Could the princes' future wives continue working?


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Well women who married men in high positions were expected to manage the status of the couple in society. There were visits at home to the other society ladies every afternoon and parties they had to give and invite the right people and although they had servants the lady of the house had to master the invitation list and the seating arrangement to ensure that Mr. Blowhard didn't sit close to Mr. Prude and blow her husband's business advancement all out of smithereens.

Society like that doesn't exist anymore but you can find pockets of it. A co-worker of mine is the wife of a high ranking military official and she is getting tired of the social demands on the wives of the senior officers. The more senior the level of the husband, the more social demands on the wife.

The problem for Kate and other commoners who marry royals, there is no job that they can take to prepare them for the job of being a Princess.
 
Kate is a casual worker. She takes jobs to help family, friends, and the kind of jobs she can do on her own terms. It's cool because she can make her schedule as easy or flexible as she wishes, and then she can have fun too. It's the kind of life many would like to lead. You get to exert yourself on your own terms and have as much fun as you like. What's not cool about that? :D
 
However it might be easier for Chelsy to work if she married Harry as he will not be the future King
I think that they only way it could work for her is if they didn't live in the UK. If they are in the UK, married to the future King or not, I think people will expect her to carry out duties and I don't think that there is a way to combine a private job with a public role.
 
I don't know about that. Aristocracy had/have their burdens as well, especially in years past. They often took responsibility for charitable work, because the working classes had to earn a living and didn't have time to do it. Before there was social action on behalf of government, either the wealthy or the church did it, or it simply didn't get done.

Well, there is a school ( I am sure it is still there) on Lake Geneva, outside of Montreux where young ladies were sent to learn the "burdens" of managing a household of the level they were destined to be a hostess of.
Those were the years when the ladies were raised to be a newer version of their mothers and not much was new to them. However these days a young girl from the outside comes in and starts learning her duties after she accepted the position.
It would be a refreshing start if there was some sort of a commitment from Kate to learn being a royal before she gets pushed on center stage (assuming she is heading for that role).
 
Yes, but is it fair to ask Kate for a commitment to the royal machine before William is willing to give her one?
 
Yes, but is it fair to ask Kate for a commitment to the royal machine before William is willing to give her one?

Like I said before, if that very public break up of last year did not teach her anything and if she agreed to go back in such a public way with no firm commitment on his part...........well, what can I say??
Then again, if he commited to her, it is his job to make her look as good as possible so their future subjects become as loyal and commited to both of them as possible.
 
I think, perhaps, Kate Middleton is getting her first taste of what royal life is going to be like. Prince William proposes, when he and the palace machinery is ready - and if he wants to!In Denmark it took Crown Prince Frederik quite a while to get down on his knee - in Rome in September of 2003 - and at times his then girlfriend was in despair, even though she had been introduced to the Queen at a private occasion. many months earlier. It is just the royal way of doing such things, I believe.
 
Kate is a casual worker. She takes jobs to help family, friends, and the kind of jobs she can do on her own terms. It's cool because she can make her schedule as easy or flexible as she wishes, and then she can have fun too. It's the kind of life many would like to lead. You get to exert yourself on your own terms and have as much fun as you like. What's not cool about that? :D

I think it is very uncool for Kate not to hold a proper job. It is very difficult for any commoner to become a member of a royal family - Danish Crown Princess Mary, for instance ,is not always having an easy time - but to head dive into public life without the confidence, knowledge and experience you gain from having worked, is right out foolish. In many ways CP Mary's story is a cautionary tale for someone like Kate Middleton. Mary came with a solid business background, but still - in MY opinion -sometimes seems crushed by lack of confidence in what she is doing. The Queen, William's grandma, is right not to be pleased about Kate's lack of a proper job.:flowers:
 
Like I said before, if that very public break up of last year did not teach her anything and if she agreed to go back in such a public way with no firm commitment on his part...........well, what can I say??
Then again, if he commited to her, it is his job to make her look as good as possible so their future subjects become as loyal and commited to both of them as possible.

