Catherine Cambridge: Saving the monarchy one pretty dress at a time

During previous royal tours I've tried to be more active when it comes to blogging. With William and Catherine's New Zealand and Australian tour, I'm having a hard time rousing myself to write anything about it. What is there really to say other than to write about Catherine's wardrobe and Prince George's cuteness? To be quite honest, it's boring.


Not to say that I haven't been paying attention. Like anyone else, I'm curious about Prince George, how big he has grown. My initial interest in royalty started with the birth of his father, Prince William, so I would be rather remiss to ignore George now, wouldn't I?


So, why am I writing about this tour now?


Media coverage of the royal tour has bordered on the ridiculous. Royal Commentators falling all over themselves to make it sound like William, Catherine and George walk on water. Claims by smug monarchists about how they have reduced the Republican movement to ashes by their very presence. To be quite honest it makes me angry.


A lot of the success of the tour has been attributed to Catherine, how she has charmed people and what she wears. There is no denying that Catherine has done a great job. William, normalcy craving royal is comfortable in his supporting role. Then there's George. Adorable? Yes and you would have to have ice-water in your veins to criticize him. To see the family actually at work is wonderful and long overdue. Judging by how much they enjoyed their speedboat races, wine tasting and trips to the zoo, they seem to be enjoying this grueling tour immensely. So many great photo-opportunities, it's enough to blind anyone on the fence.


Having said all of that, I'm tired of reading the cavity inducing coverage. Watching how the media can bend over backwards to make the most mundane moments sound remarkable. I'm tired of reading about how much Catherine and George's clothes cost and how fast they sell out.  Crowd turnout is obviously great but how many crowd members are ardent monarchists or are just showing up out of curiosity to get selfies? Clothes selling out and crowd size seems to be rather flimsy evidence that the republican movement has been set back. If anything it I see it as evidence of how weak the pro-monarchy arguments are when it is so dependent on Catherine's clothes and how cute George is at the moment.


The real argument about the future of the monarchy can be found in what happens when the family returns to the UK. Will they maintain the momentum and dive into supporting the monarchy? Or will they disappear on their third vacation of the year, wearing a new dress at the occasional engagement to muffle the noise of the critics?


Old habits die hard and that doesn't bode well for the future of the monarchy.


© Marilyn Braun 2014


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.

How do you draw the line at royal privacy when others keep moving it?

Well, a few weeks back I asked for a royal scandal didn't I?

Okay, so no one has abdicated, or died or came out of the closet. (Geez, work with me people!) This time round it is just some photographs of Catherine's bump in a bikini frolicking on the beach with his/her parents to be.

*Gasp* Shock, horror!

Okay, maybe these photos are not that scandalous but if this is all I have to work with then so be it.

Photos of William and Catherine on holiday are nothing new. Photos of Catherine in a bikini, are also nothing new. So it was rather predictable that we would get photos of this holiday too. Inevitable. So predictable that if you bet money on whether there would be holiday photos you would win every time.

In this instance we have most of the ingredients for a semi-royal scandal. While no one has yet to tearfully express contrition, we do have columnists writing interesting opinion pieces about the press and privacy and how William should pick his battles. Some columnists gloss over the privacy issue and compliment Catherine how how beautiful she looks. So far royal reaction has been rather muted. Merely a statement expressing 'disappointment'. A true royal scandal has someone described as 'incandescent with rage' or 'seething'.  Note the difference.

Yes, it is all a fascinating insight into the continuing saga of William and Catherine's privacy. In the past I was frustrated and annoyed when I would see photos of Catherine off duty. Sometimes I felt I was the only one expressing indignation while others were completely okay with it. The pictures were fun, harmless, right? Not only that, we could use them to discuss what she was wearing. Forget privacy, where did she get those shoes from?

I've always felt, and I've stated this before, that to truly respect Catherine and William's privacy, no photos of them should be published when they are off duty. They are in private and deserve privacy. This should be rather straightforward, no? I'm well aware this isn't realistic but if those photos are OK the it was only a matter of time before we expected more. People pay lip service to the memory of Diana, while being just as invasive. People decide when they think the paparazzi have crossed the line and when they haven't. Some things seem to be okay, but yet others are not. For instance.

Photos of Catherine walking her dog are OK
Photos of her shopping are OK
Photos of her going for coffee are OK
Photos of her sunbathing topless are bad.
Photos of William and Catherine strolling on a beach with their dog in Wales are OK.
Photos of William and Catherine strolling on a beach in a Mustique are bad. (Maybe if the dog was there it would be okay?)

And how do people justify all of these incidents?

