Duke of Cambridge: What Now for William? Future Duties, Roles, Responsibilities


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A long way in the future for him to be king


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Yes Rob.... I suspect he will be like Charles and be into his 60's before he is King.


LaRae
 
:previous: Okay then, I am wondering how William will cope with the Duchy of Cornwall. He has little experience and he will have a large number of people directly employed or impacted by his decisions in the future as POW and in particular the Duchy of Cornwall.

Somewhere along the way I got the notion that William's 'transitional year' was to prepare him for his future role as POW. I know learning about things like farming, animal husbandry, marketing and finance can be a bit boring if they are not your thing, but in the not so distant future, he will be directly in control of this. As for The Princes Trust? Does he know the first thing about it's broad base and fantastic work with teens, young entrepenures, etc.

I can't help feeling that William is more interested in what he wants to do now rather than anything he will have to do later.

William has been preparing for taking over the Duchy of Cornwal for a number of years. He started attending meetings for the Prince’s Council (which controls the Duchy) in 2011. In fact, I remember reading that he was learning about the Duchy even before he started going to meetings.

Just because we don't see the day to day operations, or hear about every little detail, doesn't mean that preparations for William's future aren't going on. Prince Charles and the Queen know exactly what William needs to succeed and I have no doubt that they are preparing him well.
 
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I still believe he and Catherine will start transitioning to full-time royal duties way before Charles is King. The Queen is approaching 90 years old, and I think the Cambridge's will step up their duties in that consideration.
 
:previous: Okay then, I am wondering how William will cope with the Duchy of Cornwall. He has little experience and he will have a large number of people directly employed or impacted by his decisions in the future as POW and in particular the Duchy of Cornwall.

Somewhere along the way I got the notion that William's 'transitional year' was to prepare him for his future role as POW. I know learning about things like farming, animal husbandry, marketing and finance can be a bit boring if they are not your thing, but in the not so distant future, he will be directly in control of this. As for The Princes Trust? Does he know the first thing about it's broad base and fantastic work with teens, young entrepenures, etc.

I can't help feeling that William is more interested in what he wants to do now rather than anything he will have to do later.

We have little information as to how much or how little William in involved with the Duchy of Cornwall. As should be the case, there is little public information in this regard, the matter is entirely private. That said, given how much emphasis is laid within royal households in managing succession, I have no doubt William has a reasonable degree of engagements with matters relating to the Duchy. The course in Cambridge was the only bit that was announced. I have absolutely no idea why some posters are taking the view that he did not take the course, there is absolutely no reason to suggest so, IMO.
 
I don't think William even finished his agricultural course. If he had, it would have been announced. If I missed the announcement that he finished, please cite source. He seems to be able to weedle out of every task he says he's going to take. I'm sure this tentative March/April schooling for rescue training will be lost with the new baby. I think he's full of hot air.

As hard as it is for me to say this, it does seem like William is fairly indecisive about what he wants to do. He started in art history at university and switched to geography after Catherine persuaded him not to quit altogether. He did seem to like his stint in the military, but when the tour of duty in Wales was up, he left the military rather than transfer to another base where he could continue to fly in some capacity. Then he was taking an agriculture class which we don't know if he completed or not. Now he is supposedly taking additional flight training for the rescue helicopter pilot's position but he has taken time off to go to Mustique now and later this spring to China.

I'm not one of the critics who think W & C need to carry out more royal duties. There is plenty of time for that when he is first in line to the throne. However, at almost age 33 and a husband and father, it does seem like he should be making decisions about what he really is going to do and stick with it.
 
:previous: he has made a decision on what he's going to do - he's going to fly helicopters. Heaven forbid when that time ends.
 
:previous: he has made a decision on what he's going to do - he's going to fly helicopters. Heaven forbid when that time ends.

I would go further than that and say that William's ability to make decisions has been very easy for him for one simple reason: he decided years ago that he wanted to fly helicopters as a career and he has stuck to that decision through all the obstacles that have been put in his way. I have in the past be critical of William, thinking he needed to make a decision and stick with it, but I think I was wrong and should have looked into it more.

