Best Possible Outcome

I'm tired. I'm sweaty. I'm sunburned. I'm hungry, thirsty, and I've been shat on by a pigeon (So has Richard Palmer, who was standing right next to me when William and Kate were arriving. Same pigeon).

But none of that matters. Because both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge waved at me. And I have never been happier.

Despite all my worrying and uncertainty yesterday, today had the best possible outcome. I saw William and Kate on three separate occasions, in two different outfits, but I didn't actually meet them or speak to them. And that's brilliant.

Because now I've seen the Duchess of Cambridge. And she is gorgeous. I didn't think it possible, but she is actually prettier in person than she is in her pictures. And she's so nice. So is William. It was such fun to watch him playing football with a bunch of little kids. He tackled and slid and ran about in the hot sun and I just could not stop smiling. This, and Harry's Nepal tour last month, really prove that these two are Diana's boys through and through. They just have the best hearts.

Honestly, I'm so thrilled that I got to stand ten feet away from William and Kate, and watch them play cricket and get on a bus with a bunch of children. Royal tours are when these two are at their absolute best, and I just got to see them on one.

And I didn't get to speak to them. I didn't get to tell Kate that I love her hair, or ask William how George and Charlotte are. I didn't technically meet the Duchess of Cambridge.

Everything has worked out brilliantly. I've had the excitement of seeing that Jaguar pull up with William's face in the window, and I've felt my hands shake like mad as I tried to take pictures of my absolute favourite person (and her personal assistant, that picture got a lot of attention for some reason), but I still haven't actually met them yet, and so I still have something to look forward to, something to work towards. If anything, seeing them in person has just made me more determined to meet them. I will do whatever it takes.

Today has been the best day of my life. But if all goes well, it won't have that distinction for long.

N

Follow me on Twitter @NikitaWhoWrites or @RoyalCentral, where I posted a bunch of stuff from today morning in Mumbai. I will continue to live-tweet the tour for the rest of the week, and there might be a couple of posts on this blog as well. 

Welcome To New York

Everyone's favourite Duke and Duchess (because, let's face it: the Duke of Edinburgh's wife is The Queen; no one knows that Prince Charles is also the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay; the Duke of York isn't married anymore, and even though Sarah Ferguson hold the title of Duchess, no one calls them the Duke and Duchess of York anymore; and the Dukes of Gloucester and Kent are way too far down in the line of succession to be anyone's favourite) William and Catherine are in New York City!

Minus their baby boy George, which is always a disappointment.

William and Kate arrived yesterday, and they're leaving tomorrow, so it isn't a very long visit, but they've got quite a packed itinerary (see here) and I think they're meeting the Obama's at some point.

They are staying at The Carlyle Hotel. Now, I have no idea where that is, but if you live anywhere near by, or even a subway ride away, you should go and just stand in the lobby, waiting for William and Kate to pass by when they go to the pool or something. 

Unlike nearly two years ago when she was expecting George, Kate looks a lot more obviously pregnant now.

Look:

Photo: The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge arrive at The Carlyle Hotel in NYC. pic.twitter.com/rbEQQIxOIb
— ET Canada (@ETCanada) December 7, 2014 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, arrive in New York City http://t.co/nTEsd62O7D #CBSEveNews pic.twitter.com/pyNZJspe9w
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 8, 2014 

I have a fair bit more to write about this Royal visit to New York, but, seeing as how I'm currently quite bogged down with projects and assignments and procrastinating, I'm going to have to put it off until next week.

There will be more pictures,

N 

You're Not Normal!

Last week's royal hullabaloo was over the fact that the paparazzi have been taking unsolicited pictures of Prince George as he plays in the park with his nanny (And pairing said pictures with hilarious headlines like "Prince George has a ball". Because he's playing with a ball). Now, I'm not going to encourage you to view these pictures by posting a link, because they were taken without William and Kate's consent, but I will give you a bit of friendly advice: If you want to read funny things about Prince George, that may be slightly mean, but are written with love, Suri's Burn Book is one of my favourites. Also Buzzfeed.

Anyway, back to the photographs issue. Apparently, some photographers are stalking little George, to the extent that they know his daily routine and regular hangout spots. Now if that is really happening, then it's very wrong. He's a baby. He doesn't realise what's happening, so he's not fair game. So, if that's happening, it's perfectly normal for the Cambridges threatening to take legal action.

But if there's no actual stalking - if it's just people who happen to be in Hyde Park, taking pictures of that famous baby which they recognise from all the papers - then I personally feel that William and Kate are being a bit silly. And that's not just because I like looking at pictures of Prince George playing in the grass.

This is just an extension of Prince William's constant whinging about wanting to be normal. And though I love William and Kate just as much, or maybe more, than the next person, their constant I-just-want-to-lead-a-normal-life-ing is often quite annoying.

As Darren McGrady said: 

@MPearon They Royal Family AREN'T normal. We BOW and CURTSEY to them. They can't and DON'T have on and off buttons
— The Royal Chef (@DarrenMcGrady) October 2, 2014

If I've said it once before, I've said it a hundred times - the only reason the royals are so fascinating to us common folk is because they're part of a family that, for a thousand years, has been more privileged and more powerful than anyone else. Also because even though Kate Cambridge's clothes sometimes cost north of £1,000, she's always wearing a new outfit. Normal people can't afford to do that.

