Here are more photos from Tuesday’s palace reception marking the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday. While the Prince and Princess of Wales totally skipped the earlier memorial service at the British Museum, they turned up for this palace reception. Kate wore a lilac Emilia Wickstead dress and QEII’s three-strand pearl necklace, as well as the same Bahrain pearl-and-diamond earrings she always gets to borrow. Sidenote: I think Kate always gets those earrings because Camilla hordes the bigger, more impressive pieces. The left-behinds also posed for a “working royal” portrait, which is just as unseasoned and dusty as can be. It’s perfect.
Anyway, in many of the photos, you can see that Kate once again plopped a hairpiece onto the back of her head. I’m constantly aghast that her hair stylists let her wander around like that. She’s also rocking yet another finger band-aid, which was a really common occurrence back in 2023, before the “Kate Missington” saga. I’m actually getting 2023 vibes across the board with Kate, which is concerning. Meanwhile, Kate also mumbled some words at the palace reception:
Kate Middleton offered an honest comment about what she finds tricky about some royal situations at a Buckingham Palace reception commemorating Queen Elizabeth’s 100th birthday.
The Princess of Wales, 44, shared her take at the palace party on April 21 while speaking to a small group of women.
“I find these environments are really hard. I’ve also got a very soft voice, so I always get told, ‘Speak up a bit louder!’ ” Princess Kate said in fan footage shared to X, as the rest of the reception buzzed in the background.
The Princess of Wales took on a working royal role after she married Prince William in 2011 and previously revealed that a childhood nickname of hers was Squeak.
She does have a soft voice, and she’s never learned how to speak up or project her voice, even for her rare public speeches. She’s never going to learn how to do it either – she’s 44, and she’s been in this public role for 15 years. She’s just not going to do it. This is her brand: soft-spoken mumbling, gawping, jazz hands. She’s also trying to add “hugger” to her brand again – she goes through phases where she forgets to hug people, but something happened recently (the Sussexes’ Australian tour) which reminded Kate that she too is tactile and a hugger. She tried to awkwardly hug an older guy and he had no idea where to put his hands so he ended up briefly resting his hands on her waist and then her hips. She deftly moved his hands away.
The Princess of Wales hugging George Cross hero Tony Gledhill, 88, today.
He looked emotional as he shared a moment with Catherine,
explaining afterwards that his wife had recently died – and she had told him he must attend the palace event before she died. pic.twitter.com/m4cQmJ87iR— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) April 21, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- (left-right) the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess of Wales, the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093346300, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt/Avalon
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- The Prince of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace, London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093346365, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093346640, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt/Avalon
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- The Princess of Wales speaks to 100 year-old John Jervois during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093347168, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace, London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093347285, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace, London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093347597, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
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- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: The Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: The Prince and Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: The Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: The Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: (Left to right) The Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, the Princess of Wales, the Prince of Wales, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
The hug was very awkward. I remember the derangers attempting to defend Kate for her aloofness towards Meghan when they first met by saying that it was impolite to hug strangers. Now after seeing what happened in Australia last week, Kate is back to hugging people. No doubt Kate knew that the cameras were there and went in for hug instead of just holding the man’s hands.
Kate has been a public figure for over twenty years. She has been the Princess of Wales since September 2022. She attended university. She has been attending royal engagements since before her wedding in 2011. She has had access to elocution lessons, presentation coaches, communications advisors and every possible form of preparation that the institutional infrastructure of the British monarchy can provide.
And she is still finding these environments really hard.
Let me introduce Diana Spencer into this conversation because the comparison is instructive and one commenter raised it rightly.
Diana was nineteen when her relationship with Charles became public. She was twenty when she became engaged. She was twenty when she did her first official royal engagements under a level of press scrutiny that makes anything Kate has faced look modest. She was naturally shy. She had a soft voice. She had no institutional preparation, no communications team, no elocution coaching in the early years and no roadmap for what she was being asked to do.
And she became one of the most effective communicators in the history of the modern monarchy.
Diana had many strengths and was an effective communicator through fashion, but I don’t think of her as being an inspiring and memorable public speaker. I tend to think of her as being soft spoken as well but it worked out in her favour that people liked how she presented herself on a personal level. I definitely can’t remember anything she said in her speeches like I can with Obama or JFK.
I forgot to add – I think Diana is iconic partly because of how her story unfolded (her husband cheated on her and she wanted to save her marriage) and many women related to her in that level, but I think it’s the strangeness of the archetypal situation she was in that communicated something to the public for her rather than her actually communicating extremely well.
