Prince William and Kate – I’m sorry, Catherine – Middleton decided to take a break from the shit weather the UK’s been getting this winter (and, okay, always) and have a little holiday in Mustique, the private $50,000 per night island in the Caribbean. Of course, where the stars go, the cameras will follow and as the future of the monarchy, eyes were heavily on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they always are – even more so now that there’s a royal baby on the way.
The Italian magazine Chi came under intense scrutiny this week after publishing photos of the pair strolling the beach, Kate in a bikini, offering the first glimpse of the royal baby bump. The UK went absolutely buck wild, lashing out at the publication for violating the royal family’s privacy and calling for an immediate ban of the photos. Blah blah blah.
As you may or may not remember, this is not the first time private pictures have been published in the press. Still, this situation pretty much has about 0% in common with that incident, given that the previous photos were taken by photographers hiding in bushes, peeking into a private villa of a topless Kate Middleton. Chi’s pictures were taken on the beach where Kate and William mingled with other beach-goers in public view and probably would have known there might be cameras – professional or iPhone – on the loose.
Here’s the thing, though: who really cares? I’m pretty much full-blown English at this point, having lived in the UK quite a bit and planning to move here for good, and while I love the royal family and support the monarchy in its limited capacity, I just don’t get it. The UK is so hypersensitive about these photos that when ITV’s This Morning accidentally displayed the Chi cover unblurred yesterday, they issued a network-wide “unreserved” apology for their disrespectful error. Like, what? I don’t see you apologising to Lady GaGa for showing pictures of her falling off her God-awful hoof shoes or Lindsay Lohan falling out of yet another club with a nose full of coke.
I get that the nature of their role as public figures is more dignified and upstanding than most typical celebrities, and I also fully appreciate the invasiveness of the paparazzi and the inappropriateness of private snooping on stars for the sake of that one photo to make them big money. It’s a serious problem, and no one is arguing that. But seeing Kate Middleton in a bikini is not going to make the UK economy collapse or the anarchists to come to power. In fact, the bigger fuss is made about it, the more they’ll circulate and the bigger an issue it’ll become.
Why is it Catherine with a C but Kate with a K? This question has been plaguing me.
what baby bump? is she even pregnant??
The problem is that it was a private island. She wasn’t parading around on a public beach.
Princess Diana was plagued by the press right up to her death, I don’t think William wants his wife being treated in the same manner.
It looks like she finally ate something.
I saw it on E!News last night and they actually blurred out the photos, which seemed so ass-kissy. News flash – you’re public figures, deal with it. Get a better media team, there have been so many fumbles and mismanaged opportunities by their team since their marriage. Maybe if Kate was actually doing some work, she wouldn’t be scrutinized for taking so many vacations. She spent a year barely making a move before she got pregnant. At least she’s learned to keep her top on.
I saw the E!News thing to and I didn’t get it because they show pregnant American celebrities all the time !!!! They said out of respect for Kate they wouldn’t show it but what about the American women they don’t deserve the same respect ? I don’t get it !!! The only fame whore who wants a camera following her round pregnant if trashy Kim kardashian so let all the camera follow her around and leave everyone else alone !!
As someone who is British I have to say that I, and indeed most people here are underwhelmed by this story. Yes it was a private island but the UK press has a pretty poor record itself when it comes to privacy considering that it spent several years hacking into the phone lines of celebrities and even the parents of murdered children to try and find stories.
All of the fuss is being created by and fuelled by the press with almost no encouragement from the general public.
Right?! I live in England and nobody gives a flying fuck. The media create the buzz and they eat it up. People really don’t care.
Maybe if his mom didn’t die because of the paparazzi chasing her then he wouldn’t be as tight ass about being photographed by the paparazzi as he is now. Just saying
The mum died because the driver was drinking and felt he needed to engage in a car chase IN A FUCKING TUNNEL.
Every time this happens, I wonder why they don’t expect that this will happen. It can’t be a surprise. It’s a given, isn’t it?
Well considering a princess died because of the paparazzi and then the British press published a photo of said princess still alive in her car which unleashed a shitstorm, media can’t cover their arses enough. Everyone else can have their rubbish exposed to the public, but William, Harry, and their wives protected lock, stock, and barrel.