Kate Middleton Current Events 10: June-July 2006


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ysbel said:
But I seriously doubt Kate invited the press to follow her to the dressing room stall when she was trying on clothes. ;)

What in the world? When did this happen? I would be BEYOND furious!
 
Chiyo said:
What in the world? When did this happen? I would be BEYOND furious!

They didn't exactly follow her to the changing room, they took pictures of her, when she was comming out of the changing room.
Check out these pics (only few of dozens, posted by differnet people, check out older KM threads for all of them).
source - keystone press
B123.jpg

B122.jpg

B119.jpg

B118.jpg
 
Oh! I remember seeing those.

I'm so used to shopping either in malls or big department stores that I forget that they can take pictures directly into boutiques.

(And I still think that red dress looks fab.)
 
Zonk1189 said:
Skydragon..I must disagree with a portion of your statement. Diana did court the press in the later years but in the beginning it was the same (as least from what I can see) level of interest that Kate has now.

In the beginning as you say it was the same but, by encouraging the press later on, she changed the general attitude of the media, who forgot that the BRF are not just here and gone celebs.

If Kate is at a 'function' then she will smile and 'pose' for the press, if she is not then she is quite entitled to frown, growl or tell the press to 'naff off'. It is not just the intrusion into what should be her private life, it is the sheer lack of respect shown for this girl, just because she is dating William. :(
 
The impression I got from watching "Diana - Story of a Princess" and other things I've seen and read was that Diana played a game of cat and mouse with the photographers from the start.

Remember when she was with Charles by the stream while he was fishing, she saw the photographers across the bank and walked away then watched them in her mirror she held out from behind a tree. I always thought that was rather unusual behaviour, and it got the photographers' attention and piqued their curiosity. I've never understood why she did that; that behaviour drew attention to her and provided the basis for a story far more interesting than "and she sat watching Charles fishing, laughing and chatting". Why did she have to hide? She was Charles' guest and he was no doubt the one who had decided where to sit and fish. He should have been the one to initiate any hiding if required.

When the photographers were lurking about outside the kindergarten where she worked as an assistant and the house where she worked as a baby-sitter and they stalked her as she was travelling to and from work and taking her charge out to the park, she would sometimes look at the photographers and wave and sometimes talk to them, but at other times she'd put her head down and walk briskly. She seemed to always be conscious of their presence and didn't seem to behave "normally". I think her former employer at the kindergarten said Diana would volunteer to go out to buy the lunches or milk at the shop when she didn't have to, thereby providing the photographers with more opportunities to photograph her looking at them and running. I think her behaviour, probably unwittingly, attracted the photographers closer to her - 'let's see what we can get her to do today' - and of course they kept coming and eventually got far too close and there was that scene where they crowded around her car and impeded her flight and she got upset and I think there was a warning from BP.

I put it down to youth and naivete. She was too young to handle that attention on her own. She didn't have the maturity to put their attention in perspective or the ability to keep them at bay herself, and the photographers took blatant advantage of her. She needed guidance and I don't think anyone provided it for her.

Kate is much older and more worldly and apparently more self-confident and I don't think she is likely to make the same mistakes. And of course Kate has all the photographic evidence of Diana available to her to learn lessons from the past.
 
that was a very good evaluation you had there about diana and kate, roslyn. :)

it's unfair to compare diana and kate with the way they act when the paparazzis around.

at 19, although too young, diana was already engaged to be married to the 1st-in-line to the throne, an enormous responsiblity we all knew too well. that was an age too young to cope up with sudden changes in one's life. like realizing knowing how to handle the increasing number of paps trailing after you.

of course, kate is expected to handle the situation better. she grew up with strong family ties. she has not much of the enormous responsbility diana had when she was 24. and her entrance to public life seems to be swift and reassuring.
 
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Coolgirl and Roslyn,
I found your comments very insightful and accurate. Kate is older and the circumstances of her relationship with the Crown Prince are much different than Diana who was already engaged at a very young age. She also did not have anything like the shared University years with her betrothed that Kate and William have had as boyfriend and girlfriend. Although roughly the same age when they dated someone who is first-in-line-to-the-throne (Charles and William), Kate and Diana are truly worlds apart in the circumstances surrounding their relationships.
 
Laraib said:
True.;) :)

But that doesn't mean that one minute you are happily being photographed with Ms. Sharapova and the next minute you want to be left alone.
We do not know that Kate asked to be left alone. Her attorneys complained about press intrusion at the behest of (a) her; (b) William/his advisors/Charles' advisors; (c) her parents; or (d) some combination of all mentioned. That Kate asked to be left alone line is being repeated elsewhere as if it is the grail, and when this is not known as fact at all, and until we know, it is yet another unfair accusation attributed to her. That does offend me, yes.
 
