State Visit from the President of Indonesia: October 31-November 2, 2012

[Daria_S]

Then become full-time royals, because W&C are turning me off and I am one of their biggest supporters.

William at 30 should be attending these events. With the ages of the Windsors, W&C could be in their 40s before we see them.

I wonder how much say Her Majesty has in who gets to attend these Banquets and who doesn't. She may feel that it's not necessary to have the Cambridges there for one reason or another, or maybe, no one wants the focus to be on what Catherine chose to wear this evening, and how her hair looked. I know that she doesn't go around asking for this attention, but the press certainly fixates on her choices of attire and what have you. It won't be fair to the visiting dignitaries, because the focus needs to be on them, and on the visit, and not on the Duchess's wardrobe choices. This being said, I'd love to see them out and about a little more often, but I don't blame them for wanting to be out of the limelight for just a little bit longer.

 

[NGalitzine]

I am not sure it is such a big deal that W&C are not there. The monarch, her husband, her daughter, 2 sons, a daughter in law and a couple of cousins are there in all their finery. That should suffice for an event that is not a public occassion and for which we rarely see many pics other than HM and Philip with the visiting head of state. W&C have a lifetime ahead of them that will be filled with such events, missing a few nowadays won't kill anyone.

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

I wish we had more images, I want to see all the Tiara's! If Camilla isn't there, does it mean Sophie is the "2nd lady of the land" for the evening? I can see the Wessex duo in the background of the images.

I love the Royal men and their tails. They always looks handsome.

It's not always the case. With the Duchess of Cornwall not present tonight, I also had a thought that the Countess of Wessex would be sitting right next to the President, however, it was the Princess Royal while the Countess sat on the side tables. I got access to HQ images and apparently it looked like the Countess wore the aquamarine tiara from the Luxembourg wedding again, but i'm unfortunately not an expert on this area though.

 

[suztav]

It's about time that William, Catherine, Harry, Beatrice, and Eugenie attended these State Banquets. A room full of the "older" royals -- and, by the way, may I mention are cousins of the Queen not grandchildren -- no longer cuts it. It's OK that they attend, but we really need to see the "younger" generation step up.

And, another thing --- I hate to break it to the Andrew haters -- his daughters are princesses-of-the-blood and have every right to be there!

 

[Molly2101]

It's not always the case. With the Duchess of Cornwall not present tonight, I also had a thought that the Countess of Wessex would be sitting right next to the President, however, it was the Princess Royal while the Countess sat on the side tables. I got access to HQ images and apparently it looked like the Countess wore the aquamarine tiara from the Luxembourg wedding again, but i'm unfortunately not an expert on this area though.

I imagine it's perhaps one of those times when the Queen chooses the precedence. HQ images? You're lucky! Nice to see Sophie wearing the other tiara now, it was beautiful.

 

[Lumutqueen]

It's about time that William, Catherine, Harry, Beatrice, and Eugenie attended these State Banquets. A room full of the "older" royals -- and, by the way, may I mention are cousins of the Queen not grandchildren -- no longer cuts it. It's OK that they attend, but we really need to see the "younger" generation step up.

And, another thing --- I hate to break it to the Andrew haters -- his daughters are princesses-of-the-blood and have every right to be there!

I'll bet a fiver that we never see Beatrice and Eugenie at a state banquet. They don't have the 'right' to be there. They can be there if they like but in all honesty with the hoo-ha around them it'll just create fuss.
I think you'll find Henry somewhat occupied at the minute.

 

[cepe]

I have , 1stly, a question - does anyone one know the order that the Queen's sash of gold/red (?) represent?

2ndly: Regarding William and Catherine. I think that if the Queen required their presence, she would request it. It is NOT for William and Catherine to decide which events they attend or not. We need to take into account seniority of decision-making.

The priority for the Cambridges is William's work in Anglesey - you may not agree/like/whatever - but HMQ and the PoW do approve it. So that is how it is.
Using their non-appearance to underpin a dislike of one or both of this couple is ridiculous as long as HMQ and PoW are content.

I'm not an expert but I think it is unlikely that Catherine will ever make an appearance at a formal state occasion such as this without William.

Fundamentally - these decisions are determined by the Queen and blaming William and Catherine is unfair, IMO

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

I am not sure it is such a big deal that W&C are not there. The monarch, her husband, her daughter, 2 sons, a daughter in law and a couple of cousins are there in all their finery. That should suffice for an event that is not a public occassion and for which we rarely see many pics other than HM and Philip with the visiting head of state. W&C have a lifetime ahead of them that will be filled with such events, missing a few nowadays won't kill anyone.

