General News for the Cambridge Family Part 3: March 2017-September 2022

[Pranter]

Can't be too serious, already been she was still meeting with the finalists this afternoon for a tea.



LaRae

 

[Blog Real]

I think everyone here would like it if they had a fourth child. They would thus have the same number of the Queen's sons.
But if it is not because of pregnancy, then she will have missed the event because of a problem at the children's school or some family affair.

 

[Countessmeout]

It's been said no one is ill...so my guess is the kids had something with school or some activity.


LaRae

School events are not last minute things. She would have known long ago. If she planned to attend, she wouldn’t have been scheduled to attend tonight. A school event is not reason for a sudden last minute cancellation.

 

[tommy100]

Hmm let the speculation begin��

Maybe some sort of last minute kid related diary problem? Maybe Carole was meant to look after them and cant for some reason etc. If the kids had been told they were with someone from family I don’t think W&K with their family focus would see nanny as a replacement.

Its a bit of an odd statement as its vague enough to ensure people will speculate on it, but they are entitled to say or not say what they want about their children.

 

[Blog Real]

Yes they have the right to say what they want about their children, and they don't have to justify everything they do.
It was probably something unforeseen in the children's school, or some subject related to the children but not a disease.
But at least we know it's nothing serious and that's what matters.

 

[Pranter]

School events are not last minute things. She would have known long ago. If she planned to attend, she wouldn’t have been scheduled to attend tonight. A school event is not reason for a sudden last minute cancellation.

There are pics of her this afternoon at the tea with the finalists....so it can't be some sort of emergency ...this was AFTER the announcement was made she wasn't going to be there.



LARae

 

[Somebody]

The fact that the tea was held at Kensington Palace probably meant that while Catherine didn't want to be away for the evening, she was able to be gone for a little while knowing that she was near if needed.

 

[Countessmeout]

There are pics of her this afternoon at the tea with the finalists....so it can't be some sort of emergency ...this was AFTER the announcement was made she wasn't going to be there.



LARae

Yes an hour long tea what a 100 meters from home if whatever kid needed her?

Maybe I am giving Kate too much credit. Maybe she is the kind of person who would blow off a scheduled event at the last minute, as she suddenly decided to attend a play at school that she would have known weeks ahead of time. I tend to think she takes her role as a royal a bit more seriously then that.

I have no doubt they are hands on parents. And will attend events at the kids' school and so on. But they will know these things weeks in advance, recitals and such are not spur of the moment events. They would not have announced she was attending the event, if she had no plans to attend. Its not like the calendar is released months in advance.

Its most likely one of the kids came down with a bad case of the flu or such, and Kate decided to stay home tonight.

 

[MARG]

Had Catherine not had afternoon tea I would have said measles, mumps, rubella or chickenpox as they are all contagious. But it seems that nobody is ill.

That makes Catherine and William seem more than a little precious and introduced a whole new dynamic. Any children related events would been noted well in advance so a diary clash is definitely not the problem, which implies a budding attitudinal change.

It is not like the Cambridge's are out every night so what possible explanation can account for such an extraordinary action of pulling out of an engagement with basically no notice.

While such events are probably boring and old hat for the Cambridge's, for the guests it's a once in a lifetime experience so I will be interested to find out what's happening.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Frankly it sounds like what every parent goes through, problems with a babysitter.

 

[Pranter]

All the chatter I'm seeing on Twitter etc is there was a issue with childcare.


LaRae

 

[Queen Claude]

Kate Middleton meets Tusk Conservation Awards finalists at Kensington Palace - before MISSING the evening ceremony after one of her children falls ill and she 'can't find childcare'

• Duchess of Cambridge, 37, pulled out of attending the Tusk Awards last night
• The royal did not join her husband Prince William because 'of the children'
• But Kate did attend a private reception for nominees and finalists yesterday
• Couple shared photos from the event, with Kate donning a Beulah London dress
  

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...private-Tusk-Awards-reception-pulled-out.html

 

[Pranter]

Nothing has been said about ill children except by the tabloids. No reason was given by official sources. I doubt they will ever say why.



LaRae

 

[EvaH]

It really is not ok. There is a reason why every working mother know that you need to have a back up for your back up nanny. They can't just have Nanny Maria + back up from Kate parents or friends, especially as Kate's parents have more than her children now as grandchildren. Soon James will have his own as well... I am pretty sure that Nanny Maria was sick or on her day off and they could not find anyone to say with the children... If I remember corretly Princess Estelle has 4 caretakers and I think it is a good system, especially with parents who have to be away regularly for their work.

