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Before They Were Royalty: Jobs That 8 Former Commoners Held

Emily Co — Tue, 03 May 2011 03:05:40 PDT

Although it's hard to imagine princesses gossiping by the water cooler and griping about their salaries, I don't think the people who marry into royalty spent their time twiddling their thumbs and waiting for a prince to come along. They worked hard for their money, so let's honor that by checking out their résumés. Read on to find out the former jobs these commoners had before marrying into royalty.

The Beauty of English Princesses Through History

Miriam Lacey — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:23:29 PDT

Kate Middleton is the gorgeous newest addition to the royal family, but there have been lovely English princesses for centuries. From Queen Elizabeth I to Princess Diana, see the prettiest princesses in English history.

How to Tell Her Majesty Is Bored With a Conversation

Colleen Barrett — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:05:00 PST

Usually, I can tell if someone's bored with me by a slight wandering of the eye (eyes, center!), but it's a whole other game when hobnobbing with the queen of England. We may know how to address her, but here are a few key signs that signal her handlers to intervene when she's through with a conversation.

When she's ready to wrap it up, but not necessarily royally bored or annoyed, she'll switch her purse from one arm to another. If she really wants out, she'll do something more dramatic, like placing her bag on the floor or spinning a ring on her finger. And when she takes meetings at Buckingham Palace, there's a discreet buzzer she can ring to have guests escorted out. Maybe this is what Kate Middleton's learning in princess training?

There are rumors that Prince Charles plays with his cuff links to signal he's done, but nobody's sure if it's that or a nervous tick. As for Princes William and Harry? It's too early to tell, but all this passivity makes me yearn for the good ole days - when royalty could be indiscriminately rude.

Best of 2010: Princess Fever

TresSugar — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:50:03 PST

For the little girl who turns her nose up to tiara-clad Barbies and plastic castles, there's now a princess prep camp for little American girls with loftier royal aspirations. Complete with butlers, chefs, etiquette lessons, and palace visits, it's a great way to enable your daughter's realistic lifetime goal of becoming "the next Kate Middleton."

The princess mania has been in full force this year. There was the news that Disney was shelving fairy tales and the extensive lead-up to the big announcement of Prince William and Kate's engagement, which has sparked a flurry of buzz that will continue until their wedding next year. Here, we've covered everything from princess training to Kate look-alikes, so get your royal fix by clicking on the top-crowned stories below.

6 Things You Didn't Know About William and Kate	What Happens at Princess Training?	Kate Middleton Look-Alikes For Hire
Disney Shelves Fairy Tale Movies	Marital Advice From Your Church?	An American's Guide to British Royal Titles
William and Kate's Austerity Wedding	What Is Royal Life Like?	Obese Disney Princesses

Good Luck Having an "Austerity Wedding," William and Kate

Annie Scudder — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 16:00:01 PST

Prince William agrees with the 82 percent of TrèsSugar readers who say they'd rather have a small wedding than a large one. The future king plans to model his wedding after Grandma's, figuring that current times are more like the post-World War II era than the flashy 1980s when his parents were married.

When Queen Elizabeth married in 1947, World War II had just ended and the royal family wanted to send a message of solidarity with ordinary Britons. The then-Princess Elizabeth even paid for her dress with rationing coupons, and the press got a simple statement from the Archbishop of York announcing that she was "married this afternoon in some small country church" in a wedding that had "the essentials." There were 2,000 people in attendance, compared to the 3,500 guests and 600,000 people in the streets at Charles and Diana's wedding.

Sources say that William will do his best to send a message of restraint, and President Obama might not even be invited since William isn't even first in line. Obama will be OK - he's used to wedding guest list snubs after Chelsea Clinton left him off her list. But considering the global interest so far and how much security, people, and media attention William and Kate's wedding is sure to garner, it will be next to impossible for them to compete with Elizabeth's simplicity (maybe Kate could use a Groupon instead of rationing coupons to buy her dress?).

Of course, the "small country church" was Westminster Abby, the same place William and Kate plan to marry, so maybe austerity is just a matter of semantics.

What Happens at Princess Training?

Annie Scudder — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 14:10:14 PST

Forget everything you learned watching The Princess Diaries - although I'd still like to imagine Queen Elizabeth II teaching Kate, I mean Catherine, how to wave properly. Modern-day queens-in-waiting learn how to fill their royal role with good old-fashioned premarital counseling. Kate Middleton will participate in "training sessions" aimed to help her avoid the depression her fiancé's mother, Princess Diana, felt after marrying. Kate will have the extra challenge of being the wife of a military man, but William's first-hand experiences with royal isolation, albeit as a child, could mean she has extra support. Plus, Kate has the benefit of dating Prince William for almost a decade, unlike Diana, who married Charles at 20 after only six months of dating.

The counseling will help Kate figure out how to manage a relationship burdened with public scrutiny, but it will also include some etiquette training on topics like appropriate dress. William's aunt the Countess of Wessex, who is married to the queen's youngest son, will reportedly be one of her guides. Countess Sophie might have a traditional title but she has modern experience: she's worked in PR. She's also a commoner who dated her prince for eight years - just like Kate.