Diana took elocution lessons. We know because her teacher published her recorded speech lessons and they were made into one of the most humanizing documentaries about her (even though it’s sketchy that her private words and lessons were published without her being able to give consent). No one expected much from her because she was so young and uneducated, but she took specific steps to improve herself to better fit her role–and perhaps she was even thinking ahead to a likely separation and needed to up her game. She never gave an “occasion speech” like Obama or JFK or Mandela, but when she did speak in the 1990s, she spoke with gravitas. Kate has been infantilized since the day she was married. She has made zero progress in 15 years on the job, and is content to be seen as a whisper-voiced trad wife. It would be embarrassing if she were actually held to any real scrutiny. She has willingly made herself into KateBot. Or worse, she has allowed herself to be molded into KateBot. She’s the epitome of the right wing fascist image of the perfect woman. Seen and not heard.
Yes, I know she took elocution lessons. That still doesn’t make me think she’s one of the best communicators at public speaking who learned to speak with. A nice-sounding voice and that still doesn’t mean I’d ever want to listen to her for more than 45 seconds. There may have been some gravitas there she strived for, but to be honest I don’t think she has a voice I’d want to listen to, despite the practice she put in. I usually fast forward when I see one of her speeches in YouTube. That said, I still like her as an icon with an interesting life story and I would never dispute her beauty and fashion sense.
I was a huge Diana fan and I have to say that with Diana, actions spoke louder than words. Yes, we loved her fashion and empathized with her struggles in her marriage but there was much more to her than that. She literally changed the whole world’s perception of AIDS by publicly shaking hands and hugging AIDS patients. Up to that point people with AIDS were literally treated like pariahs. They were shunned and ostracized. The paranoia was rampant. She changed that. She also actively worked for many charities. She had a big heart and it showed.
Kate may have had the access to training and speech lessons but IMO she was too lazy to take them to improve herself. She had lots of years to do this pre-engagement as well.
Agreed! There is no excuse for Mumbles. She could have been practicing delivery in all this time. Maybe someone should send her s copy of “The King’s Speech”. If Prince Albert compensated for his speech and delivery issues, surely she can work through hers. The biggest problem with Kate is that she is too lazy to put forth an effort.
Thinking and Ianne, Diana also went to Sir Richard Attenborough for speech training, he advised her. I think Diana’s voice improved and she projected. I thought her as excellent speaker. Diana herself made it known she was taking public speaking lessons. I wonder if Kate believes she does not need lessons because of the praising about her in the media, the bestest one, who never puts a foot wrong. Kate also is lazy. Diana was interested in working and her charities. Kate does the minimum.
Diana was nineteen when she was engaged. They married a week or two after she turned 20 in July. I think Diana had a lovely speaking voice and was a very competent speaker.
Diana did have a lovely voice and was a competent speaker. but no, her public speaking did not set the world on fire and that’s okay. She was personable in her speeches, she spoke clearly, etc.
I think the debate is that she was called “one of the most effective communicators in the history of the modern monarchy.” and by her speaking alone, I don’t think that’s true. She really was someone whose actions spoke louder than words.
But she also doesn’t need to be a pedestal so someone saying “she wasn’t the best public speaker ever” isn’t that big a deal, because she wasn’t.
All that said….she showed what you could do with some effort if you had the desire to do better (just in terms of public speaking.)
Kate doesn’t put in that effort because she doesnt care.
For those of you who are younger, in the 80’s there were a lot of misconceptions about AIDS. Many people thought it was transmissible just by touch so it was a huge thing for people to see Diana hugging AIDS patients. I was in nursing school at the time and even healthcare workers had fears about touching Patients with HIV. Diana was a worldwide icon to the gay community.
I remember when she was called “shy Di”.
There is a difference between public speaking lessons and elocution lessons. Diana did not need elocution lessons but she probably did need help with public speaking. Kate’s elocution lessons messed her up and she hasn’t seemed to have made any use of any public speaking lessons she may have had.
Who tells her to speak up? Hmm… I know she’s awful but I feel sorry for her because she doesn’t look well and it seems to me that she’s not treated well, to put it very mildly.
My thing is that if u know you’re not good with speaking loudly/projecting, then practice. There’s no excuse.
