American Vogue is running a very curious feature called “Kate Middleton’s Quiet Power: How the Queen-to-Be Defined Herself in 2020.” First of all, I hate it when we’re like “let’s assess someone’s year!” and it’s only mid-September. Even in a normal, non-pandemic year, Kate would only *barely* begin thinking about being keen about various annual projects at this point in the year, just ahead of a “flurry” of pre-Christmas events. So, clearly, I came into this article thinking that it would just be another vague embiggening fluff piece. And it is… but it’s also kind of shady too? Vogue summarizes Kate’s Hold Still photography project (while subtly pointing out that Kate didn’t even really do a “launch” for it), they embiggen Kate’s Zoom calls, but then these sections happen:
That’s not to say nothing went wrong, publicity-wise, for the duchess during this period. In late March, Tatler published a story about the duchess, claiming, among many things, that she was “furious” about her larger workload after Harry and Meghan’s departure. [editor’s note: the Tatler piece was actually released in May.] Palace shot back at the publication: “This story contains a swathe of inaccuracies and false misrepresentations which were not put to Kensington Palace prior to publication,” said a spokesperson—and it sought legal action. (In a statement, Tatler stood by its reporting.)
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It’s pertinent to mention that another under-the-radar, yet significant thing happened in April: The Cambridges hired Harry and Meghan’s old social media manager after the Sussexes left royal life. While other royal accounts were filled with routine stock images, @sussexroyal had been, well, interesting. There were candid iPhone pictures of Harry and Meghan holding hands, black and white shots, quote cards with aesthetically pleasing typefaces. One day they even posted an artsy picture of Archie’s foot next to some flowers. For a time, the Sussexes account was the fastest-growing on Instagram.
Sure enough, similar social media techniques cropped up on the Cambridge’s account, @kensingtonroyal. There’s William and Kate with their backs to the camera, Kate’s hand tenderly on William’s back. An iPhone picture of a pint of beer and some curry, to plug William’s appearance on That Peter Crouch Podcast. A screenshot of an email sent by the duchess, informally signed “C.” Then there was the viral post that juxtaposed two pictures of Prince Louis: one, of him peacefully finger painting; the other, smearing said paint all over his face. They captioned it with an internet catchphrase: “Instagram vs. reality.” The couple gained more than 8,400 followers on Twitter that day. Slowly but surely, the couple, and transitively, Kate, have been compounding an incredibly valuable currency: invested followers, the 2020 version of loyal subjects.
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Yet with polished reserve, Kate Middleton has trudged on in L.K. Bennett heels. “Kate understands what she is expected to do,” says royal historian Sally Bedell Smith. “She grasps that hers is a lifetime commitment.”
Bedell also points out that the duchess has figured out how to make the near-impossible possible: “She also has a natural ability to blend accessibility and dignity with a royal mystique that shields her privacy—a tough line to navigate,” Smith says.
The royal mystique thing is interesting – I’m reminded again of how little Kate actually has to do, and how her constant disappearing act and her blankness lends itself to magazines, tabloids and royal commentators projecting all of these queenly aspects to her character. She’s basically lazy and quiet, and by embiggening her so much, the world is telling little girls that should be their aim in life too: marry rich, be lazy and quiet and everyone will think you’re God’s gift. But yeah, Vogue was having a little bit of fun with it. They’re not wrong either – the Cambridges’ social media game has gotten a lot better since they hired the Sussexes’ social media director. And yes, the Cambridges were copying the Sussexes. And the Tatler debacle was one of the biggest Cambridge stories of the year. Let’s see what happens in the last three months of the year though.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Poor guy. With the Sussexes it was all ‘look at the material’ With the Cambridges it is ‘where is the material?’ There is only so much propping up one can do. Recent example of the east end bakery fiasco being the case in point. With them lazy is as lazy does. And while we are at it, once her face settles, she needs to self care. It’s obvious that she’s been looking ill and gaunt for ages. For her mental health and that of her children, whatever is wrong needs to be righted.
I agree. I still find their social media boring because THEY are boring and they really don’t care about their work.
Thing is, for them, it’s okay to be boring. A large part of their image is based on being a normal country loving middle class-esque family. There image is built on stability, they /depend/ on stability. It doesn’t matter how boring they are, unless there’s a republic, William and Kate will get that throne. William’s popularity in the UK hasn’t really dipped, especially amongst the royalists. He’s still got the halo of being Diana’s son.
Their need to be seen as glamorous yet but also appeal to the right-wing conservative base is not… good. The need to play “middle man” to both “parties” is turning both of them off. If they keep this up, they’re going to end up loosing the older, conservative support base and not gain the younger, more liberal base.
