Duchess of Cambridge: What Now for Catherine? Future Duties, Roles, Responsibilities

[miss whirley]

Catherine, William, and Harry are bench players. I get that they are attractive and people want to gape at them, maybe put them on their screen-savers. But they won't be utilized until one of the older members retires/dies. The funding isn't there, the need isn't there.

If The Duke of Kent had died last year due to his stroke, I bet Catherine would have picked up his engagements/duties/funds. Thankfully, The Duke of Kent is still here, and Catherine is still on the bench waiting for the Grim Reaper to open a position.

So what should we do in the meantime?

Our macabre members might want to start a Prince Philip death watch. Report back when he gets glassy-eyed and lethargic. Or when he clutches his left shoulder during a walkabout. Non-macabre members might want to appreciate the older royals while they're still here, instead of craving the beauty of youth.

I hope we all have a long wait.

 

[Lee27]

The Kents and Glouchesters will continue to represent the Queen in turn they get cheap rent at KP. But their public duties and roles will end with them. Their children are private individuals who will be seen at royal weddings and funerals. Charles is going for a lineal line because the costs come out of his pockets, so he is not going to foot the bill for Eugenie and Beatrice to represent the crown. As much as many on this board want to see the princesses representing the Queen in various engagements, it does not appear that anyone in BP has such plans for them.
It is probably about the money, but maybe Charles and the Queen want the girls to be able to have a private life.

 

[TLLK]

Catherine, William, and Harry are bench players. I get that they are attractive and people want to gape at them, maybe put them on their screen-savers. But they won't be utilized until one of the older members retires/dies. The funding isn't there, the need isn't there.

If The Duke of Kent had died last year due to his stroke, I bet Catherine would have picked up his engagements/duties/funds. Thankfully, The Duke of Kent is still here, and Catherine is still on the bench waiting for the Grim Reaper to open a position.

So what should we do in the meantime?

Our macabre members might want to start a Prince Philip death watch. Report back when he gets glassy-eyed and lethargic. Or when he clutches his left shoulder during a walkabout. Non-macabre members might want to appreciate the older royals while they're still here, instead of craving the beauty of youth.

I hope we all have a long wait.

Also the DoE and Princess Alexandra were facing health concerns in 2013. Had they passed away or needed to retire due to ongoing health issues, then I believe that William, Kate and possible Harry would have received instructions from HM to join the ranks as full royals. Fortunately they appear to have made good recoveries and are able to continue with their royal duties for as long as they wish.

 

[Mirabel]

If the Queen ran the Firm based on who one is married to or one's place in the line of succession then people like the Kents and Gloucesters who are in the 30s and 40s in the line of succession would have been sent out to pasture already.

I kind of think they should be; let's face it, they could all stroll down the street unnoticed and unrecognized!

I think they still get G&F housing because the Queen promised it years ago. But I think they are so obscure that few people would recognize them if they weren't identified.
It's past time they retired, imo.

 

[Queen Camilla]

I disagree with the argument that there is not enough money for William and Catherine.

The theory that a member of the RF has to die or retire to make room for W&K is absurd.

If Sophie & Edward can increase their number of royal engagements then there is enough money for William and Catherine.

The money spent on Sophie's and Edward's royal engagements can be used for W&K's engagements. If William was actually willing to become a full time royal then Sophie did not have to increase her number of engagements this year,

It is less expensive to send William or Catherine on a day trip to Kent than to Australia. (A trip IMO, that could have been more compact.)

The argument that W&K are only the heir to heir/spouse and are not in the same league as other crown prince/ss also doesn't hold up.

William and Catherine are in their 30s. If they have to wait until the Queen dies in another 10-15 years then they will be in their mid 40s.

Catherine's less than ideal work history works against her. To wait until she is in her mid 40s before she starts working part time will not go over well with people who have been working full time since age 21 or so. As a full time royal she will probably only work about 100-150 days a year. Most people work at least 200-250 days a year.

 

[soapstar]

What makes you think she would only do 100-150 engagements as a full-time royal.

 

[Lee27]

The expenses for William, Kate and Harry's royal engagements are covered by Charles. Maybe he doesn't want to fund William and Katherine making 200-250 engagements a year. The media makes a big deal on the cost to citizens of the royal appearances.

