Prince William and Kate Middleton Current Events 1: October-November 2007

[Principessa Cano]

I'm sorry, Duke, but I have to tease you a bit... you exaggerate so much about Kate getting "fixed up"! She brushed her hair; she put on the lightest makeup, from what I can tell; she looks neat and clean. What is so "fixed up"? Most young women want to look decent no matter what they are doing, even for sports, and especially in her case! Dating a prince! Around his royal relatives! Goodness, like she would go around Bal-freaking-moral with un-brushed hair!

She is also wearing dangling earrings which seem kinda ridiculous to wear while hunting. But whatever...

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I'm sorry, Duke, but I have to tease you a bit... you exaggerate so much about Kate getting "fixed up"! She brushed her hair; she put on the lightest makeup, from what I can tell; she looks neat and clean. What is so "fixed up"? Most young women want to look decent no matter what they are doing, even for sports, and especially in her case! Dating a prince! Around his royal relatives! Goodness, like she would go around Bal-freaking-moral with un-brushed hair!

It's just about her usual behaviour that I am forced to see in the papers every day. I am so tired of girls like her who claim this but behave like that. She claims to be pursued by the paps but hangs out around Bijous twice a week. She wants to be left alone but then steps out fully styled with her sisterhood project. When she pulled out for whatever reason, of course the media was to blame. What I find most disturbing about her and I have said before that there is no direction in her life. She's 25, has done her studies and now? Not much apart from dating a prince every now and then, working a bit in fashion, thinking about becoming a photographer or going on vacation. It's a bit early to see her relationship with William as a kind of life insurance.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Well, I can't argue against Principessa: the dangle earrings are not a usual choice for something like this, deer stalking, but I guess to some women, going without earrings period is equal to going out naked.
Then again, what's the point of going out stalking with the royal ghillies if you don't look good doing it? And let's face it and be honest, it's not like she looks that great anyway. And it's not to say she looks bad, she doesn't look bad either, just like a city girl *trying* to be country.

 

[muriel]

Well, I can't argue against Principessa: the dangle earrings are not a usual choice for something like this, deer stalking, but I guess to some women, going without earrings period is equal to going out naked.
Then again, what's the point of going out stalking with the royal ghillies if you don't look good doing it? And let's face it and be honest, it's not like she looks that great anyway. And it's not to say she looks bad, she doesn't look bad either, just like a city girl *trying* to be country.

..... or perhaps, Kate just went shooting wearing whatever earrings she happended to have on at the time, and did not bother to specially "dress down!"

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Oh sweet Jesus! I saw that interview when it happened and at the time, everybody thought Charles' little statement 'Whatever love means' was so cute and endearing.

I agree it was adorable when he said this. Also the whole quote in this interview: "I'm amazed that she's been brave enough to take me on...." Then (in answer to question about being in love) "Whatever love means...."
It was classic self-effacing Prince Charles.

 

[ysbel]

What I find most disturbing about her and I have said before that there is no direction in her life. She's 25, has done her studies and now? Not much apart from dating a prince every now and then, working a bit in fashion, thinking about becoming a photographer or going on vacation. It's a bit early to see her relationship with William as a kind of life insurance.

Its possible that if Kate had a real direction in her life, she'd scare off the Royal Family. It has happened to other candidates.

My favorite candidate for Charles' wife wasn't Diana or Camilla but rather Lady Jane Wellesley, the daughter of the Duke of Wellington and quite an interesting character. She was strong, self-confident in public, and really adored Charles although she knew all his faults. That's not all; she had a career as an art dealer and handled that and the press attention with aplomb. I used to love the way she would tell the press to bugger off and they would love her even more. When one of the reporters asked her if she didn't want to be Princess of Wales, she snapped back, "I've already got a title, thank you very much, sir." and all the press exclaimed what spirit she had and how lucky Charles was to have her.

But the couple broke up and it was not due to lack of feelings on either of their part. Charles and Lady Jane have remained close friends ever since. However, part of it was Jane's hesitation at losing so much independence to a royal institution and part of it was the Royal institution thinking that Jane was too self-directed and independent-minded to fit in with the Royal Family.

They tend to think that being the heir's wife is a full-time career in and of itself and in the past they haven't wanted the prospective bride to be distracted by any other competiting interests or careers.