There is a very big difference between being willing to become a royal and actually starting to act like one. The break up (if indeed it occured) could only have served to remind her how informal her role as a girlfriend is. It is inappropriate for her to start presenting herself like a royal. What can be construed as making her look good could also be seen as her already acting a like a princess. That is a line that she should not cross until there is a ring on her finger. Right now she is only The Girlfriend. Perhaps a bit closer to the aisle than other girls, but really just as much of a future queen as any until William actually proposes.
 
There is a very big difference between being willing to become a royal and actually starting to act like one. The break up (if indeed it occured) could only have served to remind her how informal her role as a girlfriend is. It is inappropriate for her to start presenting herself like a royal. What can be construed as making her look good could also be seen as her already acting a like a princess. That is a line that she should not cross until there is a ring on her finger. Right now she is only The Girlfriend. Perhaps a bit closer to the aisle than other girls, but really just as much of a future queen as any until William actually proposes.

It sounds 100% logical. I still believe the break up last year was real, since his friends came out in full force to make jokes about her, her mother, the chewing gum etc. so I could not believe it was a ploy to protect them from the media, since they never made any efforts themselves to be a bit more invisible.
Silvia started taking her distances from the other volunteers in Innsbruck and as her brother said, she was asked by CG only 10 days before the formal announcement. Although her romance was public knowledge no one remembers her as a party girl basking idly waiting for a proposal.
Perhaps Kate could tone down the partying and try to be seen as something more precious than a bikini clad beauty.
 
Mary came with a solid business background
While I think that Mary is a fantastic princess and is doing a wonderful job as Crown Princess of Denmark, there was nothing solid about her work background.

It would be a refreshing start if there was some sort of a commitment from Kate to learn being a royal before she gets pushed on center stage (assuming she is heading for that role).
I agree that it is a good idea for the women that these princes marry get some sense of what it is like before the wedding. I just don't know how they can do it, everything Kate attends leads to engagement speculation - the Garter Ceremony, the two weddings, the wings ceremony, so unless they contain it to mainly behind the scenes there is not a whole lot they can do.
 
Every one of them who became a princess had courtiers embroidering a fine background. Whether it was their mother's great grandmother's uncle who played the violin or their own career and education.
The point is once they are asked in marriage and once they accept, if they are qualified to go from a girl of the working/middle classes to the pedestal princesses are supposed to live on.
My feeling with Kate is that every photo we see either has to do with her wearing on her head a bird's nest attending a wedding or in a bathing suit on a boat, at a beach somewhere far and exotic.
Preparation for that job is not always attenting royal functions. It consists of a bit of modesty, decorum, some sort of an idea that the person is serious and not always into a party mood.
 
I agree that it is a good idea for the women that these princes marry get some sense of what it is like before the wedding. I just don't know how they can do it, everything Kate attends leads to engagement speculation - the Garter Ceremony, the two weddings, the wings ceremony, so unless they contain it to mainly behind the scenes there is not a whole lot they can do.

That's why I'm hoping the engagement (if there is to be one) is announced later this autumn, so that while William begins learning the ropes with his new slate of royal duties in 2009, Kate can begin receiving similar training from those in the royal fold on what her duties will entail. A long engagement, maybe nine months to a year, would be smart, I think, to prepare both of them for the new roles they're going to inhabit when they marry.
 
My feeling with Kate is that every photo we see either has to do with her wearing on her head a bird's nest attending a wedding or in a bathing suit on a boat, at a beach somewhere far and exotic.

I think it's important to remember, though, that we're only seeing a portion of her life through those photographs.
 
I think it's important to remember, though, that we're only seeing a portion of her life through those photographs.

I agree but if she ever had any activities other than these we see, I am sure the papparazzi would love it. To shoot her pictures coming out of a school where she volunteered to teach children geography :lol:for example, or coming out of a museum checking the latest exhibition or God forbid a college where she attends some sort of classes, would be priceless..........
 
Point taken, but she does have a college degree already, so I doubt the last would be as likely.
 
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My feeling with Kate is that every photo we see either has to do with her wearing on her head a bird's nest attending a wedding or in a bathing suit on a boat, at a beach somewhere far and exotic.
A bit of an exaggeration don't you think? Photographed at four weddings in three years and photographed in a bikini on two holidays, in 2006 and 2008.
 
