Throughout the past week, Kensington Palace has authorized some birthday coverage for Prince George, who turned 13 years old yesterday. The palace has gone overboard in their predictable way, making George sound like the biggest athlete and best future-future king ever. The palace has also made George’s birthday all about his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales. It feels like Prince William and Kate are showing everyone the scorecard that they alone control, and they’re giving themselves A+++ all around. “Look at us, we’re such amazing parents” has never ended well in the history of childrearing. Well, the Mail’s Becky English finally wrote her birthday-keenery for George, and it’s worth noting how half-assed this is from English. Like, her heart was not in this at all. Some highlights:
George’s blessed life: Blessed with his parents’ height and good looks, the young royal is now in his teenage years and preparing for life at Eton College in the autumn. It will be the first time since 2019 that he hasn’t been at school with at least one of his two siblings (first at Thomas’s Battersea with Princess Charlotte and more recently with her and Prince Louis at Lambrook in Berkshire). The Wales clan is famously close-knit and it will be a huge leap for the future King George VII by any standard. But the Prince and Princess of Wales are devoted, hands-on parents who have already been carefully helping their eldest son to prepare and adjust.
George the boarder: Over the last couple of years, George has started boarding at his present school several nights a week and has a strong group of similarly sporty friends, some of whom are expected to join him at £64,000-a-year Eton. It is also a stone’s throw from the family’s ‘forever home’, Forest Lodge at Windsor, and he will be allowed regular ‘exeat’ weekends home, as well as holidays. He is said to be nervous but excited at the prospect.
George won’t be rushed: At the same time, William and Kate are continuing to guide George along a controlled path to public life. Both are acutely aware of the pitfalls of the past. While acknowledging that every generation has a different approach to official duties, they are adamant that their children will not be rushed, while mainly enjoying as normal a life as possible, albeit very privileged.
Natural awkwardness: When George has undertaken more forward-facing engagements of late, he has displayed an endearing mixture of eagerness, interest and the perfectly natural awkwardness any youngster might have when out with his parents and shaking hands with a group of adults. At Wimbledon this month, he smiled and shook hands at the right times, but also looked down shyly, scuffed his shoes and fiddled with his cuffs, before exchanging giggles with his sister when they donned large straw hats in the Royal Box. Exactly as any other boy of his age might do.
William wants George to help the marginalized: And it looked like he was genuinely having fun with his father when he was taken along to serve Christmas dinner at The Passage centre for the homeless in central London in December. Indeed, William has been particularly keen that his son inherit his determination to help the lost and marginalised in society, having openly talked about the issue of rough sleeping with his children from an early age.
George looks up to Kate! George is also said to hugely look up to his mother, who is described to me as the ‘heart and soul’ of the family. They share the same sportiness and quietly competitive nature –George, I am told, is a talented triathlete (and pretty handy with a tennis racquet too) – and has inherited both her love of the outdoors and artistic talent. He is also, I am told, ‘obsessed’ by flying. Something of a family trait.
William & Kate will endure public criticism for their children: Another source adds that they ‘have always, always put their family first’, even if it risked public criticism in terms of public duties and visibility, and George’s growing confidence in public is, happily, the end result. ‘William and Catherine have ripped up the royal rule book and rewritten it themselves,’ they say.
‘It’s prompted debate at times, I know, but I would argue when you see those children, who are such a credit to their parents, then you can’t disagree with their approach.’
“You can’t disagree with their approach…” As I keep saying, we’ll see. William and Kate are giving themselves glowing reviews before the kids have even grown up. William was in his late 20s and 30s before people got a really good look at who he actually is, but the markers were there long before. This is also an interesting piece of PR fluff: “George is also said to hugely look up to his mother, who is described to me as the ‘heart and soul’ of the family.” That came straight from Kate herself or her mother, and there doesn’t seem to be much evidence to back it up. Anyway, the message is less about George and more about William and Kate arguing “we would happily refuse to work for YEARS to raise our children alongside multiple nannies, how dare you question our methods!”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Kensington Palace.