 

[ysbel]

I agree it was adorable when he said this. Also the whole quote in this interview: "I'm amazed that she's been brave enough to take me on...." Then (in answer to question about being in love) "Whatever love means...."
It was classic self-effacing Prince Charles.

Exactly. And the way that Charles would answer each question, 'Well I don't know, what do you think?" (talking to Diana).

A lot of things got reinterpreted over the years and while Charles and Diana were not the simplistic (and rather idiotic sounding) lovebirds that they appeared at first, I don't think either of them was the picture that was painted of them in later years.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Its possible that if Kate had a real direction in her life, she'd scare off the Royal Family. It has happened to other candidates.

You might be right ysbel. Interesting point of view. If it is true I find it very sad. I find it essential that monarchy is represented by people who know who they are and what they want, at least in these demanding modern societies. People must see a clear benefit and identify with the representatives or the monarchy will be made redundant, maybe not in the near future but further ahead. Times have changed and being a princess has become a full time job, especially for a commoner, who has to do very well to earn respect. Nothing will be safe in Britain once QE II has left our planet and I am not sure that a girl like Kate is a good choice for a future King.

 

[biboquinhas]

So she went for a long weekend with William and Charles in Balmoral?? I think that says a lot! However I think they are not engaged yet othwerwise that will be public!!!! When the engagement will be real we will all know by a pres conference for sure like all the other royal houses!

 

[Little_star]

Most women come down to breakfast fully dressed and wearing make-up and earrings! They wouldn't dream of going out 'naked' to any event, they always have dressed and I should imagine always will!

A major generalisation I would say. Many women are not quite as superificial.....

 

[Little_star]

I tend to think Charles managed to lose a good deal of respect entirely on his own. Among many foot-in-mouth moments, one of his infamous quotes comes to mind, "Whatever love is".

Indeed, many of the reasons have nothing to do with Diana and are linked to his various political stances.

 

[Skydragon]

A major generalisation I would say. Many women are not quite as superificial.....

Meowwwwwwwww

It may be OK to wander about (as the americans put it, IB) butt naked in your own home, (although I prefer to dress and do my hair), but when you are staying at someone elses house, I would think every woman 'dresses' for breakfast or any event. You wouldn't wander down to breakfast in a hotel looking like you have been dragged through a hedge backwards, unless your name is Cherie Blair!

 

[Skydragon]

Kate Middleton takes aim as she goes deer shooting with the Royals for the first time.

Deer hunter: Middleton under fire for going shooting with Royals | the Daily Mail

I checked the pictures and she has definitely got wellies on, not a ghillie in sight!

 

[biboquinhas]

I think Kate is the one and they are knowing that now! She has the strengh to resist the stress of beeing a Royal, she could handle that very well, she could become a youth icon that everyone wants to follow, she could become that lovely Princess that every women dream of!
Although I think she should not hunt! Hunt is not a dignify "sport", hunting for eating is not a sport is survival and we know this is not the case!A very negative point for Kate here!!!

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I think Kate is the one and they are knowing that now! She has the strengh to resist the stress of beeing a Royal, she could handle that very well, she could become a youth icon that everyone wants to follow, she could become that lovely Princess that every women dream of!
Although I think she should not hunt! Hunt is not a dignify "sport", hunting for eating is not a sport is survival and we know this is not the case!A very negative point for Kate here!!!

If you want to marry into the BRF you better like hunting. Not sure but is there any member who doesn't hunt?
At least you must show the usual committment, if not, better find another guy.

 

[susan alicia]

hopefully they shoot the old and injured. Perhaps they shoot the young animals to eat them but if you are not a vegetarian, like me, I can not object to Kate going hunting, better for an animal to be shot in the countryside than go to the abattoir.

The only problem I have is can Kate really shoot or will she just injure an animal instead of killing it.

I think Kate is the one and they are knowing that now! She has the strengh to resist the stress of beeing a Royal, she could handle that very well, she could become a youth icon that everyone wants to follow, she could become that lovely Princess that every women dream of!
Although I think she should not hunt! Hunt is not a dignify "sport", hunting for eating is not a sport is survival and we know this is not the case!A very negative point for Kate here!!!

 

[BeatrixFan]

A major generalisation I would say. Many women are not quite as superificial.....

I think Skydragon was referring to women who mix in Kate's circles. It's de rigeur for women on shooting weekends to come down to breakfast fully dressed. It's nothing to do with being superficial, it's do to with being in someone else's house and in front of their staff in only your jim jams.