I agree Sofia but it might be too late to play the middle man to both parties, as Wllileaks has surrounded himself with Brexiteer tories and the government has bailed him out a few times to cover for his lack of drive and passion. Any veneer of neutrality has now been completely wiped off and unfortunately for him, anytime he shows any support for a seemingly left wing or ‘woke’ initiative, he gets abuse from his far right racist base.
But that’s my point. Any attempt to appeal to both is useless because he’ll be insulted by both the conservative and liberal bases. The Cambridges need to just stick to their older, Tory supporting base
@Sofia – I get what you’re saying and I agree. A good example is the recent IG post with the Reels video set to Harry Styles’ Watermelon Sugar (which was a poor choice of a song anyway) – but the whole thing set off the hardcore fans. Too much of an attempt to be “cool” and not acting “royal.” But it was a clear attempt to reach out to a different demographic. And it fell flat.
@Sofia – the problem for them is that this older, conservative base won’t be there forever. I do think that Meghan’s arrival + the Cambs’ jealousy pushed them into the right-wing crowd because those people immediately hated Meghan and the Cambridges hated her too and decided to appeal to that crowd because they want to be popular. That also meant that they left the young, progressive segment to Harry and Meghan. Now that H and M are gone, they’re trying to win that audience back – but that angers their right-wing audience.
@ArtHistorian: To a certain extent, William (as a future monarch) needs the support of the media because royals live and die by public opinion and we’ve all seen how bad a smear campaign from the media can get. But the main big issue is that he’s gone completely overboard.
At this point, it’s pretty much too late. Any attempts to reach to the liberal base will just be met with eye-rolls from both the conservatives and liberals.
Whether the Cambridges like it or not, the older conservative base is the one they’ve got so they have to make do with that.
“Whether the Cambridges like it or not, the older conservative base is the one they’ve got so they have to make do with that.”
– until that base dies out. Then they better hope that they appeal to some other people.
Very much so, it is very clear the party line they fall on and they have sealed their fate which is why you see the base is filled with racists, and in denial white liberal racists. They have created a hostile environment which not truly self respecting poc or egalitarian would join/follow.
@sofia Which is also a catch 22 place they’ve put themselves into because those of the Conservative and far right bases have no longevity because of their 50/60+ age. And because of all they’ve done and the fact that the younger people don’t like the monarchy anyway and have grown even more hatred to it even if it’s subconsciously as they see what they did. And the racially charged the vitriol used to prop up Kate in sac rife of meghan, they have royally fucked themselves over.
Reading this headline, the only thing I could think of was the Catherine the Great article lol.
People on here have raised the point of her being a blank canvas and how that’s part of her appeal – that others can project what they want onto her. And I think it’s a good point. We see it here like Kaiser pointed out – Kate isn’t lazy, she has “royal mystique.”
Seriously though, has any woman in recent history been praised so much for doing nothing?
In some media circles Melania Trump has been praised the same way. Basically there is no difference between the UK royal rota and the US right wing media. They spread propaganda which includes praising an empty woman who has done nothing of value in her life and barely does the few things expected of her in return.
Stands to reason. The majority of W&K stans in the UK are racist Little Englanders. Their US stans are huge Drumpf supporters.
Good point Nic. People who like Melania like that she just stands there and wears nice clothes and keeps her mouth shut. And that she’s white, as opposed to Michelle Obama.
Yes, I agree with you, Nic. Good analogy!
Exactly Nic919; I have made the same analogy in the past; Fox News is not a news channel even though they pretend to be one; their treatment of MO is in stark contrast to how they see Melania.
In a way:
– Kate is Melania……empty, intellectually incurious; overall mediocre
– while Meghan is MO ….. way too articulate and smart for a certain type of crowd who likes their women quiet!
The Queen ?
Ha!!! that was good.
I agree although I think. The blank canvas technique only works on the older generation maybe 50+, for millennials and Gen Z, having no personality and being a wafer in the wind with no moral grounding is not praised but seen as outdated and being complicit in oppression. You’ll be hard pressed to find a celebrity that is popular with Gen Z that doesn’t have some kind of entertainment/ personality enticing factor – yes even the kardashians especially being a housewife certainly doesn’t cut it, nor is it seen as impressive for someone who has 3 nanny’s so the ‘Kate Middleton supermum child extraordinaire isn’t gonna cut it either’
Why is *American* Vogue part of the annual keening? Quiet power over what? Her racist stans?
That article was mostly shade. Kate is 38 and just not an ingenue anymore. She’s a failure to launch. And Anna Wintour would probably prefer Meghan on the cover.
