Duke & Duchess Of Cambridge tour … is it just me?

[PodgePie]

I am a huge royalist (obviously not Andrew but definitely William and Kate). However, I am struggling with their current tour, in a time of war, of crippling price rises and also Covid, it seems tasteless to be parading around in the sunshine in a stream of hugely expensive outfits, each one more luxurious than the next. I understand why international tours take place - and agree they have an important role - but shouldn’t this have been postponed given the climate?

Keating
Interesting piece from the BBC and quite fair I think.

It should be noted that it's not just some of us on this thread that considers the football picture bad. The article talks of the organisers sorely lacking experience and allowing this to happen, thereby overshadowing the hard work. Which is exactly what I and others have said on here.
Not W&K's fault, their team's fault yes.

@dictatorboss

I genuinely think that the argument that Kate was showcasing designer clothes to help the economy by advertising their clothes is not an argument. The average British person would never spend that kind of money on a dress ..not even as a one off ! I think that her outfits should have been smart/ lovely but with a price tag of £500 max .

Agree - I realise most poshos aspire to be her but that one is a bit far fetched

I posted earlier on this thread defending the tour to a degree. However over last couple of days I’ve changed my mind. I don’t blame the duke and duchess in particular - I’m sure they’re doing their best and have little choice in it all. I also think cancelling it would have caused great offence.
However the whole concept of a royal tour seems so anachronistic. And I think Kate is wearing ludicrously, ludicrously expensive clothes. A few designer pieces yes, but what about high end high street, like jigsaw, me&em etc? Would look very nice (all her clothes are tailored anyway) and somehow less offensive than thousands of pounds on a suit or a cocktail dress.

I’m not sure whose at fault really, it anyone. I just think times have changed.

@Puzzledandpissedoff "Royal tours can take up to a year to plan, and are either instigated by the U.K. government, or by an invitation from the host country. The itinerary is put together based on whatever matters of national importance the host government would like to draw attention to, while also incorporating some of the visiting royal's personal interests.. . .The theory goes that they have invited the royal party to visit, and the resulting publicity will showcase their country as a tourist destination and draw positive attention to causes and initiatives."

That's from Town and Country Magazine. Do you know that Jamaica invited them or did the RF instigate the visit? Because I don't know. The fact is that Jamaica has lost a lot of tourism revenue in the last two years because of Covid. The RF wanted this "charm offensive" to try and consolidate support in the Caribbean after Mia Mottley broke their heart and they lost Barbados, their "little England". It is probably as simple as that. Also, who doesn't love a show? As long as it's respectful. The couple can be respectful as people, but their gestures and what they represent are not and can never be.

@Puzzledandpissedoff "Royal tours can take up to a year to plan, and are either instigated by the U.K. government, or by an invitation from the host country. The itinerary is put together based on whatever matters of national importance the host government would like to draw attention to, while also incorporating some of the visiting royal's personal interests.. . .The theory goes that they have invited the royal party to visit, and the resulting publicity will showcase their country as a tourist destination and draw positive attention to causes and initiatives."

That's from Town and Country Magazine. Do you know that Jamaica invited them or did the RF instigate the visit? Because I don't know. The fact is that Jamaica has lost a lot of tourism revenue in the last two years because of Covid. The RF wanted this "charm offensive" to try and consolidate support in the Caribbean after Mia Mottley broke their heart and they lost Barbados, their "little England". It is probably as simple as that. Also, who doesn't love a show? As long as it's respectful. The couple can be respectful as people, but their gestures and what they represent are not and can never be.

Do you know that Jamaica invited them or did the RF instigate the visit?

How weird. I just posted this on the other thread before I saw this! Great minds think alike

Do you know that Jamaica invited them or did the RF instigate the visit? Because I don't know

I don't pretend to know either, kateemo. I'm aware that "inviting the RF" (or at least appearing to) is the usual thing to do, though it's also true the royals could have engineered this one

Of course the islands could always have said no, but then they really might have got the gunboat!!

@TheKeatingFive

Can you imagine putting together a state visit at a community center and how the kids would feel if she wandered in wearing a ratty old shirt and jogging pants?

I agree that this is one of the stupidest comments I've ever read on here. There's oceans of space between 'jogging pants' and wardrobes well into 5/6 figures.

She would look perfectly presentable in a £200 dress. She has done so in the past on many occasions.

I quite agree.

Talk about straw man argument 😐

It's a bit of both.

Diplomats will,have let it be known that HJ would be interested in a representative touring to mark the Jubilee. Realms will be able to say yes or no. And indeed some realms would proactively invite. It's a conversation, and it stretches back months/years.

What they visitors do is largely up to the hosts, but OK'ed by the visitors.

I'm particularly unimpressed with Irish taxpayers money being spent on having Charles and Camilla gadding around here when Irish people are struggling to cope with rampant inflation, especially heating and petrol and diesel, not to mention the 1000s of Irish people who have no home because successive governments refuse to build enough affordable housing for Irish people. Oh, and the sate of our Health Service is shocking too.
These Royal visits are all distractions IMO , to try and stop us focussing on how our governments are no longer servants of their electorates but of other interests. They are a pure waste of money! OUR money!

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/25/william-and-kate-caribbean-tour-slavery-reparations-royals?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The Guardian also has plenty to say

I haven't got time for any of them but this is completely unnecessary. Even without war we still have a global pandemic.

