Great Schemers

Kate Middleton and her mother, Carole Middleton, can be compared to Sir Thomas Boleyn and his daughter Anne Boleyn.

Both great schemers. But unlike the Middletons, the Boleyns were aristocrats.

THE BOLEYNS

During medieval period, being linked to a King or a future King is like acquiring a large Estate, it would also enhance their standing in the society, so parents pushed their daughters so hard to be near to the royals. Sir Thomas Boleyn was exactly one of them. When his two daughters, Mary and Anne, were growing up, he made it clear they would be hovering around royalty. He sent both his daughters to the French court to be trained as Ladies-in-waiting. 

When Anne returned home, she became an accomplished and well-educated woman ready to become a mistress of a King. Her father and uncle, Thomas Howard, the 2nd Duke of Norfolk, moved forward to place her in the English royal court, they introduced the young Anne to the notorious King, Henry VIII. Anne first served as one of the Ladies-in-waiting to Henry's wife, Queen Catherine, but the purpose of her family was very clear: to let her catch the attention of the King who, by that time, had grown weary with his wife's inability to produce a much-desired male heir. It was clearly evident that Anne herself cooperated with this great scheme as she began seducing the King with her charming character. Eventually, they succeeded. 

The middle-aged King was completely besotted with Anne Boleyn that he began negotiating with the annulment of his marriage from Queen Catherine, so he sent a palace aide to Vatican city. Unfortunately for the King, Pope Clement VII was more concerned with the Catholic Church's relationship with the Holy Roman Empire than any other things. So, in reverence to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, who was Catherine's nephew, the Roman Pontiff refused to annul the marriage. The English King was so furious that he cut his ties to Vatican and established the Church of England. He obtained a divorce later and married Anne Boleyn, she bore him one child, the future Queen Elizabeth I. But the relationship did not last long, three years after their child was born, the Queen was accused of adultery and was beheaded in the Tower of London.

THE MIDDLETONS

Fast forward--to the twenty first century...another Sir Thomas Boleyn...this time a woman. Carole Middleton,  who, for so long, had been accused by some members of the media and aristocrats for being gold-digger and social climber (In a class bound society like Britain, social climbing means, you suddenly leap to the highest position or rank in the realm from the bottom. Since the Middletons are non-aristocrats and no hereditary titles, this term applies to them not for other reasons--ambitious or what--but just a proper term used to describe their sudden ascent. For few people who don't like the term I'm sorry but that's the reality of living in a social class system of nobility. Kitty Kelly wrote in her 1997 book "The Royals"--In Britain, royals and nobles are on top of the humanity's ladder, everybody scrambled below with no hope of ascending--any person who dreamed to reach the top will automatically earn the term "social climber"--will I hope you got my point) and often accused of not observing a proper social etiquette acceptable to royalty (some sources criticized her for using the word "toilet" instead of lavatory and chewing a bubble gum when first introduced to the Queen), is the modern version of Sir Thomas Boleyn, her eldest daughter would play the part of Anne Boleyn.

According to a high school classmate, Kate Middleton, as early as her high school years at Marlborough College, she already envisioned herself to become a Princess, "it would not hurt to dream of becoming a Princess", her classmate, Jessica recalled her saying back then(Miss Middleton turned against Jessica after hearing her in the interview and was not invited to the wedding). She had wished to meet Prince William and eventually marry him, so she put a big poster of him in her bedroom at Marlborough College dormitory. After graduation, she heard the Prince went to Chile for his gap year before attending college, so this commoner wrangled to her parents to allow her to go to Chile, during this time, it was thought possible her mother played a huge part of the great scheme, if not, why she allowed her daughter, at the age of 17, to travel to a far away land alone? Of course, she did not meet Prince William there, so she went home and perhaps devised another plan.

Before Prince William matriculated at St. Andrews University, his choices of school and course (AB Art History) were already reported in the newspaper as early as August 2001 that according to a school administrator, St. Andrews University, which normally has only an average freshmen students suddenly received many application to enroll, well, it was during this time that the Middletons saw another opportunity to stalk the Prince. Out of the blue, Kate Middleton decided to go to Scotland to enrol at St. Andrews and wow! what a coincidence she also wanted to take up AB Art History. And of all the cottages she chose, it was Prince William's cottage she insisted to go to never mind if she was the only girl in the flock (the cottage was occupied by Prince William and two male friends). But all these things were tolerated by her mother. Why on earth Carole Middleton allowed her daughter to live in a cottage occupied by males whom she did not even know in the first place? Just because Prince William was there?

Just like the Boleyns, the Middletons' scheme succeeded...we all know what happened to Anne...Kate will start her journey to a royal life tomorrow...what might happen next, depends on how cleverly she is to grasp the rigid rules of the royal family...will her plans and that of her mother guarantee her of a happy ending?

Few people, who are not royalists and who did not follow every detail of the story of the royal family ever since, will be angry with me for continue criticizing the unsuitability of this commoner girl, but what you read and heard lately are just modification and fine tuning of the background of Kate and her family, of course the royal family would never want to hear any disgusting story about them now that the girl will be marrying the future King of England and the media never dreamed to displease Her Majesty by reporting negative issues about the bride...so all people can hear in recent weeks are praising and positive issues. But beneath the tectonic plates of the ancient tradition, laid a repugnant taste of disdain and discontentment which only staunch royalists can understand.