The courtiers of Buckingham Palace are up in arms over the recent endless headlines highlighting the series of endless wardrobe gaffes that the Duchess of Cambridge has indulged in and as Prince Harry's 30th birthday draws near, news that the Prince will be returning to Las Vegas to celebrate has caused many a courtier to worry about whether or not the Prince will be embroiled in fresh scandals! Questions are quietly being raised as to whether or not the Duchess can realistically continue royal life if she continues to fail to make appearances without the expectation that people will see a new wardrobe gaffe. Instead of waiting for Kate to arrive, it's likely to become a regular feature of stories involving upcoming royal visits that a gaffe might occur.
Just recently a photo of the Duchess' private parts has now circulated in newspapers around the world and it has reached the point of mockery. This has caused endless fresh humiliations for the scandal plagued Duchess, making her the butt of numerous jokes among the members of the press corps, among them Amanda Platell, a previously sympathetic columnist, but asked rhetorically "As a relatively seasoned member of the Royal Family, isn't it time she made more of an effort to cover up?" Among other insults, Kate has had to deal with the reality that the media is beginning to become slightly hostile and yet, the palace is unlikely to retaliate. German television presenter Kay Burley (who ironically waited for thirty hours outside a hospital waiting for Kate to arrive and give birth to he son Prince George) openly stated "Get yourself a six-pack of big pants, Kate'", causing her audience to laugh. Even the New York Post columnist Barbara Hoffman wrote, "Kate Middleton's bottom line is in the news. During a royal swing through Australia, a helicopter's breeze — and an enterprising paparazzo — gave new meaning to the phrase "Going Down Under," a phrase that is likely to haunt the Duchess for a long, long time.
It's a known fact that William and Kate have sued publications for printing photographs of the two, most notoriously right after the 2012 scandal when the Duchess was photographed full frontal, nude, on a private estate by a (still unknown) photographer. The photos were banned in Britain, but around the world the story made front pages, along with the Duchess' slim figure shown to readers around the world as well. This hasn't been the first time that a member of the royal family has been caught frolicking on estates, but this has been the first time that the wife of a future King has been photographed and fully nude. This has not helped the notoriously reclusive Duchess and will only continue to undermine her already long struggle to catch up to the amount of work that other working royals handle on a regular basis. Kate has already suffered the nickname "Duchess Doolittle" (a nickname that was applied to former Duchess of York Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson) and Kate is likely to be burdened with other new nicknames as time goes by.
Yet, this time around the circumstances have changed. The royal family was recently informed by their law firm that they have used in the past that the legal team that has done work on the royals' behalf would no longer be doing work for free. In the past lawyers have done work for free for the royal family, in exchange for the prestige of being known to serve the royal family and command larger fees from other potential clients; the Duke and Duchess have so often required their services for so many cases against various media outlets and newspapers that more frequently than not, lawyers have been neglecting paying clients. This has resulted in the firm becoming fed up and refusing to do any more work. Prince William and Duchess Kate have so often filed (in the eyes of most legal experts) pointless and frivolous lawsuits that it has monopolized the time of hard working legal teams and caused exhaustion.
Royal insiders too have been leaking that they are tired of the endless chaos that Kate's nude scandals have created and there is an underlying worry that the media's odd determination to make a huge issue of this is the result of the ducal couple's lack of cooperation with the British and international media. Since the French scandal, the Duke and Duchess have begun to isolate themselves, not performing any duties and when on duty, not at all working with the press to provide photo ops and sessions so the press can report on their appearances and sell papers. The press might oddly be using this scandal as a form of retaliation for the lack of cooperativeness from the ducal couple. The French scandal caused William to go into a full frenzy and one editor of a Northern Irish publication ended up losing his job for publishing the photos on his newspaper. The media has long been resentful of the constraints placed on them by the palace and this might in fact be their way of pushing back after years of inconsistently applied boundaries.
What makes the situation even more of a crises, is that the purpose of the royal trip was to underline the relationship between Australia and Britain (Australia is part of the Commonwealth, making Queen Elizabeth II "Queen of Australia"), preferably to remove the threat of Australia deciding to become a republic after the Queen's death. Certainly there is strong affection for the Queen, but upon the ascension of Prince Charles, there is a common belief that there will be a referendum conducted and then a decision made about if whether or not an independent republic would be established. The same is said for New Zealand, where the Duchess had yet another gaffe, nearly exposing her privates to the waiting delegation of officials there to welcome them. The couple was warmly welcomed by both nations, but the gaffes have in fact put a permanent tarnish on what was supposed to be a dignified and respectable royal tour. There were a few privacy dramas, but it was quickly damped down and the tour continued without problems. The couple returned home to a quiet life, but then the rumors of the Duchess 'commando' under her dress were beginning to circulate.