@TatianaBis

Surely it’s most insensitive to the Jamaicans who want the monarchy to fuck off and some acknowledgement of colonialism and slavery?

It’s rather tone deaf to be more concerned about Kate wearing YSL and its impact here.

But instead they turn up in open top range rovers, with a photo of shaking hands.with kids behind wrought iron railings. For them not to understand why that looked appalling beggars belief. The history of Jamaica is built on generations kept as.slaves, sold, exploited, killed, and most likely kept behind fencing like that. To come to a country to do a white saviour style tour with an ultra colonial feel knowing how much their own family profited directly from slavery is repugnant, and to take photos like that is just unbelievable.

Unbelievable!

The whole charade is a pile of irrelevance. Swanning around in finery at great expense while the rest of the civilised world is concerned about the plight of Ukraine, the cost of living crisis and the surge in Covid again, just shows how seriously out of touch they are.

How many outfits does it take?

An obsene display of wealth

How much do William's bespoke outfits cost?

It's vile.

KM and PW dancing in Jamaica was just gross and cringe. A complete PR exercise this whole tour was, and some of the pictures of Kate with the children have been a complete and utter disgrace.

Kate recoiling from the touch of one of the ministers the other day at a touchy-feely event says it all.

The whole thing looks stiff and forced to me. Her face screamed contempt. Stunning that's how the commoner behaved.

@testerwiki I’ve looked at a lot of photos from this tour but haven’t seen that one. Do you have a link please?

What strikes me is that none of their hosts looked thrilled about having them there. They on the other hand were pretending to have an absolutely marvellous jape. It’s not their fault, they have to do it, but it feels like a performance on all sides which isn’t necessary in the modern world.

Would the posters here who objected to W&K reaching out to engage with those behind the chain link fence at the football ground, really have advised W&K to ignore them, to turn their backs, snub and disrespect a crowd who had given their time to come to see them and the footballers?

The very mixed reaction to this Royal tour goes really deep and I wonder if that’s because maybe on some level lots of us can feel that it holds up a mirror to ourselves around our history. There are very painful serious underlying issues that the tour pictures remind us of, especially for those of us who have the everyday white privilege not to have to worry about race issues every day. Like how to fairly rebuild societies (including our own here in the UK) in the years and centuries that come after slavery and colonialism. Urgently, how to end racism, which perpetuates ‘othering’ and moral prejudice and economic disadvantage and social oppression all over the world and at home.

The arguments about what the UK’s Royal family is now for and how and why should it exist in the modern world are really important, but they seem come across as secondary (or as as a bit of a defensive psychological projection) in this specific context? Logically we know that the UK’s royal figures are not the ones stopping us getting rid of racism and disadvantage. They’re not stopping us learning about and dealing with the moral and financial and social legacy of our own history.

Many more countries in the world don’t have royalty than do, and many republics all over the world have acute, lethal racism. One obvious example, America.

The solutions obviously lie with the people in societies working together. Us.

@DowningStreetParty

Would the posters here who objected to W&K reaching out to engage with those behind the chain link fence at the football ground, really have advised W&K to ignore them, to turn their backs, snub and disrespect a crowd who had given their time to come to see them and the footballers?

The very mixed reaction to this Royal tour goes really deep and I wonder if that’s because maybe on some level lots of us can feel that it holds up a mirror to ourselves around our history. There are very painful serious underlying issues that the tour pictures remind us of, especially for those of us who have the everyday white privilege not to have to worry about race issues every day. Like how to fairly rebuild societies (including our own here in the UK) in the years and centuries that come after slavery and colonialism. Urgently, how to end racism, which perpetuates ‘othering’ and moral prejudice and economic disadvantage and social oppression all over the world and at home.

The arguments about what the UK’s Royal family is now for and how and why should it exist in the modern world are really important, but they seem come across as secondary (or as as a bit of a defensive psychological projection) in this specific context? Logically we know that the UK’s royal figures are not the ones stopping us getting rid of racism and disadvantage. They’re not stopping us learning about and dealing with the moral and financial and social legacy of our own history.

Many more countries in the world don’t have royalty than do, and many republics all over the world have acute, lethal racism. One obvious example, America.

The solutions obviously lie with the people in societies working together. Us.

Well said.

It is just looked like one big holiday for them at the expense of taxpayers. Scuba diving, chocolate making in Belize. Is that work? It all looks so awkward too

Would the posters here who objected to W&K reaching out to engage with those behind the chain link fence at the football ground, really have advised W&K to ignore them, to turn their backs

Absolutely no one is saying they should have ignored the crowd.

They're saying the tour should have been better organised to avoid situations like this occurring.

Seems to be a pretty widespread view in the media also

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/uk-60870417.amp

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/25/william-and-kate-caribbean-tour-slavery-reparations-royals

Would the posters here who objected to W&K reaching out to engage with those behind the chain link fence at the football ground, really have advised W&K to ignore them, to turn their backs

No. And no one on these threads has said that. As has been said time and time and time again... it's all about how this was set up by the aides, the PR people, the ones on the ground who have planned this tour over a couple of years. I don't blame W&K. However, I do blame those controlling all of this. A bad misstep, bad planning.

Posters should not turn that fact round and say we wanted them to turn their backs on the kids there.