“Well, I’d say we’re honest. The thing my parents taught us all to be was honest,” he says of the Middletons.

It was a big family value? “Very much. Being grounded and being honest was something instilled in us right from the start. And I think those are the values I want to instil in my son — that and having confidence in who he is, whoever he turns out to be.”

“To thine own self be true” is a cliché, albeit a Shakespearean one, but it is important to Middleton

Posted by ButIDigress79

8 comments

  1. Edit:
    The Middleton family do love each other though, and are actually there for each other. James writing about his depression is important and helpful.

    I think originally, when James wrote the Daily Mail article, he revealed that his parents did not want him to do it. It’s been a good thing that people have been respectful and kind to him. And that the Middleton parents care more about their kids than needing them to project a certain image.

    The contrast between James and the Middletons versus Harry and the Windsors is interesting. The difference between a supportive family that cares a great deal about image and ambition but cares more about each other, and a family that prioritizes image and importance above all else.

    –
    But in general —I don’t know if I’d describe the three Middleton siblings as grounded and honest. All three of them seemed more interested in a good time over putting in a day’s hard work.

    Sports seems to be the only place where they have a work ethic. But they are three very privileged people who lived off family money, and then Pippa and James cashed in on their sister’s fame.

  2. Pippa has Kate’s dream life, rich husband and doesn’t have to work

  3. His parents left people in debt. One can’t mention honesty without acknowledging this.

  4. James does have some ability for descriptive writing. I read Pippa’s columns and her party book back when she was trying to be a writer and they were very dry. James is better at creating a warm, cozy scene. It’s too bad that he wasn’t more involved in Party Pieces in that way.

  5. I feel bad for him. He clearly struggled and the pressure of being in such a high profile family probably makes it worse. It’s clear his sister’s are achievers and he feels he has to measure up. Probably just wants a quiet life with his dogs. I hope he has a happy marriage and is finding his way. He’s never done anything to deserve scrutiny or criticism.

  6. He seems like a nice enough man but he has no business sense. He couldn’t make a success of an ice cream van in the middle of a heatwave. Being an entrepreneur and having business acumen is not for everyone.

  7. “I spent the vast majority of my life being told I was a failure because I wasn’t passing exams. If you don’t pass, you fail and I failed almost every exam under the sun. So I was never really told anything else.”

    James and Harry have this in common. They both spent their adolescence in elite schools where they had older siblings excel and they failed, again and again. That experience instills shame on a deep level.

    I assume Kate and William have learned from their siblings’ experience. Hopefully George, Charlotte and Louis all go to schools where they’ll thrive, even if they aren’t all at the same school.

  8. Unintelligent people fail all the time at school and in other places. He’s a very lucky person at the end of the day.

Comments are closed.