The Cambridges have clearly decided that they want a piece of the American media market – they want to compete with the Sussex’s in the US now that they have left they UK. The Cambridges are too lazy to court the US media in the way they should – they will find that the US media are not as ‘manageable’ as they have come to expect from the UK media.
Am not sure Wintour would even put Kate on the cover of American Vogue even thou Top CEO would kill for her to.
Yeah, its been clear for a while now that this is part of their game. They want to steal the US market from the Sussexes. It wont work, but they can try. The Cambridges are boring. they just are. Even if they worked a ton, they would still be boring. And that’s okay in itself, but its not going to get you widespread coverage in the US.
We’ve been saying for a while now that its weird that Katie Nicholl is pushing herself in US media like she has been, but I think many here assumed that was HER doing it – wonder if she got some advice from the Cambridges that they wanted more US coverage?
And no, the US press will not cooperate with the Cambridges the way the UK press does. Hell Us weekly (or people? or both?) put the affair story on their cover.
It’s so much easier to fight with someone else than build your own thing.thing. Lol, maybe Kate will bring her (landmark) 5 question survey to the US.
Kate is a squib. She’s not going to be able to compete with Meghan here.
@Becks1. Yup. And we also have a more diverse media who will happily go in on Kate’s white woman tears and Karen behavior. The US media is not invested in propping up the Cambridges. They’re not our FFK and FFQ.
@Becks1 they can try all they want but the very fact that meghan is an american with the very high possibility of giving birth to a prince or princess in AMERICA will be propped over especially when the American media are getting exclusives left and right from them. This is America’s chance of creating another grace kelly or thier own diana.
It’s quite funny how one of the common criticisms from the royalists about the Sussexes was that they focused on American media too much yet you’ve got the Future Future King and Queen courting America media now
Kate was on the cover of UK vogue and it was one of the worst selling covers and they had to make up excuses for the poor sales. No one cares about Kate except a few die hard stans. She’s not Diana and never will be.
The problem with courting the US Media? (and I don’t mean People or US Weekly) Is that the reporters ask questions and they expect answers. If W&K want to keep doing the social scene rags okay but H&M are orienting to hard hitters like the NYTimes, WaPo, Vanity Fair. Does W&K expect to play in the same sandbox? W&K better be careful for what they wish for.
Exactly! Saw headlines in Huffington Post article one week about Kate Middleton something something, the next week about Pippa taking son for walk. Definitely didn’t read either, but, if anyone believes the Cambridges’ aren’t jealous and trying to find an American audience, I’ve got a nice bridge to sell you.
IDK..I think a big rose trimming scandal would garner plenty of U.S. media coverage.
@bettyrose – I edited my comment like a hundred times before posting lol but one of the things I had said was that Will and Kate aren’t the “good” kind of interesting (like charismatic, exciting projects, etc) – but they would get plenty of attention for the “bad” kind of interesting – affair, marriage breakdown, etc. I don’t think they want that, lol. But it may be a question of “be careful what you wish for.”
@Bluemoonhorse – agreed. If K&W want more coverage than just People, they need to be prepared for critical looks at their work. As long as H&M are being covered by the likes of WaPo and NYT, K&W are going to fall short. And no amount of embiggening articles is going to make them interesting enough to cover in those outlets.
@bamaborn and @Becks1 I have a yahoo email account so this last month I’ve noticed an uptick in stories on the home page about W&K in the embiggening style. These are all online rags and I am sure they are paid promotion. The Kartrashians do the same thing to keep themselves relevant.
H&M aren’t going there for their legacy. W&K will thus fall short. The other interesting bit for me is that Kate is beginning to age out. In 10 years, what will people think of Kate and her nothing legacy?
And isn’t People seeing a decline in readership? Hm.
@Digital Unicorn, I’m not sure about that. Remember a few years ago that Wintour and Enniful were said to be in not such… “good terms”? And then, Wintour was photographed with TQ multiple times for LFW? And now we have Enniful making a huge U-turn re TopCEO? Long story short, I think if need be, Wintour will help the hopeless couple.
“Kate understands what she is expected to do” – Yes she does: be quiet, show up, don’t look like a fashion plate and do the bare minimum. It’s like Ma Middleton took the opposite of what Diane did and told her daughter THIS is what they expect you to do. I don’t think the courtiers would give her that advice. And let’s’ be honest, no matter who they hire to up their game and look good it won’t work because even the best chef will fail in his/her culinary skills when dealing with mediocre quality ingredients. And that is what we have have in Wills and Kate: Mediocrity.
Kate doesn’t even show up.
Kate shows up where she wants to or when she has to. Like for example, the tennis matches. But when she does she up it’s almost like she wasn’t even there.
Or look like a fashion plate.
