Kate Middleton and Chelsy Up in the Air
Back in the saddle and quickly surveying the Royal scene, am I the only one to detect a change of mood?
We’re hearing that Chelsy Davy will not be spending a month with Prince Harry in England before he’s deployed to Iraq in May. Harry is also about to be roasted over hot coals by the top brass at the Blues and Royals for his regular drinking bouts. These events are not unconnected, I think.
However, Chelsy is starting her postgrad course at Bristol University in the autumn, just when Harry will be due back from the Middle East, so things may look up between them then.
Meanwhile, Katie Nicholl is reporting that the Queen has had a long chat with Prince William about Kate Middleton. Apparently, “although she adores Kate” she has told him there’s no rush to get married.
The sound of screeching brakes is what comes to mind here. Has there been a rethink at the Palace over a possible match? We just don’t know. None of these situations is set in stone and minds do change over time.
Looks like it may be back to the drawing board for both Kate and Chelsy.
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By LifeTimes » Kate Middleton Confusion on April 3rd, 2007 at 11:49 am
This may be true, of course, but how would a reporter go about finding out about a private conversation between the Queen and her grandson, Prince William? Are the telephones bugged at Windsor or Buckingham Palace?
By Gigi on April 3rd, 2007 at 2:59 pm
It’s amazing how these things get out, especially if William chatted to a friend who mentioned it to Kate Nicholl in a nightclub after a few Crack Baby Cocktails.
On the other hand, a Palace spin doctor could be cooling the subject to try and get it out of the headlines.
We just don’t know, Gigi.
By John on April 3rd, 2007 at 3:16 pm
The Royal House probably never saw William and Kate as getting married at such a young age. There have been numerous reports that the Queen thought William should wait. William himself said he didn’t want to marry until close to 30. It would be disasterous to attempt a marriage at 24 or before William is ready, especially if William is out at enjoying fun club nights with other girls. I think William always meant it when he said he wouldn’t marry until 28 to 30. Kate is the only one of the four people that seems in limbo to me. Meanwhile Chelsy will be continung her higher level degree at Bristol University in the UK, good for her. God bless Harry going off to war and thoughts are with him. These two have plenty of time, really all of them do, they are young, there is no rush.
By mandy on April 3rd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
John, I was under the impression that the Queen had already had this conversation with Prince William some time during 2006.
I distinctly remember reading similiar articles in several different tabloids that mentioned that the Queen had advised Prince William to take his time and to not rush into anything.
I read that Prince Charles had also advised his sons to do the same, and told them that he would support them in a decision to take their time with regards to marriage.
I can’t remember all of the papers involved, but I do remember that particular subject. I think that this is not new information being given to us by Katie Nicholl, just a rehashing of old information. Even if it is correct, it just falls in line with what Prince William himself has said, that he does not wish to marry until he is at least 28 years old.
Having said that, I would also like to say that I do hope things work out well for Prince William’s relationship with Kate Middleton.
An engagement mightn’t be in the cards just yet, but they are both young and they have lots of time ahead of them to work it out and get it right. Hopefully they will work it out together, I would love to (eventually) see a Royal wedding!
By mapleleaf on April 3rd, 2007 at 4:38 pm
At least for the time being, it may stop the press frenzy over the ‘forthcoming engagement’ and it may also make Kate’s life a bit easier if the photographers back off. If in the future the Royal Family wants to keep something a secret, they may have to resort to learning to speak an abscure language no one else speaks or understands. Their courtiers do their Royal employers no favor by being so indiscreet and unprofessional and someone ought to tell them this.
By Gigi on April 3rd, 2007 at 5:16 pm
I think the statment about the Queen was put out there for a reason, maybe she just feels William is too young and after the past weeks highjinks, it was just too much with the Princes. She can clearly see William is not ready for marriage. Kate didn’t help herself with the Royal Family by possibly using associations in connection to her new purchase, which was in the press also last week. Sophie Rhys Jones got in hot water with the press by percieved use of business and her new family(which ended up not being true for the most part) if Kate is doing this already before an engagement, surely Courtiers are taking note and it’s not good.
By mandy on April 3rd, 2007 at 6:00 pm
William has a special leasing arrangement with Audi, so I expect he recommended Kate to them. They would have seen the publicity opportunities and jumped at the chance.
There’s no backhand dealing going on here. It’s a standard business arrangement.
By John on April 3rd, 2007 at 6:29 pm
That is good to know, John. Thanks for clarifying that point. Does anyone know where the Royal family will be spending Easter? I believe I recall that they are at Windsor for Maundy Thursday. Is that correct? Here in Texas we have beautiful blue skies, newly green grass and the shrubs and trees are in full blossom, degrees in the 80s. Lovely weather for Holy Week!
