It’s official! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are
expecting their first child. Earlier today, Middleton was hospitalized with an
acute form of morning sickness called hyperemesis, which often results in the
birth of twins. In addition, since Prince William is second in line for the
royal throne, that means the possible twins are third in line to be queens and/
or kings. That seems like a lot of pressure to put on a baby (or babies) that
haven’t even been born yet. The royal family is obviously really excited, but
what about you guys?
Considering that Kate Middleton was recently involved in a
less- than- flattering photo scandal, do you think that this baby fever (or
acute morning sickness) is going to be focused on too much and that we should
respect their privacy during a time such as this?
7 comments:
Since their royalty, it is obvious that their baby will receive a lot of attention and everything that has to do with the pregnancy will be published to the world. I'm sure that Kate and Prince William would love to have some privacy, however, that is very unlikely in my opinion.
Though I am happy for Kate Middleton and Prince William, I do believe, as with any prominant public figures, their lives can be over publicized. I'm sure this baby (or babies) will receive a lot of media attention whether the Duke and Duchess want it or not. The media tends to over publicize many things. With this event being much anticipated, it will be no exception. Like Eddie said, though I'm sure the soon-to-be parents would like some privacy, I doubt they will receive it.
Congratulations to the royal couple!
As Eddie and Savanna have already stated, I think this couple will get a lot of publicity whether they (or we) like it or not. All of us common folk love princes and fairy tales, so I think it will be interesting to see how the child grows up.
Additionally, although the British royal family doesn't quite have the same political influence in domestic and foreign affairs as say, a prime minister, I wonder if they will indirectly shape future agendas or trends for the country? Maybe more parents will start having kids because it seems fashionable (and maybe their kids will be the one-in-a-million who marries the royal heir)? Maybe family values will be stressed more from now on? Things may get interesting!
Just a brief statistical note that has been largely misleading in the excessive coverage of this topic—most women who are diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum during pregnancy do not carry twins. While it is true that carrying twins makes a woman more likely to experience hyperemesis gravidarum, a majority of women who experience the sickness do not carry twins. Although this is a fairly inconsequential distinction, it is a perfect example of how the media fails to report statistical information in an accurate manner, often due to a lack of comprehensive statistical understanding or the appeal of sensationalization... Speculation about Ms. Middleton's pregnancy is one thing, but this kind of inaccurate portrayal can happen across the board of media coverage (and it’s not always obvious).
Olivia--that was a very interesting point about Kate's sickness. I would not have known that from other articles I've been reading on this subject.
Back to the point at hand, I think that they are obviously going to get a lot of media attention during Kate's pregnancy, which is unfortunate for the royal family, but also very expected. We all saw the intense media coverage for months upon months before and after the royal wedding... this is only a continuation of the "story."
However, some of this media attention isn't just an annoyance to the royal couple, but also just plain rude. A couple of radio-station pranksters prank called the hospital at which Kate is staying, pretending to be the queen (this was even broadcasted on their radio show.) In my opinion, this is a distasteful form of entertainment that is obnoxious and exploits the status of the royal couple, just to get a few more listeners to their show.
Despite this rude behavior, I do not think we can entirely blame the media for hassling the couple, after all, we are the ones celebrating the royal couple, watching TLC specials on them, and clicking on stories about them on the Yahoo homepage. With luck, they can take the heat.
I agree with Abby, Savanna and Carly that this pregnancy will receive a lot of media attention, since the baby will be an heir to the throne. Though this does seem like an invasion of privacy at some times, it is expected, just like how the royal wedding received much media attention. I also read an article that talked about the potential names for the new baby. This could influence all types of trends, like Abby mentioned, with regards to baby names, clothes, and toys. This has been seen in the past, like with the Twilight series names and unique celebrity kids' names.
Unfortunately, the royal couple will inevitably receive an abundance of media during the time of Kate's pregnancy. As interested as I am in Kate's pregnancy, I cannot even fathom the annoyance of being photographed while pregnant. I predict the media will hype up this pregnancy to no end, which is sad for the privacy of Kate but this is the lifestyle she married into.
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