Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Current Events 4: September 2012-February 2013

[hkittybaby]

I just feel sorry for them. They will never have a "normal" life without being scrutinezed by the media

 

[KittyAtlanta]

Looking at this realistically, the public is interested in Kate's health. So, photos after a hospital stay would not be untoward. It is turning into madness, isn't it. William, the Prince of Pout, at his best. In this instance, there is no privacy. It was all public. If they didn't want photos, the priest would have gladly held a service for them at home. Don't totally blame the media...we're the ones who clamor for the photos.

I hope they had a lovely Christmas.

 

[hkittybaby]

Looking at this realistically, the public is interested in Kate's health. So, photos after a hospital stay would not be untoward. It is turning into madness, isn't it. William, the Prince of Pout, at his best. In this instance, there is no privacy. It was all public. If they didn't want photos, the priest would have gladly held a service for them at home. Don't totally blame the media...we're the ones who clamor for the photos.

I hope they had a lovely Christmas.

I agree with you in some points

 

[miche]

What photo? I don't remember any pictures in the press/newspaper of Kate and her family coming out of church in 2010

 

[cepe]

Just to add that I cannot find any mention of the Duke of Cambridge's complaint about the pix in any other paper.

I really do think that the DM broke an agreement, realised it once advised by the Palace, and then withdrew the pix. Their comments today are a rearguard action in order to keep out of trouble. control of the press is still a hot topic in the UK.

 

[LadyMacAlpine]

I may have missed it but has anyone considered the reason they didn't want photos taken might have had to do with the family of the nurse who committed suicide? Her family isn't having a pleasant holiday and Kates hospital stay was the icing on the cake that put her over the edge. How do you think Kate and William feel knowing her children weren't sharing Christmas with their mother? I can personally relate to what they may be feeling and not wanting to present a joyful family occasion out of respect for the family by having photos plastered of them smiling in the press. JMO

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

Just to add that I cannot find any mention of the Duke of Cambridge's complaint about the pix in any other paper.

I really do think that the DM broke an agreement, realised it once advised by the Palace, and then withdrew the pix. Their comments today are a rearguard action in order to keep out of trouble. control of the press is still a hot topic in the UK.

You're correct. The DM got caught once again and is spinning the story. No other newspaper is mentioning the complaint from the Duke of Cambridge.

 

[Dman]

What photo? I don't remember any pictures in the press/newspaper of Kate and her family coming out of church in 2010

Yeah, there were pictures of Catherine in the car and leaving church with her family on Christmas 2010. It was right they had announced their engagement. I remember the pictures.

 

[ladongas]

Imperfect

Like the rest of us, William and Catherine are imperfect. Yet some are willing to take their signs of imperfection as character flaws of the highest order.
The- if it actually happened- plea for the press to give them some privacy seems to have been reasonable and only a little naive. Perhaps they were appealing to the humanity of the photographers, some of whom have children.
William's wife is having a wretched pregnancy, and yesterday she managed to pull herself together to go to church, only to be faced with photographers. I don't think that William was being imperious, only protective.
He's likely terrified- not of the press- but of the thought that the woman he loves (and his child) might be taken from him untimely.
I'd like to think that the paps and the public might respect this couple's right to have some sort of normal life. And also their right to make mistakes in judgment (if they did indeed request some photogs to lay off, and not others) should not be denied them. How unkind some are in the season of love.

 

[Daria_S]

The royals are doing a job - on job it is fare game to take fotos; when they are private it is NOT.

I completely agree with your sentiments and happen to share them. However, many people feel that any public figure that receives public funding is public property. I think that such thinking is rather unfair towards the said public figure. Yes, pictures during official engagements and public walk-abouts are expected and acceptable, but, when the said public figure is going to a Christmas service with his/her family PRIVATELY there should be no pictures of that anywhere. They were out, like any other family, and I bet anyone here who would get his/her family time interrupted by the press and then have their pictures splattered all over the world would probably feel a little indignant too. Not to mention that Catherine wasn't feeling well, and probably didn't want the world to see her like that. Again, I agree with William on this. Should be pick his battles? Yes, but he needs to also set the limits and stick with them. By this complaint he is doing jus that.