By Gigi on April 3rd, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Wow…that is definately a change of pace here. Those are pretty strong words, especially coming from you, John. “Looks like it may be back to the drawing board for both Kate and Chelsy.”
Although I do tend to feel things look worse for William and Kate’s relationship than Harry and Chelsy’s. Just a feeling…I don’t want it to be that way. It is a nagging feeling especially over the last week.
By Pri on April 3rd, 2007 at 8:42 pm
How could the current state of Kate and Prince William’s relationship be worse than that of Prince Harry and Chelsy? Chelsy just cancelled her plans to interrupt her gap year to come home and bid farewell to Prince Harry before he deploys. Kate and Prince William are still seen out socially together.
By Gigi on April 3rd, 2007 at 9:04 pm
We can’t know how the things are behind the scene. Thats not because Kate is in the same country as William that does mean everything is alright between them. I have read somewhere that Chelsy would have broken with Harry because of Pinkham, and she might change her mind she doesn’t want to be with him before his deployment. If that is true, then the girl is really harsh. He is going to war after all and Pinkham is his old friend. Maybe she tries to be the Kate’s opposite
John you’re not the only one who detects a change in the mood. I always felt that something big would happen soon. Now there is something in the air which is as calm as Switzerland’s lakes. I prefer when it’s like that. Maybe William and Harry’s behavior was enough for the Queen and she intervened?
By Lilyfromfrance on April 3rd, 2007 at 9:39 pm
We may be able to discern the current state of things when the Memorial Service and the Memorial Concert for Princess Diana take place. If Chelsy and Kate are not present, that is probably the ball game. It will also be interesting to see if either Chelsy or Kate attends Royal Ascot. What is the custom there? In the past, I only recall Royals attending with spouses, not Royals and their dates. Is that accurate?
By Gigi on April 3rd, 2007 at 9:45 pm
It could happen. Look what happened for Kate, she was invited to spend Christmas with them while she is just a girlfriend. The Queen attends Ascot. Then I guess there is more chances for Kate to be there with them. As for Chelsy, I don’t know. And to be honest I don’t want her to be present at the Memorial Service. Kate is around since almost 5 years, maybe she is already engaged to William, then she could have a place with them. But I would like the princes to be alone for that, and I read that Camilla might be present. I hope it is a joke.
By Lilyfromfrance on April 3rd, 2007 at 9:56 pm
And I would like the medias to stay focused on Diana too. Not on Kate and Chelsy and their getup.
By Lilyfromfrance on April 3rd, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Gigi asked, “Does anyone know where the Royal family will be spending Easter?”
I read (somewhere…) that the Queen will be attending a Maundy Thursday service in Manchester. Charles and Camilla are already at Birkhall for the Easter weekend.
By Evelyn on April 3rd, 2007 at 10:14 pm
ok it was rubbish then. Harry is in Barbados with Chelsy
By Lilyfromfrance on April 3rd, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Hey John don’t write the obituary for Kate and William just yet. These stories are a tempest in a teapot. I suspect they are as strong as ever if not stronger. Kate does not strike me as some silly young girl who would have a meltdown over a few pics of her boyfriend in the club knocking back a few with a few groupies. Despite the wishes and prayers by a vocal few on the internet that this is the end of their relationship, don’t bet on it.
Meanwhile no sign of Kate or William. GOOD. Hopefully we won’t see any more pictures of them until July at concert for Princess Diana. They deserve their privacy and hopefully her pitbull lawyers have won Kate a temporary reprieve.
By Positive on April 4th, 2007 at 1:20 am
Gigi you’re fromTexas??I love Texas! part of my family lives in Houston and San Antonio lol.. I’ll be going there soon to visit
well… we never though, but I do that William is too young to marry.. I’m also wanting to marry between 28 to 30… I’m turning 25 on august 31st this year, and well, I think there is so much I can do before settling down, and I’m not talking sexually or party wise… ya know?I want to get to know the rest of the world and learn from different cultures and things of the likes.
Positive, is HUMAN TO HAVE FEELINGS… If i saw pictures of my boyfriend of 4 years with another girl I would be extremely mad, sad, dissapointed etc etc etc… if you have been sso long in a relationship it HURTS when you see things like that. REAL WOMEN HAVE FEELINGS… and if she felthurt or betrayed she has her right! :-p
By Ziny on April 4th, 2007 at 1:41 am
John, I might be traveling to the Kentucky Derby!!
By Ziny on April 4th, 2007 at 1:42 am
Hey, do you think can contact Wills so I can get a good deal in a Audi TT??
that’s the only small car I like.. my dream car is black 4Runner with a hybrid motor…. lol…. ok I won;t write more rubbish, I just had to say that.. lucky girl she is!
