Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Current Events 3: April-September 2012


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Also let's not forget that The Duchess of Cambridge will be making her speech at a hospice. This is another big step for her as a senior member of the royal family.
 
Even Harry, who certainly enjoyed his very first solo overseas tour to the Caribbean and Brazil, said when he was interviewed at the end of it that he was absolutely shattered. When every minute of every day is planned down to the last second involving official activities which require the royals to be 'on' the whole time, it wouldn't matter if you were visiting Barbados or Timbuktu, it's going to take a lot out of you.
 
That isn't my idea of a chateau; I was expecting something like Chenonceaux, only smaller.

(I don't think that place is very attractive, though I expect it is comfortable).

The French "chateau" does not mean palace or castle but manor house - and these come in all sizes, large and small.:flowers:
 
EIIR. that's why I don't know how the royals did those very long tours back in the day. The Queen & Duke of Edinburgh and the late King & Queen used to do 6 week and 8 week tours. Although they haven't done tours like that since the 40's, 50's, and 60's, I think these tours today will still wipe you out.
 
So in your opinion being a helicopter pilot and saving lives isnt a job? Good to know.


If you are off most of the time it is a farse. I was told in this forum he had 38 days off a year. Well, Im summing up all his days off and (Jubilee, Olympics, vacation with Middletons, vacation in France) and we are only in September. He´s half way between the two, royal duties and pilot. In the end he does not fulfill ant of them properly.
 
I think William work very long hours and in shifts in the SAR. He did mention in an interview with Katie Couric that he's now finding it hard to balance out his military life and royal duties.

By the end of this year he and Catherine have to decide if they will stay in the military a little longer of will become full-time royals by next year. There's no doubt that William works but there are many things he just can't miss , like the Jubilee celebrations, Trooping the Colour and Olympics. He managed to make it to the opening ceremony and attend at least some of the games but he couldn't make it to the closing ceremony. He attended a couple games at the Paralympics but that was it.
 
If you are off most of the time it is a farse. I was told in this forum he had 38 days off a year. Well, Im summing up all his days off and (Jubilee, Olympics, vacation with Middletons, vacation in France) and we are only in September. He´s half way between the two, royal duties and pilot. In the end he does not fulfill ant of them properly.
"...In the end he does not fullfill any of them properly."

Try telling that to the people whose lives were saved because of the efforts of William and the team he works with.
 
If you are off most of the time it is a farse. I was told in this forum he had 38 days off a year. Well, Im summing up all his days off and (Jubilee, Olympics, vacation with Middletons, vacation in France) and we are only in September. He´s half way between the two, royal duties and pilot. In the end he does not fulfill ant of them properly.

He has actually 38 days holidays. In addition he works shifts where he works 24 or more hours in a row and then of course has 3 days off - days that do not count as holidaytime. My son is in SAR as well and believe me these days are needed after such shifts. But William uses them to do Royal duties - duties he is not payed for. In addition he still has no official function as he neither heir nor souverain - he is just supporting family.

So why be thankful that he has an important jobs and helps out at the family shop after his working hours. IMHO it's the shopowner who commands and not outsiders who have no idea how the family firm is actually run, how much work is to be done and who does what.

BTW: I call his being at the Olympics and Paralympics not "holiday" but Royal duties. Nice ones, for sure, but not necessarily "holidays".
 
rosana said:
In the end he does not fulfill ant of them properly.
In your opinion.

He is a Prince of the United Kingdom trying to be useful and not just a working royal. There is a balancing act to be sure. And I'm sure in certain circumstances allowances are made.

However, counting days obligated to other projects does not automatically make them vacation days. My understanding is that his squad (all of them,not just him) have an intense 3 days on / 3days off schedule...or something similar). I do know when you are a pilot you have more restrictions on the number of consecutive hours/days you are allowed to fly. I don't know how it works but there is more flexibility in a position like that. We know he didn't attend the 2nd week of Olympic events because he was on duty. He may have been doing back to back shifts to afford the time off from the week before. We know there have been times he has finished a shift and shown up at an appearance. He is trying to juggle. By his own admission,there are more demands on his time. I liken this to some of my friends who after they have children they want to return to work, but they need a little flexibility on both sides to make it work. They have multiple obligations, and are trying to keep both constituencies happy. I've seen co workers complain about someone not putting in the same hours as someone else who is a mom.... They don't know what arrangements have been made. In Williams case, the jubilee tour is a government tour, that may just be a reassignment of duties...idk. He may have taken extra leave for the jubilee year and extended the time at the end of his contract. we don't know.

I think he is doing a great job. I think running away to Provence for 2/3 days to his cousins place would be the equivalent of running away for a weekend getaway. W&K have an exhausting tour in front of them and good for him for pulling a few days break.
 
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By the way his 38 days doesn't include the time he got off before and after the Falklands.
 
He has actually 38 days holidays. In addition he works shifts where he works 24 or more hours in a row and then of course has 3 days off - days that do not count as holidaytime. My son is in SAR as well and believe me these days are needed after such shifts. But William uses them to do Royal duties - duties he is not payed for. In addition he still has no official function as he neither heir nor souverain - he is just supporting family.

I agree with you on the demands of working rescue service.

A person that works in SAR or any of the other emergency rescue type services has what I think is one of the most stressful jobs around. My hubby before he retired was a professional EMT and also worked with our local volunteer fire department. It may look like they're not doing anything but having time off and lounging around the station, but when that alarm goes off, they have to be fit, ready and alert to fly at a moment's notice. People's lives are at stake here and every minute counts. They're away from home for long shifts, have restrictions on certain things (hubby couldn't consume alcohol 8 hours before doing a rescue or drive an ambulance) and it is very physically and emotionally draining. You're pooped from stress the first day you're off, can maybe enjoy the second and the third is getting ready to go back to work.