 

[susan alicia]

(ha, ha re the meowww)

off topic but cherie was in her own home when she opened the door (looking a mess)wasn't she?

Meowwwwwwwww

It may be OK to wander about (as the americans put it, IB) butt naked in your own home, (although I prefer to dress and do my hair), but when you are staying at someone elses house, I would think every woman 'dresses' for breakfast or any event. You wouldn't wander down to breakfast in a hotel looking like you have been dragged through a hedge backwards, unless your name is Cherie Blair!

 

[biboquinhas]

Do you Kate will shoot a gun????Goshhhh I wouldn't shoot a gun in my all life!!!

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

I checked the pictures and she has definitely got wellies on, not a ghillie in sight!

Ok, I am confused. I saw Kate in all the pics. Yes, she was wearing wellies and camouflage. But those men with her were the "ghillies", weren't they? The people that take the royals and guests around to find the good stalking spots????

Its possible that if Kate had a real direction in her life, she'd scare off the Royal Family. It has happened to other candidates.

Man! Now that is good stuff! Dear Lady Jane, "the girl who already had a title" so said many a caption. And with Britain's favorite Waterloo hero on her family tree, she was sure to charm the public's hearts and minds. Although this is the first I learn of her art career; I always thought Lady Jane worked in broadcast for some reason.

 

[Skydragon]

Ok, I am confused. I saw Kate in all the pics. Yes, she was wearing wellies and camouflage. But those men with her were the "ghillies", weren't they? The people that take the royals and guests around to find the good stalking spots????

I'm oldfashioned and part Scottish - The gamekeepers are the men who manage the shoot and tell people where they are almost certain there will be a deer to shoot and of course organise the shooting of game birds. A gillie may act as a gamekeeper and they are also employed to deter poachers. It is taken from the Gaelic 'gille' which means a lad or servant.

Ghillies are a type of Brogue Shoe, although I have to admit, very many educated people mis-spell it. No offence meant to anyone who uses the alternate spelling.

 

[Skydragon]

hopefully they shoot the old and injured. Perhaps they shoot the young animals to eat them but if you are not a vegetarian, like me, I can not object to Kate going hunting, better for an animal to be shot in the countryside than go to the abattoir.

The only problem I have is can Kate really shoot or will she just injure an animal instead of killing it.

They tend to shoot the excess of deer, to stop them starving. An estate can only support a certain amount of animals, before they run out of grazing and start stripping the bark off of the trees. It is sad, but if you don't cull some, they all end up suffering. Stags don't say 'after you m'dear' when there is a shortage of food, so it is the hinds and youngsters that suffer. The gamekeepers are the ones who normally shoot the very old or injured.

I don't even think she was actually shooting at the deer, I think she was being given extra tuition by Charles while out with the party. It's all very well shooting at a target on a flat piece of ground, totally different out on a soggy piece of ground after a tiring walk.

 

[zembla]

Kate's done everything right so far...she was practically born for the job with the way she has handled everything. She has her eye on the prize...

 

[christinacg]

She has her eye on the prize...

I think you're right about that.

 

[Odrade]

I own my own gun, it is a Beretta AL391 Urika2 12-gauge. It is for clay shooting (mostly trap, sometimes sporting clays), and duck hunting, and yes deer hunting with the use of rifled slugs since rifle hunting is not legal where I live.

While it's the norm to get "down and dirty" when on the hunt you still want to look presentable ANYWHERE you go, or at least that is some women's philosophy. It's not a matter of mere superficiality as some have implied, but your own philosophy regarding self-respect and idea of respectability. My mother always said that any lady must always be presentable regardless of the occasion; if you disagree with that philosophy that is your right, but it does not mean that YOU are more "genuine" than me. That IS me. My opinion of people is based more out of what comes out of their mouths than the clothes and accessories they wear

I don't see Kate dressed to the nines in those photos. She's quite sensibly dressed for an outing, and if she prefers the dangle earrings to the studs I usually wear (regardless of the occasion -- hunting or the bar) then that is her own personal taste! Some of us like to wear earrings all the time, there is nothing wrong with that. When a rifle or shotgun recoils, the impact will hit the shoulder (and if improperly mounted) slap the cheek, which is nowhere near the ears so she is still quite safe and practical with dangles!