They only gave her the tennis patronage because her constant attendance at mens-only matches (instead of working) was hacking people off. Plenty of time to go see tennis, but no time to work. This way, she still gets to idly do nothing but watch tennis, but it counts as ‘work’.
LOL Bettyrose.
@Seraphina ~ That would make an interesting cooking show though…how to make a gourmet meal with sub standard ingredients. I would watch that
@ Shirley Gail, I love to bake and cook, when I use good quality ingredients it really shows. Not to mention the “love” aspect. You have to love or want to do it. When I’m not feeling well it comes through in the end result. Kinda like Wills and Kate. They don’t love what they do and it shows. Add to it their mediocrity and there you have it.
@ Seraphina, she isn’t a fashion plate, she is a fashion fail! I can’t stand the way a Keen dresses and she has nothing to offer. Wilileaks and Keen can’t touch the US media market as they will be roasted out of the gate. They will be asked hard hitting questions and they will fell I Sr with their mouths dropped open. Keep them across the pond where they belong!
As for this fluff piece, I didn’t read anything in it that groundbreaking or earth shattering. Run along Wilileaks and Keen…..
these two are the definition of white mediocrity. we’ll see how long this act lasts. with the pandemic, costly brexit, commonwealth breaking apart one by one, andy’s pedo ways, and the queen dying soon, mediocrity can only go so far.
This will last a couple more generations. There are enough white racists to keep their “old, comforting” institution in place for now (“comforting” = “reminder of when they had a white-ruled empire”). I can see change in two more generations (once the middle aged whites die off and are replaced by a more enlightened and diverse population), but not yet.
I agree Mrs Krabble, which is why I need Charles to be king and hold the position as long as possible to spanner up Williams chance, once those now 50+’s die off the going is gonna get good
You are so right. They truly embody cheered-on white mediocrity
LOOOOL. I really can’t wait until the sussex launch their new instagram.
@ Oh, me too!!!!!!
Yeah they hired their sm guy and I’m sure a stipulation of leaving was not being allowed to use Sussex Royal cause they definitely could’ve upgraded with a new sm guy and do *even better*. I think a lot of those ideas came from Meghan anyway. Side note but I wonder if the Cambridges will start buying bots again once Archewell launches.
There seems to be some astroturfing happening on Twitter! I hope Caity Weaver picks up on that!
as a non-twitterer what does astroturfing mean? I’m an old
It’s artificially creating the appearance of support. Corporations and political parties do it. Kate recently got an award from an organization that doesn’t appear to exist.
Thanks Kalana, I appreciate you
Dullest WAG in the world.
Meghan’s pre-Royal social media game was on point so she no doubt was a big reason behind the success of Sussex Royal. The Keens squandered their opportunity to capture the public’s fancy by being so lazy and uninspiring.
It’s hilarious to look at Kensingtonroyal social media account before and after Sussexroyal. The theft of ideas was real.
It continues to fascinate me that the Cambridges are so desperate for attention and popularity, but still refuse to do anything more concrete towards that – like up their work game. Do more appearances, maybe polish their skills a bit. (Read those notes Will. Work on your speaking Kate). The Sussexes were gone from the UK, Will and Kate had the arena, and, not much happened. They want the adulation, but on their terms of continuing to do as little as they can get away with.
They also don’t seem to get, or don’t want to, that Harry and Meghan’s popularity is to a considerable extent due to actual accomplishments, being present and working (hard). The Cambridge camp appears to believe they can shine with the typical royal game of smoke and mirrors – that if Kate goes out in the same color blue as Meghan; if the couple does a baking event that mimics what Harry and Meghan did at Homeboy, or mimics what Meghan did with Hubb kitchen; if they hire the Sussexes‘ social media guy; if they continually put out articles about how amazing CEO Kate and statesman Will are, then the same popularity will ensue.
Just do the work guys, and occasionally look like you’re really, not fake, interested instead of obviously walking through a PR exercise. It’s really not that complicated.
I feel like maybe this September “retrospective” is a way for Kate to disappear for the rest of the year. Pack it in boys – we’ve already talked about her year in review! Let’s jet off to Mustique or Switzerland!
@noodle – ooh, good point. These annual embiggening articles are just paving the way for Kate to disappear for a few months. What else can she be expected to do? She’s already saved the monarchy!!!
Honestly, every time I see stories like this one, it makes me realise that Meghan was the blueprint. She demonstrated what a modern royal could do and how they could transform their role to appeal to a different demographic.
