William and Kate: engagement and relationship rumours and musings 2005 - 2008

[Jo of Palatine]

Here we go again:

Why William's new RAF rescue career could spell seven-year waity for Katie | Mail Online

Where in the world was Katie Nicholl when everyone was talking about this weeks ago? I'm not seeing a single new piece of information here: rehash, rehash, rehash.

Katie Nicholl obviously is "Waity Katie" incarnate... Waits too long to publish her at best mediocre thoughts about facts long known...

Plus she obviously has no idea how Royality works: William simply can't wait till Catherine is so definately "on the shelf" when it comes to children. But we've covered that ground before. Plus: how will she know that Catherine does not like any of the potential air bases as her new home? At the moment she lives in Berkshire - hardly the country's hottest spot. But probably country life appeals to both William and her - he loves it as we have heard and she has spent her life mostly in the countryside attending school and university off the beaten track.

 

[msleiman]

Are there not guys in the RAF Rescue that are married? I remember the queen saying that when she was with Prince Phillip on bases that it was the best time of her life! so can William not be married in the RAF?

 

[ysbel]

Not all dot.com companies are the same. The Middletons sell Children's fun articles, thus they must have a pretty good idea about how people of all ages connect - because it's the parents who shop there first but it's the fun of the kids which determines whether the parents shop again. So I have no doubt that the Midletons are up to the task as they are successful in their business.

You may be right Jo, there are excellent retailers out there with outstanding classy website storefronts. I was simply disappointed in the cheesiness of the Middleton's site; it looked like an amateur's site.

IMO "Class" has less to do with money than with how people behave and particularly how they treat other people: whether they are selfish or generous, tolerant or bigoted, etc.

I think you're talking about character, not class, Roslyn - they're two different things. There are working class people who treat other people well and are generous, tolerant, etc. but who would be a fish out of water if you threw them in the Royal fishbowl and I don't think they would be very happy there either.

What is appropriate publicity and what is not for a particular role is not so much a question of character but of style. For example, you can have two actresses - both immensely successful - but they appeal to two different markets. What works for one audience does not work for the other. Its really hard to change one's innate style to fit into a different market.

I tend to think that by now Charles and the Queen, particularly the Queen, know enough about what is required in someone who joins the RF in a senior role

I hope you are right, Roslyn, but I wonder if the Royal Family is not quite as self-aware as it thinks it is in regards to others outside their normal sphere.

 

[Ella Kay]

Are there not guys in the RAF Rescue that are married? I remember the queen saying that when she was with Prince Phillip on bases that it was the best time of her life! so can William not be married in the RAF?

Nobody's been able to come up with anything that says they wouldn't be able to marry and live on a base together while William serves. IMO, people are just stirring up doubts as a way to sell papers and garner hits on websites.

 

[Mermaid1962]

Exactly. All this "Poor Kate will have to wait X number of years" is just a way to print pics of her and sell papers IMO.

Are there not guys in the RAF Rescue that are married? I remember the queen saying that when she was with Prince Phillip on bases that it was the best time of her life! so can William not be married in the RAF?

 

[Skydragon]

Are there not guys in the RAF Rescue that are married? I remember the queen saying that when she was with Prince Phillip on bases that it was the best time of her life! so can William not be married in the RAF?

Many of the men and women on RAF rescue are in fact married. It is just a stupid storyline with no foundation in fact, invented to continue the slurs on Catherine!

Here we go again:
Why William's new RAF rescue career could spell seven-year waity for Katie | Mail Online

I missed this post, , I have never read such rubbish before, oh wait I have, it was Katie Nicholl and Richard Kay in the Mail!

 

[avrilo]

Rumors of a possible split???
TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos -

 

[Mermaid1962]

I think that this article goes under the category of "regurgitated musings." Ever since Clarence House announced that Prince William was going to go into RAF Search and Rescue, the tabloids have been saying that this means that Kate and William are doomed relationship-wise.

Rumors of a possible split???
TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos -

 

[Skydragon]

Rumors of a possible split???
TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos -

Doubtful, the original source appears to have come from The Daily Star, which ranks 100 below The Mail for accuracy, IMO.

 

[kpusa1981]

Is the supposed split do with RAF duty? There seems know reason that effect their relationship unless they were going break up anyway. We will have to see wether they break up or not and wether they may marry. In fact the fact that he will SARF training and he may be doing his training in Scotland which make for a pretty good place to raise a family while thay were young. Since it would be away from the London press.

 

[Ella Kay]

Doubtful, the original source appears to have come from The Daily Star, which ranks 100 below The Mail for accuracy, IMO.

Plus, I've read the Star "story," and I'm pretty sure its source is the Mail!

