It seems that Kate Middleton may be losing her gloss in the face of some harsh criticisms this past week. It all started with a stinging Mail On Sunday article that claimed Her Majesty, the Queen was not at all pleased with Kate's lack of employment. Then the media jumped onboard and echoed the growing opinions of royal fans and the public alike. The latest media outlet to join in on the "Unemployed Princess Kate" debate is The Times.
Times columnist Rachel Johnson has published what many believe is a sensible, well balanced piece on Kate's lack of work. Ms Johnson writes:
'Kate gives the appearance of having abandoned all hope of normal life (a life that should, by rights, include a crap job, slutty attire and Krakatoa cocktails) in favour of sitting it out as a “waity Katy” until the magic moment when William drops on one knee and she finally becomes a living, breathing, fairy-tale princess as opposed to one of the frothy tutu-wearing, wand-waving pink moppets of her parents’ catalogue, which is the closest most of us will ever come to royalty.' Ms Johnson then identifies with the alleged sentiments of the ageing monarch, saying:
'The Queen must surely feel this is not clever PR. As an 82-year-old monarch who has devoted her life to duty and service, she clearly has little sympathy with the idea that a young woman who might one day be queen should be whiling away the interregnum by hitting Boujis. Indeed, Her Majesty is known to favour the young female royals who “do” something, such as Sophie Wessex and Lady Helen Taylor. Even Fergie, for all her faults, is these days more fairly described as the Duchess of Work than the Duchess of Pork.' In her article, Ms Johnson gives very valid reasons why Kate should work. She writes:
"In this credit-crunchy climate - when 99.9% of women are forsaking designer shops for Oxfam or eBay and cancelling holidays and struggling to meet bills - the sight of a princess-in-waiting on perma-holiday is out of synch. Big time. After all, both William and his brother are in the armed services and the other young royals are mostly working parents. (It is with justifiable pride that Viscount Linley describes himself as “a carpenter”)." Her second reason was equally as sensible:
"most very rich people, and especially the Queen, know that a life of pampered idleness, especially one in the bosom of the royal family, is a breeding ground for unhappiness. I’m not thinking of Diana, who was always determined to work with children and the underprivileged, but of the late Princess Margaret, who had so little to do that she filled in time by washing the coral she had collected on holiday in the Caribbean or by sticking the sides of matchboxes onto tumblers (so that she could light cigarettes more easily while drinking whisky)."As she gains nicknames such as "Waity Katy" and "Duchess Doolittle" Kate probably hasn't realised just how much goodwill there was for her as the girlfriend of Prince William. After years of pampered behaviour, seemingly endless holidays and nights out, it looks as though Kate has lost touch with the very people she was supposed to represent. In fact it seems the public are now turning off "Waity Katy" in droves with two polls showing that she's losing popularity and fast.
A Daily Mail poll asked respondents:
'Should Kate marry Prince William?'. 52% said no whilst 48% said yes. Although close, had this poll been conducted one or two years ago it would have overwhelmingly been in Kate's favour. The other poll posted by Gulf News ended in similar results. The poll asked: '
Is Kate Middleton a good choice for the future Queen of England?'. 55% of respondents said no whilst 45% said yes. Again, take this poll back a year or two and the results would have been overwhelmingly Kate friendly.
So what's changed? With the growing financial pressures being placed on the public via fuel and essential goods price increases, it seems that generally most people are not enamoured with the thought of a future Queen who does nothing and who will eventually sap their precious taxpaying dollars. Kate, who has allegedly taken twenty-one holidays (+ long weekends) in just two years, doesn't seem to any longer have that "normal" or "middleclass" connection with the public she was reported to have.
The final word in it all must be given to Rachel Johnson:
"So if Her Majesty has told William’s girlfriend to get on one’s bike, it is partly because she knows that life will never be the same again for Kate if she joins the firm and that she needs to make the most of her civilian status while it lasts. One day her prince may come and she might be Queen Catherine. But meanwhile, being plain Kate Middleton is her last chance to be a wage slave, to lead from the front, to do her own washing-up and to show rich, kept women that they can do something more worthwhile with their lives. She mustn’t blow it." Click here to read more about Kate's employment woes.
Prince Charles after a vigorous game of polo.