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- Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Prince George attend the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, an annual event honouring military service members, which holds special significance in 2025 as it marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Britain, November 8, 2025.,Image: 1051236572, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jack Taylor/Avalon
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- 16/12/2025, London, UK. The Prince of Wales and Prince George with the CEO of The Passage Mick Clarke during a visit to The Passage in central London.,Image: 1061170332, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no , Credit line: Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- Britain’s Princess Charlotte, from left, Kate, the Princess of Wales, Prince George, Prince Louis, William, the Prince of Wales, Prince Edward and Princess Anne arrive to attend the Easter Matins Service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England, Sunday, April 5, 2026.,Image: 1088804689, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WPA POOL PHOTO, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Alberto Pezzali/Avalon
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- 12/07/2026. Wimbledon, UK. The Princess of Wales, Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, and The Prince of Wales during the Gentlemen’s Singles Final of The Championships, Wimbledon.,Image: 1116182887, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no , Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- Annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 Nov 2025 Credit: Jack Taylor/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall Featuring: Prince George, Catherine, Princess of Wales, King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 Nov 2025 Credit: Jack Taylor/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 Nov 2025 Credit: Jack Taylor/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Seeing them together I see George really favors his mom. Hardly see William at all.
He looks like Michael middleton
I see a resemblance to Kate and Michael Middleton. He doesn’t resemble William much to me either.
Imo he looks very much like Charles Spencer.
@Tashiro
Not at all; George definitely has far more photos and outings with his father. There isn’t really any visible interaction between Kate and George—if anything, there’s a certain reserve. Besides, she only appears in two photos with him here.
As for events where they are with Will, there are plenty of photos of Kate with the children because, the moment the lenses turn toward one of the kids, she immediately pushes herself into the frame. You can see this best in live footage: the cameras focus on the children, and Kate instantly leans in, ready to pretend she’s saying something. And if she isn’t there, she’ll just paste herself in—like in that “family” photo on the “meadow” (where the grass was Photoshopped in, too).
She even shoved the Queen aside on the balcony during her last Jubilee. There’s a video showing her pushing into William’s spot next to the frail, ailing Elizabeth; you can see her refusing to let him in. And that beanpole was dressed in white—just like Elizabeth—so she blended right in, stealing all the spotlight and completely overshadowing her. That evening, despite her exhaustion, Elizabeth insisted on retaking the balcony photos because she didn’t have a single one with the heirs. She put on a vibrant green outfit, but Kate must have gotten a tip-off, because she wore a dress in a clashing, shocking pink. This time, though, they managed to push Kate to the far end of the balcony; they sent her and Louis to the restroom, and William walked out first—you can see in the video that he won’t let her stand next to him, so Kate ends up behind the children. But in the end, they cropped out that glowing pink eyesore anyway.
Kate fights for photo ops because that’s the whole reason she goes to these events. It doesn’t matter if she acted like an idiot or stood alone in the middle of the square, grinning from ear to ear. They’ll crop the shot, paste in a crowd, and spin the right story—assuming no one remembers how it really was anyway, and the reporters keep their mouths shut for the time being.
@Kasztanka I think they were referring to looks when using “favor”, not who he actually likes more.
@NICOLE
Here, I was primarily addressing Tashiro’s statement that Georg favors his mother and doesn’t see his father—which isn’t true;
hat he has more photos with his mother is also only partially true and staged.
“Favor” in this context means whom does the child look like more. “He favors his mother” means he looks like his mother. When OP said they “don’t see William at all” they meant they don’t see William’s facial features in George’s face.
LOL she meant she hardly sees William in his looks at all, and that she thinks he looks more like Kate.
@lover
Oh, wow. Thanks for pointing that out. While my description is absolutely accurate, it might not necessarily apply to *this* specific comment. I was using a translator, and it said that George favors his mother (prefers being with her) and hardly ever sees William. That surprised me a bit, since he goes out with his father more often… ;))))
But my description of Kate’s way of getting into the shot is absolutely true.
Kate has tried to centre herself on the balcony when Camilla is there and out ranks her too. One of the few times Meghan was at Trooping, Kate took centre stage when they attended the balcony while the born royals come in on horseback and in a carriage for the queen. Camilla did not do much but later when everyone was on the balcony, William had her move to the side.
I mean, let’s be honest, Kate has never seen a camera she doesn’t like. Except for those in Denmark that one morning, lol.
