Althouse: "Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house.

September 14, 2012

"Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house.

"It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them... The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so."

27 comments:

Hagar said...: They did it to Jackie O too.
Celebrities have no expectation of privacy anywhere, and should not wander around topless even indoors unless the drapes are closed.; 9/14/12, 9:01 AM
Leland said...: Ah, the poor french men. Their women won't put out. They import women from North Africa, but they all wear veils. So they have to hope their media will take sneak photos of British women, so they can get their jollies. If only the french man could understand google or backpage, so they could bypass their media and see something that might really excite them.; 9/14/12, 9:02 AM
Quasimodo said...: They live in a damn fish bowl and they know it. They should have some privacy but it is utterly mindless to expect it.; 9/14/12, 9:12 AM
Patrick said...: You had me at "Kate Middleton" and "naked." ;); 9/14/12, 9:13 AM
shiloh said...: Google Earth aside, Privacy lol.

Prince Harry is high fiving Kate!; 9/14/12, 9:15 AM
AndyN said...: There was seriously a grown woman in the western world who didn't understand that if she took her top off anywhere outdoors somebody might take a picture of her? Yes, she should have an expectation of privacy. Everybody should. That's not the world we live in though, and it's mind-boggling that this seemingly intelligent woman doesn't know that.; 9/14/12, 9:19 AM
RonF said...: It's easily thinkable that someone would follow the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge around wherever they go and take pictures of them wherever they are, select out the ones that are most controversial or titillating and then sell them.

For one thing, that's exactly what they've been doing for years.

For another thing - hello, think about what they did to your/your husband's mother.

Finally - the photographers are getting paid fabulous sums of money for the pictures.

Which brings me to a point I made about the death of Diana. Everyone wants to blame the photographers, or the driver, or whoever. But those pictures wouldn't be worth those sums of money - and thus probably wouldn't be taken - if people didn't buy them. Want to know whose hands Diana's blood is on? Anyone who bought a newspaper or watched TV because an embarassing picture of Diana was portrayed.; 9/14/12, 9:36 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so."

Please. "What is it about public figures not understanding how to behave in public?" is the question.

Diana, Princess of Wales, was a kook who married a kook and died like one. I no more blame the press and paparazzi for her death than the weather. Her own bad decisions led to her downfall:

And it looks like Kate, Wills - and, most especially, Harry - are falling into the footsteps of their their elders exactly,...; 9/14/12, 9:56 AM
edutcher said...: This is all because FDR made them gave up the empire.

PS I see the little animal is against the forces of the state being exposed.; 9/14/12, 9:56 AM
wef said...: Renunciation of all titles, rights, privileges, and jackassery of nobility might be an option.; 9/14/12, 9:57 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: "this seemingly intelligent woman"

You got me on that one - the word "seemingly" was the give-away.

"Intelligent" was the knee-slapper,...; 9/14/12, 9:59 AM
cubanbob said...: Well does she have nice tatas? Inquiring minds want to know.

Tits; 9/14/12, 10:17 AM
CWJ said...: All of the above.; 9/14/12, 10:33 AM
paul a'barge said...: She wanted to be photographed. Straight up.

Those kinky Royals.; 9/14/12, 10:35 AM
I Callahan said...: Hey, I've got an idea: how about not taking your top off in public?

Gee, why didn't I think of that before.; 9/14/12, 11:13 AM
rhhardin said...: They're a tourist attraction.

That's what the Brits pay them for.; 9/14/12, 1:05 PM
BaltoHvar said...: Personally I like Tan Lines - but that's just me.

Never understood this thing of outdoor "exposure." It is a Euro-thing, as it is everywhere, including but not limited to Public and semi-Public beaches all around the Med. and Adriatic Seas.

She's THE NEXT QUEEN for cripes sake! Ma' Elizabeth is probably birthing a farm animal as we speak/post. Katie's gonna get it.

And rightfully so - very bad/good optics.; 9/14/12, 1:31 PM
clint said...: YAWN.

They should live their lives. They should know that people are constantly watching and stalking them -- but they shouldn't make that the driving force of their lives.

Is anyone seriously condemning Kate for sunbathing topless by a private back-yard pool?

I think the Palace is handing this wrong with their threats to sue -- they'd have been better off to roll their eyes and make some joke about French perverts with telephoto lenses...; 9/14/12, 2:49 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Doesn't the French publisher Laurence Pieau look like Rielle Hunter?

A little bit?; 9/14/12, 3:43 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Anybody storming the French Embassy yet?; 9/14/12, 3:55 PM
Aridog said...: Yawn.

Only slightly less consequential than Caroline Kennedy doing anything.; 9/14/12, 4:31 PM
Ralph L said...: I believe she's officially The Princess William and no longer Kate Middleton. The "boys" use Wales as a surname with their military rank.; 9/14/12, 5:28 PM
cassandra lite said...: Alas, they're only topless. And though the royal pair and royal belly are indeed lovely, I was hoping to see how much work the royal gardener might have done.; 9/14/12, 5:33 PM
Aridog said...: Ralph L...."Kate" is still "Kate"...e.g., Katherine Elizabeth, but no longer "Middleton"...her married title is Duchess of Cambridge, and normally her "name," as with all "Royals," has no surname.

She is married to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge....e.g., she could be called "Princess Katherine" at some point in time. Charles is still the "Wales" in the family as the heir apparent (yee f'en gawd).

I gather the Brit Royals can use whatever surname they want from time to time, ranging from Mountbattan, Windsor, Wales, and now, Cambridge.

None-the-less, by blood or marriage, they are all part of the "Saxe-Coburg & Gotha" Germanic clan.; 9/14/12, 6:49 PM
Ralph L said...: Aridog, then explain Princess Michael of Kent, married to Prince Michael of Kent, son of the previous Duke of Kent and grandson of George V.

Kate will never be Princess Katherine--if Charles outlives his mother, she becomes Princess of Wales and then Queen Katherine.

Of course, they've completely broken precedence with Camilla, who by rights takes her husband's rank and not a lower one. This was what they would not let Edward VIII do with Wallis.; 9/14/12, 8:36 PM
Erik Robert Nelson said...: I'm not sure what's more ridiculous, the expectation of privacy or the idea that there are still celebrities (even non-Hollywood ones) out there who care if someone sees their tits.; 9/15/12, 7:22 AM
Aridog said...: Ralph L ... The whole thing is confusing. And I'm being pedantic I guess :-) Not that it matters much anyway.

Marie-Christine, Princess Michael of Kent would be her full "name & title." Although it appears today that the Brit Royals can call themselves whatever they wish. According to Letters Patent protocols her "title" is Princess Michael of Kent, while her "name" remains Marie-Christine.

She styles herself Princess Michael of Kent (her title), on her personal website, with no mention of her given name(s). She is also a classic case of royal line breeding, with shared lineages with both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, as well as with her own husband. Lovely, whot!

If & when William becomes the Prince of Wales, then Katherine will be Katherine, Princess of Wales...e.g., name & title. It will likely be foreshortened by the populace to Princess Katherine, just as they did with Diana.; 9/15/12, 11:34 AM