The Public's Expectations of Kate as William's Girlfriend

[neners]

(BTW Has Camilla ever held a job?)

No she hasn't held a job, and that is one of many reasons I dislike her.

As far as her being ungracious and unfriendly- That is exactly what makes Kate appealing

I respect your opinion; you are entitled to it. I, however, don't see this particular trait as positive. There is nothing about a scowling person that is even remotely endearing to me.

As for her being ugly- she may not be Diana, but doesn't that make you respect William for seeking more than just a pretty face!

No, because William probably simply holds a different standard of beauty. In his eyes, she is probably no less beautiful than Diana is in mine.

The Queen Mother never worked a day in her life, The Queen has never 'worked' a day in her life, Princess Margaret never worked a day in her life.

The Queen Mother and the Queen had careers in my opinion - they were, and in the Queen's case are, working royals. I guess this just depends on your definition of work.

 

[Elspeth]

If Kate marries William, she'll be a working royal. The Queen Mother didn't have a career or the training for a career when she was a young woman, before her royal future was even thought of.

 

[Skydragon]

No she hasn't held a job, and that is one of many reasons I dislike her.
The Queen Mother and the Queen had careers in my opinion - they were, and in the Queen's case are, working royals. I guess this just depends on your definition of work.

As very little has ever been in the public eye about whether or not Camilla has been employed, it might be nice if you were to share, where you got that fact.

QM, was just a socialite, she married into the royal family, more than that she married the 2nd son and even id she hadn't, she would probably never have had to 'work'.

 

[Zonk]

From what I can see Kate belongs to the upper middle class...and doesn't have to work for a living. While I myself, would be bored to death......I would give anything for the opportunity to work not because I HAVE to work because I want to. And maybe she doesn't want to work. But we don't really know now do we? I mean, have we heard the girl speak?!

I fail to see the correlation of her working and what her "character" is. Now....if she did work and she was a true working class girl and became a successful businesswoman...I could see how some might say she has great character traits....but I don't see the logic that because she doesn't work she is an awful person...and is not worthy of any respect.

And really, its unfair to compare Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth (I mean really!) and Camilla with Kate. They are from a different time (and came from reasonably wealthy families) amd these women had a different expectations. They weren't supposed to work unless they really wanted to (sometimes over the objections of their families). In the case of the Queen Mother, she wasn't expected to work. Her job was to run her household and raise her children (even with a nanny). The same goes with Camilla.

 

[trinny]

Sorry... I don't get it... would the people who dislike Kate so venhemently rather Paris Hilton (or Britney Spears) was dating Prince William? Would they consider her to be attractive and would they class her to be working a valuable job?!

I agree Kate has managed to keep her private life PRIVATE and good on her for that. Just because she isn't blonde, flashing her flesh everywhere and wearing a bandaid for a skirt doesn't make her "boring"... it makes her a mature person.

In my opinion.

 

[Iluvbertie]

I was under the impression that her parents had their own business. In that case how do we know that Kate isn't working for them?

Just because she doesn't go out to work doesn't mean she isn't working.

What she is working at doing is none of our business at the moment.

If she marries William she will face a lifetime of work with no retirement possible - so maybe she is having her retirement years now!!!

 

[soCal girl]

I was under the impression that her parents had their own business. In that case how do we know that Kate isn't working for them?

Just because she doesn't go out to work doesn't mean she isn't working.

What she is working at doing is none of our business at the moment.

If she marries William she will face a lifetime of work with no retirement possible - so maybe she is having her retirement years now!!!

Well, the mystery of Kate working/not working is now solved. She is a buyer for the clothing company, Jigsaw. Hopefully, some people are now at peace knowing that she has a job besides being Prince William's girlfriend.

 

[Luv2Cruise]

Remember that "working" is a middle and lower class necessity. For the upper class it is voluntary. To work or not to work is therefore irrelevant to the future wife of Prince William as "working" is not considered a character building activity.

THANK YOU!!!!! These kids crack me up, looking down on Kate from atop of their crosses, bellyaching about Kate not working. SHE NOW WORKS AND EVEN IF SHE NEVER WORKS AND MARRIES PRINCE WILLIAM, GOOD FOR HER. As long as she's not slashing her wrists, tossing her cookies in the bathroom, or hurling herself down the stairs, I think Kate will be okay. Kate is not a monster for not flipping burgers at MickeyDs or working the checkout counter at Walmart.

The working class hero song is tiresome. For those of us who were answering the bell before those who are screaming at Kate about a job were even born, working is not all it's cracked up to be. If Kate's parents make enough to keep her in style so she doesn't have to work, I'm all for it. I'm all for ANYONE who doesn't have to do 9 to 5. I count the SECONDS until I can retire.