I think he looks like Diana’s brother, Charles, the Earl Spencer.
I said this yesterday but using your kids as an explanation for your poor work ethic, just puts an undue burden on those kids of perfection. And, it has the added benefit of making it seem like anyone who doesn’t take weeks long vacations when their kids are out of school, and the entire summer off, are horrible parents who are bound to have terrible children.
That’s what’s very strongly implied by all of these articles. We’ll take the criticism that we’re lazy, but our kids are going to be great because we aren’t always at work. Always trying to pretend that they are some relatable middle-class family, but they never want to acknowledge that they can do the things that they do because of their immense unearned privilege.
But I suppose that’s what happens when you have one side that wants to cosplay being middle class like they’re going on Safari, and another side that wants to forget that they ever were middle class except for how it can land better for PR.
He’s 13 too young for excess p r spin
I agree they are laying it on so thick it’s became slimy now.. I hate parents who think they are experts, perfect parents and that their kids are perfect because I’ve found that it’s typically smoke and mirrors put out to cover up a crumbling or highly dysfunctional home.. typically it’s the extremely narcissistic parents love to praise themselves for brilliant parenting.. they have the teenage years to navigate.
Yes, it puts the kids in a tough position. It ends up putting MORE of a spotlight on the children and any mistakes they might make, because we’ve heard for over a decade now how William and Kate are reinventing the royal wheel and all of that. What happens when the wheel stops where it stopped with William – as an overindulged, pampered, entitled, lazy person with no sense of duty? That sounds harsh but it seems to be how William and Kate are raising these kids. Privilege first, duty a far distant second.
And yes, it makes it sound like working parents are to blame for their children’s mistakes and issues. There is a middle ground between working the hours that Charles works/worked* and working 40 hours a week while the kids are boarding (or the nanny is picking them up etc.)
I know why they cling so hard to this happy family narrative – its really all they have – but the thread is starting to pull loose. Here we have English admitting that George has been boarding at Lambrook regularly for YEARS now. I’m assuming Charlotte is boarding frequently as well. And yet they can never work more than an hour a day once every two weeks because of being “hands on parents”?????
I think we’re going to get more of these drips of information because the press is going to be frustrated that they have nothing to write about besides how amazing George is.
*honestly even when Charles wasn’t working it sounds like he was pretty checked out with those boys, skiing and safari trips aside
According to his former PR man (who has been rehired at the King’s Foundation?)
“The Windsors are very good at working three days a week five months of the year, and making it look like they work hard.”
Charles has never worked a 40 hour work week, he’s always worked far less.
I do think Charles is more involved with paperwork and background information and the red boxes (that he has gotten for decades) than someone like Anne for example. And he does work consistently throughout the year, but of course each engagement is going to very in length etc.
But even so – with that quote – the appalling thing about it is that yes, overall, Anne and Charles are very good at that (making three days a week of work 5 months a year look like hard work.)
And William and Kate can’t even do that!!! They only work three days a week when Meghan is out and about publicly.
Charles prepares for the engagements and he’s doing hundreds of them. When they speak of work behind the scenes it is Charles who did it.
Now it’s not the same as other jobs where the hours are much more, but it still takes up time.
That said I agree with Becks1 that Charles wasn’t checked in the same way for parenting. Had he been emotionally available he could do something with the time he had with his sons.
Meanwhile Kate and William are setting their kids up to be perfect because of all the alleged hands on parenting and when there is a crack it will look that much worse. The press will likely hide any mistakes by George but Charlotte and Louis will face the brunt of it.
In one of the documentaries some years back, Harry talked about how in the evening he and Will had to climb over papers in Charles’ office to get to him to say goodnight. You could argue that maybe Charles could have passed some of those hours with his sons instead, but from Harry’s remark it’s clear Charles (still POW at that point) spent quite a lot of time working.
Keen did not set an example of being heart and soul the way he she treated meghan.
I mean, being the heart and soul doesnt mean you’re a good person necessarily.
I’mma wait for William’s counterstrike to say George looks up to him too! :))
Yeah, this article smells like Middleton.
There’s a decided Bucklebury stench to it.