In the Army, he wanted to do active service flying helicopters (like Harry eventually managed to do), but for political reasons and additionally the security threats at that time, he wasn't allowed to do it. Because Army helicopters only fly for training purposes in the comparative safety of British skies (and he obviously didn't want to be a trainer), he changed jobs and went into the RAF.
Via the RAF he was able continue flying and did search and rescue - until the government decided to privatise this area and William's career was curtailed again.
Now, he has managed to get a new job in the East Anglia Air Ambulance.

So in effect, it has appeared that William in indecisive, but the reality is clearly quite the opposite.

With regard to the Agriculture Course, it was announced this would be a ten week course and obviously a second announcement telling us he finished it was not required.

With regard to William's University choices, he decided not to do one course and did another - so one could say that making the right decisions following the wrong choices is something William has never repeated and has since always stuck to the helicopter career choice.
 
Also within the BRF things were up in the air. The Dukes of Edinburgh and Kent were sick, no one really knew how serious it was and William could very well have been needed sooner rather than later. It was touch and go for awhile and although William's passion is flying he couldn't commit 100 percent until he got the go ahead from the Queen.

So I don't think William is indecisive at all. He recognised that he needed to be flexible and even now his schedule with EAAA will take into account royal engagements he undertakes on behalf of the Queen and Government. Travelling to China and Japan later this month at the request of HM's government is an example.
 
I would go further than that and say that William's ability to make decisions has been very easy for him for one simple reason: he decided years ago that he wanted to fly helicopters as a career and he has stuck to that decision through all the obstacles that have been put in his way. I have in the past be critical of William, thinking he needed to make a decision and stick with it, but I think I was wrong and should have looked into it more.

In the Army, he wanted to do active service flying helicopters (like Harry eventually managed to do), but for political reasons and additionally the security threats at that time, he wasn't allowed to do it. Because Army helicopters only fly for training purposes in the comparative safety of British skies (and he obviously didn't want to be a trainer), he changed jobs and went into the RAF.
Via the RAF he was able continue flying and did search and rescue - until the government decided to privatise this area and William's career was curtailed again.
Now, he has managed to get a new job in the East Anglia Air Ambulance.

So in effect, it has appeared that William in indecisive, but the reality is clearly quite the opposite.

With regard to the Agriculture Course, it was announced this would be a ten week course and obviously a second announcement telling us he finished it was not required.

With regard to William's University choices, he decided not to do one course and did another - so one could say that making the right decisions following the wrong choices is something William has never repeated and has since always stuck to the helicopter career choice.

You might be right - obviously flying is his passion. I don't believe he will end his job once he is heir - I think he will fly right up until the time he is king, unless he reaches some sort of mandatory retirement age. Somebody else will manage the duchies.
 
William won't likely be flying for too long.
 
Also within the BRF things were up in the air. The Dukes of Edinburgh and Kent were sick, no one really knew how serious it was and William could very well have been needed sooner rather than later. It was touch and go for awhile and although William's passion is flying he couldn't commit 100 percent until he got the go ahead from the Queen.

So I don't think William is indecisive at all. He recognised that he needed to be flexible and even now his schedule with EAAA will take into account royal engagements he undertakes on behalf of the Queen and Government. Travelling to China and Japan later this month at the request of HM's government is an example.

I agree that the illnesses did play a role in William's "transitional year." If two of HM's best supporters were no longer available to carry out royal duties, I believe that William would have been called up to be a full time royal.
 
I agree that the illnesses did play a role in William's "transitional year." If two of HM's best supporters were no longer available to carry out royal duties, I believe that William would have been called up to be a full time royal.
Exactly. I think it was more an on-call year holding the future open than it was a "William must take a year to decide what to do"-year.
 
Sebastian and his ridiculous articles.

Bafta stars put out over Prince WIlliam who wasn't there | Daily Mail Online

The 32-year-old Prince attended last year’s jamboree when he presented the Bafta Fellowship Award to Dame Helen Mirren, who played his grandmother in The Queen. Like a preening actor, he posed for ‘selfies’ with admiring fans and high-fived rapper Tinie Tempah.