Get your butts kicked in A CAREER for 30+ years then get back to me about Kate not working. She deserves a medal in my book. God save us all from the HATERS.

 

[Jo of Palatine]

No she hasn't held a job, and that is one of many reasons I dislike her.

Camilla Parker Bowles was the wife of an high ranking officer. In that position you of course have duties to fulfill. So she was working but wasn't payed for it.

 

[MARG]

I believe that who Kate's boyfriend is pretty much renders her ineligeable for most jobs.

There are not too many employers out there that would be willing to risk having the stalkerazzi blocking their entranceways, exits, docking bays or reception areas and generally messing up the workplace for any other employees.

Any vicarious publicity gained by being the employer of Prince William's girlfriend could turn to custard if the relationship ended. Conversely, if it doesn't end they could be on the receiving end of some horrendous publicity about "cashing in" on her connections.

Perhaps that explains why she has been so reticent about her employment or lack thereof.

The fact that she has a job and we didn't know it proves there really is more to her than just being "William's Girlfriend".

 

[fandesacs2003]

I see that this debate provoke passionate discussions.

As regards the expectations for a Princess of Wales, It is true that Diana did a wonderful charity job, and this mainly because it was due to her caracter, full of love, abnegation and willing to give. On the other side, we should not forget the "other" Diana, loving the limelights, the social night life, spending enormeous amounts in shopping, clothing, good life etc. going to Harrods once per week especially for her and her shopping. This is not a personnal attack, I respect Diana and I was very sad, but I mean, do not all try to make a "Princess of Wales profil" according to Diana's last years...

Princess of Wales for me its a decorative rich person, spending millions to appear, and thats all. It will be nice if she has class, and if she tries to keep a quite low profile, but in any case, she is out of our reality, she is rich, famous, and she does not really know the real life.
In our days, Kings & Queens are not really ruling, and do not face real national tragedies to prove their caracter.
For me the last royal person in England who showed exceptionnal qualities, was the Queen Mother, during the WWII she stayed with her people, in the bombarded London. This was great. But after her, all the other what they did? Going by Rolls Roys to visit a Hospital for five minutes, its nice but it does not really bring you closer to the poverty.
So why we should expect from Kate to do something better than all the previous in this role? And especially BEFORE she becomes a Princess?? How we can know what she will DO? And what William and Harry really are doing? OK, they are officers, the Big Deal...., but out of this? They are rich spoiled young boyr, like every rich young people, not less not more.

Before accusing Kate please see in what she is different from the class she may enter.

 

[Luv2Cruise]

This is not a personnal attack, I respect Diana and I was very sad, but I mean, do not all try to make a "Princess of Wales profil" according to Diana's last years...

Bravo. Excellent take. And so much nicer than mine.

 

[MARG]

And what William and Harry really are doing? OK, they are officers, the Big Deal...., but out of this? They are rich spoiled young boyr, like every rich young people, not less not more.

OK they were born rich. They were born to be spoiled. They were born royal. They were not born Officers! They, like all their fellow Sandhurst Cadets, worked their asses off for their commission! They earned it!

Trying to vindicate Kate by trashing William and Harry is self defeating. They are all better than that.

 

[Skydragon]

...The working class hero song is tiresome. For those of us who were answering the bell before those who are screaming at Kate about a job were even born, working is not all it's cracked up to be. If Kate's parents make enough to keep her in style so she doesn't have to work, I'm all for it. I'm all for ANYONE who doesn't have to do 9 to 5. I count the SECONDS until I can retire.

I love your posts!

I can't understand for the life of me, why anyone would choose to work if they didn't have to? Why do these 'workers' seem to think that those of us that don't work, just do absolutely nothing, why the presumption that we sit about all day, watch soaps, etc.

As for being 'working' being character building, reading some of the vitriol writen on here about the imagined life of this young woman, I have to wonder what sort of character some of the members want her to have.

 

[Skydragon]

For me the last royal person in England who showed exceptionnal qualities, was the Queen Mother, during the WWII she stayed with her people, in the bombarded London.

While I accept that the QM was an exceptional woman, I would point out that she did not have to endure the same amount of rationing that the rest of the nation did, she still lived in relative warmth and luxury during the war years.

 

[Laviollette]

Kate is free not to work if she doesn't have to or want to and if she wasn't dating PW no one would notice or care. But while some either don't care or have an opinion whether or not she works, some of us do care and were disappointed by her idle lifestyle for so long. That's just my opinion and I will not change it. It is an indicator, in my opinion, of self motivation and whether or not she will also be hard-working as a royal wife. The Queen Mother and Camilla are from a different time and were not expected or even allowed to work outside of the home.