 

[Ista]

Without knowing what the issue was it's hard to make a judgment, but if the issue was childcare--both the nanny and the housekeeper sick or otherwise unexpectedly unavailable (emphasis on "unexpectedly")--then I tend to agree that going forward there needs to be a back-up plan. A last minute cancellation like this may have been unavoidable in this instance, but it is not acceptable over the long run. It can happen to anyone, but the Cambridges are not anyone, and have resources that most don't have.

 

[Erin9]

Without knowing what the issue was it's hard to make a judgment, but if the issue was childcare--both the nanny and the housekeeper sick or otherwise unexpectedly unavailable (emphasis on "unexpectedly")--then I tend to agree that going forward there needs to be a back-up plan. A last minute cancellation like this may have been unavoidable in this instance, but it is not acceptable over the long run. It can happen to anyone, but the Cambridges are not anyone, and have resources that most don't have.

Exactly. No one knows exactly what happened. So I don’t see how any judgment can be rendered.

The only times I can recall Catherine pulling out of events were when she had the extreme morning sickness (I just can’t remember the name.). She doesn’t have a history of doing this- so I assume was unexpected and obviously a one-off of sorts.

 

[Alisa]

I agree. There is more to the story and this was a cop out excuse.

As was said these things are planned months in advance. Also the couple has a few trusted staff (ie. Their housekeeper who was recently given an order for her services) I am sure they would've gladly stepped in if the royal nannies for whatever reason couldn't take care of the kids.

The public is not stupid.

 

[TLLK]

Sometimes even sitters come up ill or are unavailable. It happens and parents have to adapt by either both canceling or just one parent attends while the other stays home.

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

Wow! The judgement on Kate is horrendous!

Firstly, it's not like both William and Kate cancelled. This is the first time she has done this, and she still met with the nominees earlier in the day. Kids get sick at a drop of a hat, and young kids are particularly clingy too. If her staff are NOT available, who should stay home? Honestly, people expect them to be relatable, yet the first instance they are, BOOM! The hypocrites come out of the woodwork.

Yes, the event would have been booked in advance, but life happens. And this time, life meant no one was available to look after the kids. Simple.

 

[carlota]

The only times I can recall Catherine pulling out of events were when she had the extreme morning sickness (I just can’t remember the name.). She doesn’t have a history of doing this- so I assume was unexpected and obviously a one-off of sorts.

indeed. kate has been in the royal family for 8 years now, and aside from her morning sickness when she fell pregnant, this is the first time she pulled out of an event. i think people need to put things in context. maria may have been off, on holiday whilst the kids fell ill, or had an emergency / fell ill herself... and kate resolved it was better for her to stay in. no biggie. it is not like it happens everyday.

 

[tommy100]

I think like a lot of parents if your child is ill you are not really going to leave them with a member if staff bar the nanny and even then you may want to stay with them and care for them. Also in the RF roles are more defined than the housekeepers more normal wealthy people may have, unlikely they would ask the housekeeper to babysit. The point is they did what most parents had to do, look at the situation and make best of needing to be in two places- Kate stayed at home with kids and William as patron went to the charity event. If it had been a solo visit and Kate pulled out it would be a bigger issue but the fact is she was only there as a +1 anyway.

 

[MJudith]

Wow! The judgement on Kate is horrendous!

Firstly, it's not like both William and Kate cancelled. This is the first time she has done this, and she still met with the nominees earlier in the day. Kids get sick at a drop of a hat, and young kids are particularly clingy too. If her staff are NOT available, who should stay home? Honestly, people expect them to be relatable, yet the first instance they are, BOOM! The hypocrites come out of the woodwork.

Yes, the event would have been booked in advance, but life happens. And this time, life meant no one was available to look after the kids. Simple.

nobody here is tearing her apart ... let us not exaggerate. People are just wondering what could have been this emergency that is all between a child disease and a school activity.

As I have told earlier if it is something like a broken arm/disease with Louis who is still very small, I can totally understand.

But it is very difficult to imagine, that a couple so wealthy, surrounded by an army of work and personal staff, of PPos, leaving near tons of relatives could not have found between the time of the announcement and the dinner let us say 6 hours a single person to watch their kids for three hours at a time where children so young usually sleep anyway. So an issue with childcare seems a weird explanation especially on a night that they knew they were going out

There were two nights this week where they had engagements but it does not happen so often. Extra planning must have been done.