I dont know how she does it. I would never be able to cope with such media attention. I think the main reason i would never date or marry a role is because of this. Hope she doesnt get too stressed over it
 
Roslyn said:
The impression I got from watching "Diana - Story of a Princess" and other things I've seen and read was that Diana played a game of cat and mouse with the photographers from the start.

Remember when she was with Charles by the stream while he was fishing, she saw the photographers across the bank and walked away then watched them in her mirror she held out from behind a tree. I always thought that was rather unusual behaviour, and it got the photographers' attention and piqued their curiosity. I've never understood why she did that; that behaviour drew attention to her and provided the basis for a story far more interesting than "and she sat watching Charles fishing, laughing and chatting". Why did she have to hide? She was Charles' guest and he was no doubt the one who had decided where to sit and fish. He should have been the one to initiate any hiding if required.

When the photographers were lurking about outside the kindergarten where she worked as an assistant and the house where she worked as a baby-sitter and they stalked her as she was travelling to and from work and taking her charge out to the park, she would sometimes look at the photographers and wave and sometimes talk to them, but at other times she'd put her head down and walk briskly. She seemed to always be conscious of their presence and didn't seem to behave "normally". I think her former employer at the kindergarten said Diana would volunteer to go out to buy the lunches or milk at the shop when she didn't have to, thereby providing the photographers with more opportunities to photograph her looking at them and running. I think her behaviour, probably unwittingly, attracted the photographers closer to her - 'let's see what we can get her to do today' - and of course they kept coming and eventually got far too close and there was that scene where they crowded around her car and impeded her flight and she got upset and I think there was a warning from BP.

I put it down to youth and naivete. She was too young to handle that attention on her own. She didn't have the maturity to put their attention in perspective or the ability to keep them at bay herself, and the photographers took blatant advantage of her. She needed guidance and I don't think anyone provided it for her.

Kate is much older and more worldly and apparently more self-confident and I don't think she is likely to make the same mistakes. And of course Kate has all the photographic evidence of Diana available to her to learn lessons from the past.

i think you've hit the nail on the head Roslyn. kate has been smart enough not to invite the press in where diana did just that. people always say that if they'd just let the photographers take some photos then they'd be left alone, that doesn't work - we've seen proof of that over and over again. kate is keeping the paparazzi at bay and still being polite. you don't have to court the press to get coverage...they're going to get their photos whether you let them or not.
 
i guess what really confuses most of us about kate's attitude towards media and publicity is that we are seeing her change into somebody who's more of a fun-loving type rather than somebody who is supposed to be pretty laid-black in nature. perhaps, she didn't really changed at all. perhaps, what we are seeing is really her. flaws and all.

i guess it's the media's fault that she was portrayed as somebody who's a perfect princess-in-waiting, sophisticated, stunning, good family background, popular, diligent, chic, laid back, confident and all the other adjective you can make for somebody who's perfect. this maybe is the reason why some of us scrutinize kate in every single mistake she makes so as to prove that we don't really believe that anyone on this planet is perfect.

and i personally think that she can be a worthy princess-in-waiting even without the "perfect" image she was portrayed to have. blunders and all that. because that's really natural. and, in fact, believable.
 
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coolgirl said:
i guess what really confuses most of us about kate's attitude towards media and publicity is that we are seeing her change into somebody who's more of a fun-loving type rather than somebody who is supposed to be pretty laid-black in nature. perhaps, she didn't really changed at all. perhaps, what we are seeing is really her. flaws and all.

i guess it's the media's fault that she was portrayed as somebody who's a perfect princess-in-waiting, sophisticated, stunning, good family background, popular, diligent, chic, laid back, confident and all the other adjective you can make for somebody who's perfect. this maybe is the reason why some of us scrutinize kate in every single mistake she makes so as to prove that we don't really believe that anyone on this planet is perfect.

and i personally think that she can be a worthy princess-in-waiting even without the "perfect" image she was portrayed to have. blunders and all that. because that's really natural. and, in fact, believable.

you're so right! it makes her a real person and i think everyone likes that.
 
Roslyn said:
The impression I got from watching "Diana - Story of a Princess" and other things I've seen and read was that Diana played a game of cat and mouse with the photographers from the start.

Remember when she was with Charles by the stream while he was fishing, she saw the photographers across the bank and walked away then watched them in her mirror she held out from behind a tree. I always thought that was rather unusual behaviour, and it got the photographers' attention and piqued their curiosity. I've never understood why she did that; that behaviour drew attention to her and provided the basis for a story far more interesting than "and she sat watching Charles fishing, laughing and chatting". Why did she have to hide? She was Charles' guest and he was no doubt the one who had decided where to sit and fish. He should have been the one to initiate any hiding if required.

