Those topless photos !

There is something weird about the hullabaloo over those topless photos of Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.   We have come a long way since the baring of a young woman's " boobs "  caused shock and consternation.  This ruckus seems to be concentrated on the fact that Kate will one day be the queen of England, and apparently the palace does not think it fitting that a future queen should be depicted in this manner.

William and Kate were probably naive to think they would be safe from prying paparazzi with long range big lens cameras  - no matter how distant and remote their hideout.   For the rest of their lives they will live in a bright little fish bowl, fair game for the public to watch and criticise and certainly amongst the most photographed subjects in the world.   It goes with being a " celebrity " !

The present actions to seek injunctions and have the photographer arrested are only going to prolong public interest.  William and Kate might be well advised to simply shrug their shoulders and ignore this intrusion into their privacy - if the Mandarins at the palace can be persuaded to take that stance.    A lot of this fuss is probably originating from the fusty band of titled folk who are part of the " Royal establishment " running the " firm " - as the present queen describes the monarchy.

William and Kate will not sit on thrones for many years to come.   The next king will be Charles and he seems to have a few good years left, provided he does not go completely nuts and end up locked up in the Tower of London.   The younger Royals have an opportunity to set the scene for their time as monarchs by creating an image of royalty in the twenty-first century, and if that means admitting that - like millions of other young women - Kate likes to sit in the sun topless - then so be it !

Our journey through life has many stages. The life of the present queen is amazingly different from that of queen Victoria and by the time Kate becomes queen she will probably be the mother of several children and she will no longer be a carefree young woman learning the ropes of being a " Royal ".      Perhaps then, both she and her subjects will look back with nostalgia at those photographs and wonder why on earth there was such a fuss about a so trivial event ?