The movies might make becoming a princess seem like the ultimate dream makeover, but having to modify yourself to fit the expectations of both your powerful in-laws and your entire country offers more evidence that it's not easy being queen (to be).

An American's Guide to British Royal Titles

Annie Scudder — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 04:00:00 PST

There's no rule that Americans can't marry into the British royal family (although, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to wed an American divorcée), but if you didn't grow up in the UK it might take you a while to tell the Princess Royal from the Duke of Gloucester. Prince William's off the market, so before Prince Harry goes, let's brush up on common royal titles.

King and Queen: If the monarch is a man, he goes by the title king, but the husband of a female monarch does not get the title of king. The title of queen is given in two cases: a queen who rules by her birthright is called a "queen regnant" (think Elizabeth II), while a "queen consort" is the wife of reigning king (so Kate Middleton will be a queen consort).

Duke and Duchess: A duke or duchess is the member of nobility that ranks right bellow the monarch. Often princes and princesses will hold dukedoms. For example, Prince Charles is also the Duke of Cornwall. And while his wife Camilla technically has the title Princess of Wales, she goes by her other title, Duchess of Cornwall.

Prince and Princess: In the UK, the husband of the reigning queen is called a prince. So Queen Elizabeth II's husband is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (and he was also born the Prince of Greece and Denmark!). The titles prince and princess also go to the children of the monarch, although in 1987 Queen Elizabeth increased her daughter Princess Anne's title to Princess Royal.

The wife of a prince will get the title princess, however, the husband of a princess will not be called a prince. The monarch can offer another peerage, or title, to a daughter's husband, but any grandchildren born to a daughter do not get the title prince or princess. The grandchildren born to sons, however, do get the titles. So just because you have a king or queen as a grandparent doesn't mean you're a prince or princess! Members of the royal family are called "Her/His Royal Highness," but in the case of divorce the non-birthright royal loses the HRH style.

So, what about last names? In 1917, King George V decided to officially change everyone's last name to Windsor, after the castle, to get rid of the German-sounding house name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. But Queen Elizabeth II and her husband wanted their direct decedents to have a different last name than the extended family. To find out what the royal family's technical last name is now, read more!

A Royal Date: Must Kate Wait For a Scheduled Engagement?

TresSugar — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:00:31 PDT

Yesterday, the Daily Beast's Tina Brown put royal-wedding fever in the air when she noted June 3 and 4 are "mysteriously blocked out" on Buckingham Palace's calendar. The only reason imaginable for such secrecy is a major announcement, like say the long-suspected engagement of 27-year-old Prince William and 28-year-old Kate Middleton.

If the June engagement is true, Brown predicts a November wedding, which would be reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's November 1947 nuptials at Westminster Abbey. But is the fanfare of Westminster too grand for the daughter of a pilot and flight attendant? Brown says if Kate remains as shrewd as she's been since her relationship began, she'll opt for something more casual and modern. And save Westminster for the royal flush: when she's crowned queen.

But you have to wonder if she has any say at all? It's bad enough to have nosy family members inquiring about wedding plans! I doubt Kate ever imagined (well, except for the last few years) that to marry her prince charming she'd have to clear everything with the queen. But I guess that's what you marry into!

Which British Monarch Deserves the Failure Crown?

LibertySugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:00:21 PDT

While Americans only have 43 leaders to rate historically, the Brits have many more centuries of eccentric monarchs to discuss and criticize.

British historians want to figure out which monarch was the biggest failure. King George III didn't make the list, since I guess the Brits can't decide whether to thank or blame him for losing the American colonies.

Here are the credentials of the top three royal losers. Who should take the crown as Britain's worst monarch?

Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1567) aka "Mary Queen of Murder Plots " - Her involvement in the murder of her husband forced her into exile in England. Once there, she was imprisoned for 19 years, and eventually executed for plotting to kill the Queen of England.
Edward II (1307- 1327) aka "King Pay Back's a Bi*ch" - After losing a war with Scotland he imprisoned his estranged wife. But, his wife got the last laugh, as her army later imprisoned him and forced him to abdicate the throne for incompetence.
George IV (1820-1830) aka "The Playboy Prince" - Known for his excessive lifestyle and womanizing, he married his cousin to clear his debts. He went on to ban his estranged cousin/wife from his coronation.

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Sailor Prince William Headed to Caribbean to Take on Drugs!

LibertySugar — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:00:06 PDT

Prince William will be summering in the Caribbean! His next assignment with the Royal Navy will have him taking on drug traffickers in the Caribbean aboard the HMS Iron Duke . . . not exactly a vacation. The ship will sail on August 1.

Before he leaves, he'll have to undergo some basic sea safety training. The future king will learn how to navigate the sea, fight fires, and survive at sea during a catastrophe.

So what will life be like on this Royal Cruise? William will most likely be searching boats suspected of carrying cocaine. Navy officials admit that the days will be exhausting and austere. He'll even have to use a communal bathroom! Serious mission aside, the Love Boat duds are quite fetching. Ahoy matey, indeed!

Source