William and Catherine are in PUBLIC. Public being defined as being outdoors where people can see them. Does the location matter? Not really. Remember, they're outdoors and depending on how you feel about it, they don't own the locations they're photographed in, now do they? In effect, William and Catherine are fair game.

It seems that the the less clothing they have on, the more the outrage increases. Apparently it's okay to take pictures of them in public as long as they leave something to our imagination.

Interesting how people who justify the other incidents express indignation at these photos without realizing the public role in creating an appetite for them. Suddenly William and Catherine's privacy has been violated and someone else is to blame. (By the way. I call BS on people who claim they didn't search for the photos or look at them, citing 'respecting their privacy'.)

So I give up! I officially declare that I am now, deliberately, part of the problem (I always was but didn't want to admit it to myself until now.) Not because I dislike theses pictures, but because the line for their privacy keeps shifting. Because it does not stay in one place, it is very difficult to decipher where it truly belongs when one appearance in public is okay but another appearance in public is wrong.

When someone permanently draws a line in the sand about this issue, let me know.

© Marilyn Braun 2013

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.

30 Facts about Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

In honor of Prince William's 30th birthday on June 21st, here are 30 facts about him.

1) Prince William was born on June 21st, 1982 at 9:03 PM at St. Mary's Hospital Paddington. He weighed 7lbs 1 1/2 oz.

2) Prince William is the first direct heir to the throne to be born in hospital

3) He was christened William Arthur Philip Louis on August 4, 1982, his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother's 82nd birthday.

4) According to genealogists, William was born the most British heir to the throne since King James I.

5) He was nine months old when he accompanied his parents on their tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1983, becoming the first royal baby to be included on an official visit.

6) Prince William was the first royal prince to attend an ordinary nursery school, rather than be educated at home.

7) During his childhood he was affectionately known as 'Wombat'

8) Just before his fourth birthday, he was made the six-millionth member of the Automobile Association and given an AA lifetime membership.

9) He started learning to ride a horse at the age of four.

10) On June 3, 1991 he was accidentally hit on the head with a golf club. To this day he retains a mark on his forehead, which he has referred to as his 'Harry Potter scar'.

11) He carried out his first official public engagement on March 1, 1991 when he accompanied his parent on a visit to Wales to celebrate St David's Day.

12) The 1997 Christie's auction of his mother's dresses was his idea.

13) He was confirmed on March 9, 1997 at St George's Chapel, Windsor

14) He passed his driving test on July 27th, 1999, just five weeks after his seventeenth birthday.

15) In 2000, on his 18th birthday, he was granted his own Coat of Arms. The design includes elements from the Spencer Coat of Arms from his mother's side of the family.

16) William has stated that his favorite part of his gap year was year was spent working as a farm labourer on a dairy farm in England with an hourly wage of £3.20, rising before dawn to milk cows and “performing mucky jobs” along with everyone else.

17) In 2003 he celebrated his 21st birthday with an African themed party hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle.

18) He is godfather to Prince Konstantine Alexios of Greece, the son of the Greek Crown Prince and Princess Pavlos. Prince William's own godfather is the former King Constantine II of Greece, Prince Konstantine's grandfather.

19) Owned a black Labrador named Widgeon.

20)  He met his future wife, Catherine Middleton, while they were both students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

21) On June 23rd, 2005, William graduated from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland with a 2:1 Master of Arts in Geography.

22) He has a rose named after him - Royal William

23) He is left-handed

24) He entered Royal Sandhurst Military Academy in 2006 as an officer cadet. He was commissioned as an army officer in December 2006 and joined the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals) as a Second Lieutenant in January 2006.

25) On 11th April 2008, Prince William received his RAF wings from his father The Prince of Wales, becoming the fourth successive generation of the monarchy to become an RAF pilot.

26) As a child William was given a specially modified, electrically powered, bright red Jaguar XJS Cabriolet miniature sports car. A gift from the manufacturers.

27) He was appointed a Royal Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter on April 23rd, 2008. He is the 1000th knight in the register. 

28) He is a keen sportsman and has participated in many sporting activities: swimming, water polo, skiing,  rugby, polo, football, basketball, cross country running and clay pigeon shooting.

29) On the day of his wedding, April 29, 2011, the Queen granted William the titles Duke of Cambridge, The Earl of Strathearn and The Baron of Carrickfergus.

30) On 29th May 2012, The Duke of Cambridge was conferred to the Order of the Thistle in the year of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

© 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.

The Royal Report for Sunday September 18, 2011 - Royal Baby Watch - September edition

Tune in to the next episode of The Royal Report on Sunday September 18, 2011 at 9:00PM EST (North America)

The topic will be: Five months in and still no news of a royal baby for William and Catherine. Should they be pregnant by now or are we being impatient?

© Marilyn Braun 2011

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.