Fashion How Kate Middleton is a little more Lady Di every day or her style similarities are more than reasonable
Beauty What if Kate Middleton's cherry manicure wasn't an act of rebellion or breaking royal protocol?
Kate Middleton turns 42: her best looks since she became Princess of Wales (with Lady Di's permission)
There are those who believe that the queens consort and princesses of Windsor are a classic hieratic Greek statue that, sometimes, the beatings of court life and certain English tabloids end up cracking. The English journalist Hilary Mantel, for example, remembers that it was the Duke of Edinburgh who supposedly approved the addition of
Diana Spencer
to the family because she would "bring height to the lineage" (she was 1.78 cm tall). And she believes that
Kate Middleton
's thinness, exquisite manners and restraint
have been able to clear the latter's way to Windsor.
The
harassment
of certain British press clearly marked the life of the first and, in these last weeks, could mark that of the second. After months of speculation about her health, the
Princess of Wales
has made a personal statement announcing that she has cancer in a video recorded at
Kensington Palace.
Absent from
public life since
Christmas , Kate has revealed that the abdominal
surgery
she underwent in January did not have the expected results and, although they did not expect it, doctors found cancer cells. "It's been an incredibly difficult couple of months for our entire family. It was a huge
shock
, and William and I have been doing our best to process and handle this privately
for
the sake of our young family," she explained. However, he assures that he is optimistic: "I'm fine, gaining strength every day, concentrating on the things that will help me
heal
; in my mind, body and spirit," he adds, stating that what has taken them the most time has been "to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them and to assure them that I will be fine. We hope that they understand that, as a family, we now need some
time
, space and
privacy
while I complete my treatment," asks the princess.
never complain
'Never complain, never explain' is the public relations strategy that has traditionally been associated with the British royal family. Something that contrasts with the transparency with which the
cancer
diagnosed in Charles of England has been reported. On the other hand, for the British, Kate's characteristic restraint and
'never explain'
were
taking too long
, especially considering that, as Harry explained in his memoirs, the leaking of information from the royal family to the press It is a fundamental part of what
Queen Elizabeth
called 'the firm'.
To silence the rumors that were beginning to circulate as a result of this situation, a photo was published at the beginning of March, on the occasion of Mother's Day, which was anything but reassuring: today, you
know the
tricks of 'photoshop'
even the pointer and the falsity - technical and moral - of the image was soon discovered. Once the deception was uncovered, looks and zooms were directed to the previous photos of the
Duchess of Cambridge
, while people wondered if they had been scammed when, in reality, the communication capacity of the women of
Windsor
is very limited and there are those who She doubts that it was she who retouched the photo or had the idea of recording that video. However, those ultimately responsible for her public
image
are, in any case, something that, for sure, is not easy to handle.
The women of the royal family, human shields
GTRES
But also, says journalist Jennifer Weiner, what has happened leaves Prince William
in the background,
which, she adds, has happened before and could be something premeditated. In the British crown, Weiner adds, "if the reputation of a senior member is threatened, women act as
human shields
." And he points out that "when it was discovered that Prince Charles had a mistress, his mother was blamed for not letting him marry his true love. The narcissistic
Meghan
was held responsible for Prince Harry's flight to California, and the "Prince Andrew's dangerous friendships were overshadowed by his wife
Sarah Ferguson
's weight problems
." Maneuver or not, the treatment that women receive in Windsor is evidently different from theirs. And the transition
from heroine to villain
, much faster in the case of the former than the latter. Almost as fast, it seems, as a couple of mouse clicks.
Although Kate has already
apologized
for having retouched the image "as so many photography fans do," some media outlets were quick to blame her for having "destroyed the
credibility
of the British crown, which will take years to recover from," in the words of the royal chronicler Daniela Elser. And this, furthermore, when we know that 'photoshop' is the order of the day. The announcement of her
illness
will surely calm the waters and return the princess to the tabloids' affection.
The royal family and its symbolic and ceremonial role
Does the crown, and the public, not tolerate the fact that this statue breaks and reveals the true essence of these women, as happened with Diana? Although King Charles III is head of state, the role of the British royal family is primarily
symbolic and ceremonial
. Its hard core, made up of Charles III himself and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sofia, Duchess of Edinburgh, are dedicated full time to carrying out their duties as members of the Royal family.
These include
official events
of all kinds, ranging from state funerals to weddings or appointments, to the opening of parliament or collaborations with charities. And, in the case of women, produce
heirs
. Weiner explains that the royal family is, basically, "a business that makes babies and justifies its cost to the British taxpayer by setting themselves up as symbols of the nation's character:
honest, firm and loyal
." They, like statues or vases, have to maintain their shape and contain themselves. 'Never explain, never complain', never talk, never
complain
, and never, Diana and Meghan explained in their day, receive help. Do your best, while the vase holds. But Kate, forced or not, has already broken it.
Kate Middleton