It’s still so wild to me that the past three months have played out the way they have with the missing Princess of Wales, the legitimate concerns and curiosity about her health, the palace completely bungling their response to those concerns, and now, the British media attempting to circle the wagons around an arguably still-missing princess. Not only that, those sycophantic royalists don’t actually give a sh-t about whatever it is that Kate is going through – they’re too busy claiming that asking for any kind of explanation or accountability is somehow, improbably, “bullying Kate.” You know who bullied Kate? The Kensington Palace staffers who created a weird Frankenphoto, refused to clarify or explain why they did it, and then tossed Kate under the bus and made her shoulder the blame for it entirely. But please, allow Camilla Tominey to screech for two pages about how everyone expects Poor Kate to be PERFECT all the time and we’re all bullying her terribly!
First [Kate] faced criticism for being too perfect. The late author Hilary Mantel described her as “designed by a committee and built by craftsmen, with a perfect plastic smile and the spindles of her limbs hand-turned and gloss-varnished”. She suggested that Kate had been selected for her role of princess “because she was irreproachable: as painfully thin as anyone could wish, without quirks, without oddities, without the risk of the emergence of character.”
Now, there has been an out-of-character brouhaha in the form of a photoshopped family photograph, and she is still being criticised. “You are supposed to be perfect, how dare you edit out any imperfections!” appears to be the oxymoronic refrain, despite Kate issuing a personal apology when many others (including Saint Harry and Mother Superior Meghan) might well have been inclined to blame the staff. But rather worse than the Princess’s demonisation for the “crime” of editing a photograph has been the completely hysterical reaction to her period of rest after having had abdominal surgery.
If it wasn’t bad enough that she has become the subject of numerous online conspiracy theories as a result of needing an operation – she faced a clamour to show herself in public despite trying to recuperate from a medical ordeal that required 13 nights in hospital. Perhaps the most depressing aspect of #Photogate is the fact a recovering Princess evidently thought that she needed to be visible on Mother’s Day in the first place. She really should have felt able to rest in peace, away from the public gaze, instead of feeling compelled to kowtow to social-media bullies. In short, impossible expectations are being imposed on the Princess, inflamed by online trolls. It is hard to think she would have been treated this way if she were a man.
Tominey then spent the rest of her column – her first royal piece since the Frankenphoto Fiasco – regurgitating the results of a study about young women and social media and how horrible it all is. I guess Tominey’s argument is that every woman these days has the need to be seen as perfect, as having a perfectly curated life, with no blemishes or illnesses or flaws whatsoever. While Kate is definitely guilty of wanting a hyper-curated image, she’s always been too lazy to be vigilant about it. Besides which, Tominey seems to be bullying Kate by buying Kensington Palace’s lies – would someone like Kate, someone vigilant about portraying herself as flawless and never-putting-a-foot-wrong, do such a hacky, amateurish editing job on a photo? Would that image-conscious woman then decide to release a big public apology, taking the blame for someone else’s Frankenphoto? Come on.
“But rather worse than the Princess’s demonisation for the “crime” of editing a photograph has been the completely hysterical reaction to her period of rest after having had abdominal surgery.” One, it wasn’t just “Kate editing a private photo” – this was a proof-of-life photo for a missing princess and the heir to the throne’s office issued the photo and lied about its authenticity. It’s a constitutional issue. The “hysterical reaction” to Kate’s recovery would not be half as dire if KP staffers could do their jobs without tripping over their d–ks and lying at every turn. The “hysterical reaction” was also just people pointing out the despicable and racist double-standards when it comes to the white princess’s privacy versus the Black princess’s privacy.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
- 07-09-2019 Brugge Prince Andrew, Duke of York, at the parade on the market and flowers at the Charles II monument during the commemorative celebration of 75 years of liberation of Brugge, Belgium. .
- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the promenade as they visit beach huts, during their visit to Barry Island, South Wales, to speak to local business owners about the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector. Wednesday August 5, 2020.
- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the charity Cinemagic to see how they use film, television and digital technologies as a means to educate, motivate and inspire young people. Featuring: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton Where: Belfast, United Kingdom When: 28 Feb 2019 Credit: John Rainford/WENN
- The Duchess of Cambridge takes her landmark survey to London during a breakfast visit to LEYF (London Early Years Foundation) at Stockwell Gardens Nursery & Pre-school. When: 29 Jan 2020 Credit: WENN/Avalon **WENN/Avalon**
- The Duchess of Cambridge takes her landmark survey to London during a breakfast visit to LEYF (London Early Years Foundation) at Stockwell Gardens Nursery & Pre-school. When: 29 Jan 2020 Credit: WENN/Avalon **WENN/Avalon**
- Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visits Caernarfon coastguard search and rescue helicopter base in Caernarfon, Wales, Britain May 8, 2019.
- KINGSTON, ENGLAND – JUNE 25: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge joins a photography workshop for Action for Children, run by the Royal Photographic Society at Warren Park on June 25, 2019 in Kingston, England.
- Britain’s Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge speak to employers, at the London Bridge Jobcentre, in London, Britain, September 15, 2020.
