News & Views

Kate Middleton, we truly love ye. Your grandmother-in-law? Different story. Hers is a tough love. Really tough.

The new Life & Style cover story claims Kate is being "humiliated" by Queen Elizabeth. What it's referring to is the Queen's recent revision to some royal rules and guidelines and other mumbo jumbo forcing poor Kate to have to curtsy before any other princesses who were born into the family. You know -- blood princesses like Princess "What Crazy Hat Will I Wear Today?" Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and a whole bunch of others I'm sure you've never heard of.

There is an exception, though. Take heart, Kate. You don't have to drop to your knees before snotty women who are younger and sillier than you -- as long as your husband Prince William is at your side.

Ouch. Did we just step back to 1895?

Gossipmongers make it sound like the Queen is insanely jealous of popular, poised, beautiful Kate Middleton and changed the curtsy rules in the Royal Household's Order of Precedence out of spite.

But maybe, possibly, the Queen might have a point here. The whole special thing about the royal family is that you're born into it. That's how you get to wear a tiara and do that beauty pageant wave and be an unofficial head of state and live in a palace and all that. Either that, or you can go Kate and her late mother-in-law Diana's route and marry a prince.

So what if Kate has to show respect for the blue bloods every time she sees them? I mean, sure, it does sound suspect if it's true that Queen Elizabeth actually did change it recently -- and maybe it was to keep her grandson's wife in her place. But that's what royals do. They go around puffing themselves up and acting very important and adhering to strange antiquated rules of yore. They even use words like "yore." It would be weird if they were suddenly down-to-earth and reasonable. And compared to what Diana had to deal with when she was married to Will's dad Prince Charles, Kate's run-ins with the Queen seem like child's play.

Do I think it's fair or nice of the Queen to do this to Kate? No. It's kind of petty. But is it the worst thing in the world? No. Kate's smart and classy. She knew what she was getting into when she signed on to be a princess. I'm sure it's a major challenge sometimes, but she wanted this life and if anyone can handle it, she can. Extra curtsies and all.

Do you think the Queen is jealous of Kate Middleton? Do you even care?

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