Do the Royal Family just think we are really really stupid?

[Bex5490]

Just that really. From Harry’s car chase to Prince Andrew being at a Pizza Express kid’s party.

And now we’re supposed to believe that the country’s biggest PR machine in the middle of a media storm just let Prince William take a casual Mothers Day pic on his iPhone, let the missus edit it and then post it to the world?

😒

Yes, I'm much more interested in how they're managing all this than I am in Kate's health issues. I was more than happy to let her have her sick leave and would have barely noticed when she reappeared.

I am very interested in how they seem to be manipulating and hiding things and possibly downright lying. That's not OK for an institution that depends on public support for survival.

That URL could have been an early draft of a sentence from the article, before the sub-editors removed some of the flecks of spittle. "Palace no longer trusted think stupid thinking did Kate write message ill". Yes, thanks Liz, now go and have a lie down.

No.

I’m not interested. If I was interested, I would be making pointless threads asking where the woman is, and asking stupid questions about a photograph, and speculating about all kinds of batshit stories like she’s in danger etc etc. She had an operation, she’s off sick, like they said. I think they even said she would be off until April? It’s not April yet. What are you all going to do when April comes and she’s back to ‘work’ like normal?

I am sick of the same questions being asked over and over in new threads though, which is why I posted.

Granted KP should have been on their toes. Very bad day at the office.

Still, you would think all these super duper global press agencies would have had their experts check before publication if they are that super duper.

Issuing a KILL notice is hyperbolic in its most extreme.

Catherine, if I were you I'd say fuck this shite. Pack up the kids and live a normal life.

You sound very eloquent. Have you ever considered becoming an MP? Give it a go, make a real change.

If this is to be believed, she can't...

Monarch has custody over heirs

Her head may very well have been swapped

Agreed, although I’d still rather have given the money to people that can’t afford to eat than the queen. I’m sure she was a nice lady though.

You wonder how much time she gets to herself?!?! That’s the funniest thing I’ve read on these threads so far.

I agree with this. It has shades of princess Diana about it and i think the RF are panicking as Kate is their absolute trump card.

And all the fuss about Pippa in a bikini on holiday was obviously an attempt at distraction....this is a woman who has multiple holidays, there was nothing new to see on this one

@EastCoastDamsel and THAT doesn't make the front page?

Sick Woman Cocks Up With Photoshop, Global Press Look Eggy, But Woman Can't Just Fuck Off With Her Own Kids

There's your story

I can guarantee that I care as little as you about her whereabouts or any other royal family member.

At no point have I asked any questions about what’s going on with her. But as I’ve said, I do care about political cover ups and lying when it’s from such a position of privilege over the public.

It’s fine if you don’t but you don’t have to belittle those who do with comments like ‘what are we going to do when she returns in April.’ or make out that it’s weird to question these things.

Is everything you show interest in or comment on on Mumsnet of the highest importance in the scheme of things?

She’s taken responsibility, that’s what.

Kate is not a Novice at photography , she seems like someone who is so in control of her image and how she wants to be seen , this mash up of several photos doesn’t make any sense.

Well...someone running the KP SM has taken responsibility and signed it C

@Vitriolinsanity exactly

They’ve just posted a load of pics from this. Why have they selected the one with a lookalike Kate in it 😂😩 STOPPP

Well, there are a few possible explanations.

One is that her fingers are sore/swollen after her hospitalisation and she can't get it on.

Another is that she doesn't always wear her wedding ring, and that she decides whether to put it on or not as part of her branding and/or protocol for any particular duty. I think we've seen people posting other pictures of her without any rings.

A third, bit of a wild card, is that it was nicked off her finger in the hospital, which I guess is unlikely in her case but certainly happened to a relative of mine in a less illustrious hospital than the Royal Posh or wherever Kate was.

And a fourth is that she has dumped William, which obviously is a massive secret, but she's a bit stubborn and/or thick, so she insists on not wearing her rings to proudly announce her single status even at the risk of the massive secret leaking out, and then she allowed herself to be photographed without the ring thinking "OMG this is so risky, of course the massive secret might come out but I love it, gonna neck another couple of WKDs when I get indoors too", and then the photo dropped and she thought "wonder if anyone with notice that I've revealed the massive secret", and then she got the posh trouser catalogue out for something to park her new BBL in.

Personally I'm going for option 1, but I predict that some form of option 4 will have its own thread on here by tomorrow morning.

She does always wear her ring though, even at sporty things. You're right, probably she can't wear it atm, but it another example of the sheer incompetence with which this is being handled. The PR people should have known showing it missing would raise questions, that's their actual job.

Lying and fraud?! For a mildy altered photo?!

Not doing their job properly???? The public were told Kate was having surgery, and would be out of action until after Easter. It's not Easter yet. If my employers were told that to explain my absence I would expect that to be the end of it. If they were hounding me to the extent Kate has been hounded by the general public (apparently her employers) then I would be less than impressed. Grow up.

Why should they get special treatment? They are the royal family, do you really expect them to live like you or I?

As I said, dramatic, and indicative of people with small minds and dull lives.

Tbf Pippa and her family (and the PoW and her kids, when they were little) always go to the Caribbean around Jan/Feb, and there are pap photos of them on that trip published nearly every year. I don’t think it was particularly unusual that they featured in the press this year.

Honestly I think that PW has got used to the press towing the line for the most part, given the relative success of their agreement re. photo releases in exchange for comparative privacy. When they issued a vague statement given the reasons for the PoW’s absence and anticipated return, I think they genuinely expected everyone to go, “No sweat, we’ll see you around Easter” and that be the end of it. Whilst there was speculation from the outset, the problems really started when it became clear how different their approach was to the King’s with his cancer disclosure, ongoing appearances and visibility. Every decision they’ve made from there has just compounded the issue and made everyone feel that they’re being disingenuous and that there’s something to hide. Agree with a PP that the press are now sick of what they perceive to be manipulation by the RF and so are playing dirty with this photo kill, Rose Hanbury profiles and editorials asking “what the fuck is going on?”.

FWIW I do think the woman is just recovering from major surgery and feeling anxious about her post op appearance, hence the grainy long lense photo last week, dodgy editing (the case for this being a manipulation of an old picture from Autumn 2023 is persuasive) and her staring at a brick wall on that shot of her in the car from today. If that’s the case, they would have been better served with a short video post of the kids doing crafts or gathering flowers like Rousette suggested, along with a voiceover from the PoW saying “thanks for the well wishes, hope you all have a fab Mother’s Day weekend”, rather than this Frankenphoto. I have immense sympathy for her dealing with this drama when recovering from what must have been a serious medical issue, but 90% of this could have been avoided if they’d been slightly more open at the outset and not tried to be smart with this photo release.

That is literally not even a look alike, that is clearly a completely different person! Is this for real? Literally wtf are they playing at? Is it April 1st?

If that’s the case, they would have been better served with a short video post of the kids doing crafts or gathering flowers like Rousette suggested, along with a voiceover from the PoW saying “thanks for the well wishes, hope you all have a fab Mother’s Day weekend”, rather than this Frankenphoto. I have immense sympathy for her dealing with this drama when recovering from what must have been a serious medical issue, but 90% of this could have been avoided if they’d been slightly more open at the outset and not tried to be smart with this photo release.

Agree with this. I do think KP comms team is mostly to blame though.