 

[sneeuwklokje]

Imo this SAR thing is the perfect opportunity for them to get married. They can live on some army place out of the constant glare of the press! It could give them a chance for some "real life" before he has to become a "real" Royal.

 

[Menarue]

Have you thought it just might be a good excuse for Prince William to get out of a situation? Of course it is a lot of rot about officers not marrying but I have heard young men use worse excuses than that to get out of relationship gracefully. Perhaps it would be good for him to go to Scotland and live the normal life of a young bachelor officer, so far he doesn´t seem to have had another steady girl friend and that doesn´t seem a good thing to me. She seems to cling a bit so it would give him an opportunity to live a single life for a while and see what his feelings really are.

 

[muriel]

.... or perhaps, just wishful thinking on your part!

 

[Menarue]

Both Muriel, both. Do think about it though. At the time of the "so called" break up I didn´t hear that Prince William said "Kate is un-negotiable" as his father did before him, wouldn´t that send warning signals to you if you were the hopeful?
I make no excuses for hoping he doesn´t end up married into the Middleton family but of course it is up to him and the Royal family and despite all these romantic "he really loves her" and sighs "how beautiful she would be in a tiara" I feel that Prince William having been brought up in the royal family will respect the Queen´s wishes whatever they are.

 

[muriel]

Both Muriel, both. Do think about it though. At the time of the "so called" break up I didn´t hear that Prince William said "Kate is un-negotiable" as his father did before him, wouldn´t that send warning signals to you if you were the hopeful?

... and that is because William probably did not say Kate in non-negotiable! The situation betweem W&K is very different to the siutation between C&C in the late 1990s. Camilla was seen as damaged goods by some, having been married and divorced, and having had a part to play in the break-up of the national fairy tale marriage. Further, Charles was battling the internal "men in grey suits" on the topic. William and Kate do not face any such issues.

At the time of their supposed brief break-up, Wills was probably unsure of where he wanted this relationship to go, and that is why they split up. Having had some time out, the couple clearly had second thoughts, and wanted to give the relationship another chance.

I feel that Prince William having been brought up in the royal family will respect the Queen´s wishes whatever they are.

I agree with you that it is unlikely that William would go against the wishes of HM, whatever they might be. That said, I do think that if the Queen had thought Kate to be unsuitabe to be William's wife, she would have let it be known to William and Charles by now, and not let the relationship be out in the public domain for so long. Charles / The Queen certainly would have asked that Kate not be present at high profle events like the Garter ceremony, when William got his RAF wings, at the royal weddings etc.

 

[Jo of Palatine]

I agree with you that it is unlikely that William would go against the wishes of HM, whatever they might be. That said, I do think that if the Queen had thought Kate to be unsuitabe to be William's wife, she would have let it be known to William and Charles by now, and not let the relationship be out in the public domain for so long. Charles / The Queen certainly would have asked that Kate not be present at high profle events like the Garter ceremony, when William got his RAF wings, at the royal weddings etc.

The queen has met so many people in her life and made so many experiences that she must be stupid if she didn't realise that being a true lady or a true gentleman is coming from the heart of a person, not from the social status, especially not from the status people were born into. The queen herself was not educated by a noble lady but brought up by a combination of her mother, her middle-class governess and her lower middle-class nanny, so I doubt that Elizabeth has ever been a social snob apart from realising that her position forces her to behave a certain way.

So the queen probably realises that having a middle-calss British girl as future queen consort could be a very good move towards securing the future of the monarchy. If william marries Catherine, he signals the whole of Britian: look, it doesn't matter where you come from anymore, it only matters how you were brought up and how you are. Catherine attended the same school as princess Beatrice and the same university as William, mingling after that with the Younger Royals' circle of friends. So she surely has the manners needed to be a success in these circles. And as I said, her "common" background may be the right signal to the people of Britain.

 

[Menarue]

Only the future will tell. I am not talking about Kate´s manners, if she went to a good school I am sure they are impeccable. I just don´t think that Prince William as heir to the throne should marry her. If he were the second son, even though I don´t like the Mugabe connexion with Chelsy, I think she is perfectly suitable as a wife for him, my main objection is that Prince William´s wife will be the future Queen Consort of England.
So far we haven´t heard him say that she is un-negotiable or anything definite, we haven´t seen a ring on her finger. The Queen has allowed her to attend some ceremonies but she still hasn´t, after all these years, got to the stage that Sophie did in a short time, that was have an apartment in Buckingham Palace.

 

[muriel]

So far we haven´t heard him say that she is un-negotiable or anything definite, we haven´t seen a ring on her finger.

I think I addressed your point about Kate being "non-negotiable" in my earlier reply to you today (post 242). William (like any bloke, but more so in his role as the very public face of the royal family) is unlikely to say anything definate until (and if!) he is ready for the engagement to be announced. Its just not normal to do that, and has never been done previously.

