Dear Catherine/Your Royal Highness/Ma'am/Kate,
I would like to join the other voices in wishing you a very happy 30th birthday today. According to some reports you are having a quiet celebration of this milestone event. While clearing away the decorations and left-over cake, perhaps you could take a moment to reflect on what you really want to accomplish in the years ahead.
True enough, to a degree, the future is all mapped out for you. You will (eventually) produce the obligatory heir and spare. We will see you at all of the major events - Trooping the Color, Garter ceremony, funerals, etc. Where you will stun the crowds while inadvertently distracting from the more sombre moments. It's probably the last thing you want but we just can't help ourselves.
People have pointed out the differences between you and your late mother-in-law, Diana. How you are smarter, savvier, older and wiser than she was. Supposedly because of this you will avoid the perils. I disagree. Like her you are on the same path of becoming the ultimate stylish royal barbie doll. Hitting all of the right fashion notes but nothing more. You've barely spoken in public and you're nice to look at. With the fixed smile, all that's missing is the plastic horse drawn pink carriage.
You recently announced four patronages. It's a good start, though there are some who think you've played it too safe with your choices. Nonsense. Sheesh, even Diana waited 6 years before she shook an AIDS patients hand! Give it a few years and you will be brokering world peace while looking fabulous. All in good time.
It's been a dizzying year for you. What with the wedding, the plaudits and automatic position on all of the 'Best of 2011' lists. The pedestal has a nice view, doesn't it? But take a look back at royal history. What comes up, will come down eventually. You may have the support of your husband and the royal system taking it easy with you, but don't think you're immune. You can only ride the wave of the royal wedding for so long. No beautiful dress will save you from the fickle public.
So it's up to you to decide where you go from here. Do you hide out in Anglesy and deny reality? Will you continue to be fashion plate Barbie? Or do you choose the more challenging route where you're an asset to the royal family based on the work you do and what you accomplish?
Decide who you want to be, before we decide for you.
© Marilyn Braun 2012
Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.
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2 comments:
I think William is following the current trend of having a stay-at-home wife. I think that's ok. Let them have as much privacy as they can so they don't end up the disaster his parents were. Granny will die eventually, so will Papa--let them enjoy some time like any other couple on Earth. Do we really need another vapid clothes horse who hates her husband, hates her life and over-indulges herself? Of course not. I don't want to read in ten years that she's so bored she's going for coffee enemas like her not-so-sainted late m-i-l. I think we all aren't seeing the truth--she's who WILLIAM wants her to be and doesn't care what anyone else thinks! Everyone is looking at her belly, watching what she eats--did all of us who like royalty learn anything from the 80s? Stop looking and let them do their thing for a while. It will pay off handsomely in the long-term.
I don't think it's a good idea for her to be who William wants her to be. She's an adult and there's no point having yet another subservient wife being bent into the royal mold. Look what happened to Diana. Catherine should embrace her individuality while working within the royal confines, not BE who someone else wants her to be.
Like it or not she can't play housewife forever. Not going to happen. She has to face reality. She no longer leads a normal life. William has always tried to have a 'normal life' but now that they're married, they can't have it both ways.
Right, there is a lot of pressure on her, specifically with her appearance and the baby watch. That won't go away no matter how much she would like it to. I dislike seeing her portrayed as nothing more than a clothes horse, but that's what is happening while she plays 'housewife'.
She needs to define a role for herself or be relegated to a royal barbie for our entertainment. Because, right now, that's the path she's inadvertently carving. It took YEARS for Diana to get rid of that image. Think of how much easier it would have been had she never started on that path to begin with? Had she defined her own role from the get-go.
Unlike Diana, Kate has the resources at hand to choose her path carefully. The danger for her is in not choosing one at all. There's only so much cleaning you can do before the novelty wears off.;) If Kate doesn't find something fulfilling to do with her life, we may just see that 'bored' housewife sooner than you know it.
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