Once again Kate is nearly 40 and getting write ups about her fabulous year without having to do a damn thing. Don’t feel sorry for Kate, she’s got it made. All she has to do is sit back and allow the entire BM prop up….nothing. Must be nice. Meanwhile, people expect H&M to solve global hunger before they consider the couple worthwhile. The Sussexes work is getting criticized before they’ve even produced anything. The higher standards H&M have to deal with are ridiculous. The Cambridge’s and the RF are definitely trying to get a piece of the American market. They’ve been extremely heavy handed with their PR over here.
very true, the difference in how these two couples are perceived, critiqued and applauded is really crazy
The funny thing about all these reporters, magazines, newspapers is that they say one thing and then do another. If Kate and William were such superstars and are as powerful and popular as they say, why do they always feel the need to bring up Meghan, stalk the Sussexes moves etc. What’s apparent is that these people and organizations want access to the Cambridge’s but they all know where their bread is buttered. At this point, people write about Kate and William just to bring up the Sussexes. The day Archewell comes out and Meghan/Harry start hitting the circuit with Fashions and glamour, Kate and William will be an afterthought. They’re forced to cover them because the real superstars removed themselves.
This is where all that ‘hierarchy’ and overshadowing’ hoopla they had with the Sussexes and particularly Meghan never made sense to me. There’s a puff piece about Kate like this at least twice a year. Why aren’t the courtiers in a snit for the actual future queen Camilla? Especially when Camilla probably needs the PR more given her still fairly low popularity ratings.
This week there was another article about the crown skipping Charles straight to William and it happens every now and again. The Cambridges have been overshadowing the Cornwalls for years with with future king/future queen puff pieces like this so where are the meltdowns? Plus Harry was always 1st or second most popular royal for years so why the tantrums when Meghan came on the scene. Very odd
So, re: Camilla and the lack of “embiggening” articles about her – Charles did his job well 15-20 years ago, and she doesn’t need those articles anymore. I feel like people more or less accept her, even if they don’t adore her.
But, it is interesting to compare that lack to these articles about Kate, because if we follow my above logic, then it says that someone realizes they DO need these articles about Kate. They need to keep insisting that Kate really is amazing – and its becoming obvious that someone at KP realizes that people are going to stop believing she’s so amazing unless they keep this up.
Re: your last sentence about Meghan – everything else aside (including racism and xenophobia) I think part of the reason the palace was so freaked out about Meghan – especially KP – was because she highlighted how bad Kate was at this. She made the embiggening articles look stupid. She showed how much the Cambridges talk about what they’re going to do next but don’t actually do it. What’s the saying – “your excuse is invalid?” Meghan proved that for Kate. Oh you’re pregnant? not an excuse. Oh you have small children? not an excuse. Oh you just got married and are still trying to learn the ropes? not an excuse.
There were a lot of things at play with Meghan and her treatment, but I have always felt that was part of it, at least from the Cambridges.
I think you are absolutely right.
When Kate wore that blue inspired outfit and taking paparazzi photos after Meghan’s blue dress and that amazing umbrella shot, that let me know jealously was always involved. The Sussexes showed Kate and William up and they had to be knocked down but it backfired. Now William and Kate desperately need both of them in each other’s orbits because they know the media is not going to keep kissing ass for long. Especially when they know Meghan and Harry are the real money makers and have cut off any and all access.
Like when Kate showed up at a random train station on personal time and let herself be papped, trying to draw attention from something Harry and Meghan were doing. Straight out of the Diana vs. Fergie playbook.
Oogh Becks1 very good points. Hadn’t thought of that re Camilla & Kate.
Also yes Kate had a US fanbase but think she’s gained more fans in the US ie those who hate a mixed race Princess so think they are tapping into those with US puff pieces. And think the Cambridges want to be global players too. They have to be careful though as UK press may get upset if the US get exclusives etc- part of dragging the Cambridges started getting in 2016 (duchess Doolittle, Throne Idle) was when outlets like People were getting exclusive access.
Kate stans really believe those photo ops where Kate is seen out and about are spontaneous and not planned ahead of time. Kate is there grinning with makeup and hair intact but of course the stans say only Meghan wants attention. Ridiculous.
You make a great point but I think KP was threatened during the Australian/Oceanic tour. Harry was always a star but adding Meghan’s beauty and charisma was just the icing on the cake. But now the problem with the puff pieces is that it’s getting old, just as much as the Sussexes hate narrative. In my opinion the reason why KP is trying hard to get into America is too compete with the Sussexes but also because they know the BM is not going to keep playing nice for long. They are sitting on a lot of dirt and it’s clear that the Cambridge fan embiggining stories are losing steam and no one cares. The media doesn’t care about hierarchy when money is involved. The couple they want access to is in another country. Kate and William are headed for a hard fall.