The tusk award was a big night, that is all and creates lots of expectations.
I think people relate a lot to kate, and just imagine what would have been their own boss reaction if they had skipped an important dinner/event because of some non serious and common children disease... though you can be understanding about it, you are not forced to be impressed with the result.


In itself, it is really not a big deal, it was not even kate's patronage so I don't even really know why she was going in the first place except as William's spouse

 

[O-H Anglophile]

What tons of relatives live nearby that could be asked to come over and put three children to bed?
The only person in London I can imagine Catherine asking that would be her sister...and she has her own young child.
You are not going to ask an RPO or the gardener to babysit, just because you have staff or RPOs.

One scenario is Nanny Maria had a personal emergency or became ill and the housekeeper or someone else already watched the children while the Cambridges attended the tea.

While I’m sure there was a smidge of disappointment the Duchess was unable to attend, it’s not like the organization’s Patron didn’t attend or the event was cancelled.

 

[ACO]

Well whatever it was seemed to be fine this morning as both Kate and William had an engagement. I don't think it was a big deal but the vagueness of the excuse is what was bizarre. Of course it just caused more questions. But overall life happens.

 

[Countessmeout]

nobody here is tearing her apart ... let us not exaggerate. People are just wondering what could have been this emergency that is all between a child disease and a school activity.

As I have told earlier if it is something like a broken arm/disease with Louis who is still very small, I can totally understand.

But it is very difficult to imagine, that a couple so wealthy, surrounded by an army of work and personal staff, of PPos, leaving near tons of relatives could not have found between the time of the announcement and the dinner let us say 6 hours a single person to watch their kids for three hours at a time where children so young usually sleep anyway. So an issue with childcare seems a weird explanation especially on a night that they knew they were going out

There were two nights this week where they had engagements but it does not happen so often. Extra planning must have been done.

The tusk award was a big night, that is all and creates lots of expectations.
I think people relate a lot to kate, and just imagine what would have been their own boss reaction if they had skipped an important dinner/event because of some non serious and common children disease... though you can be understanding about it, you are not forced to be impressed with the result.


In itself, it is really not a big deal, it was not even kate's patronage so I don't even really know why she was going in the first place except as William's spouse

The only staff who would take care of the kids are Maria, and one of their two housekeepers (the rare childcare was included in job description). If Maria was for some reason ill or something, and the housekeeper already worked earlier that day, may have left no option.

Certainly don't know what 'abundance of relatives' we are talking about. Pippa is the only Middleton near by. She has her own small child to put to bed. The queen? Charles and Camilla? Don't see the queen or Charles being the kind to do evening baby-sitting (And Charles is in NZ). Harry and Meghan like Pippa have their own child, and are at Windsor. Are we thinking Eugenie and Jack might be up for baby-sitting? Beatrice?

Maybe this is why royals like Victoria seem to have back up on back up. Its not like a normal couple who can call up the neighbor teen to sit for them.

I think like a lot of parents if your child is ill you are not really going to leave them with a member if staff bar the nanny and even then you may want to stay with them and care for them. Also in the RF roles are more defined than the housekeepers more normal wealthy people may have, unlikely they would ask the housekeeper to babysit. The point is they did what most parents had to do, look at the situation and make best of needing to be in two places- Kate stayed at home with kids and William as patron went to the charity event. If it had been a solo visit and Kate pulled out it would be a bigger issue but the fact is she was only there as a +1 anyway.

Actually it is in the job description of at least one of their housekeepers.

When they were looking for a 2nd housekeeper, the job ad was found. It included animal care and sometimes helping with the kids. They likely use her when Maria has worked the day for an evening event, or her days off.

Wow! The judgement on Kate is horrendous!

Firstly, it's not like both William and Kate cancelled. This is the first time she has done this, and she still met with the nominees earlier in the day. Kids get sick at a drop of a hat, and young kids are particularly clingy too. If her staff are NOT available, who should stay home? Honestly, people expect them to be relatable, yet the first instance they are, BOOM! The hypocrites come out of the woodwork.

Not a single person has judged Kate, or tore her down.

We are all just curious about what happened. That's pretty natural when a royal drops out of an event for an unknown reason. Nothing else.

 

[Somebody]

Not a single person has judged Kate, or tore her down.