 

[tommy100]

To be fair to the press, there is public interest in the story, remember Catherine is pregnant at the moment and has only been seen twice since it was announced and that the very fact they are not attending Christmas at sandringham but going to church with the middletons in a break with tradition is seen by many as a news story in itself. Given that there were pictures of William about two or three years ago working on Christmas day (and no complaints or banning of pictures after them) means that William and Kate can't have really thought there would be no photographs taken.
To me there are two issues here, the wider issue of privacy by he press and whether they could have been photographed in the first place
And
The fact that after asking some of the media to stay away but not others at the church service cars were moved so the couple could be photographed better and a space reserved for the media,it clearly sent out a mixed message to the media. And based on those actions I don't think it's unreasonable for a newspaper to think the couple weren't overly annoyed at being photographed and thus publishing the pictures.

Kate and William must have known the media would want photographs and were naïve if they thought they wouldn't, they (or their staff) could have managed it much better IMO.

 

[miche]

Yeah, there were pictures of Catherine in the car and leaving church with her family on Christmas 2010. It was right they had announced their engagement. I remember the pictures.

The only photos I remember coming out was her and her family leaving Westminster Abbey after the engagement, nothing around Christmas

 

[padams2359]

I am all about the right to privacy. But, this time I think William was wrong. As the future head of the Church of England, and under usual circumstances he would be photographed going to church, a picture of him coming out of Christmas service with his pregnant wife, who is going even with obvious complications, could only work to his advantage in the future. If they have been, or hopefully have been left alone through the rest of the holiday, let this one go PW.

 

[COUNTESS]

You can't turn off your wanting the press and not wanting the press like a spigot. You take public money and you are a celebrity. The Royals are no different that any other politician or celebrity. They seek publicity when it suits them and shun it when it does not. It doesn't work that way. Yes, silly, countless pictures of Kate going into a store are redundant. Outside a church on Christmas Day, come on. Willam has a great resentment toward the press and rightly so, but it is the press that makes them relevant on a daily basis. Many European Monarchies, have photo shoots, they know how to handle the press. Kate is very popular and they want her to be. You have to take the good with the bad.

 

[Nice Nofret]

Countess, exactly that is not true - they are not celebrities nor do they want to be celbs; they are doing a job; maybe in the US that's different, but in Europe we still know the difference between 'Kadashians'-trash and people who are public figures due to there job.

 

[Mariel]

Padams, you are probably right. It was important for William to be seen at Church, as the future head of the Church of England, that is, if the monarchy retains that part of its purpose. Even seeing Kate looking not too well, going to church anyway, means a lot to people who value the monarchy as spiritual leadership of any kind, C of E or otherwise.
The C of E would not encourage people to go to church when they are sick. They would bring communion to the home instead. But they needed to make this effort of supporting faith. And the pictures were needed to emphasize that. Good show. Forget the objections to the press on this one.

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

There are always going to be photos taken, the Editor of the Daily Mail told the Levenson Inquiry into media practices, they receive over 400 photos of Pippa Middleton each day.

Now what happened in this case, the Palace sent out a note to newspapers beforehand and stated its going to be a private Christmas with the Middletons and no photo ops.

Now just because some photographer managed to track them down and take photos doesn't mean the Daily Mail has to publish them, in fact they agreed a long time ago not to publish photos of the couple on their private time.

The DM knew these were 'rogue' photos and the couple were not on an official visit to the church, but attending a service on Christmas Day along with millions of other Britons.

Now the Daily Mail thought they could slip these in and no one would notice but William knows if you give the press an inch they will take a foot, so the Palace politely reminded the Daily Mail of the pre-existing agreement and the DM sulked and took the photos down and then tried to claim public interest.

