By Cate Washburn [Competition Winner]

I know … I know … who wouldn’t want to be Kate Middleton right now? She has the support of a successful family, is attractive and stylish, and happens to be dating a Prince who is the future King of England?

What isn’t there to like about this package? Well, let’s think a bit deeper here. There are things that we see in her life, as well as the many things that we don’t.

Every day she is tracked by the paparazzi. She certainly couldn’t go outside in her bathrobe to get the paper. You probably did that this morning with a cup of coffee in hand. No more shopping in stores or meeting friends for lunch without discomfort. How about those occasional bad days? No, this wouldn’t be allowed for her. She mustn’t have a frown in public. Certainly, she couldn’t get upset with a clerk for making a mistake with an order. Well, maybe parking tickets don’t count. Of course, it would be expected that she would have an occasional mistake which would then be broadcast in all of the newspapers. These are the easy things.

How many of you have a mother-in-law that is demanding and difficult? Now, think if she was Queen, you weren’t a Royal, and you were hoping for a proposal from her grandson? There certainly are a lot of expectations for a person in her position. It is almost as if she would be moving to a new country and doesn’t speak the language. She is not used to the Royal protocol and the discipline it requires. Any missteps would be noticed and scrutinized. Consider the ramifications within the Royal household for mistakes or disagreements. The Countess of Wessex might be able to provide Kate some good advice on this matter. These would be the things we wouldn’t see, but bound to take their toll on her happiness.

Let’s face it, the best time for Kate is right now. The pending engagement and upcoming nuptials would certainly seem to be an exciting time for her. It certainly is for us! My concern is what events would occur in her future. It will be difficult for her to find Royal allies to trust. Their alliance will be to the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and Prince William. She can only rely that her Prince will be true and shepherd her through this new lifestyle and that the visions of tiaras dancing in her head will be enough to keep her rested at night.

Following his statement on Kate Middleton to the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport last week, Royal photographer Arthur Edwards is big news across the press right now.

The hearing was on the subject of Kate Middleton’s privacy, but it was his views on a possible marriage to Prince William that took the headlines. MPs were told that the William had spoken openly to him about his intentions of marrying Kate.

“She’s in love with Prince William … I have talked to him about that and he’s made it clear he wants to get married.”

Of Prince Charles : it seems they rub along pretty well. Edwards even sees himself part of the Royal retinue. “When I go to meet these world leaders, Prince Charles tells them : ‘Mr Edwards has been with me for 30 years. Is that right Arthur?’ and I say ‘Yes sir’.

The Independent newspaper says :

So intimate is Edwards’ knowledge of the interaction between the Royals and the press that he was recently summoned by MPs to give evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee… . Edwards made headlines that day as he claimed to have it on personal authority from Prince William that he would marry his girlfriend, Kate Middleton. “I have talked to him about this,” Arthur told the committee.

Edwards says that his presence before the committee gave him the chance to make a serious point about the threat posed by paparazzi photographers to the safety of the woman who may one day be Queen. “I spoke passionately about what I believe. They are in danger of doing to her what the press did to Princess Diana,” he says. “I know in my day I did lots of pictures of Princess Diana but I didn’t harass her and I didn’t photograph her intrusively just for a picture of her that day.”

How about Easter for an engagement announcement?

You know, I was sure the press universally followed News Corp International in banning pictures by the paparazzi from its pages. How then do we explain this pic of a worse-for-wear Kate Middleton in one of Britain’s top newspaper titles:

The imprint of an agency that distributes pap pics is still on it.

Pictures of Prince William leaving the same bash a little before Kate show him seriously drunk and being supported by his police protection officer.

The couple apparently spent the evening at a friend’s birthday party in the Mahiki nightclub.

Last night, Britain’s ITV network presented a programme called, Kate Middleton Vs Paparazzi. There was nothing really new in it, except they interviewed many of the in-crowd, including a major paparazzo.

The show spent a lot of time on the legal aspects, citing a European court judgement in favour of Princess Caroline of Monaco, who won the right never to have a picture of her published unless she gave permission. It seems Kate Middleton might expect similar protection.

What occurred to me throughout this discussion is whether it’s good for Kate herself, or indeed for the Royal Family, to disappear off the radar completely. Shots that are “in the public interest” are few and far between. Already, since her birthday Kate photographs have all but vanished from the headlines.

A prominent member of the paparazzi mulled over some of the pictures to decide which were iconic and would be republished in a century and more. The one that stood out for him was Kate putting out her rubbish bags and glancing sideways at the photographer with her tongue firmly in her cheek. She seems to be thinking : “Is this really interesting? Are you mad?”

Apart from that, the main interest in the programme was some eminent talking heads, from Ingrid Seward of Majesty magazine, looking considerably older than when I last saw her, to Sir Christopher Meyer, once Ambassador to Washington, now head of the voluntary Press Compaints Commission. There was even a psychologist analysing how Kate was feeling during various media scrums. Apparently, she has a great coping mechanism.

All agreed it’s a pretty poor show to harass the girl in the way the paps have done. Something must be done.

But what? The choice seems to be between more of the same or total obscurity. Perhaps Kate herself should decide.