Right?! I’m currently in the middle of a criminal trial where my little victim (who functions at the level of a 12 year old) was not speaking loudly enough. The judge kindly asked her to keep her voice nice & loud – AND SHE DID. Come on now Kate, poor sausage having to live in a palace and occasionally make small talk – so hard for you (not.) Put your big girl pants on and grow the heck up.
But it’s a very hard environment. So hard. Almost as hard as a walkabout with Meg, which was the hardest thing she had to do
My theory has always been that she speaks softly because she knows that her fake posh accent is not convincing.
She has every resource available to her. A soft voice is not an excuse for a lack of work ethic. The more you practice something, the better you get at it.
She probably thinks it’s cute and she doesn’t need it because why? Work ethic and doing things right aren’t her/their thing. They just wing everything, there’s nothing serious about any “initiative”. Initiatives that are put on them. They don’t initiate anything if it’s not pressured upon them
We know who’s telling her to speak up. And it’s not someone shouting “speak up” from the back row.
Diana took speaking lessons, because she knew it was her job, also she wanted to advocate effectively for her passions. Heck, even I’ve had media training. Kate can afford the best speaking coaches in Britain, but she’s just lazy.
Did she push that man back or did he take a huge step back? Honestly he looked pretty uncomfortable about the whole thing himself. It feels like he may be the type who doesn’t expect the hugs from royals or maybe people he doesn’t know.
This is what happens when you try to just copy and paste behavior from other people on to yourself, the context behind it doesn’t translate. You can’t just go around hugging people because someone that you’re trying to imitate hugs people.
You have to read body language, and this guy definitely seems more like the gripped shoulder/pat on the shoulder type. But I suppose it doesn’t really matter because he was just a piece in the performance equation, what he really needed didn’t matter.
Wow, you nailed it. He was just a piece in the performance equation.
Yes. This old guy comes from a generation where they didn’t go around hugging people. He’s of the nod and handshake generation. Anyone with a brain could’ve figured out not to hug him. She’s so stupid.
She finds these types of receptions hard? What about her job does she find easy or does she enjoy? She’s not good at talking in small groups, she’s not good at public speaking, she’s not good at big projects, she’s not good at bread and butter events, etc. I feel like it takes effort to not be good at ANY aspect of your job when your job is what hers is. QEII was fairly soft spoken when I heard her speak in those reception type of environments. Harry isn’t especially loud.
Did it feel like some shade there from People reminding us she’s been a working royal for over 15 years?
The earring thing is weird bc Camilla doesn’t have pierced ears. So anything she wears has to be fitted as clip ons and I am assuming she cant do that with every pair of earrings in the royal collection. So she really is just hoarding the jewelry, lol.
finally I admit I found this reception a little weird. They had a birthday cake for the late queen and everything. It just strikes me as a little morbid, a little too much of “trying to steal the old queen’s popularity.”
You know now that you mention it, she is frequently described as being” really quite shy”. Given her known behavior I don’t know how much I believe that, but I definitely believe she’s shy about doing the things that would encompass her job.
Which again is just basic social interaction on a lot of levels. She’s not a diplomat so people aren’t expecting her to actually negotiate treaties or close deals. She basically has to attend happy hour or a networking event as her role. I’m an introvert my social battery gets low that would be annoying to me, but I also didn’t marry the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom.
So you have to wonder what exactly did she expect to be doing? Because they’re allowing her and William to be lazy, she didn’t come in with the expectation that they would be as lazy as they are in 2026.
As for the birthday party, I know it’s not odd to celebrate a major birthday even if that person is gone, but everything they do feels like don’t forget we’re related to her.
Right, my social battery would be running pretty low after an event like that lol but like you said, I didn’t marry the heir to the throne.
I do think part of her issue is that she lacks intellectual curiosity or any sense of caring about other people. So its hard to make small talk when you just don’t care what the other person is saying.
And you ask a good question – what did she expect her job to be?? I know, as Lamb Chop pointed out below, she didnt want the “work” aspects of this role – but she knew there were expectations. Was she promised even then that she wouldn’t have to fulfill them?
Years ago around the time of the wedding, one of her counsins was interviewed and said that Kate doesn’t think of much beyond what affects her directly. Even if that would have seemed like a sour assessment, it has proven to be very accurate.
As for Kate speaking softly… that’s bs. Her fake accent and veneers affect her speech, but trying to push this whole shy image is just to excuse her laziness. And probably she does feel more awkward when William is next to her with a Bloody Mary in hand during the day. But that’s not a shyness issue, but a bad marriage issue.
