The problem with fame is that it attracts it all: adulation and envy, brickbats and bouquets, angels and trolls. The only way to survive is to develop a sense of humour or a shield. Or stay so busy that no one can fault you. And so it seems to be with Kate Middleton, the perfect princess, who is the target of barbed comments coming from an erstwhile very tame and almost sycophantic media. The tabloid press, especially, sounds a little sour. Can there really be trouble in paradise, or is it a backlash because Princess Catherine is merely trying to keep the media at bay, as far from her children especially as possible? And has that upset a hungry press?
It is easy to forget that she is the mother of two young children, one of whom she is still breastfeeding. The reason we barely remember this is because she appears so completely, effortlessly “just right”. (If she was really a frazzled young mother, wouldn’t she have at least one bad hair day?). But how many over worked young mothers have a retinue of liveried waiters and maids? And so, insinuations are being made about the so-called “Middleton Rules”, according to which Prince William and Princess Catherine lead their goldfish-bowl lives.
The rules dictate, according to the tabloid press, that the royal couple will spend more time with Kate’s parents and family. They also uphold that Kate will be protected from the cruelty of courtiers who compare her with Princess Diana, her late mother-in-law. There is umbrage against this so-called deal between the couple because it contravenes the popular assumption that the royals are public property.
And so, recently, when Prince William attended a friend’s wedding on his own, (though Pippa, Kate’s sister was in tow) all these hushed whispers were sparked off in the press. No doubt the Princess will appear soon with a baby in each arm, proving to the world that she is within her rights to demand privacy as she is now a domestic goddess, with maternal duties, not just a clothes horse. This might even make the press adore her again. But perfection has its price and the romance with Kate could be curdling.
The saddest news this week has been the closure of the very influential charity, Kids Company, run by the large, turbanned and very colourfully dressed Camila Batmanghelidjh. She was, till recently, a much admired figure on the charity network and I occasionally saw her on a bus, surrounded by the abandoned or needy children she was trying to help. In the 19 years since she set up Kids Company, she had managed to collect over £163 million, all of which apparently went in supporting the underprivileged children who came to her. Thus the charity had no fallback resources.
Under scrutiny now from the Charity Commission, the work of the charity is being handed over, wherever possible, to the state. While Ms Batmanghelidjh stoutly denies any illegality, a BBC investigation has thrown up allegations of sexual abuse on the premises of the charity, apart from other misdemeanours. With the closure, it is estimated that perhaps up to 6,000 children might be left in the lurch and the Iranian born Ms Batmanghelidjh believes that quite a few of them will not receive any aid at all, especially as they might have no legal status in the country.
The David Cameron led-government has also been left in an embarrassing situation. They had to withhold money they had promised to the charity, till the charismatic Ms Batmanghelidjh stepped aside. One of the “questionable” practices at Kids Company was apparently to give small amounts of money in envelopes directly to children registered with them. The children, in turn, apparently needed these doles for their survival, as they were often estranged from their caregivers. Undoubtedly, this could be why the charity ran rapidly through its funds.
Nonetheless, we might not know the truth behind the allegations, till a thorough inquiry is complete. Rightly or wrongly, many marginalised children in the UK lost a champion when Ms Batmanghelidjh was asked to quit.
And how can we not talk about the Harvard-educated marathon runner, Kiran Gandhi, who shocked staid British society (and the entire world) by running a 26-mile marathon whilst menstruating, with blood flowing down her legs. She said she did it to show solidarity with her “sisters” who either do not have access to sanitary napkins or hide their distress out of shame. Certainly, she ran, cheered by her father and brother, because she had trained for over a year for it, and got her period on the eve of the race.
Writing about the four-hour marathon, she said she could not have run with a piece of cotton stuck between her legs. Her dramatic “coming out” about a “private issue” has focused attention on something we rarely talk about. Usually, Indians abroad are celebrated for everything they do, but this time I did notice, in India, an uneasy silence around spunky Kiran. Not all Indian TV channels were prepared to discuss the “bloody” marathon with the fervour with which they discuss so many subjects.
But the 26-year-old certainly grabbed the world’s attention! She said it needed “ovaries” to do what she did, and we agree in more ways than one!
Kishwar Desai is an award-winning author