The Duchess has been (in the eyes of the public) failing to do her part to earn her keep that taxpayers pay for the luxuries and lifestyle she enjoys as a matter of course. Kate was not born to the life of a royal, but public opinion is of the view that Kate should be more than used to being in the public eye (having been a regular feature in the tabloids during her courtship it was expected she would handle the press just fine) and work and do appearances on a regular daily basis, not hide away like a recluse. Unlike Kate, Princess Diana's main gaffe was that she posed for a photo that ended up showing her legs (lack of a slip), but at the time the future Princess of Wales had not expected to end up posing for photographers (a concession granted after a paparazzo was caught climbing into the children's bathroom). Barbara Hoffman (writer for the New York Post) continues to cackle in her article, "Were she with us today, Diana might be able to explain to Kate the difference between "chic" and "cheek."
Prince Harry is now adding to the stress level at the palace gates when it was recently announced that Harry would be returning to Las Vegas, Nevada, to celebrate his impending thirtieth birthday and insiders sincerely believe that it's only a matter of time until the Prince (who seems to be returning to his hedonistic ways) ends up being photographed by a partygoer and seeing himself splashed across the press yet again. Already overworked courtiers view this upcoming trip with nervousness and are apparently prepping for another scandal. Since starting a relationship with former flame Cressida Bonas, the courtiers had feverishly hoped that the prince would settle into a stable relationship and possibly marry, but the prince scandalized courtiers (and apparently his girlfriend) by enjoying a hedonistic weekend in Vegas resulting in his latest big scandal. Prince Harry is notorious for his love of the good life and parties, but Vegas was a tipping point and palace insiders are irritable at the very real possibility that Prince Harry might let loose, lose control and end up making another mess for the courtiers to clean up.
Harry is eager to make a splash in celebration of his milestone and will be inviting a large entourage of friends and will likely open his hotel room doors to a bevy of beauties (with more joining the surely racy festivities) for a royal romp. Protection officers are likely being briefed on the logistics of keeping the Prince safe, but realistically the realities of the Prince's preference for risk taking will end up causing more work for the officers. Harry seems by palace officials to be regressing to his former out of control lifestyle of hedonism and pleasure thrill seeking. The prince has also been hitting the nightclub circuit and spending much of his time among friends, among them the newly married Guy Pelly who owns the Mahiki and enjoys the companionship of childhood friends. He's also been attending regular garden parties and keeping up his appearances, but it's a known fact that the Prince has a habit of setting himself in the good graces of the press and public, but then losing it all after a self destructive hedonistic act.
As Harry goes through life, his former love Cressida Bonas continues to build a life of her own and Harry might very well regress back to Party Prince mode. Alcohol, a bevy of beauties streaming into the hotel room and a prince determined to make the most of his milestone birthday is a combination for disaster and a huge godsend for the scandal hungry tabloid press. With Duchess Kate's recent scandal, the press is likely eager for another one from Harry, who has certainly provided more than enough material in the past, but has only recently emerged from a long-term relationship that has been far more stable than in the past. Harry's military service and work with Sentebele has been making the Prince more and more exhausted as of late and while he's not the first hardworking young adult to enjoy a hard partying lifestyle after working hard on a career, insiders are worried that the Prince might end up losing control.
Cressida and Chelsy (his first long term love/relationship) provided stability and increased his mature outlook on life, but at the same time, caused restlessness. Harry is not the type to sit around at home and while he loved both Chelsy and Cressida, Harry is showing signs that he might enjoy long term girlfriends, but he's showing signs that are worrying as his scandal prone nature and actions seem to court disaster at every turn. As the world becomes more dangerous and unstable, Harry's propensity towards risk taking is making everyone around him uneasy, from the friends of his childhood and party set, to the workers of his charities (where he is patron), fellow military officers, and courtiers. He has a wide network of admirers and supporters, but his apparent return to a more hedonistic lifestyle of parties and bevies of eager women (who view sharing his bed as a status symbol) is bound to cause pain to those who care about him.
If Harry returns to his old habits and choices, eh will lose the hard earned goodwill and reputation that he has only very recently acquired. Since William's fall from grace in the eyes of the public (and believably lost the favor of Her Majesty) it is believed that Harry will be relied on more and more and more to make appearances at substantial occasions and various events that William is currently shunning. Harry has steadily shown that he can be relied on to follow the proper protocol, dress appropriately, and easily handle socializing with a wide variety of people from varied backgrounds. He has had two successful tours, one in Australia and the other just recently in Italy. Yet, his personal life will affect his reputation, both official and charitable; courtiers and other insiders know that if he ends up continuing to press the self-destruct button, then it is certain that he will lose everything he's successfully gained through so much hard work.
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