Every English girl knew what Diana was expected to do and it was covered daily. For Kate to act like interacting with people would not be a part of the expectations is just the media lowering expectations once again.
I would never call her shy, but instead I’d call her extremely self-conscious! If she wanted to overcome that feeling, she would need to show more interest in her ‘work’ and be better prepared. Her calling herself shy is her using it as an excuse to do nothing but elicit sympathy from the public. Again, Diana was truly shy and undereducated but she knew that her role dictated that she work on her public speaking skills. She found someone to help her with that , and she soon blossomed. Kate ‘s just laziness personified but in this case she has no choice but to step up especially since the Royal Family seems to be increasingly in the public crosshairs what with the minimal work being done and endless holidays constantly in the news.
Sure, I buy that. Shy people always do fashion shows where they parade on stage almost naked to get the attention of the guy they want to notice them.
Oh, you know what? I bet she had to be there longer than 20 minutes. Oooh, no wonder she doesn’t like these sorts of things.
I don’t know what is shy about appearing onstage in a see through garment, and flashing people on different continents several times, but I’m always ready to learn.
I know its redundant because-sarcasm- but to say it out loud, she doesn’t want the job or do the job. Let’s spell it out. She wants money, jewels but mostly Kate wants power over everyone else – it’s the only way she’ll get any. Do nothing, waited on hand and foot, turn upto one or two events a month which are roughly 30 mins. Have 3 ski holidays. 4 or 5 beach holidays. And an entire media ecosystem saying you’re a perfect princess.
I mean, its good work if you can get it (the other things you mentioned, not the actual job, lol.) Because you’re right, she doesn’t want the job, she doesn’t want the work aspects of her role. And maybe that’s why she’s a good fit for William because he’s in it for the money and power as well and doesnt care about the work. Would she be less lazy if he were less lazy? or vice versa? or is their laziness and entitlement one of the things that unites them?
What a contrast to Harry last week talking about how he didn’t want this job either but then decided if he had this position he was going to make the most of it and do what he could with it. Meanwhile William is all “so I’m just going to go skiing again, see you in a month.”
They’ve obviously just come back from Mustique with those deep tans. No one’s saying you can’t have a holiday, but holiday and ‘school run’ and looking after those poor little tiny tiny children… we all know, the sycophantic media- it’s idiotic. She’s clearly utterly unable to function as a grown up, but they’re never going to admit that about Princess perfect. She really does enjoy the power. That seems the only power she has in her life,her title because of willy.
It wasn’t only Kate, it was her mother too, who was determined at all costs to push her daughter into royalty. Happiness and mental health were never concerns, snagging the prince was the goal, that’s it.
Lol, I was just asking myself that. Everything is SO hard. And that led me to asking – who is this woman? I mean we know a lot about her, but at the same time we know very little. She likes buttons….
I think she’s saying that she’s just a girl. So please, lower your expectations of her but don’t forget to bow or curtsey to her.
This is it. William and Kate want to do very little, but they still want all the perks and especially the deference.
@Sure
She’s just a girl. Standing in front of an old man. Asking him to hug her.
@Quitecontrary, I just freaking snorted my drink through my nose laughing. That’s a reimagining of Notting Hill that I didn’t expect.
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of people attending a memorial event for someone with birthday cake, when that person was not some (pre)historic figure such as Shakespeare. You’re right. It’s morbid and weird. They’re trying to lay claim to her and the affections she garnered from people. But to do this after several days of encouraging the media minions to be trashing M in particular, telling us how much the queen loathed her??? Pathetic.
They probably had this planned for years, and if The Queen made it to the event, great! If not, there’s still going to be cake!
She’s too lazy to get speech lessons where she would learn to project her voice
She gives the festive glances to scooter who looks unenthusiastic
LOL….and is that a Bloody Mary or a Caesar in his hand??
She acquired a fake posh accent she could have also taken public speaking lessons. This is the life she chose.
Hope the bandages arent a sign of worse things.
Diana was also quite shy and found the public engagements overwhelming at first, but she learned. She took speech lessons and found her passion in working with certain charities. Kate’s been doing this job for 15 years. Can anyone name anything she’s passionate about besides men’s tennis or photography? I don’t think she’s even that passionate about her pet project, the Early Years.
LOL. Well her kids aren’t in their early years anymore, so she’s lost interest! So predictable.
