There’s been all kinds of bullsh-t about how the Queen is pissed at Will and Kate about their responsibilities but it certainly didn’t look that way last night as Her Majesty hosted a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping and wife Peng Liyuan. Kate was seated next to the President. She’s become an international celebrity. Her country and her monarch needed her to impress China. Gotta get that Chinese money, even if the Chinese money has been in freefall the last couple of months.
Just to make it extra clear how happy they were to have them, Kate wore the “lotus flower” tiara and China red for the event. And she and William hung out with China’s first couple today too. It was not a recycled outfit either. This plum dress is Dolce&Gabbana. That’s a smart, well-advised move. My people would not have been impressed if she dusted off something old for the occasion. It’s a respect thing for us.
Beyond not recycling, you know what else Kate didn’t do with the visiting Chinese dignitaries?
Oh, ask them to name her baby.
This, supposedly is what Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg did a few weeks ago at the White House when the Obamas hosted a state dinner for Xi and Peng. Zuckerberg was seated at the head table with wife Priscilla. According to Page Six:
Zuckerberg spoke to Xi in Mandarin and asked if he would do him and wife Priscilla the honor of giving the baby she is expecting an honorary Chinese name.
Xi’s terse reply: “No.”
While a spokesperson for Zuckerberg (said), “This was not correct,” a second source insisted that Xi did decline to nominate a name for the Facebook founder’s unborn baby girl and politely added that it would be “too much responsibility.”
Uh, yeah.
Naming children is a big deal for everyone. But for Chinese people, it can be an even bigger deal. Like climb to the top of the mountain and chase a running ginseng root and wait for the sun to set at exactly the right hour and angle big deal. Many Chinese take into consideration the birth dates and signs of the parents, the positioning of the moon, all kinds of zodiac analysis, before deciding on the child’s name. Some even count the brush strokes that make up the name to make sure the total number is lucky before deciding. And a lot of people offer the honour to the family elders as the ultimate sign of respect.
The point is it’s not something you decide between the appetiser and the f-cking main course, Christ Jesus!