They are setting these children up for a frustrating life. Far too much exposure, far too young
The same dynamic that played out between harry and william will play out with george, charlotte and louis once they are older. We can literally already see it. Narratives are already being written. That is what happens when *someone* prioritises winning scores in the press more than tackling a toxic tabloid landscape. Thank God archie and lili are far away from this mess.
1. This whole write up is about W and K, not George. Which is fine, leave the kid alone.
2. The very little we know W and K are interested in are: sports and outdoors (Kate) and making people think you are manly pilot (W). Of course, that’s George’s only strong suit, because he is allowed to be awsome enough to earn his parents praise but god forbid he becomes better at anything. He is sporty and loves flying, so they want him to do some pilot training, to show that that’s the best thing an heir can do.
3. Ripping up the royal rule book is praise worthy, unless you paint your nails dark or close the car door for yourself.
I doubt a direct heir would get pilot training as a child
Ah of course. I meant in the future when he grows up. My point was that they are already projecting that he will do and like exactly what his parents have and nothing more. He is not encouraged to show them up academically or in his future endeavers. That’s what’s beginning to unfold, in my view.
It sounds like Kate or Carole have been briefing the press again re Kate being the heart of the family etc. it will be interesting to see if a similar story about his relationship with William appears soon.
W&K might be hands-on and loving parents but I think they are doing a very poor job of preparing their children for their future roles. The other European royal families all seem to do an excellent job of balancing their children’s privacy with royal events. The Windsors seem to muck it up with every generation 😩
On the one hand they have been throwing their kids in front of the cameras as deflection from themselves for years while simultaneously seeming to skip all the actually useful experiences that we see the other royals doing. Plus goodness knows what happens behind the scenes but I don’t think any of it will help those kids grow up to be considerate and resourceful human beings. I hope that boarding gives George space away from the family environment but I’m not convinced Elton will do anything other than polish an ego of a future king.
We have always said that the children seem to.have a better relationship with William in that they are very relaxed around him, Kate on the other hand iust comes across as fake and rather cold ! So definitely this has leaked back to this Middleton.homestead and here we are !
@CERYS
I see neither love nor commitment here—just a lot of talk about it, while the facts tell a different story.
– From birth, each child had their own nanny, plus a head nanny. That means four nannies looked after the three children, alongside a support staff: a cook, cleaners, wardrobe assistants, and…
– Transporting the children: only security personnel drove them to and from school; the parents were never seen there—as noted by the furious mother of another student who was waiting outside for the royals to get to class so the rest could enter.
– Transporting the children (part 2): for several years, the children have been living at boarding school—a fact that was constantly concealed while we were fed stories about the daily school run.
– Daily family atmosphere, baking cookies à la Sussex: see above regarding boarding school. Secondly, for at least six years (possibly longer), William has lived separately at Kensington Palace, where a helicopter flies him in every evening—something local residents witness.
– Adelaide Cottage sat empty most of the time because Kate spent the majority of her time with her mother.
– Someone who loves their children doesn’t mess with their heads by making them spout fiction about their family life and their own experiences (Kate and Charlotte didn’t actually play the piano; it was playing itself), nor do they burden them with parents who hate and fight each other.
– There is no visible closeness or natural, relaxed behavior between the children and Kate and William. The children are drilled, corrected, and scolded by Kate.
– All in all, they’re in for a rough time…
“they’re screwed
Yeah….
I just want to correct the living apart thing. I would pin it around early 2021 when the zooms stopped being from Anmer Hall and were then from Sandringham. Covid restrictions were still in place and so it is more likely that William moved to Wood Farm around the time of the Oprah interview because Philip had been moved to Windsor castle with the Queen during the Covid lockdown in the UK.
By the time Adelaide cottage was set up he was definitely commuting by chopper from KP, as confirmed by KP neighbours.
I also agree that the kids are more stiff with kate in public because Kate is always looking for that shot for the photographers of being the hands on parent.
They’ve always lived separately a lot of the time. She didn’t live with him in Wales, she stayed in London or was with mummy in Bucklebury. After George was born, she was back with their parents for a solid year.
During second pregnancy and after the birth? He deliberately did “work” things to live away from her for months. The fake re-training for the agriculture program. Ditto the fake helo training for a year and the fake helo job.
