July 2009

They’ve been all over the British press for more than a week now, but the allegations against Kate Middleton’s uncle, Gary Goldsmith, have just recently been picked up by the American press.

The Washington Post has an editorial on its online edition addressing the story, but with a really interesting look at the class prejudice that seems to underlie much of the discussion.

Mary Jordan writes, “Class in Britain is roughly equivalent to race in America — despite enormous strides toward equality, social standing simmers never far below the surface. ‘Yes, I think class is the primary element in all this,’ said Robert Lacey, a prominent royal biographer. Britain has become more of a meritocracy, and nowadays a member of the royal family can ‘dip into the gene pool of the proletariat,’ he said, in contrast with the old days of arranged marriages with other foreign highborns. But marrying above and below one’s station still brings ‘enormous fascination and envy. . . . Class is still a big issue.’”  Fascinating stuff, definitely worth a read.

“Press” is more loosely used, however, when it comes to the Globe magazine coverage of the story.  They put Kate and William on the cover of their most recent issue (see above), with a blaring headline about “William’s bride” and her cocaine scandal.  American readers know that Globe is one of the more ridiculous of the US supermarket tabloids, and anyone doubting its reliability should take a gander at the other stories on the cover.

But I’m doubly amused by this angle taken by Globe: “…now palace insiders say his step-mom Camilla is demanding the young lovebirds cancel their wedding.”  Because Camilla has a lot of pull when it comes to scheduling royal weddings!