It is royal tradition to attend a James Bond premiere. Bond is the most British of pop culture characters so the premiere is always an event on the royal calendar. For this Bond, which has been delayed so many times and is now finally opening in theatres, several royals were in attendance, including Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William, and Kate.
The timing was perfect.
The British royals haven’t had much to celebrate lately. No real occasion to do their crown and tiara thing, considering Prince Charles’s recent honours-for-cash mess and, of course, the smear on the family name that is Prince Andrew, friend of the dead rapist pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Interestingly enough, in the days leading up the Bond premiere, it was less royal pomp and more royal anxiety, with reports that the palaces were quite concerned that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, following the success of their New York trip,were setting up a rival court. This is what’s always been confusing to me about the leaks that palace insiders keep feeding the UK tabloids. Are you The Crown, and the end all and be all, the monarchy that has endured for all these centuries…or not? On the one hand the messaging is all about tradition and legacy and how they’re the center of the universe. On the other hand there’s all this angsting about whatever it is that Harry and Meghan are up to in America…
When if they only looked at the datebook they would have seen that Will and Kate had, in just a matter of days, a major opportunity to reclaim the focus on a massive red carpet, under a scorching spotlight.
I’m telling you, these royal communications people don’t know what the f-ck they’re doing. If they were better at their jobs, they would have sent out an all-call during Harry and Meghan’s New York tour to approach it all as a shrug, unbothered, and looked ahead to last night and the Bond premiere as an opportunity to flex.
After all, that’s a spectacular dress on Kate.And predictable too. As soon as Jenny Packham’s new collection was released, I wrote that I could see herwearing several of these pieces, including the one she chose – which is golden, imperial, and one of the most showstopping gowns she’s ever worn. She looks spectacular in it… but there’s one detail that’s desperately wrong.
My god, what is this hair? Kate has never been good at an updo. Her updos are always so dated, always such a missed opportunity – why is it so hard? There’s nothing wrong with a sleek bun. A sleek bun would have been great with this dress. Or a sleek ponytail. But this elaborate series of swoops and loops is not it.
No time to rest for the Cambridges though as they were out again today visiting Ulster University Magee Campus in Northern Ireland. This purple suit though. It’s a bit outside of her standard, a suit with a colour this flashy, and made even more brilliant by the sunshine. I like it a lot on her. And it would indeed seem as though Kate is picking up her fashion game … even though the hair hasn’t caught up yet.
