Catherine's childhood shaped the woman she now is

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Following on from the Catherine's looks thread below I think it is fair to say her childhood upbringing has had so much to do with who she now is.
Her parents took great pride in the familys appearance, manners, education & extracurriculars.
The Middleton kids excelled at swimming, athletics, lacrosse, hockey, netball, skiing, triathlon (James & Pippa), rowing, tennis on top of amateur dramatics, piano & girl scouts.
That type of investment carrys on into adulthood.
And I do feel the Middleton's were fantastic parents in the kids younger days, very clued in & knew exactly what type of children they wanted to raise.

Each to their own - I think choosing to fund your young adults so that they don't need to work is clearly a parenting decision! It's not the default even amongst wealthy people so they clearly made the decision to do it.

To be clear, I don't know Kate so I don't like or dislike her as a person, I don't have the information to do that. I just don't think the Middleton upbringing was what I would want for my daughters. Even if I could afford to fund my children not to work, it's not something I would want to do.

Partly because there are no guarantees in life and if you haven't used your education at all, it's not that easy to get a decent job. And partly because one of my values/beliefs (which I am not saying everyone has to agree with) is that most young benefit more from being encouraged to be independent than from being encouraged to stay dependent. I remember my first pay cheque and my first rent payment and the feeling of satisfaction that I did that.

Must add that even quite a few privileged people are raised like that not all of them have become role models or people to admire. Yes, the family raised them nicely and the kids responded well. Not always the outcome though.

@ChanelNo19EDT yes Chelsy knew her worth & got away. I'd say she's thanking her lucky stars now.
However I think had they married his life would be so different. I'd imagine they would have spent a huge amount of time in Zimbabwe & Lesotho doing charity & conservation work. Would have found himself a niche in the royal firm & work with the charities in Africa & the commonwealth that he & Chelsy were passionate about.
I also think Kate & Chelsy would have been very supportive towards each other.

Yes, Chelsy got away, good for her but it was really Harry's loss I think. She loved him, not his title.

If he'd had therapy before he lost Chelsy, he could be living happily on a ranch in Zimbabwe somewhere, doing some good in his own way, but not lecturing us. He got caught up in a modern day tragedy; marrying the wrong person, and he's not the first but he's got himself a celebrity lifestyle now. He never needed that. Oh I've said too much! I don't want to blame MM for Harry's decisions. But I remember my therapist said to me ''if you send that letter, you'll have to deal with the fall out from the letter when you'd benefit more from healing the original wounds''. And Harry wrote an effing BOOK!! So I sometimes wonder if he's really had that much therapy. What therapist would say ''yeh, write that book, pick away at all the wounds in public''. I'm like woody allen, I've had a few therapists at this stage and none of them recommended ''sending the letter''

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11619953/Prince-Harry-says-ex-Chelsy-Davy-unlike-girls-met.html

I wouldn't have been happy if I was MM reading these articles from Spare.
A life in Africa with his African wife would have suited him really well. Would have done wonders for the commonwealth too. Even when they were together Chelsy spent a lot of time at home in Zimbabwe & the couple spent a lot of time in Cape Town & Botswana

Isn't it the Royal Family's fault though that they create such a hostile environment for anyone marrying in ( going back to Philip) that no one in their right minds want to marry them? No aristocratic girls wanted to marry Harry or William. They knew exactly what it entails. And not just press intrusion ( when they aren't doing Royal duties, they have ample privacy). And in any case, we all know by now that the Palace has a relationship with the press, inviting editors to lunches etc. They could do more to protect particularly the girlfriends of their young people. They don't. They just say 'Oh well, everyone goes through it'. The only person willing to marry Harry out of his mostly intelligent girlfriends who all had careers of their own was Meghan. William basically did as he liked before marrying Kate, dumping her and chasing after other women. She has proven that she would do whatever it took to keep him and now does whatever it takes to do what the Royals want. Will anyone be willing to do that in 20 years time when George starts to date?

@Angrycat2768 to be fair I have heard & read that in the past.. The aristocratic, country set didn't want Harry or William. Chelsy didn't want that life..
The aristos are a completely different kettle of fish & some aristos actually look down on the Royal family

I'm pregnant to a girl and I wouldn't want her to ever cross paths with the Royal boys and wouldn't wish a 50s lifestyle for her in 25 years time. I don't find anything admirable about the Middleton upbringing as there are plenty of people who have what they have anyway. They've had a privileged upbringing and chased paths specifically to rub shoulders with those in upper class. They are pretty domesticated and when I look at it as a whole they haven't actually achieved anything given the opportunities that they were given. They just became brides with an expensive educational background to enter a rich man's home. There's nothing wrong with that but again I would hate it for myself and my own daughter. I admire their parents' ambitions more than their children's to be honest and I find them more driven than their 3 kids put together.

Oh, I meant more with her life within the RF, as in, adhering to rules and protocols etc..

Pippa did work after uni though didn't she? As an events organiser or something?

I actually think Kate's education is being put to brilliant use. She is skilled in understanding what is required in different contexts, makes careful judgements, has self control, can participate in with a wide variety of activities and requests, demonstrates genuine interest in some policy areas, is self composed.

These aren't just skills that dropped from nowhere and she is using them in her job. Yes her job is courtesy of her husband's family business and comes with a lot of perks, but it's a hard job, which many people wouldn't want and many people would be terrible at (like me.)

I do admit though I can't work out what she was doing during the years before they were married. It seems a bit of a mystery. Everyone needs a daily purpose and she strikes me as someone with a string work ethic now, so what was she doing for 10 years?

Also I think Pippa M seems to look extremely happy with her husband and loves her life. I think it's really depressiing that a women who has a loving husabnd who enjoys being at home with her children, and who can afford to do it, is accused of wasting her life. It sounds like a wonderful life that many women would love, and surely we don't still think women shouldn't be educated because they're just going to become mothers do we?

I didn't know this. I always thought the royals were the top of the tree, so to speak. Is that not the case then?

@ssd https://www.marieclaire.com.au/news/celebrity/prince-william-isabella-calthorpe/

This is the most famous one who spurned his advances, Isabella Calthorpe who is married to Richard Bransons son Sam Branson. She wasn't interested in royal life but was a very established aristo herself.
Her half sister Cressida Bónas dated Harry for a couple of years.
Like Catherine Isabella is beautiful too.

Oh and the idea that bringing a pudding to a dinner party is offensive is laughable.
It's bad manners to go empty handed, flowers/wine/chocolates/home made sweetstuff are all usual and acceptable offerings.

But also that her evil motivation was to bag a husband is 😂😂
Also presumably a plan which failed miserably as she didn't bag a husband at uni.
She should have baked harder.

I didn't know this. I always thought the royals were the top of the tree, so to speak. Is that not the case then?

I remember reading that Diana reminded Charles occasionally that the Spencers were more aristocratic with a finer and longer heritage than that of the Windsors. I suppose she was marrying down in a way.

yes, apparently several of the old English families see the royals as mere johnny come latelys, not fully top drawer.