Kate & Wills Honeymoon Pics: A Step Too Far?

July 10, 2012 in Celebrity, Entertainment, Marriage, News, People

How many of you watched the wedding of HRH Prince William and (then) Catherine Middleton in April 2011? Go on, hands up? Heaps of you. How many of you saw honeymoon pics? Hands down. None of you did because the press were politely told to leave them alone. The press seemed to surprisingly agree. However, 15 months later, the gloves are off and pictures of Wills & Kate on their honeymoon are being published this week. In their togs, on a private beach, on a seemingly private island.

Not sure how many of you are into Woman’s Day or New Idea. They’re the magazines I grew up reading (only after Mum had read them first) and clearly still add some value to the market if they’re still going in this current magazine climate.

Well, Woman’s Day seem to have landed the photo opportunity of the year, in “exclusively” publishing pictures of the Duke & Duchess on their honeymoon. How lovely.

We’re not republishing the pictures here as I am quite horrified at the publishing of the photos. I am guilty of glimpsing at the pictures on the internet upon news of their publication reaching me. What I saw made me feel quite ill. I wish I hadn’t looked. Two people who have always tried to maintain the privacy Diana shunned, exposed, on the front cover of a magazine. In their togs on their freaking honeymoon!

Why? Why now? They have been married 15 months already. Why couldn’t the press have just left them alone on their honeymoon to cavort around in their togs and have a lovely time, free from all the pressure they would have been under in the lead up to the wedding.

The Duke & Duchess are not celebrities. People love them. I love them. However, they do not make their living by being “famous”. They do not court the press and they do not seek them out. They will live the rest of their lives dedicated to the service of Britain and the Commonwealth.

His fame comes as a consequence of being born royal, hers, marrying a man who is a royal. They are NOT fair game like Hollywood stars. It diminishes the respect for the royal family, the Queen & their subjects when they are hounded by the press like celebrities.

Whose fault is this? Well, Diana’s to be quite honest. She took hold of this celebrity obsessed culture, manipulated and used it for all it was worth. She helped create this never ending pursuit by the press of the young royals. Sure, modern technology has helped but it was Diana’s piercing of the veil between the monarchy and the public which made her children fair game. Let’s be clear – Diana courted the press – the Duke and Duchess do not.

I am guilty of reading about the Duchess online regularly. However, most of articles I read are in relation to her charity work and public appearances, where she goes knowing that the press will be there. Taking (and then publishing) candid photos of them on their honeymoon is not the same. It is sneaky, deceptive and leaves a really bad taste is my mouth. Shame on you, Woman’s Day. I am disappointed.

What about you? Have you seen the pictures? What did you think? Do you think the royals should be left alone by the media?

Image 1 Image 2

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Whippersnapper has written 37 posts.

11 Comments »

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Monique Fischle

It’s no secret that I watched 7 hours of Royal Wedding coverage, I love William and Kate, but it was a Royal Wedding, it was always going to be televised and I did not feel invasive watching it (I would have if we had been given access to the private reception).

I was so happy that the paparazzi seemingly left them alone on their honeymoon, they shouldn’t have to be hounded, like you said, they aren’t really famous by choice, but by birth (and marriage). I’m quite annoyed that the photos were released and surprisingly, I haven’t looked at them, they don’t need us to invade their personal space, especially considering how private they are, they are not like Diana when it comes to the media.

Unless at Royal events, charity functions and some other things, I feel like they should be left alone. I agree with you in the fact that I think it diminishes respect for the Royal family.
http://tamsinhowse.com/blog Tamsin Howse

I love the fairytale. I love looking at pics of the Duchess and wishing to emulate her style. I loved the wedding pics, I blogged them and went a bit royal wedding mad!

But I don’t think it’s right to invade their honeymoon. They went to a lot of effort to keep it private and that should be respected.
Rose Russo

I don’t know if Diana is necessarily to blame here… she died as a result of the press. Was that her fault too?

Not having a dig, just curious about what you think.
- Whippersnapper
  
  No definitely not, I’m not suggesting that at all re: her death.
  
  I think Diana is definitely to blame for the way the press are with the royals now. There was a veil between the public and the royals before she came along. She picked up on the shifting culture towards “celebrity” and manipulated the press so much for her own advantage.
  
  Her interviews with the TV, her tip offs to the papers as to where she was going to be or tip offs about her marriage, hell she even secretly helped Andrew Morton write his book on her (the truth about which didn’t come out until after her death). She basically turned the press from being “oh the royals, we can’t say that or report on that, might upset the palace” to “CHARLES IS BOINKING CAMILLA BEHIND MY BACK, DIANA’S TEARS”. That’s why Charles has been seen in such a bad light, well, a) because he is a stuffy old Brit and b) because she tipped the papers off to his every bad move.
Sonja van Woerkom

Firstly, I *love* the second picture of Wills & Kate (we’re allowed to call them that, right?) They just look so, well, normal!

Secondly, I think it’s horrible that anyone took photos of them on their honeymoon! It’s an important time to relax after the wedding before the whole marriage thing really kicks in and NO ONE needs to be hounded by ANY ONE during that time!

Sigh.
http://tinytrifles.blogspot.com.au Karen

“She took hold of this celebrity obsessed culture, manipulated and used it for all it was worth.” Actually, I disagree. She didn’t take hold of it. She CREATED it. Prior to Diana, magazines didn’t publish gossip like they do now. She had no way of knowing how it would end up. Let’s not forget that she was also suffering with mental illness – she wasn’t some mastermind pulling the strings of every publishing house in Britain. She was a lonely and desperate woman who made some very silly choices.

The way I see it, the press and the general public have one thing in common that Diana lacks: they know what happened to her in a French tunnel in 1997. They have the choice to end the cult of celebrity, and yet they choose not to. She might have started it, but surely her death should have ended it.
Dragonflysz

I have not seen the pictures and don’t intend too. But it is a symptom of our celebrity obsessed culture and to be honest it makes me sick. Shows about celebrities such as the Kardashians or Lara Bingle are a waste of air time and show how far our society has fallen. The only reason pictures like this are released is because they know people will look at them and buy the magazine. If people stop buying publications filled with these types of pictures, stop watching shows about celebrities and stop treating them like Gods – the media won’t make money from it, and by association won’t seek out the images. But I can’t see that happening any time soon.
Dragonflysz

In addition, I realise that William and Kate are not celebrities in the true sense of the word, but they are famous and the general public does not make the distinction between the two, especially when it comes to gossip!
Laws for Clouds

I was a celebrity gossip columnist, and I don’t think celeb culture got really big until several years after Diana’s death, when digital cameras became widely available.

However, I DO think Diana is responsible for making the royals into celebrities. I believe she was the first royal to ever give an interview about her personal life?

That said, Kate and Wills are so beautiful I think they’d be celebs. The fact that there’s only one picture is because of Diana’s death.
Maree Talidu

I have seen the photos because they were on morning tv and I didn’t have the remote handy to switch the channel. However, I did feel like their privacy was invaded because the photos show two totally relaxed, very in love people being fully at ease with themselves, unaware that their stroll on the beach is being documented. My understanding was that the honeymoon was completely off limits to the paps, they agreed to honour the queen’s wishes for a totally private honeymoon. The Aussie magazine is claiming that as it has been OVER a year since the honeymoon that really, they are doing no harm. They also defended themselves by saying that it was acceptable to print the photos as the couple look so ‘fit’. I won’t lie- Kate looks amazing in her bikini, that is one smoking hot body. But that body belongs to a person, a person who thought she was alone with her brand new hubby, a totally private moment, stolen by the media.
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