The Duchess of Cambridge: Will she become more popular than Diana?

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I hope this doesn't come off as disrespectful to her fans, but I am far over Diana. If Kate never takes after Diana in anyway I feel it would be a good thing. I hate that in ever article about Kate, Diana is constantly brought up. Maybe its because her supporters in the media are still in charge of the writing of these articles and just can't letitgo.

 

[MARG]

I'm right with you on that one! Diana was Diana, with charisma to burn but, am I right in thinking this year is the 15th anniversary of her death? Poor Catherine, forever compared to a women who died when she was only 14 years old. Forever coming up short against an "Angel" frozen in time!

As to whether she will become more popular than Diana? With time and age and the growing technological wonders of broadband, cell phones that snap pictures in a thrice and social networking sites coming out our ears . . . . to be honest I don't really know but I suspect she will be known by more people because of the saturation exposure.

I hope she is popular and successful in her own right. I wonder, is that too much to ask?

 

[Mermaid1962]

I don't think it's too much to ask at all. There will always be the "haters", who will never be pleased; but from what I can see, Kate is doing a fine job. She has what appears to be a genuine desire to help where she can and has a great rapport with the people she meets. Children seem to love her. I don't think we'll see her make the same mistakes that Diana did--talking to reporters behind the scenes and flirting with the camera. She seems to have the royal trick of seeming not to even notice the cameras, which I think is the mark of a secure individual.

I hope she is popular and successful in her own right. I wonder, is that too much to ask?

 

[lucien]

I wonder why Diana is always brought up in these articles?

I wonder the same,as far as I know she is DEAD.And to compare the late D with Catherine,well,almost constitutes an insult to the Duchess of Cambridge's abilities and substance on matters while the girl nobody seems to get over...(says a lot on the mental states...)...was albeit a beautifull Lady,more of a manipulating fashion doll then anything else,besides being a wonderfull mother to her boys,yes...but apart from that....a bubble...

 

[Daisiesforever]

The big question here is "Does Kate need to be more popular than Diana?" The most important factor is that she is a loving and supportive wife to William and a good mother to their future children. Diana will always be remembered for her love and warmth and the way in which she reached out to so many people. However, in time to come, I am sure Catherine will indeed find her own path and also touch lives in her own special way.

 

[Kataryn]

Let's hope she will never be as popular as Diana was, as it was not only Diana's glamour but her suffering which together formed that certain fascination people (have) had with her. I hope Catherine will always be known as happy and content with her choice of life, her husband and family.

 

[Grandduchess24]

Now let us not compare these two wonderful ladies. Kate is beautiful and the late Diana was Also beautiful and , honestly would it really be that bad if Kate got to the same popularity as her late mother in law because Kate is already popular but getting as popular as Diana would be good, Kate makes William happy which what Diana wanted for her boys and like Diana is married to an heir and will one day become Queen. Diana and Kate was/is respectively beautiful and two women William loves.

 

[EIIR]

I hope she doesn't become another Diana - one was quite enough thank you very much.

Kate appears to have the ability to connect with people and bring joy to those she meets in her duties. Anyone seeing the faces of those who have met her over the last few engagements can see that. She gets lots of positive media attention, not just in the UK but all over the world.

Allied to all that, she appears to have the maturity and common sense that Diana never developed. She seems to understand her position in a way Diana never did. I cannot ever imagine Kate letting the Queen down in the same way Diana did and for that I am very, very thankful.

 

[Catherine Helvin]

I think Kate is a lovely lady but she and Diana are two totally different people so I don't think she'll be more popular than Diana.

 

[anaforrester]

I wonder the same,as far as I know she is DEAD.And to compare the late D with Catherine,well,almost constitutes an insult to the Duchess of Cambridge's abilities and substance on matters while the girl nobody seems to get over...(says a lot on the mental states...)...was albeit a beautifull Lady,more of a manipulating fashion doll then anything else,besides being a wonderfull mother to her boys,yes...but apart from that....a bubble...

it's actually an insult to the memory of Lady Diana this comparison. Diana Spencer, a woman of strong character, tender heart, independence, being compared to a lady that has never even worked in her entire life...really?

They will never stand the same position. If there was even a risk, the Queen would have never allowed such marriage. She is the last person in the earth who wants a Diana reloaded.

 

[Mirabel]

I wouldn't call it an insult, but I think it's a pointless comparison.

What work did Diana do, other than babysitting? Of course, she was very young when she married, but still, if you're talking work history, Diana really didn't do much before she was married.

I think Kate will be popular enough to suit her...and the RF.
Diana's level of popularity really didn't do her a lot of good.

 

[NGalitzine]

I hope she doesn't become another Diana - one was quite enough thank you very much.

QUOTE]

Could not agree more. Not sure the monachy could survive Diana Part II.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

So let me get this straight, Diana's one job a a teacher to former toddlers is a good enough job, but Kate's job at a department store isn't good enough and instead she I just viewed as a woman who instead has never had a job? Wow, I guess I have to scratch my department store work off my resume.