Something else that’s happening is a mysterious blog giving an award to Kate for being a mental health influencer even though the actual organization doesn’t seem to exist. Victoria Arbiter sent a tweet asking about this award and it looks like some guy who started a blog in mid August and only posted positive articles in the last few weeks about each Middleton kid is the only source for this alleged award. It looks pretty obvious that Carole is paying for positive PR about all her kids and this vogue piece was probably another attempt but from a more legitimate publication.
That was SO weird. Victoria Arbiter is actually going to write a story about a blog giving Kate a fake award? She didn’t respond to any of the criticism to that tweet last I saw (even though it was pretty gentle relatively, IMO).
And the Kate stan that posted it is clearly being fed information if not outright working for KP. I want to know more about that! Her comments are a cesspool of Megxit conspiracy theorists.
Also Victoria Arbiter seems dodgy. She’s rumored to be behind an anonymous very anti-Sussex twitter account. She may not be thrilled with how the Sussex squad mocked her and her father.
I’m not sure if there are others but the only other RR I saw promoting this “award” is Richard Palmer who hates the Sussexes.
Was that the Kate stan who admitted-then-deleted the tweet that she was being paid for her posts?
I don’t know if Arbiter is behind that cambstan account. It’s a pretty racist account and I can’t see her doing that. Can I just mention that I find it so bizarre that some of the most vocal cambstan twitter accounts pretend they are black women? The cartoon pictures of black women don’t fool anyone.
Nota, the author of the blog who “reported” on this fake award is a different person than the one who admitted in the comments of an IG post that they get paid to post. Or at least a different handle. Someone like Caity Weaver should look into to this. The cambstan “fan base“ certainly seems full of trolls and cat fishing accounts.
@Nic919, No, the general royals follower account with the user who insists she works in pr. People think she’s Victoria Arbiter.
Then there’s a different user behind the Cambstan account with a #blm but who stays engaging with racist Camb accounts, and that weird blog account. Something is up there.
I noticed on twitter that Cambridge’s-stan accounts use cartoon images of black women to pretend they are not racist. Some of them even use stock images of black people. I also think that KP have bought up a lot of dormant twitter accounts, because you can see that date the account was launched.
I saw that post about being ‘paid’ to write comments. Seriously how popular do Willie and Kate actually feel when they are having to fake their fanbase?
My biggest question who is ‘murky meg’? I’m convinced she’s a Cambridge insider, maybe even Ma midds?
Could be Carole, Pippa, or James. James was caught years ago using a PP work account to sign up for royal discussion forums and attack anyone who was critical of Kate. Used a PP account and thought no one would notice? No overabundance of brain power in the Middleton household.
JMO but Charles lets W&K out there to be his stalking horse. It removes attention on Camilla. There are no articles about Camilla except ribbon cutting ones because the focus is on W&K. No articles = no mean press attacking his lady love who he barely lives with anymore. Remember, Charles is the spider who likes to work under the radar with his political machinations.
The real danger here is Covid. There is no immunity. QE or Charles get it (again in his case) and be dead within 30 days. The crown skipping to W is a real possibility.
Maybe this is why the queen took over for Kate with the NPG final 100? Could be she is tired of Kate enbiggening and ffq.
Quiet power is absolute made-up nonsense. It’s what happens when one looks at the real power of Meghan and Harry, and then glances over to Kate. Of course, in comparison, Kate can’t compare, so that’ when this insane “quiet power” concept gets brought up. It doesn’t exist! There is no quiet power emanating from Kate. Perhaps at one point she was useful and could calm Wills down and the family appreciated that about her, but now that job is probably done by Rose. So the real story is, Meghan and Harry are now the ones with the real power to effect change. Kate shops and smiles.
“Bedell also points out that the duchess has figured out how to make the near-impossible possible”
That’s so true… She’s figured out how to make the near-impossible of doing nothing possible! Kate IS Depressed. This competition they keep doing is a big failure. Cause who they are competing with ain’t competing with them. If they use this time and energy to support their charity instead of all this childish behavior, A lot of good would have come for it. But when you don’t know the true meaning of good. Know your valve as a Person and Human.
I think Kate is the sort who needs a nemesis, a woman to compete against–she won William (eventually), and she won again by bearing children, and she thought she won the War of the Rose AND the American War. When she realized she hadn’t won anything, really, she got a new face so she could fight again, which is too bad, because if she’d just shown up for “her” photo project, she would have won so much good will (no pun intended). And changing her face won’t change her neck and hands; the dewy fair skin that is the pride of the English Rose (again, no pun!) is, unfortunately, the skin that ages fastest. She’d be better looking if she wasn’t so consumed with negativity. Her smile never quite reaches her eyes.
