William & Kate

[Jackie3]

On 6/14/2022 at 10:39 PM, EmCatlyn said:

Anyway, in looking to see if I could buy the book cheaply, I read the introduction of the latest edition which claims that Crawfie made £75,000 on the memoir, which, in 1950s money was a nice chunk.  So I feel less bad about her situation, though I am still sad that Elizabeth and Margaret never reached out to her after the initial break.

That's what the whole discussion was about. The Royal family was angry that Crawfie dared to make some real money with her stories. They had actually authorized her to publish some stories (they felt the press would be good for them.) But they wanted it done anonymously. 

Ignorning this, the publishers added Crawfie's name to the articles. Makes sense, right? It's far more interesting that way. According to Wikipedia, Crawfie knew the Palace had seen the stories and assumed everything was OK (the stories were very positive).  

That makes sense too. Why else would she risk getting evicted from her first home, and rupture a relationship that was so important to her? Some sources says her husband signed the contract on her behalf. If that's not true, was she pressured to sign (she didn't seem like the type to give in to pressure)? Didn't she read  or understand the contract? Nobody knows.

But I don't think she would have had knowingly pissed off the Palace. Why would she? She could have sold the stories anonymously and still maintained the relationship with the royals AND kept her house. It's kind of weird that the Palace didn't care about the stories getting out (here are stories about Elizabeth's childhood!) but they DID care about who got the byline.

After the estrangement, however, I guess she figured she had nothing to lose. Or maybe she was . . . angry? At being tossed aside? Are servants allowed to have human feelings?

Royal servants are essentially handed very valuable gems (information), paid very little salary, then told not to sell the gems. It's a short-sighted approach.

I don't think Crawfie was desperately poor, she probably received gifts during her tenure. But I am not sure if she was terribly comfortable, particularly after her eviction. She attempted suicide more than once, and once left a note which read, ""The world has passed me by and I cannot bear those I love to pass me by on the road."

Edited June 16, 2022 by Jackie3

[viii]

Oh my god if I have to read the word Crawfie one more time...

[tabitha2]

This is some serious obsession. 

[TN-peach]

So with William and Kate moving closer to Windsor Castle does this mean that the Queen will now have the "right" people around her?

 

(trying to move the conversation on)

[Loveday]

2 hours ago, viii said:

Oh my god if I have to read the word Crawfie one more time...

I agreed with your post, but then got to feeling like I want to re-read my old copy of The Little Princesses. It's been decades. I'll give it a few days, though, I'm reading something else right now. Maybe the feeling will pass. 🤣

[louisa05]

1 hour ago, TN-peach said:

So with William and Kate moving closer to Windsor Castle does this mean that the Queen will now have the "right" people around her?

 

(trying to move the conversation on)

Still wondering if that is happening. I've seen reports of three different homes there and no confirmation at all from KP or BP. 

[viii]

I’m surprised they haven’t announced or commented yet. I feel like a move is inevitable. 

[prayawaythefundie]

Maybe there will be a statement released on his 40th birthday. It‘s only a few days away. 

[EmCatlyn]

8 hours ago, Loveday said:

I agreed with your post, but then got to feeling like I want to re-read my old copy of The Little Princesses. It's been decades. I'll give it a few days, though, I'm reading something else right now. Maybe the feeling will pass. 🤣

When I first read it, I was in high school and I thought it was written to make the Royals look good.  It was a dozen years later that I heard Miss Crawford had been treated unkindly.  Since then, I have come across different versions of what happened.

Returning to William and Kate, it appears that William has that “I have been hurt by disloyalty from a loved one” streak in his relationship with Harry at the moment.  I am not suggesting that William is going to ostracize Harry for life, but you can see that the Windsors take “betrayal” seriously.   The brothers may never reconcile if Harry goes “too far” in his biography.

[FrumperedCat]

I imagine an announcement will be made by the time schools restart in September upon which I imagine they'd start at a new school. Tbh I can see them waiting another few weeks at least to move because of schooling. 

[EmCatlyn]

12 hours ago, prayawaythefundie said:

Maybe there will be a statement released on his 40th birthday. It‘s only a few days away. 

I don’t know about an announcement, but the press seems to think it’s official.

Quote

After months of speculation, it’s been confirmed that the Cambridges will be moving to the WindsorEstate this summer, taking up residence in the modest four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage, just a 10-minute walk from the Queen’s private apartments. 

https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/cambridges-moving-to-windsor-prince-william-duchess-of-cambridge-adelaide-cottage-b1006116.html

1 hour ago, FrumperedCat said:

I imagine an announcement will be made by the time schools restart in September upon which I imagine they'd start at a new school. Tbh I can see them waiting another few weeks at least to move because of schooling. 

The last I heard they would be moving before school restarts, and they have been checking out possible schools.  They may not announce the school until the last minute though.

[viii]

It’s too bad they even have to announce the school. It’s none of our business. 

[prayawaythefundie]

2 hours ago, viii said:

It’s too bad they even have to announce the school. It’s none of our business. 

True but it won‘t make any difference. We would know within days - announcement or not.

