Happy anniversary

[Nono22972]

Happy 13th anniversary to the Prince and the Princess of Wales ❤

Can't believe it's been 13 years already!

On work ethic, I'm not so sure.

Press intrusion meant that building a post-university career in a normal way wasn't an option (few businesses would be prepared to put with the constant attempts to infiltrate, to approach other staff, to use - as they did back then - intrusive and legally questionable methods). We can be reasonably sure that the Party Pieces job was flexible in time off, but none of us know what her working days were really like.

After she married, the first period was easing her in, then she was either pregnant or with pre-school DC until only 18 months ago. She seems to do term-time only (not unusual).

And even though we don't know much about her health, other than by 4+ months ago she needed surgery that required lengthy recuperation, I think it's reasonable to surmise that whatever it was might have had some impact on her in weeks and probably months before that.

William also seems to do term-time only

Yes, I hope they have a happy time with many lovely memories.

There's only one thing which serious illness does for us that's good (and I speak from experience!) and that's to make us appreciate what's good in our lives and the people we love. I really hope C and W will find special pleasure in remembering their wedding and appreciate the goodwill that most people feel towards them.

I agree with everything you just said but I mostly meant about the way W&C are using their platform

They are part of the most famous family in the world. They have access to so many charities and organisations but they're not really using this huge platform.

In a way, I kind of understand because an article came out when Catherine turned 40 and they interviewed someone who worked with her. That person said that after getting married, there was so many causes and charities Catherine wanted to support but the palace advised against it because it would draw too many comparisons with Diana.

Early childhood education is great but it is a long-term project and it's not really a popular one either because people cannot see the benefits in the short run so it gives people the impression that she does nothing and her engagement numbers are always quite low so that doesn't help.

As for her illness, that might be an unpopular opinion but I want her to take as much time as she needs. People often talk about how cancer impact people physically but people are affected mentally just as much. I read a study a few months ago saying that close to 40% of cancer patients suffer from depression after treatment.

I can't even imagine what she's going through. To be battling cancer all the while having so many people out there spewing hate against not only her but her husband, people trying to pressure her into making an appearance. It's a lot.
And just to have people saying that she's lying, she's dead, her marriage is broken, that she's abused, that's been very triggering as someone who has been in an abusive relationship and has been the caregiver of someone with cancer.

Not only that, with all the attack she's been getting for the past 3 years from her brother-in-law and his supporters, I would take a long break too

There's only one thing which serious illness does for us that's good (and I speak from experience!) and that's to make us appreciate what's good in our lives and the people we love. I really hope C and W will find special pleasure in remembering their wedding and appreciate the goodwill that most people feel towards them.

That is so true. My ex was diagnosed with cancer in mid-2022. I was also pregnant with our daughter at the time and he was working nonstop to save enough money. After he was diagnosed, he told me that it was the first time in life that he had to stop, be selfish for once and focus on himself and reflect on everything.

I wonder how many restrictions were put on Kate by the late queen. After the queen died, Kate's wardrobe definitely improved. I watched her in that Mike Tindall program and she seemed very animated and happy. Charles and Camilla seem very supportive of her and more willing to give her more freedom, then the illness hit.

I have a tendency to really get hit in my gut with illness. I have had to go to the hospital several times to get fluids to rehydrate from vomiting and I keep a rehydration kit at home. It takes a long time to bounce back from a severe vomiting bout. It took me a week to walk without weakness after flu. She had three children and I suspect had to get fluids for all of them. When people complain that she didn't work enough, I wonder how much time was spent recovering from vomiting.

@BemusedAmerican I was with you until you said an ill Kate had to get fluids for her children. Kate has a husband, a head nanny and other staff. William also said Kate herself has two nurses with her. She is ill which is sad, but she is not stumbling about getting water for her children.

I think @BemusedAmerican eas referring to Catherine getting fluids into herself .

I did mean getting fluids for herself due dehydration which is very debilitating.

When people complain that she didn't work enough, I wonder how much time was spent recovering from vomiting.

Yes, and I suspect that if Catherine were allowed to vent about all the unfair and harsh judgments made about her over the years, she'd go up like Vesuvius and I wouldn't blame her.

2 egs: Didn't do a proper job (couldn't continue due to press harrassment of her and her colleagues)

Too thin: possible illnesses and conditions - but at the same time, better make sure she can't 'pinch an inch', or she'd be torn to pieces for that too.

She has to keep quiet about these slurs and keep smiling, and clearly her health hasn't always made things easy. I admire her for her fortitude in all this. I couldn't do it! I'd definitely be telling someone where to stick it!