William returned from a luxurious two-week break in the Caribbean four days before the Baftas. He and Prince George were staying with the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents, Mike and Carole Middleton, in Mustique and he is known to be loath to disrupt his holidays with his in-laws, to whom he is very close.

When William finished his six-week tour of duty as an RAF helicopter pilot in the Falklands in 2012, for example, he chose to fly to the Alps immediately for a skiing holiday with the Middletons.

He did not return for the memorial service marking the 10th anniversary of the deaths of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, which was attended by most royals.

The Prince has not carried out a single engagement this year. He is currently three-quarters of the way through the 14 exams he must take to gain his Air Transport Pilot’s Licence, which he needs before he can take up his job as an Air Ambulance pilot in Norfolk.

A Kensington Palace spokesman tells me: ‘Sadly, the Duke was not able to attend this year due to prior commitments.’

If anyone knows what those ‘commitments’ were, please do get in touch.
 
I think the fact William was in Mustique (or just came back) closed to the BAFTAS awards made his absence more noticed... About the engagements: well, it's true! It's February and he has not carried one none of them!
 
Why is it ridiculous? I think it's pretty accurate.


I agree it's really just stating the facts
If he had come back earlier and did this engagement there would be nothing to complain about.
These are the sort of things that he should be careful about IMO as it's not a good look


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:previous: Just more of William wanting to have his cake and eat it too. Yes, his absence from the memorial service for his aunt and grandmother didn't go unnoticed. But come on guys . . . he was on holiday!

BAFTA's? Same deal.

He seems to come across as one "Entitled" man who, as alway, does what he wants to do when he wants to do it. He seems to have entirely missed the basic concept of noblesse oblige.
 
I'd love to see the list of stars who 'pulled out' of the Baftas because William wasn't sitting in the audience, especially given the fact he was never scheduled to attend.

William as President of the Baftas is involved with the charitable side of things. The Prince William Scholarships in Film, Television and Games and the Baftas Give Something Back campaign are two examples.

William has been President of the Baftas since 2010 and and I think he has only attended one awards show and that was to present Helen Miren with a lifetime achievement award.

Its a bit rich for the Sebastian Shakespeare to criticise William this year when Jan Moir bashed him for attending the event last year. The Mail Online should really make up its mind
 
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William also attended the Baftas in 2010 when he was named as President. He is also head of The FA but he doesn't attend the FA Cup finals every year. Just like the Queen who is Patron of Wimbledon but only has been to the tournament a couple of times.

He going on a tour to Japan & China at the end of the month. He probably going to be stuck in briefing meetings with Miguel and David Manning for the next 2 weeks.


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William also attended the Baftas in 2010 when he was named as President. He is also head of The FA but he doesn't attend the FA Cup finals every year. Just like the Queen who is Patron of Wimbledon but only has been to the tournament a couple of times.

He going on a tour to Japan & China at the end of the month. He probably going to be stuck in briefing meetings with Miguel and David Manning for the next 2 weeks.


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Exactly + 1/3 of 14 exams + flying exams. I don't begrudge him a vacation, an he is not expected to be at the BAFTAs. Like that would have helped "William goes on vacation and his only engagement so far this year is a gala with the rich and famous"....
 
With his flying job he is likely to undertake even fewer royal duties than last year.
 
Think the idea is for William to find a balance in his new job and carrying out official engagements. It may be the case that we'll start seeing Catherine on official duties a bit more than William. I don't think his job really starts until the summer anyway.
 
Think the idea is for William to find a balance in his new job and carrying out official engagements. It may be the case that we'll start seeing Catherine on official duties a bit more than William. I don't think his job really starts until the summer anyway.

> I agree with your broader point about finding a balance between some public duties and a full time job in East Anglia

> I don't think you will see much of Catherine until early 2016 at the earliest as she will be on maternity leave

> Whilst William's job may not start until the summer (date not publicly announced), I am sure he will be kept busy with exams and, in the neaer term, preparations for his trip to Japan and China.
 
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