Early Years was handed to her only because Meghan was on fire and Kate looked like the lazy nothing she actually is. It’s a frank statement but it’s also very true.
Interesting how that happened, isn’t it? Kate’s kids are all well over five now, so her ‘passion’ has fallen to the wayside.
I think the fake posh accent is an indication that a lot of Kate’s (and Carole’s) bandwidth and energy is taken up by navigating and sucking up to the aristo and royal set and William’s circle specifically. His private circle is probably hopeless, I don’t she has ever been welcome by any of them. Neither is she in on his KP team, Jason, and other advisors and hangers on. Neither is she ever in wih his family BTS, I believe. So she needs to constantly work for approval, avoiding missteps, scolding, scapegoating etc.
She’s just angling for pity. Seriously? No one is asking her to make barn-burning speeches. No one is asking her to declaim Shakespeare from memory. No one is suggesting she field questions in Parliament from a hostile opposition. She’s being asked to make polite small talk, introductions, and pleasant lighthearted conversation with people who are prepared to fawn over her, for no particular reason. She doesn’t have to win them over. They’re a home crowd, they’re already cheering before she walks in the door. Seriously? Little Miss Snowflake just never wanted to have to grow up and get to grips with the most utterly inane aspects of her own job. Can you imagine her outside the bubble in which all of her needs are anticipated and eagerly met? In real life, it would take not millions, but billions, to replicate their lifestyle. I know this might come as a shock to Kate, but most men (and most of the world’s billionaires are still men) who work their way to billionaire status — or even inherit wealth on that scale, but assume responsibility to manage it — are not remotely interested in being partnered with women who are all but useless socially. It’s really not enough to be discrete and decorous and occasionally fragrant. That won’t cut it. William must be kicking himself daily.
Jackie Kennedy was expert at small talk and hostessing and has excellent speech. She has mastered this before her marriage to JFK and Jackie also had a career before marriage. Keen did nothing in all the years she has to wait. No self improvement efforts.
For a modern example, Queen Mary of Denmark..she doesn’t seem especially outgoing, but she worked hard, did what was needed, even learned Danish for crying out loud-Kate hasn’t mastered English. She’s a total failure who gets propped up regardless.
I don’t see anyone else holding a drink. Just Billy with his Bloody Mary. Unless it’s something like guava juice or V8, but both of those don’t seem like him, also why carry your breakfast into an afternoon reception?
I can’t get over this. He’s carrying around tomato juice. He’s gotta know that people will just assume it’s a Bloody Mary.
It probably IS a bloody mary. Or at least vodka in the tomato juice. It’s super weird that he seems to be the only one holding a drink.
Oh I believe it’s a Bloody Mary but technically he can say tomato juice if asked. Does he just not even care at this point?
Wow, I didn’t even notice that. That’s really weird, why is he the only person in multiple shots with a drink? Are they even serving drinks or did he bring his with him?
Also, I feel like this is the type of thing where their vaunted over compensation with protocol would be appropriate. How are you at a social event and you’re the only person drinking anything or eating anything?
I did see someone holding a cup in one of the background photos so there were some types of drinks or refreshment maybe? Didn’t look like “tomato juice” though. But no the majority of people there are not carrying around a drink. And def not any of the other working royals.
Far be it from me to be defending W but in looking at videos of the event there were lots of people drinking wine, champagne, etc., although he was the only one holding a cocktail as far as I noticed.
I mean, soft voice or not, she’s being told to speak up because she’s in a crowded room full of people over 70. None of them can hear.
The Wales hate doing anything that requires thinking or going unscripted.
this is to @blujfly, that cracked me up. LOL. Yes, indeed, she’s in a room full of people who may be a bit hard of hearing. But on a more serious note, the people for whom this is “hard” are presumably the people who managed to get to the venue on public transport, whilst coping with crutches and hearing aids. I mean. GMAFB. If Meghan had complained about a reception for older Britons being heavy sledding, everyone would have ritually gathered to throw stones in her general direction. JFC.
👏
I think the Waleses and their staff have seen the numerous references to her being referred to as “Mumbles” and I wouldn’t put it past William to have taken up calling her that, hence this defensive comment from Kate.
I wonder how this even came up. Bc there’s curiously not much context given. Did someone ask her what she thinks about palace events or did she just randomly offer up that she’s always being asked to speak up but oh no her voice is always too soft. And yes, they are in a room full of people over 70. At the end of the day, being asked to speak up a little in a conversation isn’t the worst thing in the world. She’ll be okay.