They look so young and happy. Such a contrast to Charles and Diana’s wedding photos.

My main memory of that day is the fuss made about Pippa. It was bizarre.
I can’t remember but maybe we hadn’t seen her until that day?

Pippa was always around when Kate was out partying.

The press used to call her and Catherine the Wisteria sisters and used to call her a social climber all the time

Re work ethic - the heirs have a reverse career trajectory to normal people - the older they get and closer to the top job and then in the top job, the more there is to do and they don’t get to retire (well - they could like Denmark but haven’t so far)

Charles is clearly a workaholic - and that was probably partly based on living with the knowledge that he wasn’t going to be King until he was quite old so needed to forge a long lasting role.

It’s also quite clear that William experienced quite a damaged childhood for various reasons and is I imagine trying to avoid that with his kids by prioritizing them while they are young and at home.

I’ve always thought that we’d see a big difference in W&K’s visibility once the children are at secondary school and/or boarding school.

Yes, and I suspect that if Catherine were allowed to vent about all the unfair and harsh judgments made about her over the years, she'd go up like Vesuvius and I wouldn't blame her.

Honestly! A book written by Kate about everything she's been through would be so interesting. Biographers have said that writing about her is extremely difficult because she and her entourage are very private. Her parents and siblings won't talk. She has a close circle of friends that have known her for almost 30 years and they've never said a word.

2 egs: Didn't do a proper job (couldn't continue due to press harrassment of her and her colleagues)

I remember seeing old photos of her at work and the paparazzis showed up

She has to keep quiet about these slurs and keep smiling, and clearly her health hasn't always made things easy. I admire her for her fortitude in all this. I couldn't do it! I'd definitely be telling someone where to stick it!

I couldn't do it either. I don't know how she does it. What saddens me the most is the kids getting abused online.

Sadly, this whole Harry and Meghan vs the RF has made a lot of people on both sides extremely unhinged.

That photo of Louis got so much vitriol a few days ago and sadly, I don't think it'll stop.

Thankfully your Mum has been wrong about this marriage lasting. They seem to be a lovely couple and as so many point out Catherine is a shining star in the RF.

I completely agree @wordler . All the people throwing the "work shy" label at them don't have the prospect of being in the most important job they will ever do in their lives until they die or (in Catherine's case) her husband dies. Presumably William has become close enough to his dad to know how much his childhood was damaged by his mother ascending to the thrown much earlier than expected - and of course he has his own childhood - and does not want the same for his own children. Giving their kids their time and attention while they are growing is money in the bank for the future generation's mental health. William and Catherine will (hopefully for them health wise) have 30- 40 years of work ahead of them once the children have grown up.

You know what?! I do feel like there's an anti-British bias when it comes to the royal family.

People constantly say that W&C should follow the example of the other royal families and yet:

-The French magazine Le Monde released an exposé of the Monaco RF: apparently, Charlene lives another country and has spent 15 million in the last 10 years for personal use (including 300€ a day for her chef and more than a million for decorating her office). Albert allegedly also had Charlene sign a document stipulating that if he were to pass before their son is of age, Charlene wouldn't have any power. A lot of their staff are illegal immigrants and the nannies don't have visas, allegedly. Imagine if that was William and Catherine

-Fred and Mary work a lot less than W&C and they were Crown Prince and Princess for almost 2 decades.

Fred is also allegedly cheating (with photos of him in Spain visiting another woman and spending the night at her place) and both he and Mary have barely worked since he became King. His mother had to be his regent several times this year yet not a word about this.

-The Dutch RF have a yearly cost of funding close to 60 million euros with only 2 working members (Willem Alexander and Maxima). Compare that with the British RF who have a cost of funding of 83 million with 11 working members yet the Dutch are celebrated but the British are vilified (many Dutch are anti monarchists but they're pretty celebrated by non Dutch and haters of the BRF)

-The Spanish RF need their own version of the Crown. If the SRF were British, the monarchy would've been abolished a while ago. Just Juan Carlos alone,...

Also, it's interesting how only the BRF are getting backlash everytime they tour overseas. The Dutch RF went on a tour to their overseas territory and not one word about colonialism, independence. There were protests but no coverage about that.

The Belgian RF recently went to DR Congo and gave a very out-of-touch speech. Not one word about it. Hell, Felipe pretty much praised colonialism once and no word about it.

But if that was W&C, it would be everywhere. My point was literally proven when Edward and Sophie went to the Caribbean last year (I think Anne went too) and no one said anything. It's more about people they don't like than them fighting a cause

I agree that there is a lot of rose tinted thinking about the 'Euro royals' especially the much praised Scandinavians. You would think they were all working 9 to 5 and travelling by bike to their modest flats the way some people talk!