But to the public, perception is everything. The subtleties of protocol is lost on them. Their perception of W&C, is they would rather be home eating pizza ans playing with their ipads, and that doesn't bode well for the future of the monarchy.

 

[Daria_S]

HQ images? You're lucky! Nice to see Sophie wearing the other tiara now, it was beautiful.

I'd love to see those images. Would love to know which tiara Sophie wore this evening.

 

[Dman]

The royals don't skip official events because they are worried about who the media will pay attention to. If that was the case, we would've never seen Diana attend offical and State events back in the day, or we would have never seen the yound Princess Elizabeth attend official events with the King & Queen. If the Cambridges were due to attend this State Banquet, they would''ve been there. Attending these kind of events is part of their official role as future heads of state, regardless who the media focus on.

The Queen is the host of these events and she has the say on who will attend with the family. Those who do attend are full-time working members of the royal family. The Prince of Wales & Duchess of Cornwall, The Earl & Countess of Wessex, The Duke of York, The Princess Royal/husband, The Duke & Duchess of Gloucester and The Kents. The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Henry are senior royals but their not full-time working royals and don't attend these events.

 

[Dman]

I agree, it would be nice to see the young royals start attending State events like this. I don't know about Princesses Beatrice & Eugenie because although they are Princesses of the Blood, they aren't officially working members of the royal family. William & Catherine and Prince Harry will attend these events in the future.

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

I imagine it's perhaps one of those times when the Queen chooses the precedence. HQ images? You're lucky! Nice to see Sophie wearing the other tiara now, it was beautiful.

It means High Quality images. Apparently it's not a particular photo focus on the Countess, it's a photo of the whole view of the Banquet, and I can spot the Countess's head on one of the tables. From the looking of it, it does not look like her wedding tiara but the shape resembles of the one worn in Luxembourg, so I guess it might be it.

 

[COUNTESS]

I am sure tha Catherine and William are, relieved, not to attend, these stuffy not productive, show pieces.

 

[MagMil]

http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Queen+Elizabeth+II+Indonesian+President+Susilo+AmNXtiQCfd9x.jpg
http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Queen+Elizabeth+II+Indonesian+President+Susilo+ecYOxQqkxIRx.jpg

 

[NGalitzine]

But to the public, perception is everything. The subtleties of protocol is lost on them. Their perception of W&C, is they would rather be home eating pizza ans playing with their ipads, and that doesn't bode well for the future of the monarchy.

I somehow doubt that the great British public know or care about a state visit by the President of Indonesia let alone worry about the lack of attendance by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They certainly couldn't name the gentleman and most would have a hard time finding his country on the map. Much ado about absolutely nothing.

 

[Dman]

Well, they might as well get ready for it because William & Catherine will be hosting these kind of events someday as King William & Queen Catherine. Also, they will be the main ones attending these State events with King Charles & Princess Consort/Queen Camilla.

The Queen has menioned in the documentary "Elizabeth R" that the royal family mantain these kind of events in honour of the Heads of State and to make them feel welcomed as much as possible. I think it's a beautiful event and very elegant. Something we don't see so often in this too modernized world.

I just wish the British royals would have more pictures taken at these State Banquets like the other European royals. I would be nice to be able to see some live coverage of the arrivals of the visiting Head of State, guest and the senior members of the royal family. I think that's one of the major thing the palace have to improve on. More media access to these events.

 

[Molly2101]

It means High Quality images. Apparently it's not a particular photo focus on the Countess, it's a photo of the whole view of the Banquet, and I can spot the Countess's head on one of the tables. From the looking of it, it does not look like her wedding tiara but the shape resembles of the one worn in Luxembourg, so I guess it might be it.

I did know it meant High Quality. I was just saying you were lucky to have seen them. It could very well be her wedding tiara, it's hard to tell unless we had a closer image. From the images we have seen it looks like Edward and Sophie are talking to Tim.

I think it's right that William, Harry, Catherine, Bea and Eugenie do not attend State Banquet's such as these; they are not working Royals. William, Harry and Catherine will obviously attend when they become full time Royals, but I doubt we'll ever see Beatrice and Eugenie at them.

