Royalty Thread #13: Zooming in on our favorite royals

[MsZem]

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium will attend military academy.

Belgian Royal Family Says Crown Princess Elisabeth Will Make History By Attending the Military Academy this Fall

Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium is following in the footsteps of her father, King Philippe.The Belgian Royal Palace just announced that the...

www.yahoo.com

Princess Elisabeth is awesome. And with this, I think I'll start a new thread. You all have 24 hours to suggest a better title

More interesting happenings from last week:

National Day in Norway, so the bunads come out!

Norway's Royal Family Celebrates National Day, Social Distancing-Style

The holiday looked a little different this year.

bit.ly

Queen Maxima has a birthday recipe for us (you'll have to Google-translate it, unless you speak Dutch):

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[Lorac]

I like the title you have - very apropos for this time!!!

 

[mag]

Prince Charles has commissioned a piano concerto in memory the Queen Mother.

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[canbelto]

Camila is doing a character reading for James and the Giant Peach:

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[MsZem]

A first appearance by the Spanish princesses since the pandemlc began:

Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia of Spain pay respects to coronavirus victims during minute's silence

The Spanish royals held a minute's silence for victims of the COVID-19 pandemic at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid

bit.ly

And on a lighter note, surely this is not the dress but the bag it came in?

Queen Maxima surprises in statement balloon sleeve H&M dress for new appearance

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has proved she loves high-street fashion with her latest outfit! See her H&M dress, which is still available to shop

www.hellomagazine.com

 

[Lorac]

A first appearance by the Spanish princesses since the pandemlc began:

Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia of Spain pay respects to coronavirus victims during minute's silence

The Spanish royals held a minute's silence for victims of the COVID-19 pandemic at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid

bit.ly

And on a lighter note, surely this is not the dress but the bag it came in?

Queen Maxima surprises in statement balloon sleeve H&M dress for new appearance

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has proved she loves high-street fashion with her latest outfit! See her H&M dress, which is still available to shop

www.hellomagazine.com

The belt saved that dress for Queen Maxima as the model looked awful in it!!

 

[mag]

Princess Beatrice gives an interview.

Princess Beatrice wears elegant pearl hair clips as she gives moving new interview

Princess Beatrice looks beautiful in a brand new video appearance with Made By Dyslexia, wearing statement pearl hair clips for the interview

ca.hellomagazine.com

It bugs me how the pearl hair clip is in the headline. We never see “Prince William gives an interview while wearing a blue shirt.”

 

[overedge]

Princess Beatrice gives an interview.

Princess Beatrice wears elegant pearl hair clips as she gives moving new interview

Princess Beatrice looks beautiful in a brand new video appearance with Made By Dyslexia, wearing statement pearl hair clips for the interview

ca.hellomagazine.com

It bugs me how the pearl hair clip is in the headline. We never see “Prince William gives an interview while wearing a blue shirt.”

Come on now, those aren't just any pearl hair clips. They're statement pearl hair clips. Show some respect

ETA: and IMO they look awful. They are way out of proportion to her hair and her face.

 

[MsZem]

Princess Beatrice gives an interview.
...
It bugs me how the pearl hair clip is in the headline. We never see “Prince William gives an interview while wearing a blue shirt.”

Here's a pearl-free version

Princess Beatrice Opens Up About Her Dyslexia in Rare Interview

The Princess discussed her struggles in school, her career path, and changing the messaging around dyslexia.

www.townandcountrymag.com

 

[canbelto]

So I read the "Catherine the Great" article. It's actually not that flattering of an article at all.

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge is crowned Catherine the Great on the July/August cover

The future Queen reigns on the cover of our bumper summer issue

www.tatler.com

In many ways, it’s difficult to get a true sense of the real Duchess of Cambridge – so determined does she seem to project an aura of blandness as part of her regal persona. When I broach the subject, I hear the same sentiments from others, from royal insiders to society figures: ‘I just don’t know who she is.’ One member of the young royal set says: ‘I’ve spent quite a lot of time around Kate and she is impenetrable. There is nothing to like or dislike.’ Yet, the source continues, ‘she has a ruthless survival streak, just like the House of Windsor. It’s why she is so well suited. She keeps her head down because the prize of being queen is so great. She models herself on the Queen and now speaks like the Queen.’

