Loving the Royals to death

Submitted by LJ Holden on 14 February, 2013 - 22:11

The Women's Day - loving the Royals to death.

Sido Kitchin, the editor of the Women's Day, went on TVNZ this evening defending her magazine's decision to publish pictures of pregnant Kate Middleton in a bikini on a recent holiday. The backlash against the decision is clearly being felt - on the Women's Day Facebook page, the comments are almost universally negative, along with many comments calling for an end all together of royal reporting. The New Zealand public's tolerance of the royal hype - pushed by Women's Day to sell more copy - has started to wane.

Back in December, I was on Wallace Chapman's Sunday program with Ms Kitchin who explained that her love of the monarchy stemmed from the late Princess Diana, someone she idolised to the point of having her hair cut in the same style as the princess. Apart from Simon O'Connors strange comments on democracy being a popularity contest (apparently the system which saw him elected to parliament is bad) Ms Kitchin's comments were probably the most illuminating from those opposing a New Zealand head of State - albeit somewhat inconsistent. As Italy - the country where the images originated - shows all the royal dramas carry on long after the monarchy is voted out.

Unfortunately, this reality is probably lost on the Women's Day. With print subscriptions falling worldwide,  they might just find the backlash they have no instigated might be a case of loving the Royals to death.

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