We are all just curious about what happened. That's pretty natural when a royal drops out of an event for an unknown reason. Nothing else.

This sounds rather judgmental to me...

Had Catherine not had afternoon tea I would have said measles, mumps, rubella or chickenpox as they are all contagious. But it seems that nobody is ill.

That makes Catherine and William seem more than a little precious and introduced a whole new dynamic. Any children related events would been noted well in advance so a diary clash is definitely not the problem, which implies a budding attitudinal change.

It is not like the Cambridge's are out every night so what possible explanation can account for such an extraordinary action of pulling out of an engagement with basically no notice.

While such events are probably boring and old hat for the Cambridge's, for the guests it's a once in a lifetime experience so I will be interested to find out what's happening.

And this... although not as strongly worded.

It really is not ok. There is a reason why every working mother know that you need to have a back up for your back up nanny. They can't just have Nanny Maria + back up from Kate parents or friends, especially as Kate's parents have more than her children now as grandchildren. Soon James will have his own as well... I am pretty sure that Nanny Maria was sick or on her day off and they could not find anyone to say with the children... If I remember corretly Princess Estelle has 4 caretakers and I think it is a good system, especially with parents who have to be away regularly for their work.

And another one...

I agree. There is more to the story and this was a cop out excuse.

As was said these things are planned months in advance. Also the couple has a few trusted staff (ie. Their housekeeper who was recently given an order for her services) I am sure they would've gladly stepped in if the royal nannies for whatever reason couldn't take care of the kids.

The public is not stupid.

This is just to show that some people did express a judgment; which is fine with me but should be acknowledged for what it is. While I personally do think that there was a good reason to pull out (given that's it is highly uncommon for Catherine to do so); I do see why several people expressed concern if this was a 'child-care' issue (and not an ill-child issue).

 

[Countessmeout]

You know when you don't just read the highlighted areas, and you read the context of the statements, you get the actual picture of what was being said.

Alisa for instance didn't say it was a cop out, that Kate didn't attend. She said the barely there reason was. Meaning that she believes there was actually a real reason for Kate not to be there, we just don't know.

 

[MJudith]

Certainly don't know what 'abundance of relatives' we are talking about. Pippa is the only Middleton near by. She has her own small child to put to bed. The queen? Charles and Camilla? Don't see the queen or Charles being the kind to do evening baby-sitting (And Charles is in NZ). Harry and Meghan like Pippa have their own child, and are at Windsor. Are we thinking Eugenie and Jack might be up for baby-sitting? Beatrice?.

Pippa, Peter and Autumn Philips apparently lives in london, James must be nearby too as his girlfriend work in the city, most of George/Charlotte/Louis godparents included lucy middleton, bea and eugenie ...

It is sure that it is not normally persons that would keep the children but in an exceptional circumstances where you really feel to go to an event (Kate must certainly had that feeling, she doesn't cancel usually) I would call them.

Pippa being the mother of a one year old doesn't strike me as a thing that would prevent her from helping her sister : coming with her own child to KP, leaving her baby with her husband, calling her own babysitter...

As I said, it doesn't matter in the end if she did not come but I don't really think it was about childcare. Her kids were sick, she wanted to stay with them, that is fine or maybe it was a totally other reason.

 

[MARG]

Well whatever it was seemed to be fine this morning as both Kate and William had an engagement. I don't think it was a big deal but the vagueness of the excuse is what was bizarre. Of course it just caused more questions. But overall life happens.

Actually I was wondering if Catherine was unwell as we were assured the children were not unwell.

Had I thought she had just bailed, I would have been "judging" William as well because that would have been unacceptable.

Either way, I think that with the happenings in the BRF, Andrew "retiring" from all aspects of public life and, while the media were all riveted with the train wreck that is his life, they missed that HM nearly halved the number of engagements she undertook.

This has serious implications for all of the working Royals and that includes the Cambridge's. Childcare will have to be ironed out because bailing just isn't done unless there is a personal illness.

 

[Ista]

Childcare will have to be ironed out because bailing just isn't done unless there is a personal illness.

I agree, and even the personal illness cancellations are done very, very rarely. I can only remember a very few times for the Queen, and I don't really remember any for the Prince of Wales, although there must have been a few.

If it was a childcare issue then the solution may be to have another nanny on staff in addition to Maria Borrales and the housekeeper who supposedly takes on occasional duties.