Edited June 17, 2022 by prayawaythefundie

[viii]

24 minutes ago, prayawaythefundie said:

True but it won‘t make any difference. We would know within days - announcement or not.

Oh, I know, and if they didn’t announce it then the media would go full blown stalker in order to find it, which no school deserves. I understand why they announce it, it just sucks that they have to do it. 

[Jackie3]

23 hours ago, Loveday said:

I agreed with your post, but then got to feeling like I want to re-read my old copy of The Little Princesses. It's been decades. I'll give it a few days, though, I'm reading something else right now. Maybe the feeling will pass. 🤣

If you like the read about the Royals, I'd recommend Lady in Waiting, the memoir by Lady Anne Glenconner, daughter of the Earl of Leicester.  As a child, she socialized with Elizabeth and Margaret on a few occasions. As an adult, she was Margaret's lady in waiting and her good friend. It's an interesting look at what those ladies-in-waiting actually do (I want one!)

Anne's husband was completely insane. On their honeymoon, he took her to watch a man having sex with a donkey. He threw huge tantrums over nothing (he was banned from flying British Airways after lying in the aisle screaming like a two-year old). He purchased the island of Mustique and turned it into a resort. Three of their five kids had tragic lives. Anne was unhappy, tried to see the positive, and kept a stiff upper lip. After 54 year of marriage, her husband left all his money to his valet.

About K&W, It's a shame the kids have to switch schools, but they should have no difficulty making friends. People, even 8-year olds, want to be associated with the royals.

I don't believe the reports that say that their new classmates "didnt recognize" Prince George. LOL, sure. They never saw his face on the news? The motorcade and bodyguards didn't tip them off? They didn't hear the grownups talking? Kids aren't stupid. It's just a bunch of propaganda to make the royal children appear to have a normal childhood.

 

[Coconut Flan]

I wonder if part of the move is due to keeping George at home.  There were articles about the tradition of sending 8 year old royal boys to boarding school and that's what some in the family were encouraging while Kate was supposedly opposed.  There are several day/boarding schools in Berkshire so perhaps they went with a compromise.  

[QuiverFullofBooks]

On 6/14/2022 at 8:30 PM, tabitha2 said:

Queen Mary had provided her with antique furniture so Why didn’t she sell some of that? 

It was on loan from the Royal Collection to decorate her house (which was part of Kensington Palace, so it was appropriate). It wasn’t an outright gift. Queen Mary also sent paintings.

On 6/15/2022 at 4:42 PM, EmCatlyn said:

I do wonder about accommodations for the children’s governess.

They go to school, so they don’t have a governess. Governess is the feminine form of tutor. You’re thinking of nannies.

[EmCatlyn]

10 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

They go to school, so they don’t have a governess. Governess is the feminine form of tutor. You’re thinking of nannies.

Yeah, I meant the nanny.  Thanks for the correction.  She is Norland trained and was originally from Spain.  I assume she will be around for at least two or three more years since Louis is still very young, and the parents are very busy.

 (I tend to think of “nannies” for children under 5 and “governesses” for children older than that because I read too many Victorian novels.   ) 

[EmCatlyn]

Quote

William alternates between grieving for what he has lost and feeling really, really angry about what his brother has done,’ said one insider. ‘He truly loves Harry and feels he has lost the only person, aside from his wife, who understood this strange life of theirs. But he believes there are things you just don’t do. And Harry has 100 per cent crossed that line.’

William also believes Harry has ‘disrespected the Queen and their family’, a friend says.

Daily Mail ;- William Grieving & Angry

The article also discusses William’s anger about how Meghan brought Kate into the Oprah interview. A friend observed that Harry has

Quote

‘… thrown accusation after accusation, knowing that silence is the family’s only option because they don’t want to get dragged into a public slanging match.  . . .

‘William is absolutely allergic to drama but Harry has ensured that their family laundry is being aired on a global scale.’

This is an introduction to a series that will appear in the Daily Mail with a discussion of William and his life.  It is obviously “pro-William” but may have some interesting stuff.  I can well believe that William is grieving.

[Jackie3]

35 minutes ago, EmCatlyn said:

This is an introduction to a series that will appear in the Daily Mail with a discussion of William and his life.  It is obviously “pro-William” but may have some interesting stuff.  I can well believe that William is grieving.

William needs to grow, in addition to grieve. You can't decide how your brother is going to live his life.

Just because they were both born into this crazy lifestyle doesn't mean they both will want to stay in it. If William is upset because Harry chose to move, that is very immature indeed. Harry may be making mistakes, but he definitely showed courage in trying to live life on his own terms. 

If he was wrong to move away, then these royals are truly born in a cage. How sad to think that Louis, Charlotte and George have no choice but to continue to live in England for the rest of their lives. There's a whole world out there!

The information in that article is provided by "a source" or "a friend." Everyone knows what that means. The "source" is the writer himself, or the guy who sits next to him at work. And anyone can say they are "a friend" of the royals.

