To wonder why both Duchesses are so thin?

[PleaseDontHate]

Talking about both the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex. And ok, I know IABU, but I thought I'd namechange and put it out there to see if other posters agreed. Putting my tin hat on, as I know I'll get lots of criticism for my gossipy thread. Oh well!

Both Catherine and Meghan are beautiful women with naturally lovely figures. But they are both so so extremely thin! Right now Kate is less thin, I assume because of her recent pregnancy and new baby, but no doubt she'll bounce back to her usual skinniness soon.

Kate was nowhere this thin before getting engaged and married into the RF. Meghan has always been very slim, but is now thinner than ever and I bet she won't gain the weight back. I remember even Diana lost loads of weight as soon as she got engaged and married! And she stayed very thin from then onwards.

Why does it seem like extreme thinness is a prerequisite to be a royal wife?

Well yes, Bertrand, compared to Catherine and Meghan she is, I am too at 65kg, so not thin myself.

Did you miss when Sarah Ferguson got the absolute piss ripped out of her for not being tiny? Because that was vile and something I wouldn't want to put up with

^^ This.

The media spent time taking photo shots at bad angles, and also encouraging criticism because she wasn't thin. The judgment of womens' appearance is superficial and hateful and constant so I'm not surprised women strive to be thin.

I wish women wouldn't join in with any of it.

I met SF at a charity event years ago. Beautiful woman. You wouldn't necessarily think so after all the sublimal "she's unattractive" messages tho

"Your opinion that they are 'too thin' comes from the average person being larger than they should be."

This. I saw a picture of Meghan the other day and thought wow her legs are tiny but when I really thought about it, it's more than I am used to seeing larger legs (me included).

The majority of adults in the UK are overweight or obese according to national health surveys, yet research suggests we are a country in denial about our weight. ( Taken from the BBC )

Perhaps its referencing their slim build against the average (overweight) woman that makes them seem "too thin"

Such a shame that we feel the need to thin-shame nowdays

I work out every day for an hour each time, kickboxing, combat bootcamp, cardio, HIIT, watch what I eat, eat off a chds plate, but still I am 65kg. But I don't deny myself the odd treat in the day (think small bar of chocolate), a thin piece of cake sometimes, and crisps with my very tiny roll.

I wouldn't say either woman is underweight. I just think as some pps have pointed out, what people now see as normal weight is skewed by the sheer number of people we see who are overweight. Being overweight has been normalised.

As someone who is naturally slim and have had people say "ooo you're too thin" I get annoyed when people do the same to women in the public eye (who clearly aren't!). As for comparing Kate now to Kate post uni, the vast majority of people gain weight at uni due to lifestyle.

Both women appear to be naturally slim anyway, they have access to the best food, chefs, trainers and have time to spend exercising without the stresses of normal life. There's no reason for them to be unhealthy and overweight!

I think that a lot of slim people , myself included, find it hard to keep weight on when busy or anxious. I imagine anyone would find it hard not to lose weight before a wedding with so many viewers because of nerves etc. Also after having children you can focus so much on the them that it’s hard to eat enough to gain more weight.

Your opinion that they are 'too thin' comes from the average person being larger than they should be

This. Yes, anorexia is a problem, but it is obesity that is causing the most health problems in the UK these days.

I have actually met Kate - it was only a few months after George was born and I was shocked at how thin she was in real life. She's also much taller than I had imagined.

To me, Catherine looks like someone who is naturally slim with good muscle who has deliberately "leaned down" through clean eating and specific exercise. She doesn't look unhealthy, she looks like she works at it. Meghan looks like she's more skinny as she has much less defined muscle - she looks to me as if she is naturally slim but relies on diet alone rather than diet and exercise. To my eye, she has a different "look" to Kate. Meghan looks skinny, Kate looks lean. I prefer the toned , muscly look to out and out skinny, but they both look great in clothes.