Also, I did not say Kate was "ugly" although I think she is plain. I said her scowling made her ugly, not necessarily in a physical way but as far as her personality goes, in my opinion, which I'm entitled to. Btw, there are several pictures of her scowling this past year and in 2005 as seen in this Fotobank photo: http://img484.imageshack.us/my.php?image=katefotobank3nr8.jpg and I have several more but it's not necessary to post them. I have noticed in the last several weeks that she has looked a little more gracious, though.

And the privacy issue: I maintain that while she is out and about that she does not have the right not to be photographed. Because she is dating a future King of England this is the way it is. This was accepted graciously by Mary Donaldson, Mette-Marit and Sophie Wessex while they were going out with CP Frederik, CP Haakon and Prince Edward respectively. And I do feel that Kate has been ungracious just by looking at photographs of her, which is all we have to go on at this time. It is just an unattractive quality, in my opinion.

 

[Little_star]

Ah but there's a difference. There's nothing there for Kate. She gives nothing out, no personality, no flair, she sulks, she's boring and she's painfully dull. All I see her do is shop and sulk and okay so that's not all she does - but if it's not all she does, why don't we see her doing anything else?! Why can't we see her cycling or swimming or writing an article or painting a picture or something productive. I've nothing against the idle rich, I was a member for a while, but even then I actually did things. Kate doesn't seem to do anything. She doesn't have to do charity work but give us an interest.

Camilla may not have been seen working but we knew about her. We knew she was a hard worker for causes she'd taken upon herself. We knew that she went to country fetes and we knew that she cooked and we knew that she generally lived. If Kate wants be unemployed, fine but she should be doing something to make her a little more interesting.

I actually agree completely with your post. So far, Kate seems to be quite a boring individual. There doesn't seem to be any substance to her. I'm not overly keen on Chelsy either, but at least the girl has some personality.

 

[Little_star]

I think EVERY PERSON deserves privacy. That is why we put curtains in our windows. I would ask you if you dont deserve privacy¿ would you like havin your neihors checkin out every move you make¿ The truth is that like her or not she sells papers, so the press is on her. And despite I participated in the discussion I remember all this is a thread for events, not discussions on Kate´s whatever we feel like to discuss

Every person has a right to privacy, but a person's actions can imo, diminish that right. Dating a celebrity or public figure, like William, is one such example because Kate has become a public figure by association.
She can't have her cake and eat it, if she wants privacy she shouldn't date the future king of England.

 

[ysbel]

Every person has a right to privacy, but a person's actions can imo, diminish that right. Dating a celebrity or public figure, like William, is one such example because Kate has become a public figure by association.
She can't have her cake and eat it, if she wants privacy she shouldn't date the future king of England.

Sorry, I don't buy that argument.

If Kate does something press worthy in public or she gets engaged to Wills and willingly assumes the public role of the next Princess of Wales then yes she sacrifices some of her privacy but the mere act of dating the next King of England?

I think absolutely not. If everybody who William dates becomes fresh meat for the tabloids then that decreases his chances of finding a nice girl to settle down with. Putting roadblocks in the way of an heir to the throne finding his lifetime mate is no way to sustain a monarchy.

We've been down that road before with Charles and his girlfriends in the 70s and then Charles and Diana's hurried up engagement to give her some sort of protection against the press in the early 80s. And we all know how that ended. With the two battling it out in the press and Diana's being killed in a high speed chase by the papparazzi looking for a $1million picture.

Given this history and the papparazzi's careless disregard for public safety much less dignity, the press must be kept at arms length this time.

Anything other than that is bad for William, bad for Kate, and bad for the continuation and success of the monarchy and I applaud William and Kate acting sensibly towards the press.

 

[Skydragon]

The Queen Mother and Camilla are from a different time and were not expected or even allowed to work outside of the home.

Well we known I disagree with everything else you have written so I will save some time and cut to the chase!

While I agree that 'most' women from an upper class background had the option not to work back in the Queen Mothers day, in fact as you say most from that background were only expected to run the house and perhaps organise someone to organise a charity event.

Most upper class women from Camilla's time were certainly allowed to work if they wanted. They were expected to stay at home, bring up the children (even though most employed a nanny) and look after the house (even though most employed housekeepers, housemaids, servants etc), much the same as now.

