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

[Duke of Marmalade]

However, the way in which they handle the media has been anything BUT shrewd, imo. More like a disaster!
The Royal Family and/or their advisors are well behind the times when it comes to media relations. They might not be perceived as a never ending soap opera, if they handled their publicity better.

Absolutely. They still act like primadonnas or think it's blasphemy to be critizised in the media as if they were living back in the 19th century. Prince Charles (obviously passing on his attitude to his sons) still ignores the media instead of forming a suitable relationship; the result is the so called PR machine of Clarence House doing an awful job that doesn't do him or his family any favours.

 

[CourtSprite]

Your overlooking the fact that anyone being pursued by the press, generally have certain rules and boundaries that they have to work within in order to deal with the situation. Even Royals. Especially Royals.

The media, on the other hand, can do as they please. You have to get a lawyer and a ten tonne court order on their asses to make them back off for five minutes.

The right to privacy, as well as the right to have as clean or mucky a private life as you please, doesn't stop simply because your a public figure. I dont care if your a Royal or Joe Average.

The press are out of control and need leashing.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Your overlooking the fact that anyone being pursued by the press, generally have certain rules and boundaries that they have to work within in order to deal with the situation. Even Royals. Especially Royals.

The media, on the other hand, can do as they please. You have to get a lawyer and a ten tonne court order on their asses to make them back off for five minutes.

The right to privacy, as well as the right to have as clean or mucky a private life as you please, doesn't stop simply because your a public figure. I dont care if your a Royal or Joe Average.

The press are out of control and need leashing.

There are plenty of examples where the relationship works - AAA class vips, even more interesting than royals who are able to deal with the press in a suitable manner (= give and take). Charles usually shows off his "offended" attitude towards the press (= you are too stupid to understand my message and fail to recognize that I am the perfect future king). Not helpful at all.

 

[Jo of Palatine]

There are plenty of examples where the relationship works - AAA class vips, even more interesting than royals who are able to deal with the press in a suitable manner (= give and take). Charles usually shows off his "offended" attitude towards the press (= you are too stupid to understand my message and fail to recognize that I am the perfect future king). Not helpful at all.

But now he has the Duchess to help him - and judging from quite some articles, she does a good job at making him relate to the media in a positive manner while being herself a person one likes to write about in a positive manner.

The pic from the visit to Chinatown comes to mind, where she deliberaly gave the photographers the chance to take her picture next to the stone dragon. I for one did not read one negative article about her relating to the pic, just some jokey ones. Or when she went off to get Charles in order to make him try Tai chi as well - that was positive media work, now soem pics were published showing Charles in a positive way. Or the way they are seen holding hands etc. - in my mind there is no doubt that it's the Duchess who makes Charles look good on these pics. Journalists have come to like her so much that even when Richard Kay writes something negative about Charles and Camilla, there is another, positive article in the same edition of the Dirty Mail.

 

[ysbel]

I have general question: do you guys think the popular perception of Kate Middleton has altered significantly since the supposed break up earlier this year?

I feel like I used to see more stories about her as the quiet, smart, dignified girl who influenced William to avoid the drunken excess sometimes displayed by Harry.

Now I feel like I see more stories depicting her as a social climber/gold digger who doesnt do anything with her life.

Is it just me who has noticed this or have you seen it too? if so, what caused the change?

I think it is more that the papers don't really care about the content they write, they only are interested in finding an appealing angle or scintillating story to sell papers.

Kate and William haven't given the papers much substance to write about. So they came out of a club a month ago? And Kate apparently was seen in the presence of the Prince of Wales? Even a drunken exit from a club can't keep people's interest for very long and papers need to make up stuff to seem exciting and hip.

The perfect Princess stories were only exciting when people were seeing a wedding around the corner and all the royal romantics could dream about a trip down the aisle for Kate.

However, with their breakup and Kate's mother's trashing in the press, it seems awfully premature to count the days until the wedding is announced and the perfect princess Kate who never does anything wrong story is quite boring. Good, understated, nonpretentious responsible royals with common sense are often boring to the celebrity press.

So they had to change their tactic to keep the public engaged. So good girl Kate has now become bad girl Kate.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I think it is more that the papers don't really care about the content they write, they only are interested in finding an appealing angle or scintillating story to sell papers.

Kate and William haven't given the papers much substance to write about. So they came out of a club a month ago? And Kate apparently was seen in the presence of the Prince of Wales? Even a drunken exit from a club can't keep people's interest for very long and papers need to make up stuff to seem exciting and hip.

The perfect Princess stories were only exciting when people were seeing a wedding around the corner and all the royal romantics could dream about a trip down the aisle for Kate.