It's good to see her training instead of just doing what a lot of people do, and going off to shoot an animal without any real knowledge of how to handle a firearm or where to shoot at. Maybe she really does enjoy it, who's to say? Can't a girl find a wholly unexpected sport enoyable? I can sympathize since I was raised a city girl in New York but enjoy the country pursuits with my husband far away from the Big Apple.

Please give her a little benefit of the doubt

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

I'm oldfashioned and part Scottish - The gamekeepers are the men who manage the shoot and tell people where they are almost certain there will be a deer to shoot and of course organise the shooting of game birds. A gillie may act as a gamekeeper and they are also employed to deter poachers. It is taken from the Gaelic 'gille' which means a lad or servant.

Ghillies are a type of Brogue Shoe, although I have to admit, very many educated people mis-spell it. No offence meant to anyone who uses the alternate spelling.

Ok, I understand now (or think so). I thought maybe I misspelled it. I was thinking of the "Gillies" when I typed "Ghillies". But there again, as I was probably do too much thinking. I do that sometimes, and it always gets me in trouble but I never learn. It's very interesting to learn about the culture of the British country estates. It's like a separate universe unto itself, with its own time zone even (like the "Sandringham time", invented only so that the shooting lasts longer!).

 

[Duchess]

ok i have to wade in on catherine's appearance. not sure what it's like in other parts of the world but here in canada, the latest thing is seeing girls and women wandering around in those things that they call "sleeping pants" which is just a nice way to say jim jams (love that Beatrix). they wear them shopping and to school and running errands looking like they just rolled out of bed. to see catherine looking nice, even if she is out hunting is fine with me. i use to have a friend that would go to bed with full make up, get up in the morning and go to the bathroom before her husband woke up and reapply her make up and do her hair so i don't think he's ever seen her without make up and hair done. some women are just like that.

 

[ysbel]

You might be right ysbel. Interesting point of view. If it is true I find it very sad. I find it essential that monarchy is represented by people who know who they are and what they want, at least in these demanding modern societies. People must see a clear benefit and identify with the representatives or the monarchy will be made redundant, maybe not in the near future but further ahead. Times have changed and being a princess has become a full time job, especially for a commoner, who has to do very well to earn respect. Nothing will be safe in Britain once QE II has left our planet and I am not sure that a girl like Kate is a good choice for a future King.

You make a very good point about being redundant. DoM. You know, there was an article in a local sports journal of why interest in horse racing has died down in the last few decades in the US. The sportswriter was of the opinion that so few people these days have an intimate association with horses like our ancestors undoubtedly did that as a society we've lost the emotional connection to the outcome of the horse race.

I wonder if that has happened to the Royal Family. They are the original family business that gets passed down from generation to generation and a little over fifty years ago when fully half of the population was still engaged in running the family farm or running a small mom and pop business, a good portion of the common people conducted their business in exactly the same manner and an eldest son who was not up to the job was a common concern. At the very least with a more agricultural society, the Royal Family's life on the land had more parallels with normal everyday life than it does to everyday life today where people study to get a degree to get a job with a company and they may change jobs and cities several times over the course of their career.

The idea of just staying in one place all one's life and doing the job that was designated from birth whether one does it well or not is a pretty foreign concept outside of royalty. So maybe we as a society can't relate to it any more.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

The only problem I have is can Kate really shoot or will she just injure an animal instead of killing it.

You shouldn't worry about that. Because she has the gillies around to finish the job if that happens. But in any case, it's doubtful that she shot a deer on her first day of learning to use the guns.
The deer on the Balmoral estate live a very good life. Deer hunting is not even a mass hunting sport anyway. They might get one deer shot, and I assure you, it's only the pro shots who do this, and they always eat the venison themselves, or else they give it the estate workers, the gillies and the villagers if there is lots of meat to go around. It gets eaten period.

 

[misselle]

It's silly to cave in under pressure and get engaged without really, really wanting to! If things go wrong, there will be a big mess and the pressure from the press won't really go away, anyway - regardless what they do!
I wish them enough self-confidence to get engaged or married exactly when they want to - not when somebody else wants them to.

Yes, I also think that people(especially the press) need to let them be. Whenever I hear a news report that speculates on an engagement announcement rumor, I always think,"Don't hold your breath, waiting. Let them announce it on their own terms and in their own time!"