Who knows the reasons that the queen's grandchildren are not full time royals. But she must be okay with what they are doing and the extent of their royal duties.

If the Queen wanted William and Katherine to become full time royal making 200 engagements a year, then they would be out and about. But apparently she doesn't see the need.




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[Dman]

The expenses for William, Kate and Harry's royal engagements are covered by Charles. Maybe he doesn't want to fund William and Katherine making 200-250 engagements a year. The media makes a big deal on the cost to citizens of the royal appearances.

Who knows the reasons that the queen's grandchildren are not full time royals. But she must be okay with what they are doing and the extent of their royal duties.

If the Queen wanted William and Katherine to become full time royal making 200 engagements a year, then they would be out and about. But apparently she doesn't see the need.




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The choice will have to be made by the Cambridge's. The Wessex's made this same choice during the Queen's Golden Jubilee. William & Catherine will likely be welcomed and funded if they came to that choice. It shouldn't take anyone to become sick for them to reach that decision.

 

[Skippyboo]

Duchess of Cambridge Duties and Roles

The Queen pays for the royal activities of everybody but Charles and his family. The income from the Duchy of Cornwall pays the Wales and Cambridges. Also when a royal goes on tour to a Commonwealth realm such as Canada or Australia etc. The realm being visited pays for it. The 500K was a bargain for WK&G visit to Australia. Oprah visiting cost the Aussie taxpayer 2.3 million.

We know what William is doing for the next 2 yrs with the approval of the Queen and the Prince of Wales. Kate is sick and the sickness could last through her entire pregnancy. She got better with George but that isn't a guarantee that she will for this one. Why don't we worry about her workload this time next year.

Can't we also please stop comparing people to other people. Life is not fair. Sometimes a person is born to be a King in the UK, or you are born in a slum in India, or you are born in a middle class family in the US or you are born in a rich family in South America. All these people are going to have different lives and different hardships and they aren't going to be the same hardships.


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[soapstar]

That's a very good point about Charles covering William, Kate and Harry's expenses.

I go back to the point I made yesterday. A young picturesque Catherine on a cover sells a lot more magazines than a 60-something Camilla. The noise about Catherine's lack of engagements from some sections of the media is really driven by that, IMO.

Also, as far as internet forums go, a lot of people like to see Catherine, her clothes and jewels, and dissect them extensively. Clear a lack of public engagements leaves an awful lot of people with relatively little to comment on, and hence, the negative commentary.

Yeah, some of the media complaints do seem to be driven by the fact that the Cambridge's sell. I just read an article about the Press Association, and they stated that George's birth was the biggest story for them in 2013. And Kate is ranked number 4 for all time People magazine covers. So the press definitely benefits when the Cambridge's are out and about.

 

[Rudolph]

This is the first time there are three adult generations in the RF in well over a 100 years. The royal finances are not structured in a way which allows three generations to go out and work full-time.

There are three sources of money for the family, the Sovereign Grant and the income from the Duchy of Lancaster for the Queen and the income from the Duchy of Cornwall for Charles.

Charles pay for himself, Camilla, Harry, William, Kate and George from Duchy money. The only help they get from the Queen is to offset travel.

Money used for Edward and Sophie has nothing at all to do with Charles or his family nor do they have access to it.

William and Kate travel on regular airline flights, Charles and Camilla travel by private jet.

Prince of Wales's attendance at Nelson Mandela's funeral cost £246,160 - Telegraph

The official travel bill for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall doubled in the last year as the heir to the throne took on more public duties, new figures show.

The annual accounts for Clarence House, published on Thursday, show that the amount spent on air and rail travel for the couple increased by £679,000 to £1.3 million

.
Prince Charles paid £1m a year to support Prince William and Harry in official duties | Royal | News | Daily Express

PRINCE Charles is paying £1 million a year to support his sons and the Duchess of Cambridge in their official duties, it emerged today.

But the heir to the throne may struggle to foot the growing bill if Prince William, Kate, and Prince Harry end up taking on much more royal work as the Queen and Prince Philip slow down.

Charles's principal private secretary William Nye conceded that his boss would have to look carefully at how much he could continue to fund the activities of the three younger royals in addition to his and Camilla's duties if the balance of work changed.

Buckingham Palace receives the bulk of £36 million in taxpayer funding for the Royal Family but Charles pays for much of the work involving himself, Camilla, William, Kate and Harry, who are increasingly becoming the focus of the future of the monarchy.