As you say, all of these royal families have their issues and scandals, with plenty for their own people to complain about. It's just that none of them are anywhere near as globally famous as the British royals. So unless you take an interest in royalty, most people outside their own countries won't know that the Dutch King and Queen had to do a televised apology for breaking pandemic lockdown to holiday in Greece, or that King Carl Gustav of Sweden is a notorious philanderer, for example.

I actually do think some of the criticism of Kate and William's work ethic, obviously not with regard to their current circumstances, is valid. But in the scheme of things, it's not that big a deal. All royal families, like all families everywhere, have their issues.

The Monaco family is hilarious. Charlene apparently tried to make a break out of the country before the wedding. Albert is openly supporting 2 illegitimate children. A few months ago the former royal account spilled a lot of dirt, including the fact that Charlene' s cleaning woman ties a dog up in the shower whenever she cleans. The NY Post commenters were horrified by the treatment of the dog first, and Charlene's spending second.

@BemusedAmerican You find that funny!!

Reading the NY Post article was like watching an episode of "The Windsors" on Netflix.

I assumed the woman was bringing her dog to work and kept it in the shower because she could quickly clean any dog hair, vomit, etc before she left. I also thought it was nice of Charlene to let her cleaning woman bring her pet to work.

Apparently the two illegitimate children are quite close and even spend time with the legitimate children.

Also, Albert is very wealthy. I'm not going to tell him how to spend his money. It is nice that he provided for his kids.

Mymilkshakebringsallthepapstomycar · Today 13:34
I completely agree @wordler . All the people throwing the "work shy" label at them don't have the prospect of being in the most important job they will ever do in their lives until they die or (in Catherine's case) her husband dies. Presumably William has become close enough to his dad to know how much his childhood was damaged by his mother ascending to the thrown much earlier than expected - and of course he has his own childhood - and does not want the same for his own children. Giving their kids their time and attention while they are growing is money in the bank for the future generation's mental health. William and Catherine will (hopefully for them health wise) have 30- 40 years of work ahead of them once the children have grown up.

Exactly - I was just coming on to say this (maybe not so well..) I see this 'workshy' jibe so often directed at W & C and I have to admit that...firstly, I don't really pay enough attention, mild, non-frothing royalist though I am, and secondly I don't very much care how much they do, as long as they do what they need to or are expected to do. I think it really only registers with/bothers anti-monarchists who are working out the rate per hour etc.

I'm perfectly happy for them to spend more time being parents of young children now if they're expected to start taking on the whole shebang in a decade or so and then work their hardest at an age when most of us are putting our feet up. Charles has always wanted it - but I'm not so sure if William will! And as for Camilla, fair play to that woman - she never expected to be doing what she's doing now, I'm sure, and she does very well. I think she's humble enough and shy enough for people to find her very relatable.

But if that was W&C, it would be everywhere. My point was literally proven when Edward and Sophie went to the Caribbean last year (I think Anne went too) and no one said anything. It's more about people they don't like than them fighting a cause

With the benefit of hindsight, I wonder if we can now see the hand of the deliberate SM agitators behind the reaction to the W&C tours?

I'm no fan of Albert but I think it's very unfair to call his two older children illegitimate. Albert wasn't married when his older children were born. In fact, he and his son's mother dated for 6-7 years and she even met his father and other family members.

EdithWeston

With the benefit of hindsight, I wonder if we can now see the hand of the deliberate SM agitators behind the reaction to the W&C tours?

I think it's been established that there was orchestrated negative publicity for the W & C Caribbean tour from China in particular. Honestly - some of the negativity was ridiculous, and actually based on very perverse interpretations of events. The shaking hands through the wire fence, for example! Presumably W & C hadn't requested the wire fence to be present, and if little children put their hands through, what were they supposed to do? Ignore them? But we were told the optics weren't good.

I think there's a serious problem which is only going to get worse in that hostile powers such as China and Russia see an opportunity to destabilise particularly Commonwealth countries, encouraging them to agitate against Britain. To be clear: I've no wish for any country to be part of the C/w against their wishes, but I'd be concerned if their wish to leave was due to pressure from these 2 scary and sinister superpowers who have an anti-Western agenda.

...and their idiot enablers on SM don't help, @CoffeeCantata

@Nono22972 the fact remains his first two children are illegitimate and this is something he created. Was their mother not good enough for the family? Did he see a more suitable wife in his plans with legitimate heirs. Who knows but the buck stopped with him.