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All anybody seems to be talking about today is Kate Middleton and this video of hers that has angered, frustrated, and confused a lot of people. The video has accumulated over 12 million views and counting. Let's discuss what this is all about.
It seems an old video of Kate visiting a mosque with Prince William has suddenly gone viral. In the video, she politely declines shaking hands with some men at the mosque, presumably out of respect for their religious customs. Kate apparently had no issue with this at the time, so it’s odd that people are getting so worked up about it now.
Some on the far right are trying to spin this as the mosque visitors disrespecting British royalty, but that’s clearly not the case. Kate understood and respected their traditions. As someone who is anti-monarchy, I don’t feel any need to respect royalty either. At the end of the day, if someone doesn’t want to shake my hand for any reason, that’s their choice. We should all respect each other’s boundaries.
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Especially now with COVID, handshakes aren’t always appropriate. This seemed like a cultural and religious situation. When I recently visited a hookah lounge with some female friends, the owner politely declined shaking our hands out of respect for his marriage. My friends appreciated his loyalty and commitment to his wife. I’m sure the men in the mosque video felt similarly about not shaking Kate’s hand due to their own marriages.
I don’t understand why this old video is blowing up or why people feel the need to obsessively break it down and analyze it. Kate apparently had no issue with it at the time, so why is it such a big deal now? Some online influencers have been radicalizing young people, and now anything related to Islam gets an insidious, dangerous reaction. The government needs to monitor social apps more closely to prevent the spread of hate.
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Overall, I don’t think this video deserves all the attention it’s getting. Kate respected their customs, as we all should respect each other. If I don’t want to shake someone’s hand, that’s my choice. This rapid reaction culture just breeds more conflict. People should take a step back before escalating minor non-issues.
Speaking of Kate, she’s been one of the most talked about royals over the past six months, but I’m not convinced she brings real popularity or interest. Her return to public appearances didn't translate to higher TV ratings. At Trooping the Colour there was a standing ovation, but that was likely fueled more by the mystery of her absence than genuine interest in seeing her.
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If it was Diana going MIA for six months and reappearing, there would have been huge crowds. But Kate doesn’t seem to inspire that level of enthusiasm. When William and Kate take the throne, what will the future of the monarchy even look like? They’ve barely engaged with the public the last few years. The monarchy needs to connect with people on a human level if it hopes to survive.
In contrast, Harry and Meghan had that magic. They brought excitement, reinventing tradition in a way people connected with. But the poor treatment from the press and royals drove them away. Now the monarchy is rapidly losing importance and popularity. We’re witnessing its decline in real time over the last three years, especially since the Queen passed.
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Kate can only do so much - she may be respectable but likely won’t revive the monarchy long term. In an evolving society, this archaic institution will struggle unless it transforms. But the press profits too much from talking about the royals to allow that. So where does that leave the monarchy as we enter the William/Kate era in a few years? Only time will tell if they can halt this downward trend.
In the meantime, this silly mosque video nonsense should be a non-issue. People need to stop overreacting to manufactured crises and giving harmful voices more attention. But the future of the monarchy itself remains uncertain as it continues losing relevance in modern Britain. On that note, I'm interested to hear other perspectives on these topics. Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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