 

[muriel]

The choice will have to be made by the Cambridge's. The Wessex's made this same choice during the Queen's Golden Jubilee. William & Catherine will likely be welcomed and funded if they came to that choice. It shouldn't take anyone to become sick for them to reach that decision.

Lets not forget the Wessex's hands were forced. Edward's companies had more or less failed commercially, and Sophie had been busted by the Fake Sheikh. Also, this was the period around the time of the deaths of QEQM and Princess Margaret, and after the death of Diana. Charles and the BRF, in general, had been deeply unpopular for some time following the War of the Wales' and the death of Diana. There were relatively few royal women, allowing Sophie to morph into, what was described in the Press as the 2nd senior most royal lady in the land.

Things are very different now. The BRF is popular once again. Charles and Camilla are widely respected, and so is Anne. The other royals of the generation continue to work hard, but do not attract much attention, quite like the Kents and Gloucesters. The focus is again on the "core" lines of succession, and the Wales family. Yet, there is no immediate need to supplement the numbers of people working for the firm on a full time basis. C&C and his siblings have taken over some of the workload of HM and DoE. Unless the heath of HM and DoE substantially declines, you may have a period of a few years where William, Catherine and Harry can lead semi-private lives.

 

[TLLK]

Thank you to all who shared facts, figures and articles regarding the funding of royal engagements. IMO it does impact how often the Cambridges and Harry can perform royal engagements and I believe it did play a role in William's decision to delay becoming a full time royal.

 

[Rudolph]

Funding plays a huge part. The Queen is provided with an official income, the heir to the throne is provided with an official income but the heir to the heir isn't provided with an official income.

Everything the Cambridges do in both their private and official lives comes out of Charles's piece of the pie and it starts to add up. The finances of the BRF are not set up to account for William Kate and Harry working full-time.

 

[LasMa]

With the exception of this year, William and Harry have never done more than 100 engagements. So I don't know why people are surprised that Kate's engagement count is around the same.

I'm not sure where number of engagements is obtained. Googling found me these:

The Royal Family’s engagements in 2012

The Royal Family’s engagements in 2013

Relevant to this discussion, several things are clear. First, Kate didn't come anywhere close to 100 engagements in either year. Second, the Cambridges do fewer engagements than anyone else, by a long way.

The one exception is Harry in 2013, but he was very involved in a large, time-consuming project (Invictus). But to be fair, Kate was also involved in a large, time-consuming project (adding kitchens).

 

[GracieGiraffe]

I'm not sure where number of engagements is obtained. Googling found me these:

The Royal Family’s engagements in 2012

The Royal Family’s engagements in 2013

Relevant to this discussion, several things are clear. First, Kate didn't come anywhere close to 100 engagements in either year. Second, the Cambridges do fewer engagements than anyone else, by a long way.

The one exception is Harry in 2013, but he was very involved in a large, time-consuming project (Invictus). But to be fair, Kate was also involved in a large, time-consuming project (adding kitchens).

Thanks, I don't need any caffeine after reading that.

 

[HRHHermione]

I'm not sure where number of engagements is obtained. Googling found me these:

The Royal Family’s engagements in 2012

The Royal Family’s engagements in 2013

Relevant to this discussion, several things are clear. First, Kate didn't come anywhere close to 100 engagements in either year. Second, the Cambridges do fewer engagements than anyone else, by a long way.

The one exception is Harry in 2013, but he was very involved in a large, time-consuming project (Invictus). But to be fair, Kate was also involved in a large, time-consuming project (adding kitchens).

If you were a bit more active on this forum, you'd know that we have a thread where the engagements are tracked from week to week. Iluvbertie does it, and does it beautifully.

Welcome! I hope you'll enjoy it here, even though your brand of opinion about Kate's work ethic probably won't be well received.

For example, you insinuate all Kate did in 2013 was remodel... She also gave birth to her first child.


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[Rudolph]

According to bertie

In 2011 we have William doing 90 engagements, Kate 34 and Harry 16.

In 2012 William did 96, Kate did 124 and Harry 71.

In 2013 William did 66, Kate did 44 and Harry 57

and so far this year William has done 120, Kate 80 and Harry 78

 

[Skippyboo]

Also with the engagement numbers in the letter to the Times, you have to add D -total engagements in UK with E - total overseas engagements.

