Royals & Chill

American fan of the royal family. Which means that this is not officially affiliated with anyone in any capacity, except myself. Everything is my opinion.

[royalsandchill]

"This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved." - The Princess of Wales

[royalsandchill]

Recently, I have been watching some videos about Diana, Princess of Wales, and something actually started to bother me this time.

I think that the outcry to have the family in London, to mourn with the public was inappropriate.

Everyone grieves and mourns differently, even within the same culture, even within the same religion. To want the family to hasten or forgo that process was not fair to them, especially William and Harry.

Since Diana was a beloved public figure, the public was allowed to mourn her in their own way, and there should be space for public figures such as her to be mourned.

However, it seemed that the public was so caught up in their own personal grief that they disregarded the feelings of the family, some of the actual people that knew Diana, and their chance to process their own grief.

Once it was decided that the funeral was going to be a public event, they really should have backed off. It's not like they wouldn't show up for the service, they would be with public at that point.

There is something that I will concede to, they should have put out a statement sooner than they did. At least acknowledge the public and let them know that the family was taking time to process the very sudden passing of Diana.

When Big Events, capitalized on purpose, happen, people tend to forget the human factor. The Windsors are still people and, contrary to what some might believe, they do have feelings. At the time, I think that was entirely overlooked.

[royalsandchill]

I was watching Queen of the World (2018), and there was a segment about a trip to India by members of the British Royal Family, specifically the Prince and Duchess, referred to exactly that way, arriving at the High Commissioner's Residence in Delhi.

Apparently, I have completely adjusted to thinking of William as Prince of Wales; because of that, I was expecting William and Catherine to show up at this event. Going so far as to think to myself "Strange that they're still calling her (Catherine) Duchess."

Then I was momentarily shocked when I saw Camilla talking to people at a garden party.

Of course, I quickly remembered this was from when The Queen was still alive and they all had their former titles.

In my defense, it is late where I am and I am watching this before I wind down for bed. I just thought it was a little funny and I wanted to share.

[royalsandchill]

Love the article (1) using security as a reason for MM to keep the dress, and while it was not part of the statement made by her spokesperson, it was included in that article for a reason.

All that to say, I am reminded of one of my favorite stories I read about the late Queen's wardrobe.

"The Queen's clothes are a source of constant comment in the media and she will wear a favourite outfit for years. When she finally tires of it, she will hand it to one of her dressers, who can either wear it or sell it, with one proviso, all labels must be removed and anything that could possibly identify it as having come from royalty obliterated. One frock found its way toa jumble sale near Sandringham, but in spite of its obvious quality, it failed to sell."(2)

If the Queen was able to get rid of her clothes and not have it be a security concern, MM shouldn't have security concerns regarding a non-custom piece of clothing that was used at a typical photoshoot.

Hill, Erin. "Meghan Markle's Spokesperson Reacts to Claims She Took $1,700 Dress from Photo Shoot (Exclusive)." People. November 25, 2025. https://people.com/meghan-markle-spokesperson-reacts-claims-she-took-dress-from-photo-shoot-11856683

Hoey, Brian. Not in Front of the Corgis: Secrets of Life Behind the Royal Curtains. The Robson Press, 2012. Page 53.

[royalsandchill]

The way my jaw immediately dropped when I saw the news.

And I thought I was shocked with the previous announcement.

But good riddance, we may never get all the answers, but he was far too close with some very shady people.

[royalsandchill]

I have done my best to let go of jealousy as I've gotten older.

But I am so, so jealous of Catherine's outing at V&A East Storehouse.

[teamwindsorroyals]

I'd like to see this whole photo with name labels.

