/royals-william-kate-camilla-honours-monarchy-archaic
Well written and sensible piece!
Norman Baker!
Ah, doodads! Can we do a crossover with this post and the Bluey posts? “It’s something wrong with your doodad.” “Oh right, my doodad.” “Yeah, love, it’s this doodad right here.”
😂
“The title of Grand Master has twice before been held by the monarch’s spouse with Prince Philip (1953 to 2021) and Queen Mary (1936 to 1953)”
I don’t think they meant Queen Mary, did they? Queen Elizabeth the queen mother was the monarch’s (George VI) spouse 1936-1953. Queen Mary was his mother, wife of King George V.
Not sure if they meant Queen Mary & got the dates wrong, or meant the Queen Mother. Eh, facts!
Poor Sophie, always striving, never getting anything for it.
If the members of the Order of the Companions of Honor have meetings, I hope Sir Elton John greets Kate with the iciness she deserves for treating his pals H&M so rudely.
(This order has such a dull name I had to cut and paste it, because I kept forgetting the name. I mean, these honors are dumb, but at least give them ridiculous names we can ridicule.)
Sophie’s embarrassing history as a member of the RF seems to have been erased upon the entrance of a biracial duchess, but loyal she was not. She doesn’t seem to be a fav of KC, she’s probably holding out for spoilage from a King William, if that even happens.
She was the Queen’s favourite, nearly like a daughter. She also knew to suck up to Kate. She was very icy toward Meghan, so that would have put her into William’s good books too.
Elton’s a ho. He’ll kiss butt so he can keep his place in that social stratta.
he’s suing the papers that the royal family don’t want touched and he refused to sing for the con a nation.
Oh good gad! They write, ‘taking on new royal appointments’ as though there were job duties associated with this!! More ribbons, more medals, more initials after your name, yippee!! When you hand these things out to family members, it renders the whole enterprise meaningless.
So now we’re giving out reward for NOT working? Insert eyeroll….
I had such second hand embarrassment seeing this yesterday. An award for being MIA. An award for being silent. An award for stabbing her husband in the back to side with his father for protection.
still am not sure they’re getting a divorce. They seem like those really miserable couples who stay together forever out of spite and fear. But where is she? Where is he? are they both on strike?
These titles are starting to sound as absurd as the Grand Wizard of the KKK. How fitting.
They really are ☠️
When we first read about her going to the hospital and all the hush hush stuff I did write that wait for the honours being rolled out to compensate for something and the higher the honour, the worse it was.
@OLIVIA you definitely called it!
This honour makes so much more sense after reading your post.
Camilla was made a member of the Order of the Garter in 2022.
So we’re still going with the theory that Kate actually exists and isn’t an Ai avatar? Shrugs. Then I agree with commenters above that this is a bribe as part of the negotiations Ma & Kate are currently engaged in with Wills.
Ok I just can’t with these ridiculous orders and names and foolishness.
This one takes the cake:
“Grand Master and First or Principal Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire”
All I can think about is Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (dating myself, I know) and then Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Order Adventure.
I. Just. Can’t. With these people….
😂 me too!!
Does this mean that Kate is actually alive?
@Karma D. The recent tea Mary P. spilled, which has already been wiped off the table, did not suggest anything about Kate’s condition. It contained a “Lucy” hint. Also revealed that a Royal rep attended the initial Kingston inquest. As always, Mary was careful not to name names. Does Kate’s new title mean she is alive, or Charles thinks she is, or he wants us to think she is–or is it meaningless in every sense of the word? No clue.
Has Mary Pester posted anything today? I don’t think I’ve seen any posts from her yet – I hope she’s doing okay.
It was a reference (now deleted) to William having some knowledge about Kingston’s unfortunate circumstances despite the BM immediately stating that William had no involvement. So why would a royal rep attend the inquest other than to report back to him? In any event, I think Kate’s appointment to the Order of somethingsomethingsomething for doing absolutely nothing speaks volumes about her speaking nothing.
Why would a royal rep attend the inquest? To see if there was a suicide note? A note that would reference the cause of his pain/depression?
Maybe he attended to ensure that a major royal wouldn’t be implicated in any of the proceedings. And just to watchdog and see what info comes out in order to protect any guilty party. it could also be as innocuous that since Thomas was married to a royal relative, albeit a distant one, there would be a rep from the RF attending.
Thank you Jaded. And I hope you and Mary P are doing well. 💕
I recall seeing a discussion of what William’s “private matter” that made him miss the memorial service could be, & a royal “expert” said he understood it had something to do with one of the children being ill.
Sure.
“Royal Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour”
This institution (and whatever percentage of the population of the UK) is so insulated that it cannot have any idea how amusing that award is. Or should I say honor? If I break this title down it seems the honorable companions now have a royal companion. It doesn’t get much better than that, right?
I wonder when it will occur to the Firm that if they want to modernize they need to get rid of these stone age ribbons and awards? Just sayin’.
“Royal Companion” blah, blah…….sounds more fitting as an honour for the Corgis
This award sounds like the equivalent of “I stalked the heir and married into the BRF and all I got was this lousy badge”.
🤣
For $49.95, I purchased a twelve inch square piece of land in Aberdeen, Scotland with the title Lady. In addition, I purchased a cloak with a hood from Holy Clothing, in green, that I look divine in. I have walked around my house wearing said cloak, while cradling a Siamese cat in one arm and doing the royal wave with the other. Therefore, as Lady Sheri of Aberdeen, the other royals have nothing on me.
You’re my hero! 😉
Haha, it sounds like you have more class and style than the lot of them, Lady Sheri!!
So what I’d like to know is, what is the honor that they’re the royal companions to? 🤔
Given to someone who’s pretty much Invisible. And the world still goes on wherever she is.
The Royal Victorian Order robes look like such crap, as if they’re made of acetate meant for inexpensive linings.
Regarding the sad demise of Thomas K I don’t see it as unusual that a royal rep was at his inquest. He was married to a minor royal and had royal in laws.
There had been blind items last year about a minor royal living separately from their spouse. Who would announce their divorce in 2024. Many surmised it was Ella and Tom.
I really hope his passing was just a coincidence with the rf drama. And not part of any ghastly goings on.
I’ve just been reading comments that photos of W&K laughing with Thomas & Ella at a stadium event have been wiped from the internet 🤔
It’s suspicious when people who may know too much start having ‘accidents’