To think there is nothing wrong with Carole Middleton's background

[arabesque]

There was a pretty sneery article in the Sunday Times last Sunday by Camilla Long, which seemed to be very critical of the fact that Carole Middleton's parents and grandparents were working class people who made their living in shops and factories. There was also some comment on the lines of 'oh yeah, well William might find TV suppers and family games a novelty now but I'm sure he'll soon get sick of it'.
AIBU to think 'fair play' to her for building up a business from nothing and giving her kids advantages she and her parents could never have dreamed of? From what I can see Kate has a far more stable and supportive family than Princess Di ever had (bitter divorce, very public custody dispute, no decent advice when she was just 19 years old and about to make an enormous mistake with her life etc.) Yet a lot of people seem to think there's something preferable about a fragmented and dysfunctional family because they're upper class; while a middle/working class background with a strong work ethic is just not suitable for the future queen.

[ThenWeTakeBerlin]

Carole did exceptionally well to create a successful business but I've read that Michael comes from a more MC background and his family had an educational trust fund. This paid, at least in part, for the three children to attend Marlborough, I think?

Either way, I hate the snobbery towards Carole. What's wrong with coming from Southall and being a air hostess? This Camilla sounds like a nasty piece of work.

[SuperStrength]

At least they pay their own way, unlike the royals

[EstelleGetty]

I am no fan of the royals. But I kind of love Carole. Chomping nicotine gum at William's Sandhurst parade - a woman after my own heart!

[ARealDame]

Well said, OP. I also thought the article in the Sunday Times was snotty. But then I thought the whole of the Sunday Times this week was up itself, boring and crass. I shan't be buying it again for a while.

[MogTheForgetfulCat]

I haven't read the article (refuse to give my money to the bloody Murdochs ) but it sounds very nasty. I also really dislike the way in which the husband is generally referred to as a businessman and Carole is more often referred to as a former air hostess - nowt wrong with being an air hostess, of course, but my understanding is that the idea for the business was basically hers, so how come he gets to be the businessman and she doesn't get to be a businesswoman?

[mooface]

I thought the article was being ironic. We've had enough snobbiness of that sort from the Daily Mail, I thought the ST were taking the piss.

Anyway Caitlin Moran still bigs up the working class backgrounds, so it's not all rubbish (I'm aware that she's controversial here though!)

[FamiliesShareGerms]

Well, obviously if people manage to make something of themselves through their own hard work, where does that leave people who only have what they have through inheritance?

Carole and others like her represent a real threat to the established upper classes, ergo they must be pushed back into their place.

[yaimee]

Camilla Long is awful.
She's sneery to justify her own place in society. She needs to have someone to look down on.
She's what my Mum would describe as a social climber, desperately pulling up the ladder behind her.
Vile.

[ComposHat]

I read the article... vile stuff snd I have no time for either the Middletons or the Windsors.


Anyway the 'come up from nithing' is a bit over egged. There's plenty of family money on Kate Middleton's dad's side of the family. You dont put three kids throufh elite public schools on an air dispatchers salary.

[FairPhyllis]

I have personally been called 'weird' by Camilla Long .

I find the constant sniping at Carole Middleton (who seems like a dignified, warm person) and the leching over Pippa Middleton very distasteful. It's like the media have decided, right, we can't harass Kate because it would be shades of Diana, so let's have a go at her family instead.

The Middletons don't have to be super high achievers to justify their existence and worth. There are plenty of families in the world like them - stable, loving, supportive, not causing any trouble. William totally lucked out.

[KarlosKKrinkelbeim]

Camilla Long's job description is to be a total bitch on wheels - she's taking a piece out of Carole Middleton this week, she'll be sticking it to some toff the next. She's an equal opportunities cowbag. I have to say quite often I find her targets well-chosen. Personally I find the mediocrity of the Middletons tedious, don't understand why people find any of them interesting. I suppose they make the Windsors look exciting by comparison, but that's about it.

[mummydarkling]

I read that article and found it horrendous. I looked up Camilla Long and found she once won "hatchet job of the year"

[HollyBerryBush]

I like the Middletons, the work hard, they never speak out, they remind me of the Woodvilles

The Woodvilles did very nicely (pretty daughter, married well) and diluted the aristocracy gene pool, and there were all but peasants. Humble beginnings...daughter Elizabeth, marrying Edward IV and becoming Queen of England

As a result the rest of Elizabeths siblings managed to acquire the following:

Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset
Richard Grey
Mary of York
Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles
Edward V of England
Margaret of York
Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York
Anne of York, Lady Howard
George Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford
Catherine of York, Countess of Devon
Bridget of York

[Unami]

LessMissAbs is absolutely right when she says that KM is one of those "naice" girls. There's very little to distinguish "naice" girls from the established (hereditary) upper class, and "naice" girls from the wealthy elite. I've spent enough time around girls like KM in my time to know.

But, to be honest, I think it's ridiculous that, in this day and age, people could get worked up about perceived slights between one part of the extreme upper class and the other. It's incredibly retrograde. The vast majority of people in this country work very hard, and accomplish a damn sight more than any of these people, given their circumstances. None of them are any example to anyone.

[MyDarlingClementine]

soon get bored of it! he seems to very much love and welcome it, a loving stable family unit. It seems to have worked well for several years now....

the only thing i thought was a huge boo boo by CM was her chewing gum at the parade thing.

I think she is an inspiration really and a fine example of a person the future little royal will have a huge assets in their cosseted and claustrophobic life; in her.

[Jinsei]

I quite like the Middletons - they seem like a decent, dignified and stable family. I don't find any of them particularly inspirational if I'm honest, but they certainly don't deserve the vitriol that is directed towards them.

I don't read the ST and haven't seen the article in question, but I'm not surprised that some people have seen fit to comment on Carole Middleton's background. Sadly, that's the society we live in, and many people do judge on the basis of stuff like this. Ironically, it strikes me as very crass and ignorant when people do this.

[Nanny0gg]

I'm glad it wasn't just me.
Camilla Long has always been a little sharp, but since she's started writing in Style she has definitely become more spiteful and barbed.
The article had no information as such in it; just biased opinion.
Whatever you think of the Middletons, it was unnecessary and a waste of time.
(She seemed quite keen to point out they obviously mix in the same social circles, to a degree, though)

[Christabel3]

Arabesque, haven't read the entire thread but you're right. Blue blooded people or whatever they're called don't have the monopoly on decent behaviour or manners or etiquette, or good taste, or liking the finer things in life. Whatever, they don't OWN it and have no right to sneer at somebody for liking the good things in life.

In any other country in the world, coming from a modest background and making a good life, and spending money on your children's education, that is admired.

[Mitzyme]

Interesting, I was discussing the poor standard of journalism of ST with my Ds and Dbil today. Think I will give it a miss in future.

[Southeastdweller]

I agree the article was horrid and C.L did herself no favours. I noticed that she couldn't get many quotes from anyone, if any at all. Could it be that - shock horror - there's just no dirt on Carole?

Camilla Long and India Knight are welcome to each other.

Anyway, I'm a subscriber and will copy and paste the article tomorrow when I'm less sleepy.

[ComposHat]

The vast majority of people in this country work very hard, and accomplish a damn sight more than any of these people, given their circumstances. None of them are any example to anyone


Yes, despite extraordinarily expensive educations, the Middleton offspring all seem extremely reluctant to do a proper day's work. I have no idea if their parents encouraged this, but much like the established aristocracy and the Windsor clan, they seem to excel at avoiding anything that looks like hard work.