Duties and Roles of the Princes

[BeatrixFan]

They've enjoyed a late holiday at Teapot Cottage? A holiday from what exactly? Thankyou for posting this, I'm glad you did. I do feel this is really getting quite out of hand with William and Kate. Holidays, nightclubs - God forbid they should ever have to sign on.

[TonyaR]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

They've enjoyed a late holiday at Teapot Cottage? A holiday from what exactly? Thankyou for posting this, I'm glad you did. I do feel this is really getting quite out of hand with William and Kate. Holidays, nightclubs - God forbid they should ever have to sign on.

BeatrixFan, I'm confused about some of the things you've said with regards to Prince William. I just checked recently, and Prince William is still in the Army, as is Prince Harry. Prince William is stationed at Windsor. I don't know where Prince Harry is stationed at this time, but both princes receive a salary from the military since they are both Active Duty soldiers and officers, and of course they have their own inheritances.
Neither prince is being funded or supported by the Civil List, so I don't understand why you say Prince William does not have a job. As an active duty soldier he has a job, superior officers that he answers to, and duties to perform. I mean no offense by my statement, I am just confused as to why you say he isn't employed. He is a soldier in the Blues and Royals regiment, isn't that his employment?

[BeatrixFan]

Originally Posted by TonyaR

BeatrixFan, I'm confused about some of the things you've said with regards to Prince William. I just checked recently, and Prince William is still in the Army, as is Prince Harry. Prince William is stationed at Windsor. I don't know where Prince Harry is stationed at this time, but both princes receive a salary from the military since they are both Active Duty soldiers and officers, and of course they have their own inheritances.
Neither prince is being funded or supported by the Civil List, so I don't understand why you say Prince William does not have a job. As an active duty soldier he has a job, superior officers that he answers to, and duties to perform. I mean no offense by my statement, I am just confused as to why you say he isn't employed. He is a soldier in the Blues and Royals regiment, isn't that his employment?

Good question. The last time I checked, getting drunk and making yourself look like a contestant in the 2007 Oliver Reed Wannabe Competition is part of army life then yes, he's employed. I honestly don't know whether they're in the army or not. If they still are, surely it's a waste of time when they can't fight anywhere and if they are recieving a salary, what on earth is it for?

As to the "Is William drowning his sorrows" question, I think he's been drowning them for a while, not just at the inquest. One thing that got me puzzled as I'm not a clubber is this story of Harry snorting whisky. What a waste of good juice. Honestly, the Windsors have been serving whisky at Balmoral for 90 years and Harry takes pouring it up his nose - what next? Princess Anne doing a trick with ping pong balls at the Henley Regatta?

[zembla]

Originally Posted by ysbel

I was thinking something more in the line of something that would prepare him for his future role as king.

Any celebrity can start a foundation or pick up a cause.At the very least, one doesn't need to be a royal to start a charity or a foundation.

It would be nice if William could do something that he being royal can uniquely do and that celebrities can't copy to set himself apart from the celebrity circuit.

Everything I've read about William leads me to believe that he wants to put off those sorts of duties for as long as he can...

[ysbel]

Originally Posted by zembla

Everything I've read about William leads me to believe that he wants to put off those sorts of duties for as long as he can...

That is a mistake. I think the Queen and Charles should get together to put together a plan for him. She is the monarch and William is a direct heir so she has the right to give him a path that he must follow. I think the plan would be less useful though if William is just given told to stop partying and making a fool of himself and do 'something' worthwhile. I think it needs to be spelled out for him.

Yes, they all are privileged young people but they are answerable to the Queen.

[Luv2Cruise]

My remarks are not directed at any one person personally.

Prince William did not "ask" for privacy. They merely want the paparrazzi to adhere to the section of the PCC code which expressly prohibits being pursued after being asked to desist. I do not think it is unreasonable for the press to adhere to a code IT created.

In between the righteous indignation and law of the jungle philosophy, I don't understand why this is such a difficult concept to grasp.

Also, both William and Harry DO HAVE JOBS. They are in the military, doing their civic duty and serving their country. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe William has been living off of this salaray, his father's duckets, and since he turned 25 his inheritance from his mother. So by that reasoning no public person is supporting him YET and can basically shove their "I have a right to see William brush his teeth because I pay for his lifestyle." You pay for nothing yet. And Kate Middleton is a PRIVATE CITIZEN and again her lifestyle is her business. Not yours.