When the photographers were lurking about outside the kindergarten where she worked as an assistant and the house where she worked as a baby-sitter and they stalked her as she was travelling to and from work and taking her charge out to the park, she would sometimes look at the photographers and wave and sometimes talk to them, but at other times she'd put her head down and walk briskly. She seemed to always be conscious of their presence and didn't seem to behave "normally". I think her former employer at the kindergarten said Diana would volunteer to go out to buy the lunches or milk at the shop when she didn't have to, thereby providing the photographers with more opportunities to photograph her looking at them and running. I think her behaviour, probably unwittingly, attracted the photographers closer to her - 'let's see what we can get her to do today' - and of course they kept coming and eventually got far too close and there was that scene where they crowded around her car and impeded her flight and she got upset and I think there was a warning from BP.

I put it down to youth and naivete. She was too young to handle that attention on her own. She didn't have the maturity to put their attention in perspective or the ability to keep them at bay herself, and the photographers took blatant advantage of her. She needed guidance and I don't think anyone provided it for her.

Kate is much older and more worldly and apparently more self-confident and I don't think she is likely to make the same mistakes. And of course Kate has all the photographic evidence of Diana available to her to learn lessons from the past.
Love your thougtful analysis Roslyn, but I beg to differ on a few points. I think that what piqued the press's curiosity regarding Diana in the first place was their realization that this was someone different, someone clever, cunning and intelligent. The indicent with Diana using her mirror to watch those watching her: I have to hand that to her, a 19-year-old at the time. For a young, so-called naive inexperienced person, that's quite the thing to come up with--I for one wouldn't have thought of it! I agree about your thoughts on the cat and mouse game, but all the same I think Diana did amazingly well considering no one was guiding her.

In fact, to go one step further, it has been said multiple times that it was the very fact that Diana managed to have the media, and thus the public, fall in love with her, that put Charles & company on the spot and accellerated Charles's decision to ask her to be his spouse. A marriage made by the media, many commentators have said, and I agree with that. I also agree with those who have speculated that Diana instinctively, intuitively, knew exactly what she was doing, that by courting and playing along with the media in her unique, clever way, she'd win the game ultimately.

I also agree that it came back to haunt her, and ultimately resulted in her way too early demise..
And this very turn of events, from Diana's days as a kindergarten teacher to her being chased to death by the paparazzi, is what the, in my opinion very staid-seeming, Kate has learned her own lessons and drawn her own conclusions from. Hence the more-placid-than-though impression I've so far had of Kate. Which may or may not be accurate, but that's another topic.

Again, I agree with your analysis although I think Diana was more clever and inventive than you give her credit for. And I also am convinced that it was this inventiveness, this display of unique intelligence that so endeared Diana to the paparazzi in those early days. Because they realized that this wasn't merely a beautiful and young 'english rose' who photographed extremely well. No, the media very early on realized they'd discovered a unique star in the making. It's this very quality I think Kate is missing, but she's perhaps deliberately displaying and exaggerating a boring front. She and William have learned what NOT to do from the Diana saga.

The result, in my opinion, is a couple more seemingly boring than the current rulers of Liechtenstein. Which is probably exactly the result they're after to be left alone and live their lives the way they want to, so good for them.
 
Duchess said:
you're so right! it makes her a real person and i think everyone likes that.
thanks for sharing your opinion with me and backing me up, duchess. :)
 
a few weeks ago all she seemed to do was shop, now all she seems to do is wear pretty dresses to polo matches. i'm sure she can find something more important to do than that!!
 
samgee said:
a few weeks ago all she seemed to do was shop, now all she seems to do is wear pretty dresses to polo matches. i'm sure she can find something more important to do than that!!
Samgee, nothing's more critical than going to every single polo match her boyfriend is participating in--after all, she needs to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get to flirt with other contenders!! ;)

But seriously, I'm sure she does more important stuff than this, but the thing is, we don't get to see it as not every single waking moment of her life is documented by the paparazzi, thank goodness!
 
princess olga said:
Samgee, nothing's more critical than going to every single polo match her boyfriend is participating in--after all, she needs to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get to flirt with other contenders!! ;)

But seriously, I'm sure she does more important stuff than this, but the thing is, we don't get to see it as not every single waking moment of her life is documented by the paparazzi, thank goodness!

LOL!!! I think that your first comment is very funny....the part about keeping an eye on her boyfriend.

Your second point is very good! She can only be photographed when she is out and about. Since she is dating the Crown Prince it makes sense that she is particpating in many high profile events, but to balance that what she does outside of those events is largely unknown to us. Her private life, life outside of public events is still very much her private life. Let's hope she becomes famous enough for someone to write a behind-the-scenes tell-all book and then we will know more.
 
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Heidi P. said:
Since she is dating the Crown Prince it makes sense that she is particpating in many high profile events, but to balance that what she does outside of those events is largely unknown to us.