The Queen has allowed her to attend some ceremonies but she still hasn´t, after all these years, got to the stage that Sophie did in a short time, that was have an apartment in Buckingham Palace.

If my memory serves me right, Sophie never had an apartment at Buck House until she and Edward were married. She may have stayed over at Edwards apartment from time to time, or may even have spent most of her time there, but she always maintained her flat in West London.

It has to be noted that Will currently spends very little time in London. I am sure when W & K are together, they stay at the apartment at Clarence House that William and Harry share. It would be pointless to install Kate in a royal flat anywhere when Will is not goint to be arond for most of the time.

 

[Menarue]

Your memory is failing you Muriel...about Sophie. If Prince William was any "bloke" I wouldn´t be wasting my time talking about this.

 

[muriel]

Your memory is failing you Muriel...about Sophie.

My memory may be failing me, but there is still no reason for Kate to be living at CH or BP on a regular basis as William is away on military duties most of the time.

If Prince William was any "bloke" I wouldn´t be wasting my time talking about this.

It is unusual (and completely unnecessary) for the royal family to start to provide interim updates about the private lives of members of the royal family. It is not for Clarence House to confirm where the relationship is at the moment. You have to draw the distinction between allowing individuals to have space for themselves and talking about their private lives. Extending this analogy, would you have liked Buckingham Palace to provide regular updates on the problems that Edward and Sophie had when they were trying to have children?

 

[Menarue]

Not at all. I just think people planning Kate and Prince William´s wedding are being a little, let us say precipitate.
The example of giving out intimate details of a member of the royal family´s life is ludicrous.
What I said is that so far there has been no sign whether the Queen approves or not, Kate´s presence at Sandhurst is only natural, he wanted her there and so she went, young men at their passing out parade like to have a pretty girl present. She had an invitation to some weddings and she accepted. It was an honour I admit, that she and Chelsy were allowed to sit where they did at Peter Philips´wedding but that is not the same as the announcement of an engagement. All the wishful thinking in the world won´t make any difference to the outcome of this. The longer Kate waits the more she will be called Waity Katy and that can´t be very agreeable for her and if things don´t work out she will be a very hurt young lady.
I think that it would be nice if Prince William could enjoy the life of a young bachelor officer in Scotland without having the newspapers causing all this speculation.

 

[muriel]

Not at all. I just think people planning Kate and Prince William´s wedding are being a little, let us say precipitate.
The example of giving out intimate details of a member of the royal family´s life is ludicrous.
What I said is that so far there has been no sign whether the Queen approves or not

I agree with you that making wedding plans is perhaps a bit early, and may be tempting fate. As to whether the Queen approves or not, none of us know the truth - we can oly speculate. On that basis, I maintain the statement I made previously: if the Queen disapproved, I am sure the relationship would not have been allowed to continue for as long as it has, and in the very public way it has.

The longer Kate waits the more she will be called Waity Katy and that can´t be very agreeable for her and if things don´t work out she will be a very hurt young lady.

We have had this conversation before, but at the expense of repeating myself, what is Kate expected to do? Ahe is in a relationship that clearly works for her and her boyfriend. The press will not let her get outside employment, so she is keeping herself busy and out of the spotlight by living at home, working for her parents and doing some charity work on the side. She can't hold Will to ransom and ask him to marry her until they are both ready - so in this situation, I think she is doing the best that can be expected of her.

I think that it would be nice if Prince William could enjoy the life of a young bachelor officer in Scotland without having the newspapers causing all this speculation.

....only that if he is single, they will then be busy trying to get a scoop of William and any girl he dares look at. I would not put it past the paps to plant women at every pub that Will is likely to go to, in the hope of getting an exclusive! If he remains with Kate, there is, of course, the opportunity for a young married couple to have a few years together, perhaps even start a family, before they are launched as full time working royals. This would also allow brand Camilla to get a little more established before brand Kate is launched.

 

[Charlotte1]

Your memory is failing you Muriel...about Sophie.

No need to rely on memory! Sophie did not have her own apartment at Buckingham Palace during her courtship years with Edward. She stayed over in his rooms, not even an apartment, but rooms in the old nursery wing. You will find reference to this in Edward and Sophie's engagement interview where Sophie stated "contrary to media speculation we have not lived together" Also the book "Sophie's Kiss" about their courtship, it names the apartments she lived in during her courtship ( 2 different ones) and her flatmates.

Sophie could come and go to Buckingham Palace, but she had her own apartment.

 

[Sarrie]

I would like to pose one question: all these crown princesses hailing from modest backgrounds are giving the impression that anyone can now be a crown princess. In my opinion this weakens the royal families as in a couple of years time there won't be a drop of blue blood left in any of the royal families of europe. So if for example christian (fred & mary's son) marries a commoner, their offspring wouldn't be a royal at all. Where will that leave us?? I don't think that citizens would like that commoners saying they are 'royals' live the good life at the expense of the taxpayer even less that they like it now. I think that royal families should reconsider their marraiges now before it's too late.