 

[Duchess]

Kate is free not to work if she doesn't have to or want to and if she wasn't dating PW no one would notice or care. But while some either don't care or have an opinion whether or not she works, some of us do care and were disappointed by her idle lifestyle for so long.

i just don't understand why you think she has an idle lifestyle. is it because you've seen photos of her walking down the street? are all the millions of people walking down the streets of the world living an idle lifestyle? is it because you haven't seen photos of her doing any charity work? is every person in the world that isn't doing charity work living an idle lifestyle?

Btw, there are several pictures of her scowling this past year and in 2005 as seen in this Fotobank photo: http://img484.imageshack.us/my.php?image=katefotobank3nr8.jpg and I have several more but it's not necessary to post them. I have noticed in the last several weeks that she has looked a little more gracious, though.

this isn't a scowl...she's just looking at the camera - not smiling, not scowling no doing anything.

And the privacy issue: I maintain that while she is out and about that she does not have the right not to be photographed. Because she is dating a future King of England this is the way it is.

you might want to check the law on the privacy thing but if you're in a public place (i.e. walking down the street, in a park, in a public building) then anyone can take your picture...privacy doesn't apply. i'm sure it would be the same in the UK.

 

[Madame Royale]

We all have a right to privacy, yet when you turn into a media commodity that right is greatly overlooked. I don't condone it but that is the way we make it.

 

[Jo of Palatine]

If Kate does something press worthy in public or she gets engaged to Wills and willingly assumes the public role of the next Princess of Wales then yes she sacrifices some of her privacy but the mere act of dating the next King of England?

We just had a court ruling that even the heir to the throne himself, albeit a person of public interest, has a right to his privacy according to the Human Rights. So if HRH The Prince of Wales has that right - how much more must this be valid for a young lady who is not even a member of the RF but just dating one?

Compared to other countries the British laws protecting privacy are pretty lax. As even them state that a right to privacy is part of the Human Rights, I don't think anyone should start arguing about this fact.

 

[Skydragon]

I can't work out if she is winning or losing. I am starting to think, for some, nobody can meet their expectations.
If she smiles for the camera, she is 'courting the press' and should go because she is a publicity seeker. If she doesn't smile for them, she is sulky and totally unsuitable to have as a princess.

IMO, because she will not 'pander' to the press, they are picking (as they have done before), the most unflattering pictures they can. The 'we can make you a star syndrome' that worked for them in the past.

The main thing in Catherines favour, is that she loves William and he loves her, his parents like and include her, his grandparents like her, her parents like him and there is nothing anyone can do about that!

What should we expect, total discretion, silence and loyalty to William and his family, to me, she is meeting that criteria!

 

[fandesacs2003]

While I accept that the QM was an exceptional woman, I would point out that she did not have to endure the same amount of rationing that the rest of the nation did, she still lived in relative warmth and luxury during the war years.

You are absolutely right.
But at the end of the day, if you receive a bomb, luxury or not, where is the difference??

 

[ysbel]

I think some people want to project their own thoughts and feelings of a fairytale princess on Kate and get resentful when she doesn't provide them with the right raw material to fulfill their fantasies. Its natural for people to project their own hopes and dreams on celebrities, not just future princesses but I think it becomes unreasonable when people get angry at that celebrity for not fulfilling their fantasies. Kate has her own identity that is quite separate from her public image and that is how it should be.

If Kate and William's whole reason for existence is to act as fodder and raw material for tabloid stories, then their effectiveness as future monarchs is greatly diminished.

 

[Jo of Palatine]

I wonder if and if so, how many of those people who critizise Kate for her leg-pictures are fans of the late Diana?

 

[ysbel]

I wonder if and if so, how many of those people who critizise Kate for her leg-pictures are fans of the late Diana?

Ah, let's not go there and just say that we did!

Kate has enough trouble being compared to Diana.

 

[Skydragon]

You are absolutely right.
But at the end of the day, if you receive a bomb, luxury or not, where is the difference??

I think it makes a difference if you are in the very substantial, reinforced cellars, that are within a fortified palace, compared to a brick built terraced house or sheltering in an anderson shelter in the garden.

 

[Roslyn]

I think some people want to project their own thoughts and feelings of a fairytale princess on Kate and get resentful when she doesn't provide them with the right raw material to fulfill their fantasies. Its natural for people to project their own hopes and dreams on celebrities, not just future princesses but I think it becomes unreasonable when people get angry at that celebrity for not fulfilling their fantasies. Kate has her own identity that is quite separate from her public image and that is how it should be.

If Kate and William's whole reason for existence is to act as fodder and raw material for tabloid stories, then their effectiveness as future monarchs is greatly diminished.

It worries me that some people seem to still want the fairytale. I had hoped that the public would have learnt from recent history, but maybe not.