Shouldn't we expect just a little bit more of the Duchess of Cambridge.

[sweetgrape]

Never turned up for one single memorial service for the armed forces, but there at Center Court, Wimbledon, rubbing shoulders with a load of celebs,and entertaining Brad and Angelina Pitt at Kensington Palace. Is this what her royal life boils down to.

I think we are forgetting she has only been in this position for 4 years and had two babies in that time. It's very early days to write her off.

She's hardly young and has been around the Royals for 15 years. She's only a couple of years younger than Diana was when she died but has done nothing of note and never bothered using her education or worked in any kind of career. The one and only aim had been to marry well. I guess it's a goal of sorts. Would bore me senseless.

Rousette if it annoys you that I keep saying that some seem to be starstruck or whatever and you say that nothing could be further from the truth, it equally annoys me and many others when we get the much used envy label. I can assure you that that is also very far from the truth. It's tiresome trying to get your point across when someone accuses you of this. There are so many many reasons why I think it's wrong to have a royal family, envy isn't one of them. Just because the duchess of Cambridge happens to be young and attractive is irrelevant, I'd feel the same way if she wasn't. Envy has nothing to do with it.

Don't get me started on Prince Andrew and his seedy life.

I don't think it is a cage to be honest. That's another furphy. It's a hugely priveledged and luxurious life and who wants to walk down sainsburys anyway if someone will do it for you and you can holiday on a friends private island with all the luxury and privacy you need. all she has to do is avoid press and stupid rags and she never even needs to read about herself. Honestly the job and role she has is no cage and no imposition. everyone is at her beck and call, snap your fingers and servants come running. Yeah, what a nightmare!

Touche sweetgrape, I get where you are coming from. I only introduced the envy thing this morning because some of the posts (not necessarily yours) just struck me as that.

I do think the royal family should be pared down incidentally. A lot of the minor royals get right on my tits

All little girls are learning from her is how to waste a private education and to be a skinny clothes horse.

Meow.

Come on everyone. Kate clearly relishes the attention and suits her role very well, much like Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother did. Captured the heart of the nation whilst being at heart a pleasure seeking layabout. Kate looks like she enjoys it when people Curtsey to her , but why do they curtesy or bow. What has Kate Middleton done to deserve your bowing and scraping, other than marry into one of the wealthiest families on the planet?

The Queen mother had many fooled didn't she. The nations sweetheart? Far from it. Died owing £6 million to the bank (who else would be allowed that much debt) despite getting a huge cut from the civil list. She thought the whole world was hers for the taking. Racist, bigoted, and greedy with a massive sense of entitlement, hardly my idea of a favourite granny.

How on earth can anyone think she looks like she is enjoying being curtsied to. She just smiles! Should she scowl? Bottom line is, we don't know her, we don't know what she is thinking. I haven't particularly seen bowing and scraping, when she's been on official engagements I've just seen her chatting, finding out about the project she is at, and smiling.

As I've said before, she can't do right for doing wrong. There's nothing she could do to please some people - except disappear - and that isn't going to happen.

At the Buckingham Palace garden party I attended we had The Queen, Prince Philip, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, the Duchess of Cambridge and a selection of minor royals.

Prince Andrew had to walk up to people to talk to them he was so out of demand

Princess Anne had a Queue

The Queen and Prince Philip had a throng

La Cambridge had to have minders !

But there were 6000 people getting a free reward for civic duty.
It was a great day and DH who is arch republican was very impressed by the Buck House garden.
The food was good too.

But I'd not want the life that the "popular" royals have for anything

Ahhhh, ok... we've moved on to the Queen Mother now! I think you should do a complete new thread for each royal that annoys you! That'll clog up the boards

I've seen the Queen and Princess Anne (and no, I wasn't queueing overnight with a flag and a union jack hat! It was to do with work). My goodness, they are both tiny, I felt like a giant.

Don't worry Rousette that's all I'm saying about the queen mum.

rousette
The Queen is indeed tiny - we only knew where she was in the throng because of the men in top hats around her.

La Cambridge it tall and wore sky high heels so could be spotted.

Anne seemed average height to me - what impresses me is that she is not too thin but still fits clothes she had 40 years ago.