Preparation for that job is not always attenting royal functions. It consists of a bit of modesty, decorum, some sort of an idea that the person is serious and not always into a party mood.

Kate has been the model of modesty and decorum. No matter how many (or how few actually) photos we see of her, she is always well presented, properly dressed and usually smiling. She was also refreshingly discreet during the "breakup". I think she already has this part of The Job down cold.
 
While I think that Mary is a fantastic princess and is doing a wonderful job as Crown Princess of Denmark, there was nothing solid about her work background.


I agree that it is a good idea for the women that these princes marry get some sense of what it is like before the wedding. I just don't know how they can do it, everything Kate attends leads to engagement speculation - the Garter Ceremony, the two weddings, the wings ceremony, so unless they contain it to mainly behind the scenes there is not a whole lot they can do.

I think CP Mary did come with a very extensive CV, when she joined the Danish Royal family, but the point I really want to make is that Kate needs to pull herself out of the waiting line and into a proper job. She will in MY opinion gain much more respect if she manages to hold down a job. Naturally, she can do that. The scrutiny will always be there, but if she stays away from the nightclubs and the expensive shops and instead focuses her efforts on earning a living - even though she doesn't have to - I think she will also make it much easier for William to eventually make her his bride!
 
Kate has been the model of modesty and decorum. No matter how many (or how few actually) photos we see of her, she is always well presented, properly dressed and usually smiling. She was also refreshingly discreet during the "breakup". I think she already has this part of The Job down cold.

I disagree. Nowadays a modern princess is much more than showing up and looking good. William - I am told - is a smart guy and he knows that the British monarchy - or any monarchy for that matter -
does not need Paris Hilton!It needs a princess in tune with the times and ready and willing to pull her finger out and do the job.
 
A bit of an exaggeration don't you think? Photographed at four weddings in three years and photographed in a bikini on two holidays, in 2006 and 2008.

Outside of this forum I have no interest in Kate.
However if I try hard I can think of pictures of hers coming in or out of clubs, on vacation on or off a boat,at a sports event waiting for William to finish competing,at the aformentioned weddings/ceremonies in that low cut orange dress at some kind of a boxing match and nothing else.......excepting that long working day at her father's business.........
 
I disagree. Nowadays a modern princess is much more than showing up and looking good. William - I am told - is a smart guy and he knows that the British monarchy - or any monarchy for that matter -
does not need Paris Hilton!It needs a princess in tune with the times and ready and willing to pull her finger out and do the job.

I didn't imply that it was the whole job. Merely a part of it, which she appears to do well already in comparison to previous women who have married into royal families. While monarchy as a whole should move somewhat with the times, it should also maintain some of its traditional position.

Its very easy to say that "Kate should just get a job". Okay. What kind of job would be good enough to please her detractors? Anything too serious and she becomes too career oriented to be good princess material. ex: "Kate won't devote enough time to the monarchy because she spends all her time being a *_*." Anything too light (like Jigsaw) and it becomes a job just to occupy her time. What serious employer in their right mind would hire someone that comes with her own mob of papparazzi every day? They have other employees to worry about protecting. Besides the fact that she has to worry about one of her co-workers talking to the media every time she goes to the ladies room. The girl can't even leave her house without attracting attention. Can you imagine the pressure of having to meticulously do your hair and makeup at the crack of dawn just to go rowing for a charity all because the paps are just waiting to get a photo of you looking badly and making up a story about how depressed you must be? This is all before any engagement and after what happened with Sophie, it is highly unlikely that William's wife will ever be allowed to work after one.
 
I tend to agree with your assessment of how realistic it would be for Kate to have a regular job. If and when there's an engagement interview and then a biography written, we'll find out what she's been doing when she's out of the public eye. So far, I haven't really seen much indicating that she's a "party girl." Even when she goes to nightclubs, she comes out looking remarkably fresh and not like she's been spending the evening drinking.:flowers:
 
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I believe that IF she is aware that she will be the next Princess of Wales she should get past these activities and behave as a serious lady who will be 30 before we know it.
Before anyone gets upset, what I mean is, she should concentrate on something more substantive and worthwhile. I do not buy into the argument that the papparazzi will be waiting for her, they already do. Even with her equivalent of a Bachelor's degree she can still study the arts, international relationships whatever, just to show that she has a brain and she uses it. So far we saw lovely smiles and as a testament to her great character a closed up mouth, but where is the substance of a possible future consort of a monarch.?
If Kate was dating Average Joe we would not have been involved in this conversation. We do because she is a possible wife to an heir of a throne.
 