With the excessive number of trips to Mustique over the years, she can kiss that fair dewy skin good-bye…
That article is so embarassing
i used to eagerly check sussexroyal daily to see what they posted. i don’t ever to bother to check on kensingtonroyal and have no interest. they are probably happy that people are no longer interested in them as i imagine kate would rather live a quiet life out of the spotlight whilst enjoying the perks of being royal.
Their engagement rate is appalling. People have checked out from the KP hotel and W&K have only got themselves to blame. We’re seeing the return of the pre-Meghan days for the royals. Harry was the only interest, but Harry isn’t there anymore. You can tell the Royals – especially KP – are scrambling and it shows.
How many times can a woman “come into her own”? Especially when said woman is nearing 40 with 3 kids. If she hasn’t defined herself at this point then I don’t think she ever will in the future. Especially as she’ll have no constitutional role in the future (unless she’s assigned to be regent). Her “job” will be to keep doing what she’s currently doing except with a shiny new title every so often.
I would be embarrassed. However I would have been embarrassed this first time I was publicly called lazy and would have made it my mission to outwork everyone else. Apparently Kate has her nose in the air and doesn’t care. Maybe she can borrow Malanias ‘I don’t really care’ coat.
Poor Kate. She miscalculated so spectacularly when she pursued William. She basically wanted Rose H’s life. Have you seen the Houghton Hall insta account that she runs? She is married to an important rich guy and spends her days hanging out with her children and walking around beautiful gardens of a palatial home with lots of servants. And she gets a little Wills on the side. And poor Kate has to pretend to work and hire experts to help her seem keen and interesting lol
Rose has the better life by far–husband (who in my opinion is much more handsome and interesting than Willie), children, money, title, beautiful estate surrounded by gardens and cool art, and privacy. I’d much rather have her life than Kate’s.
100% agree. The modern art exhibits they have come through their estate are cool, and her husband is for sure sexier in that distinguished older guy way. I want her life! I have no envy for Kate.
“Kate’s hand tenderly on William’s back” aka the grasping claw holding Wandering Willy back from the Rose bushes lmao
Quite right to not feel pity for her. She fought for this awful lifestyle, she got it.
And when Meghan touches Harry, she is clingy. When Kate does it’s tender. The stans keep up that narrative.
Yup!! Great point Tessa.
Because Kate is motherly and loving and Meghan is insecure and grabby, apparently.
This puff piece I think is the answer to the Sussexes being named on Time’s 100 most influential list. The Vogue follow up proves that the serious US press will not bother with Kate because it sees she brings nothing to the table in terms of accomplishments. The only route the Cambridges have is the US pink press but even there Meghan has the home girl advantage. After the foul ups with the bakery visit (handling dough with no gloves and wearing no hairnet) and Watermelon Sugar-gate the Cambridges need to clean house when to comes to staff.
It benefits Kate to be compared to Meghan. It reminds me of the so called rivalry of Serena and Maria Sharapova. Despite Serena being the GOAT, the superior player, and beating Maria at least 17 times (one win while pregnant) , people consider María as her equal. Sharapova is constantly courting the comparisons attaching her image onto Serena to siphon off Serena’s shine. Kate is doing the same. If people continue to see Kate’s name next to Meghan’s they will think that they are equals, and that Kate is in the same sphere despite not doing or accomplishing a goddamn thing at 40.
White supremacy at its finest. If the RRs were honest they would admit that Meghan is the true inheritor of Diana’s mantle in terms of charisma and philanthropy. Kate is just a hyped up WAG who was praised because she was the only adult senior royal under 40 for about a decade. She can cosplay all she wants, she will never be comparable.
@Nic Exactly. Not even a doped up Maria could beat Serena. Kate has the entire BM building her up and she still is nothing but a royal incubator. Meghan and Harry will have actual power. Not W&K’s quiet power which seems to be kind a way to say irrelevant.
It’s honestly no wonder Kate continues to underwhelm. What’s her motivation when she can give minimum effort, and still be praised to high heaven. One day KP is going to realize these campaigns have actually stunted her growth (but maybe that’s the point).
Anyway, there SM is better, but it’s forced and inauthentic, and that’s best demonstrated by their abysmal engagement and striking lack of growth. Nice little reality check after buying followers for nearly a year.
As they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery😏 they can only copy them they will never be original. Sussexroyal was successful because it had input from both Harry and Meghan.
@Kaiser the article also hinted to the report about the keenbridges buying bots
“Slowly but surely, the couple, and
transitively, Kate, have been compounding an incredibly valuable currency: invested followers, the 2020 version of loyal subjects.”
