Kate Middleton Cousin and Playboy Controversy: Is it Wrong to Bank on Royalty? (PHOTO)
Katrina Darling, the second cousin to the Duchess of Cambridge, has brought controversy to the Middleton family name by banking on royalty and accepting an offer to strip in Playboy.
Kate Middleton's family and even the Duchess herself have been questioned in the past over their position and intention. Since marrying Prince William and becoming the Duchess of Cambridge, the scrutiny has only increased. Now, however, even distant relatives have drawn attention to the family name and begged the question of how appropriate it is to profit on the royalty of the crown.
Katrina Darling, 22, has allegedly been paid a six-figure sum to pose for Playboy magazine due to her seemingly distant connection to Kate Middleton. Darling is Middleton's second cousin once removed and makes a living as a burlesque dancer. She was approached by Playboy, accepted the offer, and the spread will appear in the September 2012 issue, according to Mail Online.
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Despite the large paycheck based on connections, Darling herself has stated that she has in no way attempted to get money from the Duchess, whom she claims to never have even met. In fact, she was unaware of the connection until reporters called to interview her about Middleton's wedding last year.
"It was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard," she told Playboy of finding out she was related to the potential future Queen of England. "It's not every day something like that happens."
Darling has since changed up her burlesque routine with an act titled God Save the Queen- a burlesque show inspired by Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee this year. She has yet to contact the Duchess and has no plans of doing so, but is still associating herself with the royal line. While some have criticized Darling, others beg to differ.
"This has been happening forever.. back hundreds of years families would scramble to those that were in the royal family's favor and would ride on the coat tails," Amelia wrote on the Mail Online blog.
Others suggested that all was fair game and accused the immediate Middleton family of playing the same card.
"So we have one branch of a family that gets the breaks and another that doesn't. The one that gets them doesn't lift a finger to help the one that hasn't got them," Gary Aronsson pointed. "I do not blame Katrina Darling for making the most of her connection to the Middletons as they themselves have milked the situation to a very considerable degree and will continue to do so."
