To think today's Royal Christening is deliberate mind-fuckery timewarpery?

[Foxypaws70]

It's all so ... 1948? ... mummy pushing the heirloom pram, George's historical fancy dress outfit, the Norland Nanny in her starched uniform, the crown jewels font shipped in from the Tower, the fawning sycophantic voice-over on the BBC helpfully sharing with the little people the details of George's internal monologue ... It still is 2015 is it? Haaaaaalp!!!!! I thought these were the new wave modern Royals?

Keeping vigil for someone who's died is common practice.

Perhaps for close family...but your butler?? I wonder whose idea it was? his

I view the royal family in the same light as Hollywood actors and actresses. They put on performances for the public and are massively overpaid for what they do.

Sunday was a performance in period costume.

I assumed that George was wearing the original outfit that William wore. Seems a bit odd that they went searching for a replica .

The nanny uniform is hideous!

Someone made a good point earlier (too lazy to go back and check who) about Kate trying to outroyal the royals.

Anyone can keep vigil for the deceased. Its not something thats only done by close family. Its seen as a sign of respect even for a neighbour to say I'll sit today/tonight for an hour or so.

I have 5 staff living with me, 3 carers who help me look after my son along with a housekeeper and another member of staff. If anything happened to either myself or my son I know they would want to keep vigil for us, they would want to help take care of us to the very end, and I know my children would be happy for them be part of the process. They deserve that respect and recognition and not just because we only have the life we do as a family because of them. Them wanting to keep vigil for for someone is intrinsic to them the same way it still is for millions of others and they wouldn't be deprived of it.

Granted PB was a bit of an arse but to try and score points in a ramble about the Royal Family because someone kept vigil for a person they were fond of really is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

and another member of staff.

A butler?

Maggie , honestly, he's not a Butler. He's someone who's worked for us for 27 years and it would be impossible to say what he does by way of a job title. Suffice to say he's become a brother to me and a much loved member of the family.

A gossip site that I read has suggested that Diana was paid to "escort" wealthy Arab businessmen if you get what I mean. The same website has suggested that is how Pippa Middleton also funds her rather expensive lifestyle.

I'm sure hope PB wouldn't have been left alone with Diana before the funeral. Iirc she was guarded by soldiers. I'm sure I also read that her family took turns. I don't see anything wrong with it at all.

Balloon Snowden has good relations with the royal family. If you seriously think he would have given an honest answer if that involved being critical of senior royals then you obviously don't know much about the way the royal family, protocol and the court work.

Wendy Berry was in the house that morning and saw what happened when they were getting prepared and worked closely with the dressers and the valets. As such she would probably have been in a better position than Snowden to know if Diana changed her mind at the last minute about what she and the boys would wear without telling Charles.

Whoever mentioned the cross dressing, Paul Burrell himself has said the police accused him of doing exactly that, and told Charles and William he had (he denies it).

There was a priest at Kensington Palace with Burrell the night before the funeral. No soldiers.

Apparently in some ways the death was fortunate for Burrelll because he was on the verge of being sacked.

I'm no fan of the royals but the Middletons are a wealthy family. Pippa's long term boyfriend is a banker, why would people think she would resort to escort work?

Utterly bizarre.

So if Diana changed into riding gear at the last moment to make Charles look silly...how did the blooming pony get in the picture???

Yeah, because ponies would be really hard to come by at Highgrove what with the royal family being famously disinterested in horses.

Getting back OT, I went to a christening in (non affluent postcode) North London not long ago. It was quite an eye opener. I was dressed in what I thought was 'smart casual', wool trousers, silk blouse, no hat. But most of the party were in bright coloured, figuring hugging dresses complete with matching hats and stilettos. It was like a TOWIE outing to Aintree gone wrong!!

figure hugging

Yes, I suppose ponies at Highgrove are always kept immaculately groomed and tacked up next to a meticulously staged tableau with picnic basket. It must be like Disney World really

I think the Silver Cross pram was used in much the same way as any of the state coaches are used at royal occasions. Purely for display purposes.

As for the nanny wearing her uniform in formal photos, I 'think' this could be a security/anonymity tactic. Everyone remembers the awful uniform but very few would remember her face iyswim?

Same with Prince George. If I saw him in Next jeans and Crocs in the Park I would likely just think he was another blonde toddler boy. But if I saw him in his Little Lord Fauntleroy knickerbockers and smocked blouse I would immediately recognise him as Prince George if that makes sense?

Our friends have used a nanny on holiday and she was Norland trained. The uniform is only ever really worn for the same reasons a military person might wear their 'best blues' or whatever to a formal event. Norland nannies also earn far above minimum wage. I think they're starting salary is upwards of £30K?

The uniform is only ever really worn for the same reasons a military person might wear their 'best blues' or whatever to a formal event.

But most military dress uniforms are designed to be aesthetically pleasing. This Norland number very obviously was not.

Clearly the Norland uniform was designed with explosive newborn poo in mind. It's probably reversible too.

Apparently the Norland uniform design was updated two years ago by some designer I have way too much time on my hands

OldRaver those are some lovely photos, but I must say I particularly like the check outfit your mum selected. Fab retro look!

Apparently the uniform was originally designed so that they didn't look like housemaids: [[http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2418809-To-think-todays-Royal-Christening-is-deliberate-mind-fuckery-timewarpery?pg=4
Telegraph]]. So now they just look like agency nurses circa 1970? Not sure that this is an improvement myself.

DrankSangria at the time Hewitt's mum was a spry and not at all aged bird who ran a riding stables from a very ordinary although tolerably pretty Devon home and their rose garden was about 6ft square. I'm not sure I'd have called it a rose garden actually, more a small piece of grass with a rose or two. Bodyguards couldn't have hidden there. no chance. He must be looking back through the proverbial rose-tinted, if you'll pardon the pun. I know this because I rode there quite a lot in the early to mid eighties whenever I was at my mother's house in Devon. Sensibly, I declined his invitation to supper in about '86.

As for the OP, YANBU at all. Spot on. It's just so deeply weird, trying to make George the re-incarnation of William and for Kate to have to be posher than the poshest thing ever to walk Sloane Square. They seem to have done a good job of severing ties with the mum's (poor) side, not so much with the (middle class) Middleton side, which as far as I'm concerned doesn't cover Kate or her mum in glory. It all looked spectacularly staged and fake and why are they so desperate they had to put out a plea for spectators. Hopefully the royals will be given the boot once queenie dies.

put out a plea for spectators.

They did?! I missed that bit. That's a bit keen