Kate Middleton

[WILKO9]

AIBU to find Kate Middleton really annoying ? It's probably just me but I find her so smug. Anyway feel much better for getting that off my chest !!!

Fishbones
Diana had a will. It was just not the right one for the circumstances.
She did not die intestate.

Yes she did. She made a will that was described at the time as that of "a woman who did not expect to die soon." She left the money in trust to her boys until they reached 25 and she left instructions for her god children to be able to go round her study and choose one thing as a memento.

I'm happy to stand corrected but I seem to remember a kerfuffle about lack of will. She left £17-19m and estate had to pay £6m (?) to exchequer. There was a previous case where the newly divorced wife of wealthy man died immediately after divorce and he was allowed the money back. This course was open to PC but it was abandoned due to possible public outrage.

Diana did not die intestate.

Her will was, as said above, not appropriate for somebody who died shortly after her diviorce and before her children reached 18
so the boys' trustees went to court and had it altered

nothing out of the ordinary on big value wills

After a Google it seems that she did not make a new will post divorce.

How did they get it altered?

Fairly sure that PC would have been within his rights to challenge the £6m going to the exchequer but the potential public reaction, in 1997 atmosphere made it impossible.

(Because the £17m was to support her for life and she tragically died v soon post divorce)

fishbone
You go to court and get an alteration : no great shakes, its done regularly.
I looked into it for a family member but found a cheaper way to achieve the same goal.

I mean what was the alteration?

Don't know, don't really care. But it saved around £3m in tax that went to the boys.

One of the trustees or executors IIRC was John Major, PM at the time of the divorce, so I am puzzled by the above comments.

How do you mean?
THe fact that the will did not meet the circumstances says nothing about the trustees or executors.

BS
Iirc
JM was appointed as an honest broker to look after the interests of the boys

It seems silly to call the royals bone idle and lazy (we don't know what they do all day), when they could be opening day care centres all day and the system still wouldn't make any sense whatsoever.

Hear hear, Merrymouse.

The thing is that between graduation and engagement there were seven years.

I can accept that once they were discussing the possibility of getting married (maybe a year or two before the actual engagement), that the Palace may have wanted to manage things from then on.

That still leaves FIVE YEARS in which she did - nothing. A 6 month part time Jigsaw job and some photography for her mum and dad. Wow. She had all at least five years in which should could have forged ahead with a career, charity work, her own business, something, anything! - but chose not to.

And the thing is - that I do actually like Kate - I think she is a good match for William, she seems very sweet in interviews, and I do think she is endearing.

But a bit of me is just a little bit then essentially she did just sit around and wait for her man.

She had all at least five years in which should could have forged ahead with a career, charity work, her own business, something, anything! - but chose not to. She did try to start her own business. A childrenswear company or something.

I thought her will stipulated that John Major be appointed to look after the interests of William and Harry. Therefore I assumed that, as he was only PM for one term, around the time of their divorce, that the will must therefore have been made around the time of the divorce. But it seems I am wrong about the will naming him.

I think she is a good match for William

how could you possibly know what is a good match for him?

Aw c'mon we were all rooting for Jane & Mr Bingley in Pride & Prejudice. Mind you, we weren't expected to idolise them.

I must echo a PP and ask how people "know" that Carole was behind getting Kate and William together?

every mother of every girl that age with enough money was angling for him

every mother of a girl at St Andrews in his year, the year above and the year below was dreaming dreams

every mother of a girl on the History of art course or in his hall probably started looking at wedding outfits

the fact is WILLIAM CHOSE KATE

if he had not fancied her and clicked with her we'd never have heard of her or her mother

My husband works in a family business and it irks me that this is equated to 'sitting around'. Working in a family business is very hard work, usually, because you're self-employed but also working for your parents. The type of person who owns their own business, especially one successful enough to employ others, doesn't tend to make the type of parent who is happy for their child to sit around doing nothing. But some people assume my DH has a cushy life because he works with/for his dad. It's anything but.

In an interview, I saw Kate saying that it was annoying that people thought she was doing nothing when she was actually working very hard. It was said in a very genuine way and while I don't know if she was telling the truth, I found it convincing.

I would certainly have chosen to work for my dad if:
(a) I couldn't go about my business in the 'real world' without causing a media storm.
(b) I'd chosen a degree that wasn't really up there in employment terms.
(c) I knew there wasn't much point starting at the bottom somewhere as, if I married the man I was in love with, I'd be expected to give it up before long.
(d) My dad was offering a job I found interesting and thought I'd enjoy.

In Kate's position, I'd have been thanking my lucky stars that my parents owned a business I could work for.

Why do people find it so hard to believe that her role with Party Pieces was an actual legitimate job? Her parents built up a multi-million pound business from nothing, somebody in there must be working hard. Things like product photography and website maintenance and copywriting are actual roles that people get paid for. And lots and lots of people whose parents have a successful business will end up working for that business, it's not at all unusual. In her case, the ridiculous press intrusion she was subjected to when trying to hold down an 'ordinary' job just made it an even more obvious choice.

Cel, having worked for companies like that a photographer is not a full time job. They usually hire someone in 3-4 times per year when they get new stock in.

Not sure how this is relevant unless you have information that she claimed the photography was the sole job Boo.