World Cup Jacket: William, Kate Sport Matching Personalized Jackets As They Attend America’s Cup Event
All eyes were on Prince William and Duchess Kate as the royal couple attended Sunday’s America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth races on England’s southern coast. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge looked stylish for the event as the two wore matching personalized jackets, USA Today reports.
Although bad weather prompted officials to evacuate the area and cancel racing, William and Kate interacted with the crowd and greeted international team captains and their crews.
Congratulations to all the @americascup teams and thanks for a great day (in spite of the rain!) at #ACWSPortsmouth pic.twitter.com/uAsHahCAPm
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) July 26, 2015
As the Daily Mail notes, William and Kate are keen sailors, and although the two didn’t get to witness Sir Ben Ainslie — the most successful sailor in Olympic history — and his crew get another victory at the America’s Cup World Series race, the couple seemed to enjoy their time at the event despite the inclement weather.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge present winners' medals to the @LandRoverBar team at #ACWSPortsmouthhttps://t.co/XiH31to5GD
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) July 26, 2015
Perhaps in an effort to further solidify their partnership, for the occasion, William and Kate had customized jackets with their royal titles printed on them, and they completed the look with dark blue denim jeans.
The Duchess of Cambridge meets children who have recently had their first experience of sailing thanks to @1851Trust pic.twitter.com/HCG4fMHXVp
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) July 26, 2015
Meanwhile, despite being beautiful, rich, married to a prince, and mother to a future king, the life of the Duchess of Cambridge is not perfect, and critics are beginning to attack her character. And although many see Kate’s role as the “modernization” of the monarchy, others believe that she is no different than 16th-century women who married into European royal families.
One such critic is Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly, a professor at the prestigious Oxford University’s Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages. Watanabe-O’Kelly is currently leading a major international research project called Marrying Cultures: Queens Consort and European Identities 1500-1800. The professor argues that the role of Kate Middleton and Diana Spencer is surprisingly similar to that of royal consorts in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
“It fascinates me that the Duchess of Cambridge is doing exactly the same kinds of things that a queen consort would have done at any time from 1500 on,” Watanabe O’Kelly explained. “The role has not changed at all, even though the Duchess is middle class and British.”
But her criticism of the duchess did not end there. According to Helen, Kate should be more of a role model, and believes that Prince William’s wife is unable to provide a different cultural aspect to the English monarchy.
“When a King married up to World War II, he took a foreign bride and she left home to join him, never to return,” said Watanabe-O’Kelly. “But this is where these foreign princesses played an important role in their new kingdoms by introducing foreign cultural elements.”
[Image via WPA Pool/Getty Images News]