When it comes to the Middletons, continues the friend, ‘The big thing in their family is control.’ Another member of their circle concurs: ‘In person, Catherine is a bit warmer and slightly more fun than in public, but you are aware that she is always aware of how careful she has to be. There is a level of control that she has to retain. I don’t think she’d know how to fully let her guard down now, even if she wanted to.’

If this was the big hagiographic publicity piece that KP wanted idk if they really succeeded.

 

[Vagabond]

It bugs me how the pearl hair clip is in the headline. We never see “Prince William gives an interview while wearing a blue shirt.”

Trust me, if Prince William gave an interview wearing pearl hairclips, that would be the headline!

 

[MLIS]

Kensington Palace has put out a statement saying the Tatler article is full of mistruths. I agree it isn’t particularly flattering, and the complaining her “friend” does on her behalf about how she actually to, gasp, do some work now is especially tone deaf given the state of the world. I’m sure William and Kate are pissed about how the Harry and Meghan thing went down and the additional pressure this places on them (especially as they are becoming the “front line” of the monarchy right now with the Queen and, to a lesser extent Prince Charles isolating), and I do think they work hard and it’s not just ribbon cutting and bouquet collecting, but I’ll have trouble drumming up a lot of sympathy for her having to work a bit harder.

 

[canbelto]

Kensington Palace has put out a statement saying the Tatler article is full of mistruths. I agree it isn’t particularly flattering, and the complaining her “friend” does on her behalf about how she actually to, gasp, do some work now is especially tone deaf given the state of the world. I’m sure William and Kate are pissed about how the Harry and Meghan thing went down and the additional pressure this places on them (especially as they are becoming the “front line” of the monarchy right now with the Queen and, to a lesser extent Prince Charles isolating), and I do think they work hard and it’s not just ribbon cutting and bouquet collecting, but I’ll have trouble drumming up a lot of sympathy for her having to work a bit harder.

Yeah if they're complaining about having to do more Zoom meetings around this time then ... I;m actually shocked that this article was presented as an insider article that had the tacit approval of the royal family. If this is the image W&K want to present ...

‘Meghan and Harry have been so selfish,’ says a friend of the Cambridges. ‘William and Catherine really wanted to be hands-on parents and the Sussexes have effectively thrown their three children under a bus. There goes their morning school runs as the responsibilities on them now are enormous.’

 

[mag]

I find that quote about the school run hysterical. Seriously, H&M were full time working royals for the equivalent of 15 seconds. Think about it. They had been married less than 18 months when they left for Canada. Meghan was on mat leave for what, about 6 months. Yes, they did some fabulous stuff, did some very well received tours, took on some patronages, but none of that stuff would have been done by W&K had H&M never married. They were patronages and tours designed around H&M’s interests (as are W&K’s.)

Going forward, both couples would have taken on more, but it is unlikely H&M would have over the next year or so with Archie so young. Kate has ramped up her work because, I assume, she has had her last baby and Louis is now weaned and will be off to nursery school when he is three.

William and Kate probably miss H&M, but it is pretty clear H&M were not happy. Meghan was probably terrible home sick and Harry was clearly going through some unresolved issues to do with his mother’s death. H&M did what they needed to do for their family. It seems to me the royal family has accepted that and wished them well.

 

[Vagabond]

I have no idea whether the thirty-something generation of British royalty is actively using anonymous friends as their proxies or whether people think they are helping by making statements of their own initiative, but either way, the practice does not make anyone look good. (My criticism is not specific to this generation. The previous generation did so, and it would not surprise me if the generation before that did so too.)

 

[mag]

I have no idea whether the thirty-something generation of British royalty is actively using anonymous friends as their proxies or whether people think they are helping by making statements of their own initiative, but either way, the practice does not make anyone look good. (My criticism is not specific to this generation. The previous generation did so, and it would not surprise me if the generation before that did so too.)

I completely agree. I have read in the past that W&K have been very clear with friends that they are not to speak to the press about them. I have no way of verifying that of course. I am trying to think if there have been other articles with “friends” talking about W&K? I can’t think of any off the top of my head, but I don’t profess to ready everything.

ETA: I hope W&K just ignore it. I don’t think you ever win an argument with the press.

 

[canbelto]

I'm just kind of laughing that Kate thought this article would make her look good. I don't think it does at all.

