When I saw the headline on the front of a Saturday newspaper supplement: ‘Arise, Queen Kate’, I thought for a shocking moment something terrible had befallen Queen Camilla.
Thankfully not. But Kate’s beautiful smiling face nevertheless adorned the magazine’s cover, flagging up a seven-page piece about what kind of Queen she intended to be.
The article stated that she plans to make an ‘impactful change’, that she would be ‘more ambitious and bolder than any of us appreciated’ and that ‘Kate will be a Queen who really listens’.
But isn’t it a bit soon to be talking about ‘Queen’ Kate in this way, when Queen Camilla is still in situ, apparently in rude health, fulfilling her royal duties and supporting her charities as well as her husband through his cancer battle?
The article claims to have sourced its information through ‘palace insiders and close long-term friends of the Prince and Princess of Wales’.
Which made me think. Did those ‘close long-term friends’ of William and Kate have their approval to talk? Did Kate and William, in fact, sanction this article in The Times Magazine about her intentions when she becomes Queen?
We may never know, but even if they did not, it is surely ill-advised of their close circle to talk about her future in this way.
Kate would never have intended any slight against Camilla, of course, writes Amanda Platell… but I can’t be the only person to think that this emphasis on her queenly qualities is a slap in the face for the present Queen
Kate would never have intended any slight against Camilla, of course. But I can’t be the only person to think that this emphasis on her queenly qualities is a slap in the face for the present Queen.
Camilla has long championed unsung charities – she is patron of more than 100. She has gone out of her way to help concerns that protect women and girls against domestic violence, that encourage literacy and reading, that support the Armed Forces and veterans, and that care about the welfare of animals.
As for that pledge that ‘Kate will be a Queen who really listens’, the unsaid and perhaps unintended message is that Camilla doesn’t listen.
And yet of all the things her detractors may throw at Queen Camilla, not listening just isn’t fair. She deserves a sainthood for listening for decades to her hand-wringing husband going on about global warming, the benefits of talking to his pelargoniums and much more – including his ‘hardships’ as Prince of Wales.
To Kate’s credit, much of the article is a showcase for her Centre for Early Childhood at the Royal Foundation she shares with William, described by aides as ‘her life’s work’. Quoted in the article is Harvard Professor Robert Waldinger, with whom she wrote a powerful essay about the dangers of smartphones and screentime for children called The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World.
Prof Waldinger remembers meeting former PM Tony Blair at a summit on early learning convened by Kate, and how Blair told him: ‘You know it’s so important that an institution like the Royal Family does this, because politicians can’t do it.’
Would the professor have spoken out in such a way without Kate’s approval? Who knows?
One source compared Kate and William to the Beckhams. But, asks Amanda Platell, do we really want to cheapen our future King and Queen by likening them so?
But my point is that a good number of friends and acquaintances – some named, others anonymous – do talk about Kate in the article. And, given all this emphasis on her as our future Queen, I don’t think they should have.
One source goes so far as to compare William and Kate to ‘dear old David and Victoria Beckham’, in the way they appreciate their own brand.
‘While it may seem a ridiculous comparison,’ they say, ‘I think the public can spot a genuine relationship and a genuinely strong marriage and two people who fit well together. How strong they are individually, but also as a couple. And I think that’s a great asset.’
A strong marriage is undoubtedly important to the royals but do we really want to cheapen our future King and Queen by likening them to the Beckhams? Is it really how William and Kate want to be perceived in this unforgiving social media world?
Another insider says Kate understands the ‘crowns and gowns element of the job’, with the implication that it is a duty to show up looking gorgeous in carefully crafted couture outfits worth thousands and wearing tiaras worth millions from the royal collection.
I do not believe for one second Kate’s friends thought they were doing anything but supporting her in sharing their views. But it all seems a little premature and, dare I say it, tacky.
A recent YouGov poll deservedly crowned Kate as the most loved royal, with a popularity rating of 68 per cent, for the first time ahead of her husband William on 62 per cent.
Nothing should be allowed to jeopardise the couple’s standing, however much they might want to change things in the future.
Charles and Camilla are still working full-tilt with many engagements planned in the diary for this year, including a joint official state visit to the United States on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
There will come a time to hail the ascension of King William and Queen Catherine, but it is not yet.
It’s just too soon for anyone to be cheering: ‘Arise, Queen Kate.’