I too have a soft voice, covid was a nightmare (trying to talk through a mask!), no one could hear me, so I can understand that. However, I’m didn’t marry into a position that I KNEW would be one of public service that included a great deal of public interaction/speaking. If she can afford hundreds of coat dresses, then she can (or could have) afforded someone to help her with her public speaking abilities. It’s not that deep, she just doesn’t want to do it.
Anyone can learn to be a better public speaker. Anyone. As a retired teacher I’ve seen many students with varying abilities and all kinds of disadvantage deliver great speeches with enough practice.
I think she is just lazy.
That group photo: nursing home’s night out to the theater.
Kate: she looks so unwell. The thinnes, the gaunt face, the injured finger again is weird. Her hair is unacceptable in a public facing job.
Listen, whether I’m here or not, if the collection of people who want to gather and celebrate my 100th birthday is as dull and depressing and boring as this group, it’s A-OK with me to skip the whole thing.
Correction 🙂 : Actually, we’ve heard Kate’s REAL voice, and it is not soft at all. Not by a long stretch. The fake, posh, breathy voice she uses to draw comparisons to Diana is softer, but every so often she slips up and the hard edge comes through. If she had a naturally soft voice there would be no need for her to be hissing at her children through clenched teeth as we’ve seen her do on so many occasions. They keep lying about things which can easily be disproved.
The hug was awkward as F, as were the claw grabs and groping of a couple of other attendees. They and their PR people have clearly been studying videos of H+M again, especially from their recent trip to Australia, and instructed them to copy the actions again. It’s not natural. That’s why it looks so forced, and hence awkward. I cringed at the images. #shudder
The cameras were able to pick up her saying “what else” in a room full of kids after all.
This 👆
BTW that video is gone. If anyone can find it please post.
I seem to recall hearing her clearly when she was egging William on with that photographer.
She doesn’t speak softly. She just can’t enunciate properly with the fake accent and veneers.
OPh Lord, I forgot about the veneers! 😀
Her other problem is she has no presence. She’s literally just there. I have a coworker who is very soft spoken, but she has this presence about her that makes people lean in and want to hear what she is saying. Kate doesn’t have that, and it can’t be taught. So she needs to talk louder.
But let’s be realistic. We point out how little both of them are actually doing, the ROI is deep in the negative, but there is no one to make them do their version of work. There are no privileges that would be taken away, instead they get raises and more vacations. As an American I can’t speak that knowledgably about the process, but I think it would take real effort to get rid of them or change the structure to tie their work to reimbursement and I don’t think, with everything else going on, that the British people have the energy so they lapse into apathy toward the royals.
‘Look at me, I’m so delikate with my soft spoken voice’ – Kate Middleton probably
Kate does this thing with her lower jaw when she’s doing something she doesn’t want to do, she sticks it out at a certain angle. She looks like she doesn’t want to be there. And ‘having’ to hug just because Meghan hugs must really be getting her goat?
But I just don’t understand how she got through university without having to stand up in front of the class and present a project? We did it when I was at university. It was scary but it taught us how to project your voice so you are heard at the back of the room.
The 3 strand necklace Kate is wearing looks like a 24 inch length, an opera length, whereas QE2’s favourite pearl necklace looks shorter, probably a 20 inch length, a matinee length. But then I probably shouldn’t expect the British media to research necklace lengths? And Kate’s pearls aren’t the same quality as the Queen’s pearls either, good pearls have a luster.
I noted this elsewhere, but QEII had MANY pearl necklaces. The shorter triple stand everyone thinks of is on Princess Anne at this event. The longer triple strand worn by Kate also belonged to QEII, it was just less frequently worn.
We had to do presentations in 7th grade history class. 7th grade! Once per quarter; minimum 3 minutes, maximum 15 minutes; first two could be with notes however you like them, third time on note cards, last time fully memorized. 7th grade! I’m still traumatized. But I learned from that!
I was always such a wreck speaking in front of any group, evening answering questions in school would make me nervous. In college I forced myself to take a public speaking class. I got an A. In talking to the teacher at the end of the quarter I told him my heart was pounding in every speech I gave in that class and he was surprised and said it didn’t show. LOL! Now I’m old and have working in a career for 30+ years and you can’t shut me up.
Can’t just wants her share of public sympathy.
Meghan spoke openly on the Australia trip about being trolled and bullied. The response was empathetic, and grateful that she uses that to uplift others, especially young people.
