By 4pm yesterday, I had a splitting headache. I spent too many hours in front of a computer screen making revisions. I stupidly turned off the air conditioner in the office, because it was cool enough. But the humidity and the excessive screen time make my head ache. I self medicated with a glass of wine and an Advil and settled into afternoon news shows. While waiting for the Weiner conference, I watched the same 3 minute clip of the royals leaving the hospital over and over.
She looked lovely considering that she ejected an 8 pound kid from her body less than 24 hours previously. I, for the record, looked like shit. Puffy face. stitches across my abdomen. I could barely walk across the room to use the bathroom. Kate took those stairs effortlessly and didn’t even look like she was thinking, “ow. ow. ow.” They both looked well-rested.
Those 3 minutes were completely scripted and rehearsed. No first time dad gets in a carseat in one deft click. He practiced that move. If he practiced the carseat, then they practiced everything else. His business Friday shirt was selected by staff. They decided that he should drive an SUV away from the hospital and laugh about diaper changing. All that was heavily discussed by image experts weeks before.
Even if it is all fake and a small army of nannies have descended on their family, it’s really interesting that the image experts decided this particular image – hands-on dad, effortless birth, well rested parents — was the correct one. ( I wish those image experts would stop putting polka dot dresses on Kate. Enough, already!) Their 3 minutes outside the hospital bears some resemblance to other families’ experiences leaving the hospital, I suppose. All parents are rather proud and fussy, but perhaps with more stitches and puffiness and fumbling and erratic hair.
So, the message is “the royals are just like you.” I didn’t buy it, but maybe others did.
Apt. 11d 
The message is the royals are the glamorous version of you.
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Of course on the rehearsal. I agree that it is interesting that they’ve decided that this is the image they want to project (compared to the pinstriped suit Charles/Diana image). I can’t believe how long ago that was.
I think Kate looks good in the dress (and, do not think it looks like the dress they put Diana in in 1982. Look here for a flashback:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-william/10196776/1982-How-Prince-Williams-birth-was-announced.html
(for those of us who were around back then :-).
for those of you who haven’t seen the 3 minute clip over and over:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/kate-middleton/10198319/Royal-baby-leaves-hospital-with-the-Duke-and-Duchess-of-Cambridge.html
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We’re supposed to relate but in an aspirational way. God I’m so jealous of her gorgeous hair.
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I’m jealous of her arms.
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I feel like my arms are right there up there with hers but they are covered in tattoos so I’m unsure whether they would generally be considered aspirational arms.
I have better legs than her so there’s that.
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Is it the change in culture in 30 years or the personalities involved that make the Charles/Diana interaction seem so cold and fraught?
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I think they genuinely didn’t like each other.
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Which probably made them more relatable than this pair of happy, gorgeous people.
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Now as long as we agree that having this conversation is like discussing Elizabeth and Darcy or Anna and Vronsky, I’ve always thought that Diana was ready to play the role of infatuated princess to prince Charles. She was 21 years old when she had William! I don’t think that Charles wanted that, but that someone decided that’s what the empire wanted.
I think Kate & William is a match, like Angelina & Brad or Reese and Ryan (and mind you, the second pair is divorced, and I don’t know why, so I’m not engaging in romantic fantasies about whether they’ll make this marriage work).
Now, we’re not really cynical enough to think that a married couple who genuinely don’t like each other are more relatable, are we? I personally am a totally sucker happily married couples and am often shocked when they break up.
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I loved the dress. Even looked it up to see if I could get one. Alas, my only options re these. And they’re nowhere near as cute.
Re her ease in taking the stairs: if you had a c-section and she didn’t, that’s a huge difference. I hemorrhaged after S was born, so I was pretty weal for a few days, and after E, I was pretty ok except for the severe muscle strain that nailed me about 2 days later.
I do like the way she didn’t try to hide her post-baby belly. I swear, these actress who give birth and snap back like rubber bands make me want to kill myself sometimes.
I’m pretty sure there are no pics of me after I pushed out my 8-4 lb and 9-14 lb kids. I think my husband understood he would die if he aimed the camera anywhere near me.
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They’re better matched than Charles and Diana: close in age, attended the same university, both involved in a family business (don’t laugh!) Kate also possesses an inner toughness Diana lacked.
It’s the Triumph of the Middle Class. I disagree about image experts for her wardrobe–it’s too consistent with her pre-engagement wardrobe. She has a good eye for fashion.
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Sure their act was rehearsed, but with a normal delivery, and no episiotomy, there isn’t usually much pain the next day – no worse than a bad period for me. And car seat – doesn’t everyone have to practice putting it in? The store rep showed us how and we both tried it..but yeah, majorly jealous of her hair.
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