I’d put the more blatant full-time separation before COVID, but definitely apart during COVID. In the early months of COVID he got it but she didn’t. Yes yes I know people will say that happens. If you’re sleeping in the same bed every night for weeks before one of you was diagnosed, how likely is it that the other person doesn’t get it?
She was at Anmer, he was at the main house until Philip was dragged to Windsor. Then Bill took over Wood Farm.
Everyone wants to set a good example for their children but when you actually use them as props in your PR what you get is something subtly but naggingly different: performance parenting. Which is pretty rude.
It’s interesting who the Royals and press view as marginalized in the UK. It would seem that only the homeless are considered marginalized, not black and brown people or members of the LBGTQ community. Anyway as Kaiser has said these George at 13 pieces in the press are really about embiggening William and Kate not about George. Another thing, as I said the other day, it’s very interesting to see the press admit that George was boarding for quite some time at Lambrook.
@AmyBee I find the admission that George, Charlotte, and probably Louis have been boarding for years the most interesting thing about George’s birthday rollout. For years, W&K have been going on and on about the sainted school run and being hands on parents, just to find out that these kids aren’t being driven to school everyday and aren’t even at home. How hands on can you be if your children aren’t living with you day to day? Now it’s just out in the open that their years long excuses to get out work aren’t even true and the press is acting like this all common knowledge trying to put a bow on it. So interesting.
@Amy Bee and @JT I suspect everyone behind the scenes at the Firm and RR know that the kids board and Will and Kate have a lot of space in their togetherness LOL 😂 So when in 2024 he suddenly remembered he was devoted to wife and school runs as an excuse for being unable to cover for the boss , no one was buying that!!
I dont think you can board at Lambrook until 8, so probably not Louis yet, but I’m sure that’s coming. It makes you wonder if they moved to Windsor specifically so those kids could board as soon as possible (George was 9 when they moved) without people knowing they were boarding.
IMO someone on here noted you can start boarding at Lambrook at 7.
ah I just looked and yes it is 7! dont know why I thought 8. So maybe George and Charlotte have been boarding the whole time there, at least partly, and Louis since last year.
He wanted to escape.
@Becks1 I can never remember how old Louis is lol. The about face regarding the kids boarding is so interesting to me. Just a few months ago there were stories saying that W&K are shuffling the kids off to their various activities, helping with homework, and spending their days with the kids. Of course everyone here knew that was bs, but their PR was all in on this narrative. The children boarding blows a hole in their entire middle class schtick and most importantly, their lack of work. What the hell are they doing throughout the week? Why did they need a new, bigger forever home with 150 acres of public land? Why do they still need Nanny Maria when it’s just Louis at home full time? Why can’t they do foreign trips like the Foregin Office wants them to? Why was Kate’s PR whining about George boarding at Eton when he’s been boarding for years? They’ve been using their kids as an excuse when those kids aren’t even there. It’s so interesting to me. Everyone here has a clue but will the press start needling them about these questions now that this news is out there?
@JT we keep saying Will needs intensive therapy after or during rehab. Is it possible he is having some kind of intervention which is why his schedule has really dipped since becoming PoW and the kids are boarding and the youngest has his nanny and grandparents?
@JT I just track his birth by the Sussexes wedding, lololol.
the boarding thing IS interesting to me. I know we started speculating here a few months ago that they were boarding and it was being covered up – and the one thing that makes sense is their refusal to work during school holidays. If the kids are boarding that makes a lot more sense and I think more people would understand that. but the issues are they aren’t boarding full time, so they’re still home on weekends, and also, they pretty much refuse to work PERIOD.
@Lady Digby I doubt William is any kind of therapy or rehab, simply because his PR is still the same old incandescent with rage BS. I think people who are actually working in themselves would have a more positive or at least neutral outlook.
@Becks1I remember Mary Pester’s comments around the Kate Missington months saying that the kids were boarding. This would be about 2024. I bet they needed the Frankenphoto as proof of life because the whole family wasn’t together during that period. The complete 180 around their home life is so interesting, lol. W&K are essentially empty nesters who probably only see each other at engagements, so rarely, and school holidays. They’re doing f*ckall for 7 months out of the year and the kids aren’t even the reason.