Can’t just had to come up with something to get on that gravy train of love, but as usual she won’t tell the truth and doesn’t have anything real to contribute.
I’m having a hard time standing in rooms full of people who defer to me! I’m constantly told to speak up, it’s such a burden!!
Good grief she’s tiresome.
As a photographer I’d be embarrassed to call that top portrait my work product. awful angle, terrible lighting. was it taken with a drone? SMH
It doesn’t help that Charles centered himself, so it’s not even balanced. Awful photo.
“I find these environments are really hard.”
You know what environments are “really hard”? Factories. Coal mines. Hospital emergency departments.
Kate is being asked to wear nice frocks and expensive jewelry and mumble niceties to people who have been raised to treat her with respect simply because she married into the RF. There’s nothing hard about it.
Buck up, woman.
I agree with Kaiser about the 2023 vibes. Homegirl does not look well between the obvious wig and boniness , something is seriously off.
It seems to me that the whole reason Kate is forcing hugs on strangers is because of what Harry said in Spare about William and Kate appearing uncomfortable hugging Meghan. It comes across as awkward and uncomfortable. Probably because her motive is not empathy or compassion.
After church we are encouraged to socialize in the lobby. They serve coffee, sometimes cookies, folks hang out and chat. I can’t do it. One on one, I’m great. In small groups, I can manage my ADHD symptoms. But in a room full of noise, I simply cannot. I can hear the fan. I hear the kid. I hear the 4 conversations around me. I am constantly distracted/overwhelmed. The only way I can manage is to grin and keep it lightly social. But instead of ‘how are you’ I’ll ask, was it a good week? What are you looking forward to? Anything to keep them talking so I don’t have to. Then I concentrate really, really hard to focus on ONLY their response. For me, being in a room and making random conversation is truly difficult, because I struggle to focus my attention on random. I take notes during the service though, so if push comes to shove, I’ll ask what part of the lesson spoke to you or something like that if I get stuck. In other words, I’ve developed coping mechanisms. I go in with a plan. I have a back up. That’s all she needs to do. Develop a plan and stick with it. Because for me, that’s what works. For most people, that’s what works. Also, Toastmasters.
I’m impressed that you do that. Were it me, I’d be out the door after the sermon. Maybe a few quick goodbyes on the way out, but that’s it.
Kate and William are two very lazy people. Kate has had enough time and resources at her disposal to learn everything she needs to, for this position. During the times she was showing off her behind in public, she should’ve been taking lessons. She wasn’t interested – they were not interested. William really isn’t much better – he’s very awkward in public gathering and says cringey things. I don’t believe it’s too late for Kate to learn – I think that she’s just not interested in learning . Also, as long as she and William are protected (and praised to the high heavens) by the media, they will remain average.
You can smell the Ben-gay (and gin) wafting off of that first photo. Just old, dusty and crusty. I half-expected to see dust bunnies rolling by and cobwebs in the corner.
I gather Ben-gay is for aches and pains. It’s not well known in the U.K. Be grateful if you don’t have aches and pains. Because many of us old dusty crusty folks have quite severe ones. Getting old happens to everyone if they live long enough.
True. You have earned the aches, along with the wisdom.
IMO Kate enjoys the status and the deference and the money.
She comes across as just so very uninterested in anything at all apart her own family, decorating her fifth or whatever house, and her next holiday.
She could have been a modern day Jackie Kennedy and wielded true soft power and influence, but she is so boring. Small talk is not hard! Ask people questions about themselves.
It’s mind boggling that she hasn’t even worked on the most basic skills to help her in her role.
Jackie was a very different person in private in contrast to the hyper feminine girlish persona she projected — or enabled the media to believe in — for public consumption. Hence the real-time revulsion when she married Onassis. They had actually known each other since before her children were born, when she was the wife of a Senator invited for evening drinks on a yacht at harbour, on which Churchill was the guest of honour, during one stop on a cruise around the Mediterranean. Churchill himself was getting older, and had recently retired from politics, and had famously held onto bad blood with JFK’s father, who was the Ambassador to Great Britain before the U.S. became a belligerent in WWII. Roosevelt fired him for advising the U.S. to stay out of it. But Senator Kennedy was by all accounts a huge fan of Churchill, on whom he bestowed honorary American citizenship in 1963. Churchill’s mother was American, actually. Anyhoo. The older man did not recognise the younger man anxious to speak to him, and by all accounts, was a bit dismissive, at one point, asking a Senator to fetch him a gin and tonic, which he did, obligingly. Jackie was a bit unimpressed by the whole thing, it would seem, and suggested to her husband, “Maybe he thought you were one of the waiters.” Apparently Onassis overhead this remark and it cracked him up. He recognised a live wire. Someone noted that Kate lacks “presence” and that is it —- she’s there, but she’s not there. You don’t have to be loud to draw attention. You have to be awake, alive, interested. She isn’t.
