That doesn’t do zip...pleased or not, the PM publicly not supporting William and Kate is a bad look. It shows that there’s no communication between he and the BRF, and it shows that there seems to be a break between them. It also obviously means that the government didn’t initiate this tour idea, but...I can’t imagine the BRF deciding on their own to do this?
The only people this reflects poorly on imo is the government. There’s no way the BRF just up and did this imo.
I agree, that’s what I said...
Okay. We’re on the same page then. [emoji4]
In general the Scots and the Welsh are enthusiastic, shall we say, about the BRF than say people in the Home Counties. I'd argue that the further North you travel in England the less royalist sentiment there is, as well.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/royal-family-support-wales-queen-17299194
Therefore Scottish and Welsh politicians and officials are probably just reflecting the views of their constituents about this train visit.
I think this trip was ill advised because of the blowback it's getting. The Cambridges are not wearing masks at every event. Politicians are coming for them . William and Kate are getting dragged on social media; the trip has been dubbed the Pandemic Express. The attempt by No 10 to do clean up is too little too late. The damage has been done.
Only if you believed the ludicrous and vile republicans/anti-monarchists on social media, who seem to make the most noises, but do not represent the UK public.
You only have to wear mask in enclosed area, not outside and need to "stay at least 2 metres apart - or 1 metre with a face covering or other precautions"
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Two politicians (Nicola Sturgeon and Vaughan Gething) gave chilly response that doesn't mean all or most politicians. Two of the reasons you don't here more politicians defending the Cambridges is that they are focusing on Brexit negotiation at the end of transition period and the commencement of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination
And the first Number 10 response was not coming directly from the Prime Minister himself, but his unorganised staff and incompetent communication team. George Freeman (Conservative MP) defended the Cambridges
Sarah Vine (Columnist at the Daily Mail) has also praised the Cambridges and criticised Nicola Sturgeon and Vaughan Gething. Sarah Vine's husband is Michael Gove (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster & Minister for the Cabinet Office, Conservative MP of Surrey Heath)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/...Britain.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed
Just some context - there are two downing street press briefings each day (off camera) so it is IMO entirely possible that in the first when asked about the tour they simply referred it to the Palace (no real biggie and better than getting involved in Royal matters) but when that was spun into not supporting it a statement/comment was put out. Awful PR job by supposed PR experts but hardly the same as the PM not supporting it.
I think this was a lovely tour and a perfect Christmas cheer up, the most important thing IMO is that those they visited seemed made up by it.
I think Sarah Vine did go rather over the top. I mean, I love William and Kate also, but she made it sound like they are the only Royals doing anything meaningful........and while Harry and Meghan leaving was unfortunate, the BRF has handled their absence brilliantly. The brightest stars? I guess if you think wattage is important. This is NOT a criticism of H and M - my point is, others like Charles and Anne did far more, so their work shouldn't be sort of shuffled aside.
I read Sarah Vine's article and have to agree with you especially since she didn't include the work of Charles, Anne, the Wessexes, Gloucesters, Kents and of course HM QEII.
‘
@KensingtonRoyal
have departed on a UK #RoyalTrainTour to thank frontline workers and volunteers for their work and showcase the UK’s rich arts, heritage and live performance sector, which has been supported by the Government’s £1.57 billion #CultureRecoveryFund
#HereForCulture
Shakin’ Stevens sang as
@KensingtonRoyal
set off on a #RoyalTrainTour to thank frontline workers and volunteers and showcase the arts, heritage and live performance sector, which has been supported by the Government’s £1.57 billion #CultureRecoveryFund
#HereForCulture
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge set off from Edinburgh on their #RoyalTrainTour this morning which will thank frontline workers and volunteers and showcase the UK’s rich arts, heritage and live performance sector
#HereForCulture
A poignant stop on the #RoyalTrainTour
For advice and guidance about loneliness, visit the #LetsTalkLoneliness website: http://letstalkloneliness.co.uk
“To have the #CultureRecoveryFund come up and offer money - it gives us life, it gives us hope and it gives us a way forward for the future.”
In Berwick, the Earl Grey Saxes, who regularly play at The Maltings, performed for
@KensingtonRoyal
's #RoyalTrainTour
‘
@BandOnTheWall
is a legendary music venue in Manchester, which has received £211k from the #CultureRecoveryFund.
On their #RoyalTrainTour,
@KensingtonRoyal
enjoyed music from a gospel choir who are regular performers at the venue.
https://dcms.shorthandstories.com/-hereforculture-band-on-the-wall-royaltraintour/index.html
#HereForCulture
https://twitter.com/DCMS/status/1336349090146365440#CultureRecoveryFund supported
@SambaGalez
performed at
@Cardiff_Castle
today, welcoming
@KensingtonRoyal
on the second day of their #RoyalTrainTour
Find out more about the government is #HereForCulture: http://hereforculture.campaign.gov.uk
@BathAbbey
choir’s performance for
@KensingtonRoyal
today was a glimpse of the stunning music they bring to Bath Abbey which has been supported by the £1.57bn #CultureRecoveryFund
#HereForCulture
@cj_dinenage
#Bath
The DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) has posted several tweets (and also re-tweet) about this tour for every stops.
(London)
(Edinburgh)
(Batley)
(Berwick)
https://twitter.com/DCMS/status/1336258550469898242
(Manchester)
https://twitter.com/DCMS/status/1336288765023842304
(Cardiff)
https://twitter.com/DCMS/status/1336294106058924035
https://twitter.com/DCMS/status/1336349090146365440
(Bath - retweeting Oliver Dowden)
https://twitter.com/OliverDowden/status/1336347718265016328
Based on those, I don't buy that this tour was not at the request of the UK government.
Yes, I think her argument about William and Kate’s effectiveness is undercut by her ignoring the very important work of the the others. It’s just kind of hard to take her seriously when she engages in such hyperbole ...
They always over praise the RF unless its a negative story or the royals not very popular. And WIll and Kate are the stars of the show in the future, htey are youngish, Kate is pretty and she's just started to do more work and has the charm of novelty....Exactly! Unfortunate when journalists engage in this tactic.
I read Sarah Vine's article and have to agree with you especially since she didn't include the work of Charles, Anne, the Wessexes, Gloucesters, Kents and of course HM QEII.
I think the language and style was hyperbolic but she made some good points.
Over the past year we’ve been able to see how William and Kate work in a crisis and they haven’t wobbled. They weren’t distracted by the drama surrounding Harry and Meghan. They adjusted well to the changes imposed by COVID and moved forward with their longer term projects and causes as planned. They kept their personal issues and worries to themselves and remained calm, professional and pleasant in public.
I don’t know what William is like behind closed doors but I’ve thought for awhile now that his style as a working royal is an updated version of that of QEII. You know what you get with both of them. They’re never going to give you a big display of fireworks but they’re also never going to burn the house down.
That might be because the Cambridges handled it the best out of all working royals. They were the most visible, between all the Zoom calls and two big(ger) projects this year (William's football thing, Catherine's Early Years). And I'm not saying that other royals were not doing anything, just that the Cambridges found the way to keep up with their work in this new reality the best. It might be their age, their team being fairly young, who knows, but they handled it all like champions and british public noticed.Don't get me wrong (TLLK was responding to my post) - my issue was not with praising William and Kate, who have been marvelous. My issue was with Sarah Vine completely ignoring Charles, Camilla, Anne, Edward, Sophie.......HM, of course... They have ALL been brilliant, and SV didn't acknowledge them at all.
I think the monarchy is in excellent hands post- Queen, between Charles and William.