Catherine is pregnant and in the words of the late Princess of Wales "The world is watching my belly", and this was before Facebook, and Twitter and the Daily Mail website.

William witnessed first-hand his mother's toxic relationship with the British press and knows in his heart, that if boundaries were set right from the start, its possible his mother would still be with us.

The Royal Family, have an agreement with almost all of the British press, and if the press doesn't want to honour that agreement, then the Royal couple should limit their access. Fair is fair.

 

[CanRoyal]

Padams, you are probably right. It was important for William to be seen at Church, as the future head of the Church of England, that is, if the monarchy retains that part of its purpose. Even seeing Kate looking not too well, going to church anyway, means a lot to people who value the monarchy as spiritual leadership of any kind, C of E or otherwise.
The C of E would not encourage people to go to church when they are sick. They would bring communion to the home instead. But they needed to make this effort of supporting faith. And the pictures were needed to emphasize that. Good show. Forget the objections to the press on this one.

Not to get too far off topic - but in regards to your 2nd sentence (bolded for easy reference) - I do remember reading somewhere - and from a reliable source - that Charles will be swearing to be "Defender of Faith" - not "Defender of the Faith" as HM and others before him have.

By removing the word 'the' - the claim was that it would more readily fit into today's world, where the monarch takes an oath to defend the right of all UK people to worship as they see fit - and not just those of the CofE faith. (Of course, as a little side benefit, it would now be a meaningful oath for a divorced Charles who subsequently married Camilla and who some of the CofE faith would have a problem with)

 

[Lumutqueen]

Not to get too far off topic - but in regards to your 2nd sentence (bolded for easy reference) - I do remember reading somewhere - and from a reliable source - that Charles will be swearing to be "Defender of Faith" - not "Defender of the Faith" as HM and others before him have.

Charles wants that to be the case, we won't know until his coronation.

 

[debrann]

I thought that William had been displaying a pretty well rounded maturity since the engagement. But this Christmas behaviour is just plain childish. If he wanted to stay private he should have stayed "in private' instead of venturing into the real world, to a real village, to go to a real church, with real parishioners, attending a real Christmas Day Service and then expect every man and his dog to do a very bad impression of "The Emperor's New Clothes" and pretend he wasn't there.

How utterly bizarre!

I totally agree with your statement Marg &

 

[tommy100]

There are always going to be photos taken, the Editor of the Daily Mail told the Levenson Inquiry into media practices, they receive over 400 photos of Pippa Middleton each day.

Now what happened in this case, the Palace sent out a note to newspapers beforehand and stated its going to be a private Christmas with the Middletons and no photo ops.

Now just because some photographer managed to track them down and take photos doesn't mean the Daily Mail has to publish them, in fact they agreed a long time ago not to publish photos of the couple on their private time.

The DM knew these were 'rogue' photos and the couple were not on an official visit to the church, but attending a service on Christmas Day along with millions of other Britons.

Now the Daily Mail thought they could slip these in and no one would notice but William knows if you give the press an inch they will take a foot, so the Palace politely reminded the Daily Mail of the pre-existing agreement and the DM sulked and took the photos down and then tried to claim public interest.

Catherine is pregnant and in the words of the late Princess of Wales "The world is watching my belly", and this was before Facebook, and Twitter and the Daily Mail website.

William witnessed first-hand his mother's toxic relationship with the British press and knows in his heart, that if boundaries were set right from the start, its possible his mother would still be with us.

The Royal Family, have an agreement with almost all of the British press, and if the press doesn't want to honour that agreement, then the Royal couple should limit their access. Fair is fair.

Normally I'd agree but when staff for the couple go as far as to move cars so photographers can better pics I think most editors probably see it as reasonable to publish those pictures.

 

[TLLK]

There are always going to be photos taken, the Editor of the Daily Mail told the Levenson Inquiry into media practices, they receive over 400 photos of Pippa Middleton each day.

Now what happened in this case, the Palace sent out a note to newspapers beforehand and stated its going to be a private Christmas with the Middletons and no photo ops.