However, with their breakup and Kate's mother's trashing in the press, it seems awfully premature to count the days until the wedding is announced and the perfect princess Kate who never does anything wrong story is quite boring. Good, understated, nonpretentious responsible royals with common sense are often boring to the celebrity press.

So they had to change their tactic to keep the public engaged. So good girl Kate has now become bad girl Kate.

I totally agree ysbel but I am not sure if this handling (no confirmation etc and your described reaction of the media) will do Kate any favours in the long term.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

But now he has the Duchess to help him - and judging from quite some articles, she does a good job at making him relate to the media in a positive manner while being herself a person one likes to write about in a positive manner.

Totally agree. The marriage to Camilla was good for Charles and this is one of the positive aspects.

 

[ysbel]

I totally agree ysbel but I am not sure if this handling (no confirmation etc and your described reaction of the media) will do Kate any favours in the long term.

Well not knowing what Kate intends to gain, I can't really say whether it will do her any favors or not, Duke of Marmalade,. I do think that if she intends to marry William, the public breakup, nasty press reports and reunion marked by coming out of a club in an intoxicated state are not doing her any favors. But I'm not so sure that the crown is her goal. It may be that she and William are still deciding what they want and that's why their public image seem so haphazard.

I'm reminded of an interview with Bruce Springsteen when an interviewer asked him about a time when he was in the scandal sheets daily and getting very negative press. The interviewer's attitude was 'What in the hell were you thinking?' and Bruce's response was that at certain times of your life you are so involved in what is going on in your life that how it looks in the press is the last thing that you're worried about. Its true that William is a member of the royal family and how he behaves himself reflects somewhat on the family as a whole but on a more immediate basis, he is not going to have a constitutional government role in a very long time so he does have some time to find himself and Kate doesn't even have a ring on her finger so she's allowed to have doubts and conflicting feelings, in my book.

 

[susan alicia]

Kate quits her fashion job as rumours grow of an engagement | the Daily Mail

 

[hornsen]

Kate quits her fashion job as rumours grow of an engagement | the Daily Mail

This girl really is ludicrously. She only has one profession: WAG! She don´t know what a luxury life she has. She can change with me, than she`ll know what stress means.
I only can laugh if I hear: next Queen Kate.

 

[Laura Elizabeth]

"Time to herself" Oh please! And she's off on holiday again. That's 12 weeks in a year. Incredible. She wants to take up photography, she wants to travel. How about a little time in a homeless shelter? Nurses aide in pediatric unit? Literacy volunteer? If she can afford the London Lifestyle without a job she can do something, anything, to help those in need - which she's never done.

 

[PrincessofEurope]

i think by quiting her job she has made a major mistake now unless she has got herself a new job Kate will appear to be doing but shopping and clubbing until william proposes. jigsaw allowed her the security of having owners who were close family friends and not ever going to speak to the press about her and she had flexibility to fit in with william's duties. big mistake kate
remember before when she didnt have a job after graduating and william got restless about the public image of her well the same could happen again william might not be so quick about proposing kate if you dont have a stable job.

 

[Hanna Regina]

What will she do if the relationship with prince William doesn't lead to marriage. Is her father rich enough to support her for the rest of her life? And if she really wants to marry the prince, she might as well quit working for the moment and do some more studying. I'm sure the advisors of Mary, Máxima and the other new princesses have a lot of suggestions and alternatives for Kate.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Anyone can make suggestions and judgements for and about Kate, but ultimately her life is her own. What is it really to us how she earns or makes her living? If her parents pay her bills for the rest of her life, what is it to us but to say lucky her? I'm an inheritor myself, having come into money, and I still manage to be happy, productive, keep busy, and all that.... It doesn't mean you lose the will or motivation.... These things come from within, not without.

 

[susan alicia]

you do not have to become maria theresa to become the future wife of

"Time to herself" Oh please! And she's off on holiday again. That's 12 weeks in a year. Incredible. She wants to take up photography, she wants to travel. How about a little time in a homeless shelter? Nurses aide in pediatric unit? Literacy volunteer? If she can afford the London Lifestyle without a job she can do something, anything, to help those in need - which she's never done.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

i think by quiting her job she has made a major mistake now unless she has got herself a new job Kate will appear to be doing but shopping and clubbing until william proposes. jigsaw allowed her the security of having owners who were close family friends and not ever going to speak to the press about her and she had flexibility to fit in with william's duties. big mistake kate

Maybe it was the other way around - she did not quit but Jigsaw sacked her

 

[Laura Elizabeth]

Hardly Mother Theresa, just a contributing member of society. If she doesn't have a job she could at least volunteer her time to a worthy cause instead of taking yet another vacation and "time for herself".

