Well, bully for Katie

[Lucyinthepie]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382889/Royal-Wedding-2011-Kate-Middleton-says-shell-housewife-now.html
Anyone else think that she should be doing the work that is associated with her new life of luxury? Justify the expense to the taxpayer and get out and fulfil the usual royal diary of visits.

How is this turning into a whom vs sahm debate about a woman who is childless, and will be for 9 months at least!

I don't think she made this decision alone. Pure speculation of course, but maybe one of the reasons Wills loves her is because of her willingness to care for him emotionally and physically, without seeking her own promotion or gratification. After all, I think that's probably part of why his father loves the unglamorous Camilla, more than the charismatic, beautiful Diana.
The fact that almost the first thing (apparently) that she said to him when they left the Abbey, was "are you happy" (not "I'm happy" )says a lot.

So... staying quietly in Anglesey, probably TTC (she is an "old" lady of 29) suits both of them. I think though we do need to have a bit of a plan as people may only live with this situation for so long. But I don't begrudge her the time. I'd rather they have a long happy marriage than a short public career.

Stuff what Kate is or isn't up to... on reading that article I discovered that William is a pilot for a living.

Gorgeous, loaded and can fly a plane.

my dd (10) the other day actually asked me what a 'housewife' was! It made me realise that now we'd be more likely to say SAHM, or whatever, and very rarely does anyone say 'I'm a housewife'. How times change, thought I.....

So thanks Kate, for sorting that one out!

I can't believe it's taken the DM such a short time to start on her. Horrible.

it would have been so easy for them to present it nicely - instead of 'She refuses to conduct any public engagements without Wills' on the front page, they could simply have run it as 'Wills to support his wife at all her first public engagements' and then everyone would have gone 'awwwww' instead being primed to think she's lazy.

bloody f*cking DM bastards.

and after all it's not like they won't be on her case if she's not pregnant within a year.

Saw this article too and didn't like the 'housewife' concept either. It's all very 1950s and makes me think Kate is a bad role model for young women today.

It probably wouldn't be such an issue either if she had actually shown signs of some work ethic or career ambitions before her marriage. Instead she seems to have spent 8 years just hanging around being someone's girlfriend. We have no idea of her personality or ambitions or interests. She just seems like a superficial person who enjoys partying and not much else. Contrast that with Queen Rania of Jordan and others who've used their royal role to further major charitable causes and had their own high-flying careers before their marriage. I think it's an embarrassing reflection on Britain when the future equivalent to Queen Rania here just wants to be a 'housewife' and shows no signs of any brains or ambition of her own.

Other non-royal entrants to Royal marriages have all had careers before marriage e.g. Sophie Rhys-Jones. Yes, the Queen had a couple of quiet years with Philip after she got married but the difference there is that the Queen was gearing herself up for a very intense role in UK public life and had a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders once her father died. In Kate's case, however, there's no such excuse. I think she is a poor role model for modern women. The Queen is in her 80s for god's sake and born into a very privileged position and yet she works harder than Kate ever has in her life!

I'd put money on her being pregnant by the end of the year tbh. She's 29 isn't she? There is no way they'll wait imo.

InMyPrime I so totally agree with everything you've written.

I agree inmyprime

SPB - I know they're not going to spend the next 2 years in bed together - he does have a job - but she's with him and there for him at all times, I think that's really selfless and an indication of the sort of wife she'll be - 'traditional'

Its the Dm FGS how much of it is actually true?

I wouldn't hold up Queen Rania as a comparison. She's not popular in Jordan any more, accused of having spent all her time glamming it up on the international stage and then flying in masses of slebs, shipping in generators etc, for parties in the desert while the villages beside continue to operate in poverty with no water or electricity. All at the expense of the country which has significant poverty issues. I'd far rather a royal who is more humble and quietly minded.

And that's clearly the sort of wife he wants - or he wouldn't have married her.

Since when have the Royal Family ever been high-flying career types?? Sophie R-J was the exception, surely - as I remember that's how it was talked about when she married Edward.

I don't think there is any point hoping / expecting them to be role models - there are better role models almost anywhere else! This is why I don't agree with all the hype about them and ridiculous deification at times like royal weddings.

What a mean spirited title.

I think she is right to spend as much time as she can with her husband. We don't want another royal divorce and there is plenty of time for her to do public engagements.

What on earth is wrong with a wife who wants to stay back in the shadows and support her husband in his career? Why have we come so far as to think that the only proper role for a wife is slogging her guts out in paid employment? Why is it seemed old fashioned and lacking in ambition to want to be a housewife? There is nothing wrong with it! We only get one life, and we choose what suits ourselves. If it suits them as a couple for her to be a supportive RAF wife, and who knows, she may be heavily involved with the wives of his colleagues and whatever it is they do (locally based charities, support each other etc...) then good for them.

True, itsatiggerday, Queen Rania has been criticised as well but I think that's all part of the deal with a public profile. I accept too that if Kate had actually followed any career path before her marriage, she would probably have been criticised anyway - most likely by the DM! - and accused of using her royal connections or being fond of the limelight etc.

It's a Catch 22 for anyone in that position. I do think, however, that if you're really passionate about something and want to follow a path, you'll ignore the carping and just do it. So far, Kate shows no signs of a passion for anything other than being William's wife. That's her choice of course and it's her life but it worries me that this is some new 'normal' for a new generation emerging into public life. That's where my comment on Kate being a poor role model comes from. Royals/public figures do set trends, after all, even if they may not seek to.

Amen to that

Would we be happy with it if it were the other way round? If Charles' daughter Princess Wilhemia had married a chap who wanted not to work and we were paying for it?

No - not to that! - to HRN

I think Kate should record an album and star in a film later this year - Carla has shown her the way in fitting a celebrity career around her husband's public duties while finding plenty of time to go to the gym and hairdresser and go shopping

The problem is with other women ( feminists ? ) expecting all women to slog their guts out competing - it's considered a wasted education if you give up a career to be a sahm

It relates a little to the discussions we've had on here before. What role models are there for young women today? What kind of message does it send? The whole subtext of Kate is "ah, she's got lovely hair and she's married well".

Kate Middleton is essentially a posh Alex Curran (I would say Colleen Rooney, but she's been known to work)

It's not about women being forced to slog their guts out, but part of the deal of being a royal is that you get paid for, but in return, we get public duty.

There were just as many people saying how lucky William was to get Kate.