Yes, Churchill’s mother was one of the dollar princesses.
Jackie was known for being incredibly dry and witty and that was absolutely part of her public persona.
but she was also an incredible hostess and society figure. which is what someone referenced above.
Meanwhile, 15 years in, Kate has yet to host anything.
Many wanted Jackie to be a permanent widow to JFK and so her marriage to Onassis blew up their bubble.
“I’m just a sweet harmless English Rose with a soft voice, just here for decoration, really! Don’t worry, I won’t express any Opinions or personal interests. I’m simply a mannequin, tee hee!”
But I can bitchily brief to Camilla Toenail lies about my SIL and even went to shove her during the mournography. I don’t trust any women under 50 around my husband so I have very sharp elbows!
How embarrassing to be in your 40s and continue to be so useless that you can’t even talk for 30 minutes to the people who fund you. All of the other countries with royal women who married in have accomplished so much more than this wet blanket. That’s the real reason she won’t travel and do events – she’s an intellectual lightweight.
She learned on the Caribbean tour that fawning and deference is no longer automatic as well.
She is miserable in this role and so is William. Pretty obvious their disdain for the Sussexes is they were able to get out.
See, I have a theory that being “nice” was a key part of Kate’s persona for ages because she has nothing else to offer. That’s not to say that people with sharper minds or more robust personalities can’t be nice, but “nice” isn’t the first thing about them that leaps out at you. They punch their weight, they get stuff started, like Princess Anne, they get stuck in. Like Prince Philip, they have interests, they’re engaged and curious and brisk. They get down to it. Not that it’s bad to be nice. But it’s a kind of backhanded compliment. “She’s so nice,” seems almost like a consolation prize. But as long as you are blameless, well-intentioned, inoffensive, no one can find fault with you, even if you’re not going to set the world on fire. But Kate…. Isn’t nice. Not remotely. She’s hideously self-involved, inflamed with resentment of a woman who pulls focus from her, spiteful, vindictive, incredibly thin-skinned, malevolent, and mean-spirited. Nice went out the window a long time ago. Take that away, and what you have left, is a kind of morality tale.
Oh no, not the bandaids coming back. She could have Crohn’s, but the bandaid is a bad sign with her extreme thinness. Also, she looks bone tired this year and then having to wear wigs because of hair loss/thinning. What’s really going on?
I can imagine she does find it hard. She has to talk to people and pretend to be interested in what they have to say.
And I just noticed, Kate & Sophie are the only two standing there in dresses. The other women are all wearing coats & two also have scarves. If ever there were a time to pull out one of those hideous coat dresses, this was the time.
No, this isn’t the time to pull out a dress or coat, but to better organize and show at least a modicum of genuine concern for the people who “create materials for them” for the media
The Royals are “at home” at Buckingham Palace, and they emphasize that. The guests came from outside, and no one cared about the cloakroom. What for… they came and they will go…
I get your point, but none of those royals live at BP. They all had to travel there–royals in their Bentleys, plebes by public transport or car. I really just meant stylistically, among the royals, Kate & Sophie are in dresses & the others aren’t.
@BeanieBean
I understand what you’re saying, and you’re right,
but I suspect
they’re playing host, even though it’s really just Karol and his wife. If Kate arrived in a coat, she’d look like an invited guest, but this way she shows she’s “at home.” Unfortunately, guests in coats look disregarded, too insignificant to be bothered with more than necessary. And that’s my problem.
Well it must be difficult to project one’s voice while trying to keep the fake accent up.
However, I have a feeling she wouldn’t have been using a soft voice while demanding the bridesmaid dress to be remade, or captaining on the hockey field in matches at school. And I seem to recall she was cast in the lead as Eliza Dolittle, who was a squawking cockney that yelled at the races! Perhaps no one could hear her, who knows?
“The Windsor Fam-il-y” snap snap.
I remember one sycophant gushing that Kathy has a very soft gentle voice.