By Ziny on April 4th, 2007 at 1:45 am
Thank you for the answer to my Maundy Thursday question, Evelyn.
I always like to know where the Queen will be passing out the Maundy Silver, as it is such an ancient custom. I believe I read somewhere that Froissart, the best known Royal Chronicler in English medieval history, wrote of King Edward III participating in the Royal duty on Maundy Thursday of passing out silver, bathing the feet of the poor and so on. This would have been in the days of Geoffrey Chaucer.
By Gigi on April 4th, 2007 at 3:55 am
Ah, yes. I read Chaucer in the original in college….
I went back and checked. The Queen will be at the Manchester Cathedral.
I wonder what will be on the Queen’s Easter menu? What would be traditional across the pond? Maybe it will inspire my menu choices.
By Evelyn on April 4th, 2007 at 5:17 am
Yes, I too think that Harry and Chelsy are quite strong, despite the Pinkham incident. All will be well in the autumn, I think, when Harry returns a minor hero from Iraq.
As for Kate, I agree, Lily, there has been a change of pace here. If the story about the Queen is right, it suggests maybe William had consulted her about putting an announcement off.
We don’t know, of course, but if Kate isn’t at Royal Ascot in one of the carriages with William, it will be a broad signal, I think. On the other hand, if she rides in the Queen’s carriage, the deed is done and dusted.
By John on April 4th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Good information, John, about Royal Ascot, thank you. Regarding traditional menus for Easter in the USA, there are several because America is a nation of immigrants. Americans whose ancestors hailed from Western Europe often favor roast lamb with mint jelly and Spring vegetables for Easter dinner. Americans whose ancestors came from Eastern Europe are more likely to serve baked ham. Nevertheless, it is always, in the end , a matter of personal taste. My ancestors were from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France and Switzerland, but I will be serving honey-baked glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, asparagus, fruit salad and chocolate layer cake with raspberries for dessert.
By Gigi on April 4th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
What, no Dundee cake, Gigi? Standards are definitely falling.
By John on April 4th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Can I join you for the dessert?
By Lilyfromfrance on April 4th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Thanks, Gigi– but I was looking for Easter dinner ideas from the *other* side of the pond. I live north of you.
By Evelyn on April 4th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Well, Evelyn, I’m not much of a gourmet — Dundee cake being the limit of my culinary experience — but I don’t think there’s anything specific for Easter, except the usual American roast turkey which turns up on all feast days.
Most English dishes are based on roast meats, especially “rosbif” (roast beef) and lamb. However, for me, the ultimate English meal is wild baked sea bass, Elizabethan-style, with shrimp sauce, or even Basque green sauce (green peppers) and a variety of roasted veg, including parsnips and potatoes. This would be followed by a traditional English Trifle soaked in sherry, Stilton Cheese and home-grown hazel nuts.
I may be wrong about all that, but it’s what I like.
By John on April 4th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
I know, John, I have slipped considerably. No Dundee cake for Easter.
This chocolate layer cake with raspberries is the request of my daughter, who absolutely loves it and felt slightly miffed that I didn’t make it for her March birthday. Thus, to favor her, we shall have chocolate layer cake with raspberries. We shall also have Easter cookies decorated with pastel sugars in pink, blue and yellow. These seem to disappear as fast as I can bake them, no matter how many dozen I bake. There is something about Lenten fasting that makes us all eager to indulge on Easter. 
Thus, we shall go hog wild! (Metaphor) 
By Gigi on April 4th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Gigi, I would settle for anything you’ve mentioned — not being terribly choosy. It all sounds good to me.
And maybe a little Dundee cake for afters.
By John on April 4th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Gigi said, “Thus, we shall go hog wild! (Metaphor)”
Not only metaphorically, for you’re planning ham for the entree.
We also will be having ham. And cheese broccoli, at our youngest son’s request. But I’m not sure what else. I’m short on time this weekend.
John, we have had many things for Easter– ham, lamb, baked Pacific wild salmon. If the weather were nicer, we might grill, but it’s still snowing here today, and it won’t be warming up quickly enough.
By Evelyn on April 4th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Okay thanks Gigi, Evelyn & John now I’m hungry!! And John, for I’ve never tasted Dundee cake and my life won’t be complete until I do!! What’s in it? I guess I could do an internet search for a recipe.
By Positive on April 4th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Ahem!
