William and Kate: engagement and relationship rumours and musings 2009

[Lady Claire]

Next thing you know they will be coming out with commemorative items before an official announcment is made.

[Ella Kay]

Too late ... didn't Woolworths make mock-ups of Wills & Kate china souvenirs way back in '04 or '05?

[Lady Claire]

I looked it up. It was in 2006.
Woolworths scraps Prince William and Kate Middleton wedding souvenirs - Telegraph

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by Lady Claire

I looked it up. It was in 2006.
Woolworths scraps Prince William and Kate Middleton wedding souvenirs - Telegraph

It is because of this that I take these reports with a grain of salt.

As the reports of an upcoming wedding have been reported for the last two or more years I am just not prepared to take any of these magazines seriously.

Woman's Day and New Idea run this story two or three times a year at least.

I remember reading a number of years ago that one French magazine reported about 20 times between 1952 and 1965 that the Queen was pregnant (all right they were right twice) but they also reported about the same number of times that the Queen and Philip were about to break up and separate or divorce. So out of about 40 reports two were correct - not a high accuracy percentage I would have thought.

As some time one of these mags will be right in announcing William's engagement and it might be this one but I will simply wait and see.

[Roslyn]

Originally Posted by Elspeth

My goodness, the wedding meme is infectious! It's reached Australia now...

We're actually becoming a bit irritated with them dilly-dallying about the date. We've known since June that William proposed to Kate when they were on holiday in Mustique and we just want them to get on with it and get it all organised. I personally suspect they can't agree on the sort of pudding they'll have for the wedding breakfast.

[4Pam]

Originally Posted by Roslyn

We're actually becoming a bit irritated with them dilly-dallying about the date. We've known since June that William proposed to Kate when they were on holiday in Mustique and we just want them to get on with it and get it all organised. I personally suspect they can't agree on the sort of pudding they'll have for the wedding breakfast.

chocolate pudding for the wedding breakfast.

[HRHofNothing]

A question for those of you who are anxious for an engagement announcement:

Does William look like he is ready,able and willing to get married and settle down? The man keeps going to night clubs with and without Kate and stumbles out of them clearly drunk at 3-3:30 in the morning. He is enjoying himself and seems no where near ready for the responsbilities of marriage and family. Or would it be acceptable for you if he was still partying it up at various clubs after marriage? Or, do you view Kate as a starter wife?

[muriel]

I am not keenly waiting for an engagement annoucement, but this post certainly made me smile.

Originally Posted by HRHofNothing

The man keeps going to night clubs with and without Kate

Is that a problem? Quite normal in the UK! Also, when you say "keeps going", are you able to estimate how often Wills has been seen at a club in the last 12 months or so?

Originally Posted by HRHofNothing

The man keeps going to night clubs with and without Kate and stumbles out of them clearly drunk at 3-3:30 in the morning.

Is that statement mere speculation on your part, or based on credible information.

Originally Posted by HRHofNothing

Or would it be acceptable for you if he was still partying it up at various clubs after marriage?

Our we missing a trick here and night clubs do not allow married men, or it is unacceptable for married men to goto night clubs?

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by HRHofNothing

The man keeps going to night clubs with and without Kate and stumbles out of them clearly drunk at 3-3:30 in the morning. He is enjoying himself and seems no where near ready for the responsbilities of marriage and family. Or would it be acceptable for you if he was still partying it up at various clubs after marriage? Or, do you view Kate as a starter wife?

She who is normally the first to criticise William or Harry for less than exemplary behaviour would have to point out that William has barely been seen in or out of clubs in recent months and a few 'well chosen' pictures certainly do not lead me to believe either man has been drunk and disorderly in recent months!

Contrary to popular believe,, life does not stop after marriage. Husbands and wives are still allowed out without the other half, they are still able to have a drink in a nightclub and party!

[Duke of Marmalade]

Originally Posted by HRHofNothing

Does William look like he is ready,able and willing to get married and settle down? ... He is enjoying himself and seems no where near ready for the responsbilities of marriage and family.

i don't think he is but i think not only for the reasons you mentioned (free clubbing, living bachelor life etc) but also because he shies away from the grip of the media. could well be that kate is a victim of his unability to deal with them in an appropriate manner because of what happened in the past or even since his childhood.

getting engaged or even married will mean a full public spot on william and his life / cooperation with the media, endless questions on family, agenda, posing as a happy couple / family etc and as a future heir to the throne he cannot disobey in the long run, finally they will get their grip on him and there is no escape. i can imagine that william hates this - finally inevitable - part of his life so much that he will try to avoid it as long as he possibly can, at any cost, even when it does interfere with kate's interests.

[kimebear]

Originally Posted by HRHofNothing

Or, do you view Kate as a starter wife?

The BRF can ill afford another messy divorce which is why I think they are taking all the time that they need to make sure they are right for each other. Their long courtship is a very good idea, IMO, and if they marry, it will help keep the marriage strong.

[Lumutqueen]

Originally Posted by kimebear

The BRF can ill afford another messy divorce which is why I think they are taking all the time that they need to make sure they are right for each other. Their long courtship is a very good idea, IMO, and if they marry, it will help keep the marriage strong.

