The Duchess of Cambridge: Will she become more popular than Diana?

[Elspeth]

I've deleted and edited a couple of posts where the conversation turned both personal and aggressive. Please remember that the discussion should stay on the thread topic and not stray into speculations about why other posters are such bad people. Nor is it appropriate for any of our posters to tell other posters to keep their opinions to themselves or otherwise refrain from posting because they aren't British or sufficiently respectful toward Princess Diana or for any other reason.

Thank you.

Elspeth

British Royals moderator

 

[Duchess]

having seen the effect "popularity" had on diana's life maybe catherine doesn't want to be popular...and i'm sure that william doesn't want that kind of popularity for her.

 

[Amelia]

I am hoping that my post did not reflect that I thought Kate was pathetic...but it is obvious something was up when they broke up..unless that was a tactic for less press coverage.

Of course something was up or they wouldn't of broken up but how is this any different than any other relationship - most couples go through bad patches, however most get to do it without it ending up on the evening news around the world. And like a lot of couples they worked it out and got back together.

I also think that the Princess of Wales showed, during her engagement a genuine caring for others...it was very evident on the walk a bouts with Prince Charles....she was much more approachable.....

Kate is not engaged to William, she had not done any walk-abouts for her to be deemed not as approachable as Diana. If you must compare the two women then wouldn't it be fairer to compare girlfriend Kate to girlfriend Diana, the if Kate and William do get engaged compare fiancée Kate to fiancée Diana.

None of us will ever know the truth with any of the Royals as their lives are private. I DO feel though, that Kate has big shoes to fill, should she marry Prince William. Diana, granted was flawed, but aren't we all? I admired her trying to make a difference when working with her charities or simply greeting people. Her youth when entering Royal service will be a difference, when comparing Kate to Diana

Why must Kate fill anyones shoes? They are two very different people and Kate should not be forced to try and fill a void that some feel Diana's death left. If you admired Diana for her work with charities or greeting people when she was a princess shouldn't you at least wait till Kate is in the same position to do the same before finding her lacking.

 

[Little_star]

Did you know that figures published by the TV programmes said that 55% of people had no interest in her funeral, that shops renting out DVD's did more business on that one day than they did all year?

Do you have a link for that please as it's the first time I've ever heard of it.

 

[ghost_night554]

What do you mean by approachable? I've never heard she took a beggar off the street and back to her kitchen to feed him. Okay, she was very nice to the people she met on walkabouts but when the walkabout was over she went back into her palace and did not much more. As soon as she was seperated, she stopped doing charity work except for two hospitals I think, another charity and the British ballet which is definately not much. If she had really cared IMHO she would have sticked to more charities and taken the time she then saved from representing the RF for doing more work for these charities. Like eg the former Alexandra of Denmark has done. For me this was a signal that being charitable was part of her "Royal role" she tried to fulfill but no real concern for her. And when she found that she needed a new role in her own right, she picked up political topics which a member of the RF couldn't cover, but which gave her significance. Was she sincere in that? We'll never know.

Maybe she felt that she needed time off after her seperation and chose to only focus on certain charities and topics, really we'll never know what her plans for the future were.

Why must Kate fill anyones shoes? They are two very different people and Kate should not be forced to try and fill a void that some feel Diana's death left. If you admired Diana for her work with charities or greeting people when she was a princess shouldn't you at least wait till Kate is in the same position to do the same before finding her lacking

I very much agree with your point that's why I try not to form sudden conclusions about Kate, I'm going to wait to see what she's like once/if she becomes a princess.

 

[Skydragon]

Considering so many people watched her funeral I couldn't have imagine that percentage of people with no interest, interesting. But anyways my point is didn't Diana develop her victim persona in the later years of her marriage,cause when I think about Diana and Kate I compare the 2 in terms of before Diana married Charles and I don't ever remember her complaining before they got married. So ya I may have just misunderstood what you meant.