 

[Osipi]

I don't think that whatever these two women did before marriage has any real bearing on how well they comport themselves as consorts to their royal husbands.

They both were/will be extensively in the media limelight where every little minute detail will be hashed out, picked apart and exaggerated to the nth degree in order to sell stories. One difference I do hope for though is that with William and Kate, their private lives and ups and downs will remain out of the public glare.

There is a lot about Diana that would serve Kate well to use as a role model but she's a confident enough of a woman to know that she needs to be only one thing.. herself. As Diana has been dead since 1997 and who she was is basically forever etched in stone, I would think that Kate's best example for her future role is the Queen Also, the Diana effect lasted just a short time compared to the years ahead for Kate. Where as Diana was a sudden media blitz, we'll be able to watch Kate and William grow into their roles over a much longer period of time.

 

[Aussie Princess]

You know, I finally got to watch the wedding of Charles and Diana in full for the first time only a couple of weeks ago, and I noticed how much they talk about her, show her on camera etc. When they were walking back up the aisle, the camera focused ONLY on Diana for nearly that whole time! William and Kates wedding was very much about the two of them. I don't think she will be as popular as Diana, because she simply doesn't have the charisma and charm.

 

[cepe]

I'm new to this thread and I was drawn to the original question posed because how would the popularity be measured?

They are very different women; the courtship was different; their roles when entering the royal family is completely different, ie full-time vs part-time. Would we judge them because of decisions made by others, ie Diana becoming a full-time royal immediately because everyone agreed that's "what one did" and Catherine being part time because William wants that? Do we wait until Catherine is full-time and compare them then? Diana lived in a glamour age and didn't have to count the cost, and Catherine definitely doesn't. What other measures are there?

And, sadly, Diana is held in a moment of time by her death at such a young age.

Or do we just say different times, different people, and stop the comparisons?

 

[EIIR]

So let me get this straight, Diana's one job a a teacher to former toddlers is a good enough job, but Kate's job at a department store isn't good enough and instead she I just viewed as a woman who instead has never had a job? Wow, I guess I have to scratch my department store work off my resume.

Calling Diana a 'teacher' is exaggerating what her job was. She was essentially a nursery assistant. Someone earlier called it babysitting, and that's essentially what the job entails. I'm sure it can be tough, but it certainly was not teaching. Diana could never have even come close to a teaching career. She didn't get a single O-Level, despite taking them twice and having received a top-class private education. O-Levels were the equivalent of a GCSE today and you have to pass them to stay at school to study A-Levels at the age of 17 to 18, which you then have to pass to go on to university. It would be the American equivalent of not graduating from high school.

 

[Pranter]

I think it's pretty clear that the family did not want another 'Diana frenzy' with the media surrounding Kate. Prince William would surely be very sensitive to that.

That said...you can't even really compare the two situations. Very different era/time. Marrying the heir as opposed to marrying the son of the heir. Long courtship with plenty of time for the media to get a look at her/them. Downplayed wedding and Prince William goes back to work and both keep a fairly low public profile except for royal engagements. Recycling of clothes.

Just a different attitude altogether. Plus Kate has had alot of support and direction, I think that is something William has insisted on.


LaRae

 

[NGalitzine]

Plus Kate has had alot of support and direction, I think that is something William has insisted on.


LaRae

More importantly Catherine has been willing to accept the support and direction she has been given.

 

[EIIR]

I've often thought that Kate's had it much tougher than Diana did in lots of ways. Diana's family was not only aristocratic (and really top-drawer aristocratic), but they were intimately connected with the royal family over many decades. Diana will have been totally familiar with much of the protocol and the habits of the Windsors.

Kate's a totally different kettle of fish. She has no aristocratic background, no finishing school education, no prior interaction with the royals or their social circle whatsoever. I know there have been stories of some of Prince William's more well-connected friends looking down on Kate a bit, and that wouldn't surprise me. Kate's having to move into this world in the middle of the 24-hour media, internet, camera phone generation which was only really getting going when Diana died.

 

[Pranter]

Hmmm well but Kate and William dated for 8 years. I find it hard to believe she had no familiarity with how things work...and I am sure she mixed (privately) with the royal family during this time at least at some point.


LaRae

 

[Tyger]

You know, I finally got to watch the wedding of Charles and Diana in full for the first time only a couple of weeks ago, and I noticed how much they talk about her, show her on camera etc. When they were walking back up the aisle, the camera focused ONLY on Diana for nearly that whole time! William and Kates wedding was very much about the two of them. I don't think she will be as popular as Diana, because she simply doesn't have the charisma and charm.

The fascination was not because Diana was imbued with any particular personal charisma at that point. How quickly these things can morph into a quasi-reality.

The fascination was that here was a young virginal girl being married to the Prince - it was very much the 'fairytale' that was the fascination.