Here are the ingredients:
8oz Flour
6 oz Butter
5oz Caster/granulated sugar
4 Eggs
1oz Blanched almonds
1.5oz mixed peel
6oz each of currants, raisins, sultanas (seedless white raisins)
Grated rind and juice of lemon
1 level teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons whisky
2 tablespoons boiled milk and 1 tablespoon sugar
Method
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl. When it is white and creamy, slowly add the four eggs (one at a time), plus a spoonful of flour with each beating well all the time. Stir in the nuts and fruits. Add the rest of the flour, (sifted with the baking powder) and the whisky. Make sure the mixture is stirred well - right to the foot of the bowl. If it is too stiff, add a little milk.
Place mixture in an 8-inch greased and lined cake tin. Flatten the top with hands which are slightly wet. Cover with foil or greaseproof paper and bake at 325F (170C) or gas mark 3 for two hours. Halfway through, take off the foil and arrange the split almonds in concentric circles on the top of the cake. Check the cake with a skewer towards the end of cooking - if it is still wet in the middle, put it back for more cooking! 5/10 minutes before cooking is finished, brush the top with the sweetened milk to create a dry glaze. Keep in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out on a wired tray. Store in an airtight container.
By Gigi on April 5th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Gigi it’s nice to know that Texas is having perfect weather for Holy week !!! Here in New York we are expecting snow. I guess I’ll try the dundee cake recipe. I am so happy Harry and Chelsy are together in Barbados If a royal wedding will be in the works I would bet on Chelsy and Harry first before Kate and William.
By Trudie on April 5th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Jonh, a traditional English treat for Easter is Simnel cake (a type of fruit cake).
By Christine G on April 5th, 2007 at 12:53 am
Simnel cake is one of the oldest recipes still in use since prior to Medieval times. The incredients are very similar to those in Dundee cake except for the almond paste which apparently makes Simnel cake an epicure’s delight. We just may have to make one of those tasty cakes for tea.
A;pmg with the Dundee cake, of course, to favor John. In only hope he won’t crave tea sandwiches made with wild sea bass. 
By Gigi on April 5th, 2007 at 3:09 am
I meant to type “Along” with the Dundee cake. GRRRRR! and I meant to type “I only hope.” Heaven spare me.
By Gigi on April 5th, 2007 at 3:10 am
I propose we have an e-tea whenever one of these weddings comes to pass…we can all browse wedding photos and have tea and cakes in our respective homes. : )
And what’s this about Barbados? Is this online somewhere? (Am looking for a fun story to read…you know, instead of doing an essay…)
By Lauren on April 5th, 2007 at 3:30 am
Certainly, Gigi. Forgiveness is the order of the week.
By Evelyn on April 5th, 2007 at 3:31 am
Lauren, check out the Daily Mail, April 4 edition. Harry has joined Chelsy for a 3-week holiday at a resort in Barbados.
By Evelyn on April 5th, 2007 at 3:34 am
There are a number of Easter cakes and breads in the Catholic countries. I’ve had variations on Simnel cake in Spain and Italy. I remember the almond flavour in Spain, particularly.
By John on April 5th, 2007 at 8:27 am
I must say that Maundy Thursday has been very joyful for all of us because of the news that the British sailors who were taken hostage in Iran are free and safely home in the UK. Thanks be to God! John, you are right about the varieties of Easter breads and cakes in Catholic countries. My Mother-in-law is of Slovakian ancestry and makes a rolled nut bread that simply melts in your mouth. It has walnut paste inside and is very labor intensive to make, but at nearly 81, she makes dozens and dozens for the family and basically everyone she knows! The recipe has been passed down in her family for more than four generations.
By Gigi on April 5th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Yes, Gigi, we’re all delighted about the early release of the hostages, although that news is tempered by the deaths of four soldiers in Basra by roadside bombs supplied by Iran. They give with one hand and take with the other.
On the more pleasant subject of food, we have a lot of Polish, Czech and Slovakian people coming here now because of the EU expansion. We’re really getting an overload of new tastes and culinary experiences. I’ll look out for your mother-in-law’s rolled nut bread.
By John on April 5th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
We have that Slovakian walnut bread where I come from, too. I believe it’s called potica (pronounced poh-tee-tza). It’s a real treat.
By Evelyn on April 5th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Potica is Slovenian nutbread, also made with walnuts. I have never had Potica so I do not know if it is similar to the Slovakian nutbread my Mother-in-law makes. Talking about all this luscious stuff makes me hungry!
By Gigi on April 6th, 2007 at 2:55 am
Slovenian and Slovakians… I do get the two mixed up!
A blessed Good Friday to you and your family, Gigi!
By Evelyn on April 6th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
[...] heard it here first. Two weeks ago I wrote about a “screeching of brakes” in Royal circles around the long-standing relationship between Kate Middleton and Prince William. [...]
By Royal Anecdotes - Royal Secrets » Prince William and Kate Middleton Split on April 14th, 2007 at 1:39 pm