I really do think people are becoming delusional about body size.

I went shopping at the weekend with a group of friends to buy an outfit for another friend’s wedding. We range from a size 6 to an 18. We ended up in a specialist larger sized shop for my friend who is a size 18.

The assistant kept telling her how gorgeous she looked in everything and how it was ridiculous that other shops didn’t cater for real women with real bodies.

My friend is obese and so was the assistant. The difference being that my friend knows she is obese and doesn’t think that being fat makes her any more ‘real’ than any other woman.

Some people really struggle with their weight and normalising obesity doesn’t help.

But due to Mediterranean genes, I have big hips, breasts and bum, even when I weighed 8 stone, I was thinking on top and big on the bottom, nothing I can do about it.

Another thing, if Kate was underweight she wouldn't be firing out children one after the other as she has.

Meghan has the same leg shape as her mother. I really don't understand the issue. Neither woman is clearly too thin.

YABU, she looks healthy.

Harry looks like he's lost weight recently, no one seems concerned about him.

It's because they are very toned and fit. I'm slim but I'm not tiny like that.

DD1 has always exercised She's always been slim but in her mid to late teens she swam a lot and it was a kind of natural curvy slimness. Fast forward to 20 and a big gym habit at uni, and eating in a very healthy low carb way, she was quite tiny. I was getting worried about her then we went on holiday to a Danish sports resort place and all the other young women were the same sort of size. And like DD they were very glowing and healthy, just super, super toned.

Fast forward another couple of years, DD does more lifting and has much more muscular legs and a bigger bum. She looks bigger but it's more muscle. She's probably no fatter.

But yes, I've recently spent time in central London and a posh bit of Dublin. The rich are not merely slim, but very exercised and toned.

Why do these shit threads persist?

OP, you're a coward. I expect you're the sort of inadequate that comments on another woman's weight as some kind of statement of her worth. Pathetic - and low.

I really wish MNHQ would sort out name-changing so that it can't be used for this.

“The assistant kept telling her how gorgeous she looked in everything and how it was ridiculous that other shops didn’t cater for real women with real bodies.“

What did you expect a clothes shop assistant in a clothes shop selling clothes to say?

sorry not RTFT but considering how easily kate gets pg and has good sized babies (8lbs+) she is clearly NOT too slim.

The queen is also tiny. Much smaller in real life than you think.

They have access to great healthy food and effective exercise. I'm also sure they aren't reaching for a glass of wine every evening or biscuits with every cup of tea.

I live in Kore and it’s very unusual to be fat here. Also their concept of fat is very different to ours eg over a size 12 or so would be pretty chubby.

Not saying everyone is healthy, and of course there’s a genetic component (although Koreans are bigger/wider than many Asians) but they do eat better and generally they just eat less. People generally eat with friends/family and there doesn’t seem to be so much mindless snacking eg after lunch, I don’t see my students eating chocolate or crisps. There is way too much sugar in every type of snack, but they do tend to see it as a treat that they all eat together or share.

I do think people in the west have normalised obesity and think that never being hungry is a good thing.

*Korea

Have you ever seen photos of the Queen and Princess Margaret in their heydays? They were extremely petite with minuscule waists. I've seen their dresses and doubt that Kate could get into them. So it isn't a new thing to be so slim and I don't think either duchess is wasting away. They look fine to me!

Well the queen mother liked her gin. And Princess Margaret too and the fags. She died at 71 which is not old by today's standards And quite young for a royal.

The connection is the media, not the royals. Now they are bigger in the media eye they will have personal trainers, chefs and the like. Probably to keep people from bitching and gossiping about their weight which obviously doesn't work as people always find a reason.

Same with most other women in the media eye.

I agree Op, they aren't good role models for girls, of course they're too thin, and you really shouldn't have to defend your post by repeating how beautiful they are, just to placate uptight mumsnetters who might think you're "ripping another woman to shreds", the usual bonkers accusation.