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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think Duchess Kate is worryingly thin?

578 replies

louny · 29/12/2018 21:56

Just saw pictures of the Royal Family coming out of Church at Christmas and was struck by how incredibly thin Kate is, especially around the waist and hips.

I'm sure I will be accused of just feeling jealous, but honestly I would be concerned if I saw an 18-y-o girl that skinny, let alone a woman in her 30s with three children. I can't imagine how severely you have to diet to be that thin so soon after giving birth. I know she is naturally slim but even so, I am worried the constant media attention is having a bad effect on her self-image/mental health.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
katekat383 · 02/01/2019 12:12

Yes height does come into the equation! Or should.

canigetaliein · 02/01/2019 12:27

Height makes a huge difference, some of my friends from modelling days are 6ft (I was relatively short) & they all look much slimmer than me.

Thesnobbymiddleclassone · 02/01/2019 12:30

She always been quite naturally slim. If you look at photos of her throughout her life, then you can see this.

She's also from quite an active/sporty family which also helps.

She also maybe like my husband, no matter how much he eats, he never seems to put on any weight. As someone who absorbs calories by simply walking past Mcdonalds, this annoys me!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 02/01/2019 14:36

Can I'm 5'7". I think I'm quite 'big boned' as I weigh 10.5 and am a size 8- but in response to the initial question of the thread, I think KM is slimmer than me, but I don't think she's unhealthily thin.

JustGettingStarted · 02/01/2019 18:55

I feel embarrassed about the photo I posted. My husband and I were at an air B&B on a holiday and he took some photos. So yeah that's a kitchen behind me. Anyway, it's the only photo I've got that makes it clear I'm not fat and doesn't have my children in it.
I feel like I overreacted to being told that I'm borderline fat. Blush

ricepolo · 02/01/2019 20:05

Don’t worry at all. Not a big deal.

I’m sorry you felt you had to respond like that. Why do we still consider our own and other people’s value and worth by their external appearance? All this adulation of Kate because she’s skinny/thin/lean/whatever you call it, and the use of both ‘fat’ and ‘thin’ as terms of offence are ridiculous. Can we not start to care about what people are like? What they do to help others? How they spend their time? Whether they are good friends/mothers/colleagues/daughters?

AFAIK you can be the slimmest, prettiest person with the nicest hair and the best clothes, or indeed the exact opposite but none of that matters in the grand scheme of things. I want more than ‘she was a size 8 despite having had kids’ on my tombstone: we all should.

OutwiththeOutCrowd · 02/01/2019 20:19

Well said, ricepolo!

JustGettingStarted · 02/01/2019 20:36

Thanks, ricepolo - and you're right!

bibbitybobbityyhat · 02/01/2019 20:58

Good point ricepolo. And the interesting thing is that the size 8s and the size 14s would likely be being buried at the same age. There is nothing to show that people with a bmi of 18 live longer than those with a bmi of 28 for instance. Indeed, in the case of women, I understand the slightly heavier tend to do better. Women are supposed to carry some fat.

DonDrapersOldFashioned · 02/01/2019 21:02

Justgettingstarted I’d report that photo post to MNHQ if I were you, just more fodder for the troll wankbank

canigetaliein · 02/01/2019 21:23

Frame/bones/shape defo makes a difference. I’m taller than you but at 10.5 I wouldn’t be a size 8. I have friends that are size 12-14 & very athletic with not an inch to pinch on their waists. I’m small framed I think (5.5 shoe & size i wedding ring) I look narrow but I have fat on me at a 10-12 & dont build muscle easily

CoperCabana · 02/01/2019 22:05

Once Kate is back from maternity leave, I hope she gives us a lot more to talk about than her weight. As an intelligent woman with massive worldwide influence, it would be good to see her make a difference.

OutwiththeOutCrowd · 02/01/2019 22:35

I feel quite short-changed by the DoC in that regard. She outdid all the other Royals with her A-level results, so clearly is bright enough, but so far I’ve not heard her saying anything that isn’t very bland and safe. The impression I get is that she’s quite a private person. I don’t think she likes giving speeches.

She seems to be content for the moment to embody quite an old-fashioned conception of womanhood, though I’d like to see her really embracing some causes that show her personality and passions. Maybe she could write or paint to express herself if public-speaking fills her with dread.

RDR2 · 03/01/2019 00:45

"I don't think anyone is being nasty to express concern. She Is in fact the future Queen and a public figure- having an opinion is normal."

She is most definitely not the future Queen.

RDR2 · 03/01/2019 00:47

I don't think anyone is being nasty to express concern. She Is in fact the future Queen and a public figure- having an opinion is normal.

She is most definitely not the future Queen.

Imissgmichael · 03/01/2019 01:51

Nope she is down on the list. Charles will be the next king not his first born. Why do people forget that.

SoleBizzz · 03/01/2019 02:00

She looks incredible

Drogosnextwife · 03/01/2019 02:31

She is most definitely not the future Queen.

Sorry? Why would she not be the future queen?

TheDowagerCuntess · 03/01/2019 03:50

A young Queen Elizabeth. She's probably wearing a corset, but that only nips in the waist. It doesn't alter a person's frame.

I can say with some certainty, that the masses did not obsess over her size, fretting about how thin she was, as her size was completely unremarkable.

How times have changed.

to think Duchess Kate is worryingly thin?
SaucePansLabyrinth · 03/01/2019 03:53

She is lovely as she is.

mathanxiety · 03/01/2019 04:01

Would she not be 'Queen consort'? She wouldn't be queen in her own right.

And what about a situation where the Queen retires and Charles becomes king - would Camilla be 'Queen consort' then, or would she have to settle for Dowager Duchess of Cornwall or Dowager Princess of Wales when William and Kate all move up one? I am assuming the Queen would 'not be amused' at the thought of Camilla elbowing her aside.

XmasPostmanBos · 03/01/2019 07:09

First of all I think it unlikely the Queen would retire and Charles would become King that way. I think she considers it her duty to remain Queen for life. He would be more likely to become a Prince Regent and take on more duties that way.

If Charles becomes King there are some arguments about Camilla's title, since there was some bad feeling toward her in the country. So she may be given some other title.

Normally though if there is a King then his wife is simply known as the Queen, not Queen consort. The Queen is by definition his wife, since a King always outranks a Queen.

mathanxiety · 03/01/2019 07:22

I believe the idea of the title queen consort was floated as a way to address anti Camilla feeling but still assert the idea that personal popularity is not the principle on which the monarchy rests.

TheDowagerCuntess · 03/01/2019 08:20

She is most definitely not the future Queen.

Why not @RDR2 ?

Sure, Charles gets in there before William, but the Duchess of Cambridge is a future- queen...?

QueenOfTheAndals · 03/01/2019 09:27

Of course she’s a future queen. The title is HM The Queen regardless of whether you’re the monarch or a queen consort.

There was talk about Camilla taking the title Princess Consort when Charles becomes king but there’s no reason why she can’t just be known as the queen.