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by Jackie3

[just_ordinary]

@Jackie3 I think you missed the point entirely. No one suggested the problem the decision to step back. Stepping back is fine. The problem is the communication around it. 
Living on your own terms is fine as well. It gets complicated when you want others to pay for it though. And if you decide to slag them off on tv you cannot exactly expect them to be all smiles. 
Wiliam seems to extremely value his privacy. So if you start talking about him it’s no surprise if he is hurt and freezes you out. On the other hand- do we even know that he actually is so hard? Do we know one snitch that has this happened to them?
H&M most definitely are not completely in the wrong. Like in most dramas like that all parties involved are at fault to some degree. And everyone has their own truth. Recollections may vary indeed. 

But I am not sure how truthful an account this series is. The daily fail is not the bbc. And I doubt their sources have the same quality or are provided by KP. To me it reads like a big re-cap of stuff that is “generally” known about him, complete disregard what is true and what has become a fact just because it has been repeated again and again.

But of course they will write great stuff about him. It’s never a bad idea to not poke the bear (that’s going to wear the crown in the future) too harsh AND it’s another great way to continue the Cambridge vs Sussex train. It’s pure gold for the tabloids. At one point though, it won’t sell anymore and they will inevitably turn on W&K again.

[EmCatlyn]

2 hours ago, Jackie3 said:

William needs to grow, in addition to grieve. You can't decide how your brother is going to live his life.

Just because they were both born into this crazy lifestyle doesn't mean they both will want to stay in it. If William is upset because Harry chose to move, that is very immature indeed. Harry may be making mistakes, but he definitely showed courage in trying to live life on his own terms. 

If he was wrong to move away, then these royals are truly born in a cage. How sad to think that Louis, Charlotte and George have no choice but to continue to live in England for the rest of their lives. There's a whole world out there!

The information in that article is provided by "a source" or "a friend." Everyone knows what that means. The "source" is the writer himself, or the guy who sits next to him at work. And anyone can say they are "a friend" of the royals.

 

I think we may have read different articles, since the article I read focused on how William was angry that Harry had been speaking publicly about the family, not that Harry had left “royal” life.  As for grieving, what could be more natural than to grieve that a person you were close to is no longer close?

Even when people leave for good reasons that you support, you can miss them and be sad to lose the closeness.  It is not childish or selfish to regret that the one person who shared your childhood is no longer around, or no longer thinks the way you do.  Unless Will is blaming Harry for leading his own life (and it doesn’t appear he is), I think the grieving is normal.

The anger and the loss of trust are further reasons to be grieve.  I don’t know if any of the article is true, but based on what is publicly known, it is plausible.

As for the sources, my understanding is that the DM is publishing portions of a book that is probably a bit better researched than just ordinary tabloid articles.  However, you may be right and it’s all someone’s imagination.

[EmCatlyn]

22 minutes ago, just_ordinary said:

….
But I am not sure how truthful an account this series is. The daily fail is not the bbc. And I doubt their sources have the same quality or are provided by KP. To me it reads like a big re-cap of stuff that is “generally” known about him, complete disregard what is true and what has become a fact just because it has been repeated again and again.

Totally agree that the source is “iffy” and that it is just saying things that have been said or hinted at before.  (I think the series is part of a book though, isn’t it?  So there may have been some research.) 

In any case, the feelings attributed to William sound plausible.  Being both angry and grieving seems a normal response under the circumstances.

Though I don’t fault the Cambridges for not going to Lili’s birthday party (the weekend was pretty crowded for working royals), it was striking that the brothers didn’t even nod at each other in passing.  Both seem angry, and both may be sad as well.

[zee_four]

On 6/16/2022 at 6:04 AM, Jackie3 said:

This was the royal family. I don't think Elizabeth or Margaret were short on stockings.  They received an enormous amount of gifts, if nothing else. Stockings and socks could also be knit (knitting was huge during the war) by their vast number of servants. But I really don't think it came to that.

In fact, Elizabeth's problem was having too much. She married in 1947, when post-war rationing was still going strong, and yet. . .

While the rest of Britain struggled to have enough eggs to make a cake, Elizabeth struggled with having too. much.  (At the time, most Britains were entitled to one egg per week, and this rationing would continue for years after WW2)

Um actually they used ration coupons for their wedding. The (immediate) royal family made a point to use rations coupons like their subjects, the Queen Mum refused to leave her husband and evacuate with the girls to Canada and it's well known that Elizabeth was a mechanic as a teenager like many other girls her age. When she was engaged, a lot of women sent in any extra coupons to help with the wedding dress and cake. It was still done very frugally for the heir to the throne. Rationing in the UK actually got worse after the war and it went through the 50s. The US wasn't giving money for the war effort and essentially the UK was bankrupt from 6+ years of total war. I know this isn't crucial historiography we're debating but it always bugs me to see easily researched and corrected falsehoods  shared so adamantly as true, even if its about housewives sending in extra rations coupons for Princess Elizabeth's wedding cake and dress.

[Jackie3]

6 hours ago, zee_four said:

The (immediate) royal family made a point to use rations coupons like their subjects,

Oh, dear. This is PR. They had everything they needed and more. Certainly they may have used a ration card for PR purposes. But what are they going to say to the British public--you must suffer from rationing, but we don't have do? Of course they need to pretend.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Jackie3