So this is what folks call the annual Keening? Right in time.😂😂
“Trudging” is accurate.
I’m pretty sure these articles now are paid for advertisements by Middleton PR Ltd. I don’t even think they have anything to do with KP, because they only mention Kate and how wonderful she is.
Kate can keep on using her own laziness to her own advantage whilst her arch nemesis (in her own head) Meghan is actually making moves in the world. At the end of the day kate has nothing to show for her life, and it’s sad. Only strong women make history kate.
Telling women that staying quiet is a power is dangerous regressive nonsense. That’s not going to fly for most women, but especially in the US where royalty isn’t valued except by white supremacists.
That is very, very true. Kate has no voice to find and she’ll never be able to eclipse William. It’s just not allowed. And what she “stands for” is either non-existent or entirely hypocritical. It’s just this month’s embiggening piece is all because the British press is already painfully aware that she basically does nothing.
The institution as a whole took notes from the Sussex playbook and all 3 palaces upped their social media game in response; the inclusion of more in-depth notes under pictures etc. Pity the adapting of new methods didn’t apply to accepting a dynamic couple but still being mired in the toxic jealousy and back stabbing that led to Harry grabbing Meghan and Archie and running for the exit.
Zzzz…snorf…yawn…. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Did Kate “finally find her voice” again?
That’s next week.
No, but she’s close! Super close! We promise!
She needs to have something to say first. That’s the real problem.
She’s very keen on finding her voice.
On a very serious note…the BRF need to stop. They are called the “Firm” then they need to have an Executive Management” meeting. They need to come up with a strategy now that things with Harry and Meghan didn’t go as expected. They didn’t waste all their money on security, they weren’t languishing as they waited for the pandemic to end…they were working on their future, they have made a successful deal with Netflix and they are not coming back.
So how does the family move on….it cannot be petty articles like this…this only appeals to their base and their base includes racist classist white people who are mostly middle aged.
Harry and Meghan have shown that people outside of their base are not buying this narrative. Netflix wouldn’t have signed them if their due diligence had shown that they are toxic and have no influence.
So the family has to come with a narrative that doesn’t necessarily exclude their base but also doesn’t make them look petty and dysfunctional to the other 95% of the world…..as this article does.
Yeah, that was why they created the Way Ahead group in the early 1990s, for the highest ranking members of the BRF (and their private secretaries) to meet and discuss the future of the monarchy and their plans. During those meetings they decided, among other things, to start the annual opening up of Buckingham Palace during the summer to the public to pay for repairs and refurbishment, told Andy and Chuck to get a move on with those divorces, Eddie to stop dawdling on marrying Sophie, for Anne to be nicer and more supportive to her brothers, and for the Queen to start paying income taxes. Unfortunately it dissolved at some unspecified point after 1995.
And now there have been some quiet calls for the last two years or so for the group to be reformed so they can really buckle down and fix things. It might be a good idea.
Royal mystique, royal failure, it’s a thin line.
The keenbridges PR machine is so incompetent that they cant even get these paid articles to keep on message. This is practically a repeat of the tatler piece. I told my friend then that the keenbridges arranged for different publications to publish flattering issues but tatler was desperate because of covid & low sales so they ditched their arrangements to go for a not so subtle dig at kate.The incompetent ex brexiteer staff at KP keep creating problems for them.
No matter how much they copy or compete(its actually one sided competition) they’ll only end up showing their shortcomings and how RF lost alot with sussexit
This article basically says that the Keenbridges took harry and meghans social media guy, after harry and Meghan basically set the bar with their Instagram account. Now they took their guy and are now copying all of the Sussex’s ideas. And Kate has received credit for this innovation, even though it clearly states that the Sussex’s where the ones who spearheaded the way royals now do social media?
Is it shade? Or is it another Tatler gone wrong situation? Is this the new #katemiddletonsuccessstories benefiting from someone else’s ideas and work? That reminds me of the story about how kate was accused of plagiarism either at school or at uni? I can’t remember the details, but I can certainly see her now stealing someone’s work.
I can’t with the hideous dress….I’m not sure how anyone saw that on a rack and thought “I’ll take it!”
That is very, very true. Kate has no voice to find and she’ll never be able to eclipse William. It’s just not allowed. And what she “stands for” is either non-existent or entirely hypocritical. It’s just this month’s embiggening piece is all because the British press is already painfully aware that she basically does nothing.
The bar is set very low. Apart from voluntary and ceremonial duties, she is waiting for the two monarchs to die. While she waits in the spotlight, do so with restraint and originality. Instead of constant self definition. The head of a constitutional monarchy is a ceremonial one, no more or less. The Windsors, until now made it interesting. No longer.