I think that Prince Charles is the Crown Prince as he is immediately in line. I wouldn't have said anything, but it's been said a couple of times about Prince William and I wanted to point that out in case there has been a misunderstanding regarding terminology. :)
 
princess olga said:
their realization that this was someone different, someone clever, cunning and intelligent. Kate has learned her own lessons and drawn her own conclusions from. Hence the more-placid-than-though impression I've so far had of Kate. Which may or may not be accurate, but that's another topic.

Sly and cunning I would agree with, intelligent..... that is pushing credulity a bit far.

Kate is her own person and with a university education does have intelligence. She also seems to be more interested in William as a person than becoming a princess or gaining the adulation of a very fickle press or public.
 
These useless comparison b/w Kate Middleton & Princess Diana is comical to say the least. Diana was a unique individual that cannot be repeated, I doubt if her sons' want to marry a carbon copy of their loving mother, unless you come from freudulent school of thought. Besides, Kate comes from a different generation, albietly from a similar wealthy background, but she's neither aristocratic nor a royal. Comparing her to a woman who became an icon in the world and died tragically is doing a disservice to both parties.

Skydragon said:
Sly and cunning I would agree with, intelligent..... that is pushing credulity a bit far.

Kate is her own person and with a university education does have intelligence. She also seems to be more interested in William as a person than becoming a princess or gaining the adulation of a very fickle press or public.

did you manage to get that from a tarot reading card;) university degree isn't an indicative of ones intellectual capacity, if that's the case college campuses will be the hub for Einstien-like personality. I think the kind of woman Kate will become depends on how successful her relationship will be with Prince William. All we see right now is a young woman dating a prince, committed to him and have yet to display any of the charisma and independence most woman of her generation show. I just hope she doesn't become another rich socialite living her life for partying and celebhobbing.

PS. public adulation cannot be achieved by any form of cunning, or few monarchy in western countries will have survived. You either have that unexplainable thing few plp like Princess Diana had or you don't. Now, media adulation is another matter, the tabloid have already named Kate "princess-in-waiting":cool:
 
HRH Kimetha said:
I think that Prince Charles is the Crown Prince as he is immediately in line. I wouldn't have said anything, but it's been said a couple of times about Prince William and I wanted to point that out in case there has been a misunderstanding regarding terminology. :)

HRH Kimetha,
Thanks so much for correcting me!!! It is indeed very important to be concise about these things.
 
Lamyah said:
did you manage to get that from a tarot reading card;) PS. public adulation cannot be achieved by any form of cunning, or few monarchy in western countries will have survived.

I am puzzled by your remark, what has the tarot got to do with anything written??
Fickle means inconstant/changeable and that sums up the celebrity worshippers, whether they are the press or the public. This article shows an example of the sort of headline being used by the papers in '97.
http://www.city-journal.org/html/7_4_oh_to_be.html

Most of the royal families have survived through genuine affection and regard for their people, not by playing 'the poor little me 'Jerry Springer type 'victim'.
Those that live by the media, also die by the media (METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING).

Kate clearly does not feel the need to court the media or the general public (In the UK or abroad) and is, it seems to me, content with the love of her prince and both their families. Do we need to compare them, no, the world has moved on and become much more aware of media manipulation in the last 10 - 15 years.
 
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princess olga said:
Love your thougtful analysis Roslyn, but I beg to differ on a few points.

Thank you for your thoughtful response to my post, Princess Olga. We do differ on a few points, but I appreciate the fact you took the time to provide such a detailed response.
 
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Here you guys go all over again with your over-analyizations! :p I am partly teasing you, but there is a note of seriousness here. Do you guys really think that Prince William would have allowed the media "in" on his secret if he didn't have serious intentions toward Kate? And whatever anyone says to the contrary, we only know about "Kate and William" because William allowed it to happen. As far as I've always been able to tell, there is no royal alive who is more clever about his secrets than Prince William. That boy knows what he's doing!;)
 
princess olga said:
I agree about your thoughts on the cat and mouse game, but all the same I think Diana did amazingly well considering no one was guiding her.

Someone was guiding her. Richard Kay of the Daily Mail said he and other reporters gave her advice before she was even engaged on how to handle the press.
 
coolgirl said:
i guess it's the media's fault that she was portrayed as somebody who's a perfect princess-in-waiting, sophisticated, stunning, good family background, popular, diligent, chic, laid back, confident and all the other adjective you can make for somebody who's perfect

I don't think the papers ever made Kate out to be laid back. The first I heard of her was that she was the major force to get William through a tough time in the University. A girl has to have a pretty strong will to do that. The laid-back need not apply.

I think Kate's major sin with some is that she's not charismatic. Charisma can be very dangerous and public adulation is really not all its cracked up to be. So I'm fine with William dating an uncharismatic girl.
 
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