 

[overedge]

Why is it such a terrible thing that Kate wants her house (Anmer Hall) to look nice, not like a typical aristo house with(allegedly) threadbare carpets and dog hair everywhere?

And as to who the mysterious "friends" are, I suspect they're people the author knows, or are friends of people the author knows. It sounds like a pretty random sampling of opinions....

 

[aftershocks]

A lot more is going on here than meets the eye, but that's usually always the case in regard to behind-the-scenes lives of high profile people, especially in regard to the ancient and dysfunctional royal firm who sadly are tied-at-the-hip with the British media. It's not for nothing that Prince Harry cautioned the British media and the royal family in the South Africa documentary with these words: "I will not be bullied into playing a game that killed my mum."

And now, I suppose it's back to 'Zooming in on Fave Royals...' Good luck with fading illusions.

What I hope is that M&H's bid for freedom from the archaic royal firm will set a precedent for other less important, secondary spare royals in the future to be able to chart their own course in life without the stultifying, imprisoning chains of royal courtiers, family members, and leech-like ranting royal reporters suffocating them and claiming ownership over their existence.

My signature quote by Arthur Schopenauer holds a lot of resonance and relevance, especially in regard to British royal family matters. Ahem, or uh Amen!

May the truth be with us! (at least at some point before we all kick the bucket).

 

[canbelto]

#kategate and Schopenhauer philosophy are a pair I didn’t realize I needed until now.

 

[AxelAnnie]

OK - She could have done without the pearl hair clips. Can everyone say "tone deaf"?

 

[aftershocks]

It will be nice to see Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie take on more public roles, if that's going to be what happens going forward. Their father, Prince Andrew, has certainly been heavy-handedly pushing hard for their acceptance into the working senior royal fold over the years. Prince Charles has been wary of financial criticisms against the royal family, and so he previously rebuffed Andrew's requests on behalf of B & E. For years, Charles has been talking a lot about streamlining, which was not supposed to include Harry, but oh well all the truth will hopefully come out at some point re the stark reasons behind the Sussexes' departure.

I think the Sussexes 'stepping down' will ultimately be for the best, since members of Harry's family were and are loathe to speak up for him and his wife against the vile targeting by the British tabloids. It may have benefited the royal firm as a whole had they presented a united front from the beginning, called off the rabid press hounds, and faced any retribution receipts. But oh well, prior to January 2020, there were many claims in the tabs of some parties wanting M&H gone or at least M gone, or at least 'dimming' of the Sussexes' light (however that was supposed to occur). So the Sussexes are 'gone' (and they've taken their major patronages with them), so remaining royals can just 'stiff-upper-lip it' and get on with it, eh! No matter who Harry married, there was bound to be drama, cuz the British tabloids need their drama. But with 'unexpected' Meghan in the mix, the drama has reached outrageous, royally self-inflicted, damaging proportions that do no one any favors, aside from the money-grubbing slimey tab editors, scumbag paps, and leech royal reporters. Meanwhile, FWIW going forward, the senior royals have themselves and their old-fashioned, stuck-in-the-mud, nose-in-the-air courtiers to blame.

With some members of the former Sussex staff now employed by senior royals, the firm are all working harder and perhaps smarter than ever on the p.r. front (aside from some K.P. missteps, ahem). We should have always been seeing and hearing more positive promotion of Princess Anne and the Wessexes, IMO. Why didn't we? I like Beatrice and Eugenie, from the little I know of them. I don't think the daughters should have to pay for or be blemished by the sins of their parents, who are apparently loving parents, despite all of their well-publicized, disreputable and concerning character flaws. No doubt the timing of Beatrice's recent video interviews is once again, in hopes of distracting from the Epstein/Andrew documentary and book, both debuting this week.

The young York princesses are attractive, but neither have much fashion sense. That's a shame because with a little help, they could both make so much better and more enhancing styling choices. Eugenie managed to score knockout outfits for her wedding! Good luck to Beatrice, for her eventual nuptials.

 

[MsZem]

I have no idea whether the thirty-something generation of British royalty is actively using anonymous friends as their proxies or whether people think they are helping by making statements of their own initiative, but either way, the practice does not make anyone look good.

Mike Tindall requires no intermediaries but then Zara is not a princess, and Mike is in his forties...