 

[EIIR]

If the Queen felt that they should be there, they'd be there. She's the boss. She's also not afraid of telling William what to do (he wanted to wear his RAF uniform for his wedding, the Queen put her foot down and made him wear the Guards' tunic).

There has obviously been an agreed action plan as regards William and Kate's journey to being full-time working royals. I would be amazed if Charles and the Queen didn't have a say in all this. The plan (which Palace officials were very honest about) was that they would stay Anglesey and live a low key life with occasional royal duties, at least until William finished his current stint with SAR. If the Queen and Charles are comfortable with that, who are we to second guess them?

 

[NGalitzine]

Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's cousin, in her book The Final Curtsey talks about attending a state dinner in honour of the King of Malaysia. She was seated next to a gentleman who was supplying new sewer systems in Kuala Lumpur and he went on all evening about the ins and outs of sewage treatment, waste flows and piping all through dinner. I think I could easily pass on an evening like that in favor of pizza at home in Wales.

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

@EIIR. I agree the Queen has a plan regarding W&C, but public perception is another thing.
People I talk to think that William as 2nd in succession and the fact W&C are both 30, should be seen attending more state functions. Just my opinion.

 

[AdmirerUS]

I am at a loss to explain why W&C aren't there. Turning a lot of people off , including myself. I had such high hopes for William and Catherine.

As the palace and the military have have reaffirmed a number of times for W and H both, they do their jobs first and fit the royal events in around all that. The days when the royals held cush jobs that really weren't much of a job in the military are over. When I see both these young men about their lives, they seem to be fine with this arrangement.

 

[MichelleQ2]

Regarding W&C's absence, I was hoping against hope that maybe we would see the at this event with little fanfare,but alas not the case. I do think the timing right now is all about Charles & Camilla's trip. Having W&C attend in such a high profile photo op, esp with Camilla absent would not bode well.

A side note...I do think it is nice that HM and the DoE had a chance to have all 4 of their children present...now that would be a nice picture.

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

I also agree the Firm is all about 'selling' Camilla as a royal and to the public and the Duchess of Cambridge would eclipse her if Catherine was to become a full-time Royal. Catherine is taking one for the 'Firm' by delaying her role as a working Royal.

 

[PssKatie]

Oh how I wish there were more photos out there of these events. From what I can see, The Princess Royal looks fantastic. I would LOVE to see a photo right now of The Countess of Wessex. She looks like she may be wearing a dress very similar to the one she wore to the gala dinner in Luxembourg.

William and Catherine aren't full-time royals, and there's really no need to have them at these state dinners for now. Give them time, I'm sure we'll see them in due course.

 

[yu_dhiz]

I apologize for the repetition threadnya. Thank you.

 

[rosana]

No pics of Sophie? How weird! She was at the back where HM was posing with the president.

 

[maria-olivia]

I wonder why you don’t gave the Banquet pictures , Princess Anne is sitting next to the President.

 

[Dman]

This is why I think the photographers and the cameramen need more palace access at these kind of State events. I know the pictures usually focus on The Queen & Duke of Edinburgh and the visiting Head of State and that's great but we would also like to see videos and pictures of the other guest and members of the royal family.

I like the way the Danish, Swedish, Spanish, Norwegian and others royals give the media access to these State occasions. They will make sure the photographers get their pictures and sometimes their is some Live Coverage. I think the Palace for the Britsih royals have to improve in this area.

 

[muriel]

I am at a loss to explain why W&C aren't there. Turning a lot of people off , including myself.

Why? What have they done turn you off?

I had such high hopes for William and Catherine.

What have they done that has shattered your hopes?

 

[msleiman]

But to the public, perception is everything. The subtleties of protocol is lost on them. Their perception of W&C, is they would rather be home eating pizza ans playing with their ipads, and that doesn't bode well for the future of the monarchy.

You are 100 % correct! I love the royal family and have since 1980 but I am starting to wonder what these people are thinking! Will and Kate are and will be the face of the BRF! If people start to think that they skip out on everything what future are we looking at? I support the royal family 110% and I am starting to ask questions , what are the people that hate them saying? The Queen must get them to attend such high profile events. I feel that William and Kate need to get out there and press the flesh as they say or every day people get rid of the lazy next generation! The York girls do not have to worry about being full time royals but William,Kate and Harry do! I am sick of hearing they are not full time royals yet! So when do they become one because the British people pay to protect them as if they are!!!!! Please remember this is coming for a person from the US who sings God save the Queen! I don't hate them but I am worried that this can't go on much longer!