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?

Meghan has a terrible figure...matronly...droopy boobs

Lies.

BlancheM

Imagine being cursed with a body like that 🤣

@GinnyWreckin er no, you're not agreeing with me because that's not what I said. I said the cut of the dress was unflattering. More a reflection on the designer than the woman wearing it. Why would you make such horrible comments about another woman? I assume you are a very insecure person.

Blimey. I think that's harsh on Meghan, she looks amazing to me. And ... she doesn't look very fertile? What does very fertile look like? Fascinating!!

These comments on here are getting so horrible and unfair. Why do we feel the need to pick at women's bodies like we have the right to? disgusting.

I'm not a Meghan fan but some of these comments are foul. I'd like to see pictures of the people commenting.

The Royals burn up a lot of calories just walking around their vast homes and huge estates

500 metre dash to the toilet must keep them fit.

Harry's kids won't even be spares, Harry himself is basically like Andrew now, with the possibility of being bumped even further if Will and Kate have another.
And when George Charlotte and Louis have kids Harry and his kids will be even further down the line.

They are the same size I am naturally, my BMI is healthy.
I think some people have lost sight of what's a healthy weight with a large percentage of the population now being overweight to some extent.

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

Based on... two people??

Why does it seem like brown hair is a prerequisite to be a royal wife?

Why does it seem like being under 40 is a prerequisite to be a royal wife?

Why does it seem like being from "the west" is a prerequisite to be a royal wife?

Why does it seem like having two legs is a prerequisite to be a royal wife?

There are lots of things that the two women coincidentally have in common. I'm not sure you can draw many statistical conclusions from that.

Meghan is an apple and probably if she gained weight it would go round her middle and not put any meat on lower half. Her legs do look very fragile.

Kate is pretty thin and I think she looked a bit better before her weightloss.

they are both very slender - Kate more so I think.

But I would be too if I was going to be scrutinised and photographed all the time.

However I mix with many slim women and would say that Kate when she is at her normal weight is still very very slender.

My god i’m so BORED of all the comments about how “we’ve lost sight of a normal healthy size because we’re so fat nowadays”. Nope - watch a sitcom or a tv drama or a movie, and pay attention to how very, very thin the actresses usually are. People like Amy Schumer and Adele are presented as “fat” celebs which is actually insane. Yes, you might know some overweight people but almost all women in the public eye, and thus the media, are very thin. So, in my opinion, that is what people have become desensitised to.

Yes, exactly this. There are a lot of very fucked up people on this thread.

And the point is not to scrutinise or slag off women, but rather the reverse, given the perpetuation of controlling, misogynistic expectations as to appearance that ordinary women put up with on a daily basis. People talking about the health risks of obesity are missing the point on this thread, since nobody and nothing is pressurising women to comply with socially acceptable levels of obesity. Women in the public eye who noticeably alter in appearance to conform to those expectations are a part of the problem as well as victims of it. If Mumsnet isn't an acceptable place to express that opinion, then where is?

Good thread, OP, but so depressing how people have reacted to it.

And ... she doesn't look very fertile? What does very fertile look like? Fascinating!!

White, I am beginning to think

Also agree it is funny how people think we don't know what a normal slim person looks like. Do people ever watch films, read a magazine because believe me vogue is not full of women at the top end of a healthy bmi let alone anyone slightly over weight.

gosh, curse me with Megan's figure anytime!

@GinnyWreckin

"Meghan has a boxy torso and thin legs. I think she looks underweight because of the strange distribution. She certainly hasn’t a curvy figure. Small rather droopy boobs, no waist, and a flat wide bum, and rather emaciated limbs isn’t the best look, so maybe she keeps herself on the low end of the scale to stop the middle from spreading out too much. "

This sort of thing is one of the very many reasons why I'm glad I'm not in the public eye. What a weirdly intrusive, almost forensic appraisal of someone's general appearance. It's as if you've got a magnifying glass out and are taking notes.

There are a lot of very fucked up people on this thread

If it’s fucked up to think that it’s ok to be slim, count me as fucked up.

I’d say it’s more fucked up to keep excusing fatness as ‘normal’.

Haha. I'm not saying she's Helen of Troy, but especially at 36 Meghan has a good figure by any sensible yardstick.

MrsLupo

"And the point is not to scrutinise or slag off women, but rather the reverse, given the perpetuation of controlling, misogynistic expectations as to appearance that ordinary women put up with on a daily basis. People talking about the health risks of obesity are missing the point on this thread, since nobody and nothing is pressurising women to comply with socially acceptable levels of obesity. Women in the public eye who noticeably alter in appearance to conform to those expectations are a part of the problem as well as victims of it. If Mumsnet isn't an acceptable place to express that opinion, then where is?"

You got exactly what the question behind my OP was. Thank you

nobody and nothing is pressurising women to comply with socially acceptable levels of obesity

No but despite continued pressure to be slim, most people in the UK are overweight. Why is that?

If it’s fucked up to think that it’s ok to be slim, count me as fucked up.

No, and no one said it was, least of all me.

I’d say it’s more fucked up to keep excusing fatness as ‘normal’.

Well, yes, you're illustrating my point better now, because no one's saying that either. And the reality is that in public life, no one ever, ever does characterise fatness as normal, but rather characterises women of a normal weight and body shape as 'fat' (with the unspoken assumption that they will or should do something about that, please), and women who are way too thin and habitually hungry as 'normal'. I am not talking about what private individuals say in the privacy of their own bathroom or kitchen, because that, while intimately connected with what goes on in the public discourse, is an outcome and not (directly) a cause of the misogynistic control of women's bodies and habits. But the very visible compliance with expectations that women in the public eye typically exhibit is a perpetuating factor, and a worry, if you are a feminist like Meghan.

Do you mean clinically overweight or by your definition of overweight? Because at 5ft 2 and 9st 3, I'm not clinically overweight but I'm pretty sure you'd think me overweight anyway.

No but despite continued pressure to be slim, most people in the UK are overweight. Why is that?

I'm supposed to be working or I would love to answer that at length. Here are some key concepts: poverty (at an individual level); poor nutritional education; complete lack of regulation or oversight of the market in convenience and junk foods; long-term changes in patterns of working, commuting and domestic habits that have reduced the amount of time people can spend shopping and cooking, and tend to spend eating; cultural changes related to people's expectations of comfort and gratification; advertising; the relative rapidity of social and cultural change, plus increased affluence in the west (at population level), as contrasted with the slow rate at which biological adaptation occurs. As I say, I could go on all day, but (a) I don't have time and (b) I suspect no one is really interested and would rather bang on about lazy lardarses.