Diana was unheard of before she became engaged to Charles, nor did she support any charities or do any charitable work. She didn't do walkabouts and complained of the treatment by the media, even though it was mainly through her mother.
I would imagine that anyone of us would have complained about the press attention that was inflicted on Catherine, from harassing her on her doorstep, following her to and from work, right down to forcing her into the curb whilst she was driving.

Little Star, I suggest as you often do, that you read back through the Diana thread where I have posted many of the articles giving percentages over the years or use a search engine, yourself.
To whet your appetite, just one return

Even at its height, many refused to be swept along by the media-mania surrounding Diana's death. Viewer protest forced BBC 2 to return to normal programming schedules within a week of the crash. A survey by the British Film Institute has found that 50 percent of respondents were not "profoundly affected" by Diana's death. Many of those interviewed this week said they now believed Britain passed through a bizarre period of collective madness last September. In the cold light of day, it is to be hoped that this will be the starting point for a more serious questioning of how this state of affairs could ever have developed.

The "Diana" phenomenon re-examined
Diana just another dead glamorous celebrity - Telegraph
The comments section on this one is interesting
BBC NEWS | Magazine | Did Diana's death change us?

 

[Little_star]

Thanks for the info, Skydragon.

One thing that stood out for me in the extract above was the following quote,

"Viewer protest forced BBC 2 to return to normal programming schedules within a week of the crash"

One week is an incredibly long time in media terms. I honestly cannot think of any event since, with perhaps the exception of the September 11th attacks (and maybe the Tube bombings), which has resulted in a week's disrupted programming. That in itself speaks volumes as regards her popularity imo.

 

[Skydragon]

That in itself speaks volumes as regards her popularity imo.

Unfortunately it just speaks of an incredibly out of touch BBC.

The biggest TV audience ever... it is now | Mail Online

Funeral attracts record UK viewing figures. | Retail > Retailers from AllBusiness.com

Militant Moderate: What If... Diana Died Today?

Hope they help.

 

[Little_star]

The BBC was out of touch? It's easy to look back at events with hindisght but at the time there was a very real public desire (whether you agreed with or not) for the programming to be dominated by the events of Diana's death.

 

[ghost_night554]

Diana was unheard of before she became engaged to Charles, nor did she support any charities or do any charitable work. She didn't do walkabouts and complained of the treatment by the media, even though it was mainly through her mother.
I would imagine that anyone of us would have complained about the press attention that was inflicted on Catherine, from harassing her on her doorstep, following her to and from work, right down to forcing her into the curb whilst she was driving.

Ya I'm not sure what kinda media attention Di had to endure before she married Charles but, I do find that Kate was hounded by the press even in the really early days.

 

[Skydragon]

The BBC was out of touch? It's easy to look back at events with hindisght but at the time there was a very real public desire (whether you agreed with or not) for the programming to be dominated by the events of Diana's death.

We will have to agree to disagree. The very fact that the BBC gave in to the complaints it received and returned to normal programming on BBC2 says I was not the only one. I believe there was a review and the Beeb and ITV held their hands up to 'overdoing it'.

BBC had regrets over Diana coverage - Telegraph

I should have gone on to say that I hope Catherine is liked and respected by the British public, first and foremost as Williams wife, then as a potential Queen consort. I think it would be unhealthy to think she would want to be as 'celebrity popular'!

 

[Moonmaiden23]

NO.
No, I don't think Kate will be EVER more popular than Diana, even if it's in the matter of newspaper sales rather than on public opinion. Kate just doesn't have that charisma or "charm" Diana had when she got married to Prince Charles. I read in a pervious thread that many people dub Kate as a "middle class women." I don't know anyone whose bank account has more than $5 million dollars and lives in a $2 million dollar house and calls themselves a member of a middle class. Diana, on the other hand truly was a middle class girl, which made people relate to her even more. I, personally don't find my self relating to Kate. She seems one of those rich girls who had it all and were given more. Diana on the other hand was someone who you wanted to succeed because she was also coming from nothing. I don't know, I just don't see Kate being MORE or even AS famous as Diana.