This raises my hackles to have working full time to provide for your children is somehow equated with emotional neglect!! Most of us don’t have the wealth and privilege to only work twice a week half the year. Anyway I feel it is an important life lesson to learn that working brings financial benefit and satisfaction. How much every day experiences has George missed out on by being through no fault of his own, rich and privileged? Has George ever stood in a queue and learnt to wait his turn for anything? Being patient and waiting like everyone else? Has he ever used public transport and missed his connection? Doing chores to supplement pocket money? Being told that he can’t have anything he wants because he’ll have to save up his pocket money? Waiting and saving and doing little jobs to earn money encourage you to value the effort that goes into getting what you want: goal setting and perseverance and the pleasure of anticipation. I am 62 and when I was a girl I was promisedSindy for Christmas. I spent my pocket money on simple materials and made her a set of clothes and it was creative heaven! My dad made me a dolls house and I helped decorate it myself: such joy to collaborate on a project with him.
Remember this is the same dumb bitch who said children raised in happy loving homes don’t develop mental health issues.
So how’s about your brother’s fake depression Kitty Keen? Didn’t Mummy Carole provide a loving home? Eh?
I don’t know if Kate is the best mother on the planet – but, given that particular family, it’s probably right to say that she’s the heart and soul. I don’t think anybody doubts that she loves her children and they seem to love her, too.
Forget to add – I love how she calls Forest Lodge their “forever home.” There was no reason to put it in quotation marks like that except she doesn’t believe it.
Nanny Maria and her team are the heart and soul of the family.
Kate thinks of no one but herself and has no empathy for others. Members of her family have admitted that.
The children are PR tools, excuses not to work, and insurance policies. All three of the kids have publicly shown disrespect for her and dismissive behavior towards her.
Well, I’m part of the public and I’ve never seen the children show Kate disrespect, just the normal behavior of children. And despite her behavior toward a lot of adults, I’ve never heard anyone say she doesn’t love her children.
We all have different definitions of what constitutes normal behavior. I’ve read plenty of people question Kate’s feelings towards these children.
Recollections may vary.
@Eurydyka
Is citing what someone said—or didn’t say—supposed to be proof of Kate’s love for her children?
If we were to go by “what people say”—even on TV :))—then William and Kate would be the most deeply in love couple in Great Britain, the best parents the world has ever seen, brilliant virtuosos, top athletes in every discipline, and the hardest-working people in the entire kingdom.
That is what some people say and the media writes.
Undoubtedly, Kate harbors some feelings toward her children—whatever that might mean (much like Charles spoke of his feelings for his newlywed, very young wife)—but it is not love, devotion, or concern for their well-being; one doesn’t need anyone else’s opinion to see that—one’s own eyes suffice. Kate cares only about Kate and focuses exclusively on herself. Amusingly enough, this is exactly what her uncle Gary—a drug addict, wife-beater, and brothel-keeper rolled into one—said about her publicly in an interview: “Kate cares only about Kate, and it’s always been that way—she’s all about herself,” Uncle Gary said proudly, seemingly under the impression that he was doing her a favor with those words.
I suspect Nanny Maria is the heart and soul of the family. And second to her, Carole Middleton. Kate comes third.
Kate doesn’t have a heart and she certainly doesn’t have a soul.
She is the worst kind of at-home mom, the kind who lords her privilege over moms in the workforce and thinks other moms are lesser because they work outside of the home.
Oddly, in my experience, those “superior” at-home moms had a tendency, like Kate, to spend hours at the gym every day, while pretending that they devoted every hour of every day to their children.
^This! She’s an empty tradwife in a failed marriage, clinging to a husband who never wanted her.
Last time the Middleton’s went this large embiggening keener, the cracks in the Wails marriage became obvious, she started appearing in public obviously, er, altered, and she ended up disappearing completely from public view for 6 months. Those precancerous cells did A LOT of heavy lifting to re-write several narratives. When one flies too close to the sun (demands glowing press) with poorly constructed wings (completely lacking in work ethic/preparation), the wax melts from your wings (the rota fawning will end) and you will go kaplat with a bang (you will experience the horrid press you have unleashed on others). Play stupid ganes win stupid prizes. It is sickening watching the Wails (or any celebrity) embiggen themselves using their kids as tabloid fodder. Eventually the rota are going to turn on the Windsors again and will have 10 plus years of ammunition.
