Royal Baby—Probably Won’t Get Anything Hand-Knitted

This might be a little off-topic
but for once I read Bunte, and it’s somehow all about Duchess Kate right now, who is about to give birth to the heir to the throne.
Are you generally interested in this topic?
Personally, I wonder if the baby will ever get anything hand-knitted to wear, but I don’t really think so. The Queen doesn’t look like she has much time for knitting.
I find it very admirable that she still gets so much work done at her age. Her job is certainly quite demanding.

In any case, I wish the Duchess, the baby, and all the other royals all the best.

Looks like I was mistaken
the royal baby is apparently getting something hand-knitted after all
namely a kangaroo from Australia’s Prime Minister, Julia Gillard
I’d actually thought that with a job like that, you wouldn’t have any time left for knitting, but maybe she needs it to relax.
or maybe she just wants to grab a bit of PR, since things don’t seem to be going all that well for her politically down under
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/leute/gillard-strickt-an-kaenguru-fuer-kind-von-prinz-william-a-907775.html

So apparently labor may possibly have started after all
and there may soon be a new arrival, so the Queen can go on vacation too.
It was all over the news that the Queen thinks the baby should hurry up because she wants to go on vacation.

Well, it’s nice that everyone’s so happy for them because those two in England are having a baby.
But I’ve heard rumors that there are lots of newborns in Germany too.
Every day! Seven days a week!
;)

Yes, I know that the child will be somewhere in an important place in the line of succession. But still.
The press turns it into such a hype that it’s no longer nice.

I wish the parents-to-be and their child all the best.

As for the hand-knitted kangaroo, I think that’s an attempt to present themselves a bit better politically. But I’m no political expert.

@sundown: That’s true—there are lots of other children whose births aren’t even a media story

The Duchess has been in labor since this morning, I think
now it’s getting exciting

Well, I find it interesting when all of this is in the news, especially since by now pretty much all the media have jumped on the story. Even the FAZ.
But I wouldn’t go sit in a folding chair in front of the palace or the “Lindo Wing.”

And
what also only became clear to me today is this:
the child and its parents will never have any peace
they’ll always have to have bodyguards with them.

Well, first it has to be born :)

It's a boy :) He was born yesterday at 4:24 p.m. local time and weighs 3,798 grams.

And he is getting something handmade after all, but certainly something very elegant:

New Zealand celebrated the birth of the Prince of Cambridge in London on Tuesday with a 21-gun salute. And presented a gift: The government is giving the parents, Prince William and Kate, a handwoven wool scarf for the birth, Prime Minister John Key said.
http://www.bild.de/unterhaltung/royals/catherine-mountbatten-windsor/das-royal-baby-ist-da-es-ist-ein-junge-31435446.bild.html

I'm curious to see what name he gets.

Well then, congratulations :)

It’s quite cute that the aristocracy—the English royals—are still so popular, well-known, and a major topic in the media even in 2013.
Personally, I have nothing against the parents and their child, but I found all the fuss surrounding the birth of the royal baby a bit over the top.

Oh, you shouldn’t take it too seriously.
Stuff like this is just more exciting than some of those daily soap operas with cast participants
. I do believe, though, that even Royal Baby George Alexander Louis (that’s his name, I think) cries at night and goes through diapers.
So they’ll probably be glad to have a nanny sooner or later.

But the blanket the little prince was wrapped in for the first photo in front of the press the day after his birth—that was lovely.
I think it was a white or ivory-colored knitted blanket with a lace pattern, but I’m not entirely sure about that.

Oh, the royal baby will surely get lots of pretty things as gifts from so many people—and not just hand-knitted items.
Is the hype finally over now? ;)

The blanket the baby was wrapped in is said to have sold out completely within a few hours of the “appearance.”
But you could certainly knit your own if you’re skilled with knitting needles.

I can understand buying a dress that Duchess Kate looked good in.
But a simple knitted blanket causing such a hype?

As long as it makes you happy, then that’s fine. :)

Did you catch the news about that “little uproar” over the baby photos?
The photos were taken in the garden of Kate’s/Catherine’s parents, and her dad just snapped them—backlit and not particularly professionally. Then there were protests along the lines of, “Why don’t they hire a professional photographer?”
I mean, they’re private photos, after all. Of course, a whole lot of people are looking at them, but they’re still private photos.
And I think it’s precisely this candid shot that makes the two of them seem so likable.
And I wouldn’t want to subject my own child (if I had one) to having a professional photographer and crew show up all the time—which happens quite often with this couple. That always leads to a lot of hustle and bustle and whatnot. That kid had more contact with photographers and cameras the day after he was born than the rest of us have had in our entire lives.

I don’t remember off the top of my head what the child was wearing in the photo—whether it was crocheted or knitted.
But you can safely assume that identical or similar styles sold out in no time or were quickly copied by crocheters and knitters.

I kind of feel sorry for the kid now. He’ll never be able to ride a bike in the park without a nanny once he’s older. The whole thing looks more like a gilded cage to me. But hey, if you’re the heir to the throne, that’s just how you live. And the little one will surely get plenty of advice from his parents on how to deal with that sort of thing. As far as I’ve gathered, the prince arranged for his wife to have a sort of mental coach before the wedding so she could learn how to cope with public pressure, the strictness of court protocol, and so on. Because, as we know, things didn’t go so well for Diana back then.