The late Diana was many things, but MIDDLE CLASS was not one of them. She might have related easily to people from the middle class and indeed from all walks of life, but she was born and raised an aristocrat.

The fact that a person has a lot of money does not in fact make he or she an aristocrat. Kate Middleton comes from a working class family who are well off.

 

[Skydragon]

........" I don't know anyone whose bank account has more than $5 million dollars and lives in a $2 million dollar house and calls themselves a member of a middle class. Diana, on the other hand truly was a middle class girl, which made people relate to her even more. I, personally don't find my self relating to Kate. She seems one of those rich girls who had it all and were given more. Diana on the other hand was someone who you wanted to succeed because she was also coming from nothing. I don't know, I just don't see Kate being MORE or even AS famous as Diana.

Your description of Catherine is more fitting for Diana.
Diana was born into the aristocracy, had a private education and the benefit of a trust fund or two. She lived from the age of 9 in the country seat, a rather large estate. Diana was never a member of the middle or upper class, she was born an aristocrat. I don't think any of us know how much Catherine might have in her account, we do know her parents have worked their entire lives for all that they now have.

 

[agogo]

Diana is the past. She is a legend that grows sweeter with time. Kate is her own person. Enough time has passed and everyone has moved on.

 

[Vanesa]

How could we know if Kate Middleton will be more popular than Diana before she marries Prince Williams? We don't know if she would accomplish her tasks in a way that her people would like or not.

In any case, William must ask her if she wants to marry him, right before we could start to think if she would be more popular than Diana. And this is the last thing in the world he seems ready to do.

Vanesa.

 

[Lumutqueen]

We can't compare the two, even before they are married.
They are two entirely different people, and Kate will have enough trouble living in Diana's shadow, we shouldn't make it worse for her.

 

[muriel]

We can't compare the two, even before they are married.
They are two entirely different people, and Kate will have enough trouble living in Diana's shadow, we shouldn't make it worse for her.

Quite right. Lets also not forget that if William and Kate were to marry, William will be the heir to the heir to the throne, so may attempt to keep a lower profile

 

[Alison20]

CaliforniaDreaming - the class system in the UK is very subtle and complex. No way is Kate Middleton working class. Her mother's background is county/aristocracy and her father is middle class. They live an upper middle class lifestyle.

Princess Anne's two husbands came from this stratum, as did the Countess of Essex. The spouses of the current generation of Gloucesters and Kents come generally from quite ordinary middle class backsgrounds.

Queen Victoria was remarkably relaxed about who was suitable to marry into her family. Her daughter Louise married a non-royal Duke (as did some of her more distant descendants). She did not object to her daughter Beatrice marrying a Battenberg (this family came from a morganatic marriage in one of the German Royal families) nor did she worry about her cousin Pss Mary Adelaide of Cambridge marrying the Duke of Teck (another morganatic line). In fact, the future Queen Mary was a daughter of this last marriage (she was Pss May of Teck) and considered quite suitable as a bride for Victoria's grandson, while most German ruling and non-ruling royal houses would have been horrified at her marrying their heirs!!

The question is whether Kate is suitable as a person - and I think she has shown that she is discreet and intelligent. Also, if she and William marry, it will be because they love each other - which is a much better basis to survive the harsh media pressure than just coming from a good aristocratic background.

 

[Wisteria]

CaliforniaDreaming - the class system in the UK is very subtle and complex. No way is Kate Middleton working class. Her mother's background is county/aristocracy and her father is middle class. They live an upper middle class lifestyle.