In the case of the Middletons, they have nearly 30 years worth of ammunition (illegal business practices, uncle gary, kate’s stalking)
True on the Middleton’s sketchy history NEVER being properly reported. Uncle Gary should have ended her as a prospect and the Middleton’s should not be able to show their faces in public after the way the Party Pieces bankruptcy was handled. Prior to 2016 the Wails/Middleton’s did get some snarky coverage though. (Waity Katey, workshy Wills, scrutiny into Willy’s work record). They never received the hysterical rota hatred both of Willy’s parents got in the 80s/90s. The level of bile piled onto the Sussexes has been staggering, especially since they permanently left the UK in 2020. Historians will study the smear campaign (social media bias, oligarchy controlled press narratives, ai written articles, bot armies) in future generations.
I don’t doubt Kate is the heart and soul of that family . . . but that’s not really praise for Kate, its more that William is a raging monster with little affection to give to anyone, including his family. Kate’s just a better parent by default.
Yes, that was my point, too. Given that the bar is so low, this isn’t an unreasonable statement.
It is much more likely Nanny Maria.
Carole tried to be it, but the kids saw through it and turned to nanny maria.
This has been seen publicly since George was a toddler. Ex. He burst into tears and fled w&k&carole at Charlotte’s weird public christening. Fled straight to nanny maria.
What has his mother done except ‘marry well and produce the heir and some spares’? Most children do love their mothers but this is piled on too thick.
Should children be allowed to be children- to some extent-yes. George is not like other children though. He is the future king (maybe) and should start learning on the job. He should be accompanying his parents to some of their meet and greets (age appropriate ones like visiting sick children). He should be learning the public facing part of his future job. Unless Charles or some other person takes him under his/their wing, he’ll be as ill prepared for the the job as Will is.
They have ascribed not working to ‘family first!’. Except that they are not really taking care of their children by themselves. Each has a nanny and there are several household helps available to them. Kate didn’t have to deal with 2 under 2 by herself. No one was asking them to trek miles across the desert to do tours- they could stay local and do a few engagements each week. I’m pretty sure Kate is not popping into Tesco’s to get a meat and veg for dinner each night and cooking dinner. And now that the children are boarding at school, they have even less reason not to work. George does not look enthused about doing engagements.
When are we getting the Tiger Beat magazines with photos of the ‘handsome boy king’ with articles on how George is a wiz at tennis, his favorite sports/foods/movies, etc? How soon before every aristocratic girl is linked to him? I feel so sorry for these children as the enter the difficult teen years. The British press will not go easy on them.
The British media will never be as vile to them as they are to the Sussexes, and we all know why.
Ben Pimlott’s book about the late Queen observed that she was apprenticed to her father, when he was alive, much as a boy would have been apprenticed to his father, in the family trade, if the family were in trade, and the same might have been true at every point on the class scale. Children mostly did what they saw their parents do. Carpenters raised carpenters, royals raised royals. Everyone had a niche into which they were expected to slot. There wasn’t much social mobility, and that was the point, so there wasn’t much social climbing. But everyone had a place from which to make, an acknowledged contribution to society. Everyone fit in somewhere. If his parents aren’t letting him learn on the job — because they can’t be arsed to do the job — they are setting George up to fail, or to be a figurehead. The head of state has a surprising amount of influence, and even some real power, here, but the late Queen also proved that you had to be pretty canny to use it, and you really had to play a kind of chess game, that influence was earned, not granted. The role now is what you make of it. But so is the rest of life, people are expected to make their own way and make their own choices. WanK have simply refused to make any choices at all. They think just existing is enough. Poor George, I have a feeling when this kid is old enough, he’ll see how pointless all of this is, when it’s entrusted to people with no sense of mission or commitment. Or curiosity. Or inspiration. What a dreary life.
Some of what they described reminds me of Princess Diana. It’s possible that Prince George takes a little bit after his grandmother. The shyness and “shyly looking down” etc.
‘…hugely look up to his mother,….’??????? How does one ‘hugely look up to’ a parent? Are there gradations to looking up to someone? Do you vaguely look up to someone? Barely look up to someone? Kinda sorta look up to someone? Such odd phrasing.