This is a bit off-topic for a knitting, crocheting, and sewing forum, but seriously, if it weren’t for the birth of the heir to the throne and the discussions here in the forum about whether he’d get something knitted or crocheted, I would never have thought to look into the royal way of life.
People always assume, first of all, that they have money to burn, and second, that they lead an amazing life. But when you’re constantly under scrutiny and get to—or have to—read about every single misstep at breakfast in the newspaper, I don’t know if that’s any fun. I suppose it’s a job, albeit a very stressful one. We could surely discuss this for hours.

But let’s get back to the forum topic.
I think it’s safe to say that whatever the little guy wears, others will wear it too.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a wool sweater, a specific brand of pants, or a stylish jacket.
The little one isn’t just a trendsetter—he’s a sales magnet.

Sometimes I find it a bit of a shame that people don’t develop their own sense of style anymore or have the courage to be more individual.
But apparently, if you completely reject trends, you “don’t belong.” Of course, that depends on which social circles you move in. Still, there’s no completely avoiding it.
I still wonder whether wearing things you’ve crocheted or knitted yourself is a conscious rejection of trends or if it simply falls under the category of pursuing a hobby. But that’s a different topic and has nothing to do with the royal baby right now.
It’s just something you think about :)

Update :)
Maybe more readers will be interested in this thread again.

Did you catch the news that Camilla wants a DNA test? She apparently doesn’t quite believe that Royal Baby George actually has blue blood.
I’m not entirely sure if that’s actually true, but it’s all over the internet. You can read about it on every well-known site covering the topic. So now it’s no longer about knitting or crocheting—now we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty.
But that’s not very kind or nice of the soon-to-be grandmother. If it turns out to be true,
that is. She certainly won’t be making herself popular with the public. All those old stories about the love triangle involving Charles and Diana are back in the spotlight again, given the upcoming anniversary of Diana’s death. And if she actually wants a DNA test, that’ll be a real scandal.

Personally, I don’t think there’s any truth to it. Duchess Catherine has gone to so much trouble to fit into the royal family.
You wouldn’t risk that for a casual affair. Besides, I definitely believe she’s very fond of her prince.
But I don’t know the two of them personally either—just “from the media”—so I’m totally super-informed and just as qualified to weigh in as everyone else.

Plus, Duchess Kate lost almost all her baby weight in just a few weeks. Wow.
Supposedly it’s from breastfeeding and a little yoga now and then. For celebrities, it’s just so much easier than for regular folks. :)

I read too much tabloid stuff; I really need to stop. It’s not good for me—it just gives me weird ideas.
I’ve also read almost everything about Sylvie van der Vaart and her personal love triangle drama.

Nah, I’m just going to go see what’s new in the rest of the forum. I’d rather discuss knitting, embroidery, and crocheting than more tabloid gossip. ;)

I think the whole DNA test thing has blown over—at least I haven’t heard anything more about it
but maybe they settled it behind closed doors.
That really isn’t nice, if it’s actually true.
I really wouldn’t expect that from Duchess Catherine.
Not that I know her personally, but you do get a certain impression of people, even if you don’t know them.
Okay, that last sentence was nonsense.

So, back to the topic:
little George’s christening is coming up soon.
That’s sure to cause quite a stir in the media again.
Will the christening be a private event, or will it be broadcast on TV?
It’s so rare for someone to be christened over in England (irony)
so they’ll probably have to send a TV crew right away, so this event can be broadcast nationally and internationally.
I’m still not sure whether this is being hyped up too much or whether, despite everything, I’m still totally curious.

Was there ever anything in the tabloids about whether the two of them want more children?
Until then, maybe all of us here on crazypatterns could crochet a fancy blanket together or something and send it as a gift
then maybe we’d even make it onto TV.
That would be cool.

I don’t really think the royals would actually use the blanket, but we could always give it a try.
Then maybe even more users from Facebook would come into the forum here.
That would be something, wouldn’t it?
Well, okay, for that to happen, she’d have to get pregnant again first, and first George has to be christened,
and there’s still a lot to do before then.

But a blanket with fancy granny squares would definitely look great.
 

There hasn’t been any mention of a DNA test lately.
The christening took place a few days ago, but it was more of a private event.
As far as I’ve heard, there are already rumors about the next child, but that’s probably normal.
Nothing specific is known yet.

Crocheting a joint forum blanket would certainly be a nice idea, but I hardly think the royals would actually use it. Besides, the royals probably receive so many gifts that not every single one of them is shown on TV. Still, I didn’t want to discourage you. The idea with the stylish granny squares is definitely amusing and interesting.

A private event? Nothing’s really private with them anymore. That was already mentioned above. But hey, that’s just how it is with royals.

You’re right, that thing with the blanket wouldn’t really work like that.
But I’ve thought about it now:
if I actually manage
to crochet or sew an entire blanket, or whatever,
then I’d want
to keep it for myself. The royals have enough money; they can buy
every blanket in the world, but not my
original Muetzekatze blankets — those are just for me and the cats, of course.
Although they can basically sleep anywhere; they’re not fussy like that.