Queen's Grandson-in-Law Mike Tindall Gets Real About 'Really Frustrating' Home School Moments

Queen Elizabeth's grandson-in-law Mike Tindall says home educating daughter Mia, 6, is "sometimes really nice, sometimes really frustrating"

people.com

And now, some C-P news:

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden

Latest stories, photos and videos about Prince Carl Philip of Sweden

bit.ly

 

[mag]

Love the work and the approach William is taking to tackling mental health.

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[clairecloutier]

So I read the Kate (or should I say Catherine?) article in Tatler. I thought it sucked. The whole piece was really judging, in every respect. And yet there’s nothing to even judge. The worst they can come up with about Kate is that she’s .... too quiet/boring? Self-contained? Enigmatic? Would rather be taking her kids to school instead of doing 3 royal engagements in 24 hours? And ... since when was any of that so bad or bizarre?? (And failing, apparently, to find anything juicier about Kate, they just had to throw in that gratuitous bit about her mother being a b****. Wonder whose palm got greased to provide that quote.)

Why is it that you just can’t win as a royal spouse? It doesn’t matter if you’re the life of the party (Fergie), charismatic and emotional (Diana), interesting and outspoken (Meghan), or charming but a tad staid (Kate). It does not matter who you are or what your personality is. Regardless, someone is always going to have an issue with you (and the press will make an issue of it).

 

[canbelto]

I did find the quote about Kate and insisting Charlotte wear pantyhose funny because Kate wears pantyhose even when she wears running shoes.

Kate Middleton Wore the Perfect $50 Sneakers With Zara Pants

Adding to cart.

www.glamour.com

Which seems ... a bit much. Pretty sure royal protocol doesn't mean you have to wear pantyhose with sneakers.

 

[mag]

There are some really lovely photographs up on the KensingtonRoyal Instagram story from the HoldStill2020 collection.

 

[starrynight]

I did find the quote about Kate and insisting Charlotte wear pantyhose funny because Kate wears pantyhose even when she wears running shoes.

Pantyhose do make your legs look nice (particularly if a million HD photos are going to be taken of them). If I could afford to buy a new pair of the nice very sheer ones every time I went out, I'd probably wear them too. (But they end up costing a fortune so).

As for Charlotte, I think it's sensible to put the little kids in tights for such an elegant event so they don't end up showing 29 million people their underpants.

Kids that age will just stick their leg into the air (as Charlotte almost did) bend over, pull up the hem of their dress etc. They didn't even need to wear them for too long. Those kids were walked into the church, whisked away and then brought out again at the end of the ceremony. (As I've from a hot country I don't even think the weather that day was even warm but anyway).

Would rather be taking her kids to school instead of doing 3 royal engagements in 24 hours?

I think these events require a lot of briefing and preparation so the royals say and do the right thing. While I think these these events don't seem like much, I would expect the pressure of being 'on' and knowing that everything you did was being analysed would take energy. A bit like how presenting at a meeting takes more energy than the rest of the workday.

The worst they can come up with about Kate is that she’s .... too quiet/boring? Self-contained? Enigmatic?

It's interesting that these are actually the characteristics that have made the Queen so successful. The figure of the monarch is designed to sit above and separate from the political system, so I think it's smart that Kate plays her cards close to her chest. She can be herself at home with her children, but I think it's clever to just not reveal too much in public.

 

[Parsley Sage]

Pantyhose do make your legs look nice (particularly if a million HD photos are going to be taken of them). If I could afford to buy a new pair of the nice very sheer ones every time I went out, I'd probably wear them too. (But they end up costing a fortune so).

As for Charlotte, I think it's sensible to put the little kids in tights for such an elegant event so they don't end up showing 29 million people their underpants.

Kids that age will just stick their leg into the air (as Charlotte almost did) bend over, pull up the hem of their dress etc. They didn't even need to wear them for too long. Those kids were walked into the church, whisked away and then brought out again at the end of the ceremony. (As I've from a hot country I don't even think the weather that day was even warm but anyway).

wearing tights/pantyhose or even little white frilly ankle socks would also protect their feet from blisters in their new shoes.

 

[Coco]

When I was a little girl, for some reason tights would pull at the tiny hairs on my leg and it was quite painful. I used to cry anytime someone tried to put tights on me, even when I was old enough to "use my words." I'm Team MM on this one, lol.