 

[Menarue]

Whether it was Sophie´s own apartment or not is neither here not there, the point is that the Queen allowed it and don´t tell me that in her own house the Queen doesn´t have a say or that Sophie would be there with Prince Philip´s approval as well. This was a sure sign of acceptance that hasn´t been see yet as far as Kate Middleton is concerned.
In a tour of Buckingham Palace very well conducted by Prince Andrew he came to the door of the old schoolrooms and said that it was now what he referred to as Prince Edward´s apartment, it was a very nice tour and he showed the mailbox at the door that had been made by him at woodwork classes.
Perhaps Prince Charles lets Kate Middleton stay over at Kensington Palace, and then perhaps he doesn´t.
I agree with what Sarrie says, if there is grumbling about the expense that the royal family is causing to the tax payer, if they end up not even being royal there may be more than grumbling in the future.
What is Kate to do? I really have no idea but the longer she waits the more she is going to get the sobriquet of waity.

.

 

[Count]

I would like to pose one question: all these crown princesses hailing from modest backgrounds are giving the impression that anyone can now be a crown princess. In my opinion this weakens the royal families as in a couple of years time there won't be a drop of blue blood left in any of the royal families of europe. So if for example christian (fred & mary's son) marries a commoner, their offspring wouldn't be a royal at all. Where will that leave us?? I don't think that citizens would like that commoners saying they are 'royals' live the good life at the expense of the taxpayer even less that they like it now. I think that royal families should reconsider their marraiges now before it's too late.

I agree with you Sarrie, from the point of view of the "Quarters of Nobility" in this case the children of Christian and a commoner girl will only have 1 Quarter, originating from Fred...

 

[muriel]

Whether it was Sophie´s own apartment or not is neither here not there, the point is that the Queen allowed it and don´t tell me that in her own house the Queen doesn´t have a say or that Sophie would be there with Prince Philip´s approval as well. This was a sure sign of acceptance that hasn´t been see yet as far as Kate Middleton is concerned.

.

This was a sure sign of acceptance that hasn´t been see yet as far as Kate Middleton is concerned.

Menarue - I have pointed this out to you twice earlier today, but I will do it again. What is the point of installing Kate at Clarence House if Will is not there most of the time. When Will is in London, I am sure they usually stay at CH. Until Will moves to London (which is unlikely in the immediate future in view of his forthcoming SAR appointment), you are unlikely to see this "sure sign of acceptance" even if they are married!

I dont know where your reference of Kensington Palace came from. Charles has not lived there since 1992.

What is Kate to do? I really have no idea but the longer she waits the more she is going to get the sobriquet of waity.

.

"the longer she waits the more she is going to get the sobriquet of waity" What is she waiting for? She is just getting on with her life.

I know you do not think Kate is suitable to be Queen consort in time. However, I have asked you on more than one occassion as to what you think Kate might do with her time, as she "waits" for their engagement. You have never provided a considered and cogent argument, other than you wish she dissappear or move on with her life, or something along those lines. I think we will all have a lot more meaningful and lively chat on the forums if you were able to elucidate what it is you think she should do with her time, rather than only criticise what she is currently doing.

 

[Menarue]

You have asked me before and I will answer again, get on with her life instead of what seems to be mooning around waiting for a proposal that perhaps will never come. She is a young attractive girl and perhaps she has aimed too high. What should she do? This is the second time on this same post. Get on with her life she is not royalty yet.
I don´t want her to move into Clarence House.... Heaven forbid. I can´t see what is lively about this chat. You are inventing an engagement, making her a suitable bride for royalty etc etc. I would like you to tell me what makes her a suitable future Queen of England? Dignity, good manners, what?
As I have said I have nothing against the girl, she is an attractive young lady from a middle class family but I don´t think she is Queen of England material....
Now what is the lively chat you want? I am not going to change my mind about her suitability so if you want to turn this into a Kate monologue it is up to you.

 

[Parrothead]

I feel for Kate. She is damned if she does, damned if she doesn't. No matter where she goes she is followed by photographers. Not many normal employers would want that pack parked outside their front door all day. I'm sure she's probably had a few good job offers but perhaps the potential employers are trying to capitalize on her fame for their business. If that is the case, then good for her for working in the family business where at least your own flesh and blood might be more understanding about what is going on in your life and being more flexible with you on a work schedule.

IMO she's done a great job of trying to balance what is going on in her life and all the baggage that comes with it. It can't be easy trying to live what she considers a normal life with the front pages screaming about your love life everyday.