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Maybe it was the other way around - she did not quit but Jigsaw sacked her

You would love that, wouldn't you, Duke? Maybe so.... doubtful though.

Fun fact: Kate's Honours Dissertation at St Andrews was entitled, Angels from Heaven: Lewis Carroll's Photographic Interpretation of Childhood.
Source: University of St Andrews Dissertation Database
Other supposedly-friends of William you can see on the dissertion list (this one only for Art History): Ginny Fraser (Virginia Fraser), Bryony Daniels, and Fergus Boyd.

 

[susan alicia]

perhaps she does good anonymusly Untill she has a public function as a princess, she can behave the way other young women in her fortunate circumstances do as far as I am concerned.

As long as she does not go out and shoot a couple of hen harriers I am fine with it all

Hardly Mother Theresa, just a contributing member of society. If she doesn't have a job she could at least volunteer her time to a worthy cause instead of taking yet another vacation and "time for herself".

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

You would love that, wouldn't you, Duke? Maybe so.... doubtful though.

Sometimes I believe this whole relationship thing is just a rumour and they are only best pals. They look so stiff and awkward together when they go out and this secretiveness about them is just annoying. There are not too many things I like about Harry but one of them is that he has a girlfriend and he doesn't hide his feelings, no matter what people think.

 

[Royal Fan]

I Like Both Henry and William But Henrys PDA Can sometimes be annoying to me at least ....William and Kate are playing it just right.

 

[PR Princess]

Hardly Mother Theresa, just a contributing member of society. If she doesn't have a job she could at least volunteer her time to a worthy cause instead of taking yet another vacation and "time for herself".

I would have to agree, instead of taking some time for herself, she should take some time donating if she is going to be the future wife of William. Of course she does not have to be Mother Teresa, but at least prove to the people that you are a good candidate for being the Queen of England. Remember being a princess or Queen it is not easy, they are not in vacations all year, their supporting the public in organizations and foundations. Shoot if I had money, I always wanted to be philanthropist, it was dream of mine to help the poor and people, or even educate others to do the same.

 

[PR Princess]

I was wondering, if Diana was alive, what do think she would say about Prince Williams girlfriend? I think she would have advised to take everything slow, when he broke up with she probably have told him not to go back, its best he does his duties and find one in later time...Who knows

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

I am not trying to be mean but I don't know if Diana was the best person to give advice about romantic relationships.... Unless of course she was preaching from the standpoint of "do as I say not as I do"....

 

[PR Princess]

I am not trying to be mean but I don't know if Diana was the best person to give advice about romantic relationships.... Unless of course she was preaching from the standpoint of "do as I say not as I do"....

I get what you mean, she did have lots of problems when it came to falling love, but maybe with her experience in that department she can advise her sons not to the same...trust me my mom was like her, she gave me great advise in making wrong choices, with her experiences.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Too true, PR. Hard knocks are a good teacher.

 

[pinkie40]

Kate quits her fashion job as rumours grow of an engagement | the Daily Mail

Having been a royalty watcher, a couple of decades before Diana was on the scene, I have a "feeling"...pure speculation....that we might, just might hear an announcement of Wills and Kate's engagement in a couple of weeks around the 21st of November to coincide with HMTQ's and DOE's celebration.

Kate leaving her job would give her a cushion of time for her to make decisions with the people involved in nuptial plans!!!


I bet they plan a wedding for April!

 

[hornsen]

Having been a royalty watcher, a couple of decades before Diana was on the scene, I have a "feeling"...pure speculation....that we might, just might hear an announcement of Wills and Kate's engagement in a couple of weeks around the 21st of November to coincide with HMTQ's and DOE's celebration.

That would be horrible. I would lose my respect for William to be so stupid and for the Queen to approve the marriage.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

I also think it's highly unlikely that a joint celebration between William's engagement and Diamond Anniversary would be formulated. I considered that several months ago and quickly put it down as impossible. It's not the Windsors' style to spring a surprise like that. They plan things years in advance, and I can't see anything being put forward to overshadow the Diamond anniversary. William's engagement (probably to Kate Middleton) is an event of the distant future; I firmly believe this. I can't imagine it being this month, or next month, or next year. As for April, why? When William just finishes his RAF stint? Just before he goes to do the navy part of his training? No..... I can't believe it....

It's a charming idea, the Diamond anniversary and William's engagement, but.... just not practical. Charming perhaps for fiction though.

 

[Al_bina]

My personal subjective opinion

It is rather unwise on Miss Middleton's part to quit job, even if some favourable developments are underway.