[royalsandchill]

Tried to put the names over/near the people, but it got too busy, so I numbered each person and below is the corresponding list:

Prince Louis of Battenberg

Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia

Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Count Mensdorff

Princess Ferdinand of Romania

Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna of Russia

Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales

Prince Henry of Battenberg

Grand Dule Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia

Prince Ferdinand of Romania

Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn

Princess Henry of Battenberg

Princess Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Charlotte, Hereditary Princess of Saxe-Meiningen

Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Tsarevich Nikolay Alexandrovich

Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine

Princess Louis of Battenberg

Princess Irene of Prussia

The Duchess of Connaught

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlova of Russia

Maria Alexandra Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Queen Victoria

Empress Frederick

Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen

There is a great Wikipedia entry that has the photo and if you hover over each person it leads to their page, but each time I try to put the link here, it doesn't work. But if you go to House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha's entry, it is close to the top. It can also be found by going to Wikimedia Commons and searching "Queen Victoria surrounded by her family - Coburg, 1894"

But here is a link to an entry for the photo in the Royal Collection Trust.

https://www.rct.uk/collection/2905204/queen-victoria-and-descendants-coburg-21-april-1894

[royalsandchill]

There will come a day when Catherine is Queen, and the press (especially the American press) will still call her Kate Middleton.

[royalsandchill]

I'm tired.

I'm tired of lie after lie being fed to the public.

I'm tired of people taking those lies at face value.

I'm tired of people spreading those lies and making them mainstream.

I'm tired of the unending vitriol from some people.

I'm tired of a certain self-important couple getting recognition.

I'm tired of the unending articles about them.

I'm tired of people thinking that they have done nothing wrong.

I'm tired of them using their family as a punching bag.

I'm tired of them using the association with the family they claim to dislike so much for their own gain.

I'm tired of the hypocrisy.

I'm. Just. Fucking. Tired.

[royalsandchill]

Love that Harry and Meghan apparently "skipped" the Met Gala again this year.

Just so everyone is aware, I also skipped the Met Gala this year.

Not that any of us were invited, but I love making myself sound important by saying that I skipped it instead.

[royalsandchill]

Screw it.

At this point, I want to see footnotes in tabloid articles. You have to include them in scholarly articles, might as well make tabloids do the same.

I was reading an article on Town & Country's website about Prince William not being with Princess Catherine when she filmed her video. In the last half of their first paragraph they say "It is understood that her husband, Prince William, was not present at Windsor Castle when the clip was filmed on March 20, 2024; Kate wanted to deliver the message on her own."(1)

And that was really the only mention of it. They didn't even say this came from an inside source or anything. I'd even take that, but just to make a claim and not back it up in any way is maddening.

Write any nonsense you want, but back it up in some way, or at least let the public know where you're getting this information.

Their ethics may, at times, be shady, but they should be held to some kind of journalistic standards.

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a60319813/prince-william-not-present-kate-middleton-cancer-announcement-video/

[royalsandchill]

While telling my mom The Big News about Catherine, Princess of Wales.

Me: I hope all of the people that have been so rude these last couple months-

My (upbeat, church volunteer, does her best not to swear, friend of a pastor's wife) mother: I hope they feel like shit.

[catherinetheprincessofwales]

A Prayer from the Church of England. 🙏🏼

[royalsandchill]

Not part of the Church of England, but I feel like just leaving this here.

[royalsandchill]

I hope that every person that spouted insane rumors, that picked apart her Mother’s Day photo, hounded and badgered her, and the people that want inappropriate access to her medical records feel nothing but absolute shame right now.

None of these people, none of them, would have done these same things if it was someone they care about.

And right now, they can all go fuck themselves.

[royalsandchill]

I wish Catherine, the Princess of Wales nothing but health, recovery, and support.

[the-best-soap-opera-ever]

Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C

@KensingtonRoyal

[feministsforkatemiddleton]

Fuck the haters.

Going to keep sharing the wonderful photo of a resilient woman and her happy kids who love her.

❤️

[royalsandchill]

Hell yeah.

[royalsandchill]

I wonder how my work’s marketing team would react if I gave them unedited photos of artwork and told them to post them online as-is. Get that nice shine from an obvious overhead light. Scuff spots on the photo sweep. Visible dust that somehow got in there. Skewed perspective because my tripod is flimsy.