A lot of people criticise the Duke and Duchess of Camridge for being "lazy", and for not carrying out as many engagements as, say, the Earl and Countess of Wessex or the Princess Royal, and for randomly going off on holidays to Mustique. But I don't think that they are affecting the Royal Family as much by doing that as they are by going around and proclaiming themselves to be, just normal. Because if I want a normal person to look up to, I know plenty. I only know one Duchess of Cambridge.

~

All week long I've been watching behind the scenes and interviews with the cast and crew of The White Queen, for some reason, and I've grown very fond of Edward IV. This is because, and only because, of sheer brilliance on the part of the casting directors. I've always personally thought of King Edward as a bit idiotic and shortsighted, even. Great military leader and tactician he may have been, but he married a power hungry and selfish... well, you know, and his entire dynasty was in shambles within two years of his death. And yet I am willing to overlook those things, which may or may not have anything to do with the fact that Max Irons, who plays him, looks like this:

This is great news from the perspective of another Yorkist ruler....

God save Richard, England’s royal king! #TheHollowCrown pic.twitter.com/CzSaiDMOyJ
— BBC Two (@BBCTwo) October 1, 2014

RICHARD III !!!

Because you cannot hate Benedict Cumberbatch on a horse. No matter how many nephews he murders (Remember, this picture was released by the BBC ahead of the next season of The Hollow Crown. The show is based on William Shakespeare's plays, so you can be sure that Richard/Benedict had something to do with the death of the Princes in the Tower).

~

Anyway, do you remember my attempts at book reviewing a few months ago - I reviewed a few books from Philippa Gregory's The Cousins' War series? Well, it's coming back! Next week, I'm going to review Alison Weir's The Captive Queen, about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the week after that I'm going to write about Anya Seton's Katherine, about Katherine Swynford.

If I ever finish it, that is.

N

A Multitude Of Royal Happenings

It's December! That means Christmas at Sandringham and New Year celebrations and a whole lot of other exciting royal events that I get to spend my days watching instead of actually celebrating things with other people. Fun!

Not that much happens in November, but I missed the entire month of royal coverage thanks to a certain baby's Christening, so I'm going to write about it all in this one post. Now would be a good time to close the window and find something better to do with your time.

On the 14th of November, Prince Charles turned 65, officially making him the oldest heir to the British throne ever. He's also been waiting to be King for the longest time, because the only British monarch who's ruled for longer than Queen Elizabeth is Queen Victoria, but her successor, King Edward VII, wasn't born until she had been Queen for three years.

Prince Charles celebrated this milestone in Kerala, were he and the Duchess of Cornwall were visiting at the time. Where he should have gone, however, is Kenya. For one, he would not have been out of place had he started singing about waiting to become King. Secondly, his wait might have ended. Queen Elizabeth (Well, Princess Elizabeth) was in Kenya when she heard about her father's death. The same could have happened with Charles.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon your views about the monarchy, Queen Elizabeth is still alive and well. In fact, she visited Southwark with the Duke of Edinburgh last week (read all about it), and also celebrated her 66th wedding anniversary quite recently. Sixty six years. The Queen has been married for longer than her father was alive.

Earlier this week, Prince William hosted a charity event at Kensington Palace to raise money for his charity, Centrepoint. There were performances by Jon Bon Jovi, and Taylor Swift and at some point in the night, Prince William decided to get up on the stage and join in the singing. And this happened.

'Prince William sings with Taylor Swift and Jon Bon Jovi', as the video is titled. Or 'Taylor Swift high-fives the second in line to the British throne, and everybody loses their minds'. Kate and George were nowhere to be seen.

Moving away from the United Kingdom, the Danish Royal Family had a portrait made of them. And it looks like hell. Literally.

See, this is the family on a regular day:

For those of you unfamiliar with the Danish Royal Family.
Top (from left to right): Prince Vincent, Crown Prince Frederik, Princess Josephine, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim, Princess Athena
Bottom: Prince Henrik, Princess Isabella, Prince Christian, Queen Margrethe, Princess Marie, Prince Henrik, Prince Nikolai, Prince Felix

And this is the portrait.

It was painted by Thomas Kluge, and for some reason he was actually paid for doing it. If you look closely, you'll notice that only the Queen and her two direct heirs, the Crown Prince and Prince Christian, are breaking the fourth wall and staring directly into the soul of the viewer. I read somewhere about the significance of this, but I've forgotten. 

I also read that it took the artist four years to paint, which would explain why Christian and Isabella look so much younger than they do now. However, none of Prince Vincent, and Princesses Josephine and Athena were born four years ago, so that must have required the painting to constantly be changed.

And what are Felix and Nikolai playing with in the corner? Is that blood? Going by the theme of the painting, I wouldn't be surprised. 

Comparisons, of course, were made between this and that creepy portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge. Creepy as it may be, at least the painting of the Duchess didn't have a eight year old who was made to look capable of cold-blooded murder. 

 

N