So in 2012 :

William: D 52 E 36 Total 88 (Wills was in Falklands for RAF duties first months of 2012)

Kate: D 75 E 36 Total 111




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[Marengo]

I have to say that whatever wizard they have at the British court adding up these numbers should go to other RF's too. The sheer amount of the British engagements always surprises me, they calculate in a more generous way, which is clever as the media only looks at the numbers a and not what they actually mean.

 

[Rudolph]

The British court doesn't add the figures. They publish what each member of the family does on any given day and others do the maths.

So if the CC states the Queen met with ambassadors in the morning, the Prime Minster in the afternoon and a banquet in the evening this is counted as 3 in total by newspapers but the Court Circular doesn't say today the Queen did 3 engagements.

 

[Skippyboo]

It is not even the newspapers, it's a guy with notebook that does what Iluvbertie does in the forum count and sends the results as a letter to The Times.


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[Lee27]

Much of what people want Catherine to do can only happen if the Queen wants it. To be an honorary colonel will require the Queen's approval. For Catherine to give speeches that are more than thank for inviting me will require the royal family to get past Diana's speeches that were often digs against them. Don't see that happening until she is the Princess of Wales.
For Catherine to work for the firm 24/7 is not going to happen while she has small children.... And maybe not until she becomes the princess of Wales.
The Cambridges will do and live as they are for now because the Queen and Charles have no problem with it.


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[Dman]

Much of what people want Catherine to do can only happen if the Queen wants it. To be an honorary colonel will require the Queen's approval. For Catherine to give speeches that are more than thank for inviting me will require the royal family to get past Diana's speeches that were often digs against them. Don't see that happening until she is the Princess of Wales.
For Catherine to work for the firm 24/7 is not going to happen while she has small children.... And maybe not until she becomes the princess of Wales.
The Cambridges will do and live as they are for now because the Queen and Charles have no problem with it.


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The Honorary Colonel appointments will come and I think soon. Catherine speeches have nothing to do with her late mother-in-law and the late Princess never took digs at the royal family in her official speeches. Catherine do not have to be Princess of Wales to give speeches.

 

[Rudolph]

Personally I don't quite get this obsession with people wanting the wife of the 2nd in line to the throne to give 'speeches'

As far as honorary colonelcies, this requires a reorganisation of regiments, and is not up to Catherine.

 

[Dman]

Personally I don't quite get this obsession with people wanting the wife of the 2nd in line to the throne to give 'speeches'

As far as honorary colonelcies, this requires a reorganisation of regiments, and is not up to Catherine.

I think her voice should be heard more on the charities and issues she really care about. She also have to get used to making speeches more often. The more she do, the better she'll get making them. She haven't made a speech in a while now.

 

[Rudolph]

I disagree. No one judges William or Harry on their speech making abilities and neither one is good at it. In the past every time Catherine opens her mouth she is nitpicked to death.

I just think people invent things to judge Kate by. Speech making now seems like the most important thing in the world, when in fact no other royal is judged by it.

 

[Frelinghighness]

good point, I agree with you

 

[PetticoatLane]

I disagree. No one judges William or Harry on their speech making abilities and neither one is good at it. In the past every time Catherine opens her mouth she is nitpicked to death.

I just think people invent things to judge Kate by. Speech making now seems like the most important thing in the world, when in fact no other royal is judged by it.

Plus, the Queen has never given a good speech in her life. I adore her but she has never been a compelling public speaker, and it's not just that she's straight-jacketed into saying the same boring platitudes time after time, she's just a poor speech-giver. She's said some important things at important times, but she's never given a great speech.

 

[Dman]

It's not about giving speeches to be giving speeches, it's about making her voice heard on the issues and causes Her Royal Highness care about.

I think the best speech Catherine gave is when she visited one of her old schools, just before it was announced she was in the hospital and pregnant with George. Her confidence and delivery was wonder.

She haven't spoke in public about her charities in a while. It's true, her speeches are picked over way too much but at least she's out there speaking about the causes she's supporting.

The royals aren't the best public speakers but that really don't matter. What matters is that you hear their passion and dedication to the causes and organizations they support.

No one want to hear and see Catherine giving a 4 hour speech like her father-in-law is known to give but she could at least say a couple of syllables more often.