First I would like to know how you came to this very strange conclusion.
Kate´s mother´s background is NOT county/aristocracy she comes from coal mining stock, not coal mine owners but the actual mining. I have every admiration for this work which must be the most dangerous occupation in the world, but to make Carole into an aristocrat is quite wrong and very misleading to people who do not know. She is from a working class background and she and her husband through hard work have built up an online business which has made enough money to give their children an upper middleclass schooling and to move to a middleclass house, and now to enter into the upper middleclass and maybe, you never know, one daughter or two might get a husband from the aristocracy or higher. This is yet to be seen but please
don´t give them a background they don´t have. If she is accepted as a future wife for Prince William it will not be under the false pretence that she is what she isn´t.
Which makes me say that after reading through a few back posts on this thread how I miss the knowledgeable posts by Skydragon and others who seem to have disappeared from this forum.

 

[muriel]

She is from a working class background and she and her husband through hard work have built up an online business which has made enough money to give their children an upper middleclass schooling and to move to a middleclass house, and now to enter into the upper middleclass and maybe, you never know, one daughter or two might get a husband from the aristocracy or higher.

In the new liberal Britain, we are no longer ashamed when people "make it" in life, so the Middletons should be commended for their success.

 

[Wisteria]

In the new liberal Britain, we are no longer ashamed when people "make it" in life, so the Middletons should be commended for their success.

Exactly so there is absolutely no need to invent an aristocratic background for Miss Middleton.

 

[NoorMeansLight]

I doubt Kate will ever become as popular as Diana, let alone more popular. Times have changed, I'm sure the press and people will see her as a celebrity (commenting on clothes, mood, relationship with this or that person etc.). Apparently, this is more or less the destiny of all these modern Cinderellas. I see no 'legends' in the 'royal' future.

 

[muriel]

Exactly so there is absolutely no need to invent an aristocratic background for Miss Middleton.

Sure.

But lets not be under any illusion, Alison is a relatively new member (<200 posts), so I really don't think there is any need to suggest that she is trying to invent an aristocratic background for the Middletons. It may just be a mistake.

 

[Wisteria]

Who mentioned names? I surely didn´t.
As far as Kate´s background, it is as it is. Definitely not aristocratic so it is better to scotch the rumours before someone reading this thinks differently, it would only make it difficult for Kate to have gossip about her that can so easily be found to be false by a simple visit to Google.

 

[Lumutqueen]

CaliforniaDreaming - the class system in the UK is very subtle and complex. No way is Kate Middleton working class. Her mother's background is county/aristocracy and her father is middle class. They live an upper middle class lifestyle.

as did the Countess of Essex.

Countess of Wessex.
Kate comes from a working class background, her parents have worked there way up so that Kate and her siblings can live a middle class and in some ways upper class lifestyle.

 

[Russophile]

Don't forget Allison, that Victoria had a slew of children and needed to marry them off which was why she was "relaxed". William has his pick of anyone, anywhere if he (and they) choose.

 

[Princess Elise]

I don't think we should compare Kate to Diana because you know we are all different. Diana and Kate are two totally different people. Diana will never ever be replaced. Diana was and is and will forever be Diana, Princess of Wales and the people's Princess. Diana was something I think alot of people admire. If Kate marries William then she will be something new and different and I think that it will be a good thing.

 

[CrownPrincess5]

No way Hosea!
Kate will not reach that legendary status like Diana. Diana was a unique individual and her popularity cannot be copied. The circumstances surrounding Diana's life, her attitude and her willingness to help and comfort needy people is what made her special. Also, her death skyrocketed her to a legendary status that Kate can't achieve. She doesn't have the aura Diana had. The aura that draws people to you...myself and others don't feel really drawn to Kate.

 

[Lumutqueen]

There's a major difference for me, between the way Diana acted before her marriage, and the way Kate has. That's what makes Kate more unapproacable.

 

[Mermaid1962]

Kate has kept out of the spotlight as much as possible. I'm quite sure that this indicates that Kate doesn't "need" the press in quite the same way that Diana did. If she and William marry, it will be because they want to marry and not because Kate has been "sold" to William via the media.

There's a major difference for me, between the way Diana acted before her marriage, and the way Kate has. That's what makes Kate more unapproacable.