The focus on her was not because she was particularly pretty that day, that her hair was particularly inspired or that she was particularly well-dressed. Sadly, the unblinking eye of the camera (that you describe) was predatory and was zeroing in on her as our surrogate - as the one who had won the lottery and so who was this woman, how was she handling it all - and being virgin - hmm, well, you know.

Charles? He had chosen - he was old news - she was the question mark - and people were fascinated. I'd go so far as to say that - given the times - any woman who had married Charles back then would have been elevated through the press to the level Diana was - it just happened to be Diana - it could have been Davina. We forget how much the 'event' of Diana was a function of the press.

But that Diana was loved at that point? That she was charismatic at that point? Not sure I'd go so far as that. I think that is conflating intense curiosity with personal charisma which I do not think she had. Had Charles not been standing beside her then - imbuing her with his status - we would have 'walked on by'.

 

[Pranter]

I agree, she was certainly not charismatic at that point...she was an overwhelmed 19 or 20 yr old.

Kate is a whole different kettle of fish.


LaRae

 

[scooter]

Diana said she received no guidance from the palace. This is corroborated by the Emanuels re: the wedding dress...that there was zero input from BRF.Also, Diana had in fact only been on 5 'dates' with Charles before he proposed, as opposed to having been together for a decade.

 

[EIIR]

If that's the case, why on earth did she say yes?! I mean, at 19 I think most women are sufficiently aware to be able to say, I don't know this person; he's the Prince of Wales, but this is way too soon to be getting married. Diana was already living in her own flat in one of the posh bits of central London. It's not as if she was a yokel from the country, or a child living under her parents' wings. Which suggests to me that it was the fact it was the Prince of Wales who was proposing that led Diana to accept. It wasn't about marrying Charles; it was about marrying the heir to the throne.

With Kate, we know she didn't meet the Queen until Peter Phillips's wedding in 2008, and had no involvement with the official part of William's life until that stage. Diana, because of her aristocratic background, didn't need to learn about the etiquette of taking tea with the Queen, about the country sports, or the workings of court. Diana was a part of 'the Establishment' through her family. That kind of life came naturally to Diana. Kate is still learning these things.

 

[cepe]

With Kate, we know she didn't meet the Queen until Peter Phillips's wedding in 2008, and had no involvement with the official part of William's life until that stage. Diana, because of her aristocratic background, didn't need to learn about the etiquette of taking tea with the Queen, about the country sports, or the workings of court. Diana was a part of 'the Establishment' through her family. That kind of life came naturally to Diana. Kate is still learning these things.[/QUOTE]

This is interesting. My initial thought was OMG this is so true and then to a certain extent it might be. I think it is true of Catherine - she is learning the ropes, doesn't have insider knowledge and relies a lot on William and now on PoW, Camilla and Harry to help her. She knows that she's got a lot to learn and so does everyone else.

Diana was thought to understand it but I think that she didn't. She knew protocols etc but how the BRF family worked amongst itself - I think it was a closed book. Far to young and (have to say) not intelligent enough to work out the detail and then too nervous to ask for help. Lots of blame heaped on the Palace but as EIIR points out - she would have been expected to understand.

Catherine is 30 and aware of the need to learn; Diana was 19/20 and expected to know already. No one took account of Diana's disfunctional family life and lack of supportive parents.

Catherine's upbringing has produced a seemingly well-balanced individual with a positive outlook and a willingness to learn for which the palace should be thankful. And so should the British public.

 

[Mirabel]

I think it's true that anyone Charles married would have instantly become the focus of media attention on a global scale.
The press had been following him and his various girlfriends for years.
Finally, the choice was made, and the future queen was young and blonde and beautiful!
Diana was an image; her charisma or charm was more or less assumed because she looked right.

Naturally a whole lot of people bought into the fairytale and didn't want to hear that the prince and princess had practically nothing in common.

 

[Tsar bobo Iv]

i don't think if he married camilla first she would have been as famous but kate is really becoming the modern woman and i know what she wears everyday since got engaged

 

[nascarlucy]

Diana and Kate had very different life experiences.. Different backgrounds, different era, expectations of them were very different as well. When Diana married she was 19 years old and hadn't really experienced life. When you are 18-20 years old, you are just starting your adult life. I think this was the lesson from the 1950's and early 1960's when women in general married young 18-21 was the norm at the time.

While they may have legally been adults, some of them would have been better off it they had married later. Because of immaturity and other issues, a lot of these individuals later ended up getting divorced. I don't think most 18-20 years old are ready for marriage even if they think so.

On the other hand Kate was 29 years old when she got married and had experienced life to a much wider degree than Diana. Kate graduated from college. Diana never went to college and probably wouldn't have as academics was not really her cup of tea. If Kate hadn't met or married Prince Williams, she probably would be in some type of career IMO.

I think Kate will be popular but I'm not sure if she will be more popular than Diana, perhaps she will later.

 

[cdngirl]

Not sure I want to go through another Diana/media craziness, and certainly the Palace doesn't.

I'm not a big Catherine fan, but one thing I did read, if true, that impressed me, was that she takes notes. I think that is a smart thing to do.