What activities?

Oh Amelia, the parties, the sunbathing,the partying and then partying some more.
It is true that the papparazzi will only try to get photos that create some sort of controversy. However it is not as if she does do anything substantive and they missed it.
We can all agree that she does not have to get a job and it would make it difficult for everyone around her if she did. Most of us can say we have no idea if she will be asked by William to marry him, however, some can say that the lady seems to be going through her young life as a second fiddle, waiting and in the meantime doing nothing. Even during the break up she did not stop going out to clubs. Isn't there anything else to occupy herself with?
 
I believe that IF she is aware that she will be the next Princess of Wales she should get past these activities and behave as a serious lady who will be 30 before we know it.
Before anyone gets upset, what I mean is, she should concentrate on something more substantive and worthwhile. I do not buy into the argument that the papparazzi will be waiting for her, they already do. Even with her equivalent of a Bachelor's degree she can still study the arts, international relationships whatever, just to show that she has a brain and she uses it. So far we saw lovely smiles and as a testament to her great character a closed up mouth, but where is the substance of a possible future consort of a monarch.?
If Kate was dating Average Joe we would not have been involved in this conversation. We do because she is a possible wife to an heir of a throne.

But that is just it. She is a possible wife. As much as we would like to know her daily diary of activities, we are really not entitled to know. I really think she is very careful of her activities because of what her possible position may be. When she joined the Sisterhood, the media was all over them dissecting every member and her involvement with it. When she hosted the photo exhibit, it became this huge story about how she was going to work with Mario Testino (which he very publicly and humiliatingly denied). Forget about the whole fiasco with Jigsaw and her design career. With her half in/half out position, if she tries anything like charity or international diplomancy every paper will be making it out to be palace manipulation. As for substance, what kind of substance did Princess Mary of Teck have or Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon have that Kate does not other than a royal/aristocratic birth? Look what remarkable Queens they turned out to be.
 
As for substance, what kind of substance did Princess Mary of Teck have or Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon have that Kate does not other than a royal/aristocratic birth? Look what remarkable Queens they turned out to be.

I love it when in a conversation there are more than one point of view since the exchange of ideas has no intention of changing people's minds but learning from the opposing side.
Having said that, we can revisit Kate's options all day but her as you say inside/outside position should work to her advantage. If she is in, all the media scrutiny in her life will serve her well when and if she becomes a royal. If she is out, for her own sake she has to get involved in some pursuit other than what she seems to be doing now to fall back on.
Princess Mary and Lady Elizabeth lived in times where the noble birth was enough to carry them through. A lovely smile and great support to their husbands, among other traits would qualify them as good monarchs . These days however it does not seem enough. Kate has gone through college, I do not know what she majored in, but there should be some interests she has and pursuing something would be very good for her sake in the long run.
 
As for substance, what kind of substance did Princess Mary of Teck have or Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon have that Kate does not other than a royal/aristocratic birth? Look what remarkable Queens they turned out to be.

An excellent point!

I've written before in my blog that I feel Kate's got the best possible job for her current situation: working for her parents. It's not in the middle of London where she's constantly hounded by photographers, her employers are the people who want to protect her more than anyone else in the world, and she's doing something helpful for her family. If they are bankrolling her lifestyle, she's doing well to pay them back by doing some work for their company.

People who argue that she's not really "working" for her parents can't possibly have the information necessary to support that claim -- how can we know precisely what Kate does at Party Pieces, save those random paparazzi photos of her moving stock from a couple of weeks ago?

And surely working for her family is excellent experience should she eventually have a job working for the most prominent family in Britain: the Windsors. :flowers:
 
Kate has gone through college, I do not know what she majored in, but there should be some interests she has and pursuing something would be very good for her sake in the long run.

She got an art history degree. That's how she met William; they were originally reading the same subject, until he switched to geography.
 
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