Now just because some photographer managed to track them down and take photos doesn't mean the Daily Mail has to publish them, in fact they agreed a long time ago not to publish photos of the couple on their private time.

The DM knew these were 'rogue' photos and the couple were not on an official visit to the church, but attending a service on Christmas Day along with millions of other Britons.

Now the Daily Mail thought they could slip these in and no one would notice but William knows if you give the press an inch they will take a foot, so the Palace politely reminded the Daily Mail of the pre-existing agreement and the DM sulked and took the photos down and then tried to claim public interest.

Catherine is pregnant and in the words of the late Princess of Wales "The world is watching my belly", and this was before Facebook, and Twitter and the Daily Mail website.

William witnessed first-hand his mother's toxic relationship with the British press and knows in his heart, that if boundaries were set right from the start, its possible his mother would still be with us.

The Royal Family, have an agreement with almost all of the British press, and if the press doesn't want to honour that agreement, then the Royal couple should limit their access. Fair is fair.

Perfectly stated Duke of Earl. I agree with you completely. I honestly believe that in the future we'll see the Cambridges creating a "media code" similar to the one that the Dutch royal have when it comes to photographing their children.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

There have been a dew posts stating that it has not been proven that William complained to anyone; so why are some in this thread actig like it is definitely the truth that he did complain?

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

The couple's staff are not allowed to prevent photographers from taking photos and the moving of cars was a safety issue because of the danger to pedestrians.

Again this no photo ban on private time is what the editors agreed to. Obviously their word doesn't mean much, so I hope the Palace limits all official photo ops in the future, including the new royal baby

 

[tommy100]

The daily mail has written that st James' palace asked them to take the photos taken at the church down. To be fair that's more of a source than some posts on these forums. of course we need to take it all with a pinch of salt.

 

[cinrit]

You can't turn off your wanting the press and not wanting the press like a spigot. You take public money and you are a celebrity. The Royals are no different that any other politician or celebrity.

In the case of "public money", most of them are different from politicians and celebrities. The only two Royals who get money from the Civil List are the Queen and Prince Philip. In particular, William and Kate live off his personal income from his job, his inheritances from his mother and most likely his great-grandmother (the Queen Mother), and Charles also subsidizes both William's and Harry's private incomes. Protection Officers are paid for by the public, through the government, but then the PO's are at the insistence of the government, not the Royal Family. All Royals who perform Royal duties are reimbursed for any expenses that they must expend in fulfilling these duties (travel, food, etc.).

 

[rosana]

^Now royalty does not live on public income??!! Where do you think the money from the Duchy of Cornwall comes from? Fron revenue. And it is not exactly accurate to say they have enherited, but they have taken I´d say. When a monarch created a duchy, who did they ask permisison?


And as regards this topic, if he did really complain (which I still don´t believe) why does he think attending a chuch is private thing? Outside, they are on public grounds, the journalists did not break the law.

 

[MARG]

I think if you researched some or the richest landowners in your own country I think you would find that their historic acquisition of land was not exactly democratic either. The same probably applies to mine.

We cannot apply todays rules and social mores to history any more than we can go back and change it.

As to William and the "public/private" divide? I think we will hear a lot more about this over the next few months.

 

[PrincessofEurope]

Veyr mixed attitude to the press and pictures - totally agree with William and Kate asking for privacy at the middleton family home over christmas - but the pictures that were taken are outside church in a public place. Anyone could have taken these pictures - paps or passerbys or local church goers. I do think these church pictures arent obtrusive - we have pictures of Kate etc attending weddings and essentially that is the same as these christmas day pictures. It seems from what has been reported their protection officers made no attempts to shield the couple or move press away - in fact space was made for them to take pictures. At the end of the day if they didnt want to be pictured then they should have remained at the Middleton family home.

 

[hkittybaby]

The only photos I remember coming out was her and her family leaving Westminster Abbey after the engagement, nothing around Christmas

she was picture in the car with her family a couple of christmases ago