Indeed that is my opinion aswell. They can not afford another uspet like Diana and Sarah. Their long courtship is a sign that their relationship can last a length of time, they will not break due to boredom. Kat has experienced Balmoral, Klosters and Clarence House she has expressed her interest in skiing and country sports. Except horseriding. Which is a good thing she is not going to dislike being at Balmoral for summer and Sandringham for winter.
x

[Duke of Marmalade]

Originally Posted by kimebear

The BRF can ill afford another messy divorce which is why I think they are taking all the time that they need to make sure they are right for each other. Their long courtship is a very good idea, IMO, and if they marry, it will help keep the marriage strong.

don't think a long courtship has an advantage compared to a short courtship, the more common procedure in royalty. i see it more as a disadvantage because the partner cannot start the "new life" and cannot continue with the "old life" at the same time, and is left without protection from media etc what we can see in kate's case.

in "real life" long-term courtships often fail after a short time of marriage and so do short-term courtships but for different reasons. you never know, at the end of the day it's down to the personality / commitment of the people involved. again, i don't think william is in this relationship with a long term commitment, like "i will marry you in 5 years". it still happens to continue, and with time comes a feeling of belonging, but that doesn't mean it will end in marriage. william has any freedom to do a prince albert for the next 10, 15, even 20 years - if kate was the one he would have made a move some time ago to end her waity katie misery but he chose not to.

[kimebear]

Except for the fact that William has long said that he will not marry until he is older. It should not come as a suprise that he is still unmarried. While I agree that a long courtship does not always guarantee a successful marriage, it certainly helps. If Charles and Diana had dated for five years, it is unlikely that they would have married. Their differences appeared quite early.

[Vanesa]

I've never encouraged a so long courtship. I knew people who had short ones and their loved lasted for ever, and other whose courtship was quite long and divorced five years after their wedding. I can remember my cousin's wedding. She and her boyfriend had been dating exactly ten years. They divorced exactly six years after the wedding. And why? He was a womanizer. The fact he had been dating her for so long time wouldn't keep him from being a womanizer.

However, my granny had a very short courtship: three months. Her parents were very angry since she was young and was studying t be a teacher. She said that it wourldn't matter. She will marry and be a teacher at the same time. She married, and she became a teacher AFTER the wedding. She has 17; she wouldn't even know how to cook (but my father sure did know how to do it! ). Well...their love lasted until she died, some 50 years after their "yes", before a priest. And it was not a formal marriage, no. They love each other deeply. They were an example for their friends and family relationships.

I think that the trouble today is selfishness. Few people wants to share their life. They are used to live alone, doing what they wanted to, with anyone to cut their freedom.

I think that a person who will be the Heir of one of the more important monarchies of the world must think more seriously at the future. He is not anyone...He is Prince William of the United Kingdom.

Vanesa.

[Ella Kay]

I think it's a good sign in many ways that William and Kate are maintaining a relationship at their own pace. Apparently part of the problem with Charles and Diana's early days was that Charles felt he was being pressured by his family to marry (and to marry a specific kind of girl). William and Kate's relationship seems to me a sign that the family is more content now to let their heirs take their romances at their own pace and in their own time. I don't see a long relationship as a bad thing -- I see it as two people waiting to marry until they are really ready to make such a serious, lasting commitment.

[HRHofNothing]

Originally Posted by kimebear

The BRF can ill afford another messy divorce which is why I think they are taking all the time that they need to make sure they are right for each other. Their long courtship is a very good idea, IMO, and if they marry, it will help keep the marriage strong.

I was not able to say it as well as you. Its not that I think that William is not a suitable candidate for marriage (or Kate for that matter), its just that their actions (his in particular) prove that they have yet to completely mature. And for the marriage to survive the long-haul, they need to be completely mature and level headed. William's wife will have to live in the shadow of her late mother-in-law and that is not an easy task.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

in "real life" long-term courtships often fail after a short time of marriage and so do short-term courtships but for different reasons. you never know, at the end of the day it's down to the personality / commitment of the people involved.

It is, as you say dependent on the individual couples. I have seen many marriages after a short courtship, end in divorce within a very short time and some after a long courtship & long marriage still end in divorce. There are still many successful marriages after a long courtship, but it is all down to the individual.

If Kate & William decide to marry, it will I hope be for life, if they divorce, they are just included in the 50% that fail.

[Duke of Marmalade]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

If Kate & William decide to marry, it will I hope be for life, if they divorce, they are just included in the 50% that fail.

that sounds very joe average doesn't it and leaves royals, especially william, under exteme pressure because they are supposed to be above such banal commoner problems.

but as kimebear said another messy divorce in the house of windsor and the institution will become an uncertainty, what leaves william in constant fear of having to live through his parents' nightmare himself. no matter how long a courtship goes, you can never be sure, not even under "normal" circumstances and especially not under "brf" circumstances, with an almost unbearable media presence caused by the unfortunate past associated to the (late) princes(s) of wales.

[Skydragon]

I think the way William and Kate are handling the media now, will ensure they will be less intrusive. They became used to it with Diana and many will have no option but to rethink their attitude.

Yes there is a great deal of pressure on William not to divorce, but mainly because he saw the misery of his parents marriage.

I don't see the monarchy falling if there is another divorce, what people would be pushed to forgive, is if it is played out in the media again.