Andrew looked a right lardy smug git IMHO

Andrew is a right lardy smug git

She's hardly young and has been around the Royals for 15 years. She's only a couple of years younger than Diana was when she died but has done nothing of note and never bothered using her education or worked in any kind of career.

I think that's kind of the point of why the Royal Family are happy with her position and she fits in well. Because she is the anti-Diana. After all, Diana wasn't that great for the Royal Family was she? I really don't see why they would want somebody who emulated her.

I think Kate just kind of encapsulates the fact that William has learnt from the mistakes of the previous generation. Diana was mercurial, unpredictable, tempestuous and impulsive. She overshadowed the Royal Family, eclipsed them and often behaved in ways which brought them to the brink of destruction. She courted the press and publicity and routinely manipulated the press to her own ends. None of this was good for the Royals.

Kate seems to be very stable, predictable, reliable, stoic, doesn't rock the boat, doesn't court the press outside the official press calls and there don't seem to be many leaks about her family so not spining about herself to the press. She may not be show boating about big causes about AIDS and land mines, but by the same token she is not overshadowing things like the Jubilee celebrations or the Prince's Trust or Prince Harry's work in Lesotho and giving the impression that she is the only Royal who is caring.

Diana said a lot and it caused a lot of trouble.

Kate has always kept her mouth shut (much like the late Queen Mother).

Fergie and Andrew's marriage largely crumbled because he was away in the Navy and she was not allowed to go and live on a base like a normal navy wife so they never really saw each other or had a proper married life and she turned to other people.

Kate isn't really taking anything else on and has been following William round, living with him at base and having a normal married life.

Feries (post marriage) has embarrassed the palace several times with her commercial ventures. Sophie Wessex had several scandals over her PR company including a massive one with the fake sheik where she appeared to cash in on her Royal connections.

Kate not working means she can't be criticised for doing things in business in which she profits from her Royal connections.

She might be dull. She does just turn up to a few ribbon cuttings and services, look pretty and go home to look after the kids. But from the Royal family's point of view she is pretty damn perfect.

We might be moaning that she's lazy, but if she was killed in a car accident tomorrow I don't think it would come close to bringing down the monarchy...

This is what I don't get. Why did she have to have minders , a throng of people to cream themselves to catch a glimpse of this person. It's fucking ridiculous, unwarranted and makes infants out of otherwise sensible people . Get a grip!!!!!!!'nn

I do think she models herself on the late Queen Mother. Keep your mouth shut, cultivate a wholesome family image, don't do anything remarkable or controversial, just turn up, wear a nice hat, smile and wave.

Exactly, i am sure the QM is the template Buck House are following here. After all it didn't do the QM any harm. Even I have her "cookbook" (with an introduction by HRH Prince Charles)....... But am afraid I've become such a skeptic of late. I just wish they'd Do Something and genuinely give more back than they do. They're all just ornaments at the moment, it seems so pointless.

Tenie
There were people - in the garden of Buckingham Palace - fighting over space to put their chairs to watch the Royals eat their tea

As it was, the Queen had her own food bit just out of sight and la Cambridge did not eat!

Andrew stood around in the free for all area outside the rope waiting for people to talk to him. They didn't.

A very surreal experience the whole thing.

I am not a monarchist at all and hope that we have a republic in my lifetime. I feel that the monarchy represents and underpins everything that is worst about Britain - class snobbery, establishment privilege - and find it increasingly embarrassing that they represent this country. I do have respect for the Queen personally but not the institution she represents. I think it should be wound up after she passes... although I think it won't go quietly, I am unhappy that there is no mechanism to even debate this (MPs not permitted to even discuss it, it is all so so wrong).

So I fervently hope that the D of C is never Queen. Nothing personally against her at all and I hope she & her family have a really good life (which I am sure they will without any help from us).

It is not her that is the problem but what she represents. And I am afraid what she represents among other things, is a rotten role model for girls; look pretty, smile, do as you are expected, don't bother having a career or ever be seen to have an opinion….then you may get your man and be 'kept' for life. It is insidious and sends out the wrong message as to what is admired and rewarded in women.