I remember not too long ago (I think it was Trooping the Color) that William got off a shift and drove right away down to London to attend. He looked totally washed out. If W&K can take a couple days to just have alone time and do nothing at all if they please is well earned I think.
 
IMHO nothing can be counted as 'holiday' as long as your on show - in front of people and cameras ... You always have to be very much in controll - otherwise the camera snaps you in an unfortunate moment.
 
IMHO nothing can be counted as 'holiday' as long as your on show - in front of people and cameras ... You always have to be very much in controll - otherwise the camera snaps you in an unfortunate moment.

I agree, if every moment of your day is planned out you are not on holiday you are definitely at work no matter how exotic the location.
 
Well, members of the royal family are very hard workers. Even on the days you don't see them out and about on official engagements, they are doing a great deal of things behind the scenes. I just think it's great that William & Catherine got a chance to get away and relax before they head off on this tour.
 
We tend to think about royals as lucky people, but in reality they have very stressful life, still under pressure. Believe me, it is not so hard to "go crazy" in this "world"
 
British Royals@britishroyals
William & Kate are in London. Many Kate sightings today (via @Caitlin5670 & @Heather84A). French holiday, if true, would've lasted 3 days.
 
rosana said:
Another vacation? I thought this was going to be a vacation, since they mention another honeymoon at a desert island. It looks like they never have enough, don´t they?

A paradise for Kate Middleton: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to tour exotic East | Mail Online

Harry may do stupid things but a least he has a job, a real one, as a soldier.

Can you please enlighten us, what would be seen as 'work' in your eyes in regards to this couple? In your opinion, nothing they do is good enough, so I'm very curious.

CanRoyal said:
Good to see William and Kate take a long weekend getaway. Building and keeping a strong relationship will stand them in good stead in the lifetime of service they will both be giving.

Oh, absolutely. In their type of lifestyle, it's easy to drift apart and get lost. They're extremely smart to find time to come together as a couple and reconnect, especially before the tour, which is bound to be draining and exhausting.
 
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Although, lets not leave out the fun.

The royals work very hard by serving the people and flying the flag for Queen & Country but they also have some fun while on the job too. They often walk away with big smiles on their faces after meeting new people, hearing about their daily lives, learning about extraordinary businesses and organizations they have founded and built. All the nice and talented children they get to meet and the activities they often participate in. Members of the royal family often walk away from their official engagements with wonderful memories.
 
Although, lets not leave out the fun.

The royals work very hard by serving the people and flying the flag for Queen & Country but they also have some fun while on the job too. They often walk away with big smiles on their faces after meeting new people, hearing about their daily lives, learning about extraordinary businesses and organizations they have founded and built. All the nice and talented children they get to meet and the activities they often participate in. Members of the royal family often walk away from their official engagements with wonderful memories.

But who said work and fun are opposites? A lot of people I know only work because of the fun they have on doing so. And why not? IMHO these are the truly lucky people.
 
So William does his piloting job and then on his days off does his royal job? Now I see why he takes so many vacays, he doesn't seem to get a real day off unless he is out of the country. Kate is his wife and he definitely isn't going w/o her.
 
Kataryn, that is what I have been trying to point out. The royals work hard but they have fun at the sametime.
 
The Cambridges' upcoming tour is going to be work. They'll be representing The Queen during her Jubilee Year. I don't think it's unusual for members of the RF to take a break after a foreign tour.
 
I have to agree. I know some may think this is a holiday but I dont think so. This is going to be work for them. They are visiting on behalf of the Queen as head of the commonwealth. They are representing her in every way. This has nothing to do with a honeymoon or a pleasure get away. They have a full schedule with tons to do. I would be exhausted.
 
Can you please enlighten us, what would be seen as 'work' in your eyes in regards to this couple? In your opinion, nothing they do is good enough, so I'm very curious.

Daria, why don´t you just take a look at the Maxima Current events? I´m sure you will find out what a princess "job" is there, better than I can tell. She does different engagements every day, sometimes more than one. You will find the difference astonishing. They are both married to the heir, and she´s been doing this for a decade, in another language, in another country. KM is running out excuses.
 
rosana said:
Daria, why don´t you just take a look at the Maxima Current events? I´m sure you will find out what a princess "job" is there, better than I can tell. She does different engagements every day, sometimes more than one. You will find the difference astonishing. They are both married to the heir, and she´s been doing this for a decade, in another language, in another country. KM is running out excuses.

No, the DoC is the wife of the heir TO THE HEIR. It is a big difference at this point with two generations ahead of William.

Also, if you look back to Maxima's first few years as P of Oranje, I don't think her schedule was as busy as it is now. She was eased into her role as Catherine has been into hers.

Anything else?
 
What part of Prince William is not the heir to the throne atm do you not understand? Of course Maxima is busy she is Crown Princess. Your dislike of Catherine is obvious and nothing she does can make her right. You love comparing apples to oranges do you not? If HM THE QUEEN of ENGLAND thought she should be doing more with her Grandson I am sure she would let them Know. She isn't Kate Middleton anymore either. :bang:
 
Happiness is sweet said:
When is Kate Middleton going to do some charity work?

First, her title is the Duchess of Cambridge.

Second, by perusing past posts in this thread, one can see that she has been participating in lots of charity events as official patron, notably in the arts and the Scouts.
 
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