Last week, I wrote a somewhat positive story about the Duchess of Cambridge. Which just shows you that I sometimes fall into the keen trap too, the trap of infantilizing Kate and getting excited when she does one interesting thing. Last week, she did an event with survivors of the Holocaust, and I wrote about how this probably would have been a better “issue” for Kate in general. I thought about my general positivity towards Kate on this one thing afterwards and then I was like “wait, was it this year that Kate exploited a murder victim?” It was. It was just six months ago when Kate made Sarah Everard’s murder all about how Keen Kate Cares About Women. Kate posed maskless in a crowded vigil for Everard and even brought her own videographer, and Kensington Palace issued a statement about how Kate “remembers what [it] was like to walk around London at night before she was married.”
Kate made sure to center herself in the story of a woman who was murdered by a cop. Kate exploited Everard and the tragedy of her death so that Kate could get good press. For weeks, Kate made “she went to the vigil” a centerpiece of her press strategy. It was revolting. And guess who’s at it again?
Kate Middleton shared that she is “saddened” by the murder of 28-year-old London primary school teacher Sabina Nessa. In a personal tweet on Kate and Prince William’s shared Twitter account, noted by the “C” for Catherine at the end, the royal mom of three said, “I am saddened by the loss of another innocent young woman on our streets. My thoughts are with Sabina’s family and friends, and all those who have been affected by this tragic event.”
Last week, Nessa left her south London home to make the five-minute walk to her local pub when she was murdered, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement Thursday. Authorities believe Nessa was murdered while walking through a park in the city’s Greenwich borough toward the pub, where she was meeting a friend. The teacher’s body was found near a community center within the park the next evening.
“Sabina’s journey should have taken just over five minutes but she never made it to her destination,” Detective Inspector Joe Garrity said in a press release Thursday. “We know the community are rightly shocked by this murder — as are we — and we are using every resource available to us to find the individual responsible.”
Two unnamed men have been arrested in connection with Nessa’s murder, according to the Metro Police. The department also released images pulled from CCTV of another man investigators would like to speak with, requesting the public’s help in identifying him.
It feels like Kate is trying to recycle the same media strategy with only a few minor tweaks. Obviously, she can’t go to the vigil and bring her own videographer this time, right? The Sun’s Matt Wilkinson reports that “Kate is not expected to visit the vigil for Sabina Nessa but flowers will be left on her behalf, it is understood.” So Kate will get credit for “being compassionate” without actually having to set up a photo-op at a murder victim’s vigil. Plus, it comes across as a racist dog-whistle – Nessa was a Muslim woman and a woman of color. Obviously, Kate would not attend her vigil or expend the same kind of energy as she did for Everard.
I wonder if Kensington Palace will conveniently leak that Kate sent a letter of condolence to the family, which is exactly what happened with Sarah Everard. Everard’s family didn’t tell the press about Kate’s letter – KP told the press about the letter.
I am saddened by the loss of another innocent young woman on our streets. My thoughts are with Sabina’s family and friends, and all those who have been affected by this tragic event. C
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) September 24, 2021
Kate is not expected to visit the vigil for Sabina Nessa but flowers will be left on her behalf, it is understood. Sources close to the duchess have previously said “Like many women today she remembers what it is like to walk alone in London” https://t.co/hLWiI92pPg
— Matt Wilkinson (@MattSunRoyal) September 24, 2021
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