Finally both princes are young and odds on that Wiliam will not take the throne until he has lost all of his hair and is soft in his midsection. Plenty of time for clubbing, growing tired of clubbing, marrying, and settling down. I realize that MANY of the people shouting about William's behavior aren't even as old as he is and hence have no perception of age and time, so they have NO CLUE that the person you are at 25 is wholly different from the person you WILL BE at 45, 55, and 65. This past weekend I attended a high school class reunion. Let's just say it's been a few years since I graduated and everything changes in that span. Someone 21 or 25 or 35 for that matter has no idea. William still has plenty of time to grow into his future role.

Nevertheless, if something awful happens and William takes the throne earlier, I belive he has a good head on his shoulders and will buck up. Ditto for Kate if she is his choice for consort.

[biboquinhas]

I think both William and Harry should have some serious events to attend sometimes! Maybe going to public schools, delivering prizes and scholarships, inaugurations of some Youth Institutions, maybe that will give them the responsabilty they need!!!

[BeatrixFan]

They were educated at public school, maybe thats where the seat of the problem with them lies. I agree with you though, they seriously need to get some Royal engagements under their belts but then again, how can anyone treat them Princes when they act no different to third-rate Big Brother rejects?

[Luv2Cruise]

I have seen no problem with William's behavior. So what he likes to go to clubs and have a few. Who doesn't at 25.

Their royal engagements are serving their country in the military for now. Comparable to showing up for a few hours, shaking hands, and cutting ribbon. They both have the rest of their lives for that. They should be allowed to enjoy their youth now, because their lives will not be their own for much longer.

[susan alicia]

right. he will grow out of it, these are his wild years and they will pass soon enough (and they are not allowed to be as wild as those of Harry as it is)

Originally Posted by Luv2Cruise

I have seen no problem with William's behavior. So what he likes to go to clubs and have a few. Who doesn't at 25.

Their royal engagements are serving their country in the military for now. Comparable to showing up for a few hours, shaking hands, and cutting ribbon. They both have the rest of their lives for that. They should be allowed to enjoy their youth now, because their lives will not be their own for much longer.

[BeatrixFan]

I have seen no problem with William's behavior. So what he likes to go to clubs and have a few. Who doesn't at 25.

And I agree. But if he does that he has to expect two things. The first is criticism of his behaviour and that that behaviour isn't befitting of a Prince, especially one who's destined to be King. The second is that when he complains, his complaints are going to be taken seriously and the full context considered. And in the case of him saying that it was wrong for the press to mob him during his mother's inquest, he has to expect that people will and do find it distasteful and actually, quite stomach turning, to see both William and Harry getting boozed up at Boujis whilst the inquest is taking place. If William wants to go to clubs then that's up to him but he can't just expect good press and that's what he seems to want. He's coming across as spoilt, brattish, pompous and pathetic - and that's not the image he wants but it's the image he's slowly building. Not a glowing recommendation for Kingship.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Luv2Cruise

Prince William did not "ask" for privacy. They merely want the paparrazzi to adhere to the section of the PCC code which expressly prohibits being pursued after being asked to desist. I do not think it is unreasonable for the press to adhere to a code IT created.

In between the righteous indignation and law of the jungle philosophy, I don't understand why this is such a difficult concept to grasp.

Also, both William and Harry DO HAVE JOBS. They are in the military, doing their civic duty and serving their country. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe William has been living off of this salaray, his father's duckets, and since he turned 25 his inheritance from his mother. So by that reasoning no public person is supporting him YET and can basically shove their "I have a right to see William brush his teeth because I pay for his lifestyle." You pay for nothing yet. And Kate Middleton is a PRIVATE CITIZEN and again her lifestyle is her business. Not yours.

Finally both princes are young and odds on that Wiliam will not take the throne until he has lost all of his hair and is soft in his midsection. Plenty of time for clubbing, growing tired of clubbing, marrying, and settling down. I realize that MANY of the people shouting about William's behavior aren't even as old as he is and hence have no perception of age and time, so they have NO CLUE that the person you are at 25 is wholly different from the person you WILL BE at 45, 55, and 65. This past weekend I attended a high school class reunion. Let's just say it's been a few years since I graduated and everything changes in that span. Someone 21 or 25 or 35 for that matter has no idea. William still has plenty of time to grow into his future role.

Nevertheless, if something awful happens and William takes the throne earlier, I belive he has a good head on his shoulders and will buck up. Ditto for Kate if she is his choice for consort.

Great post - I can vaguely remember being 25. When you get to 55+, you realise that everyone should have the chance to enjoy themselves - you are after all, a very long time dead!

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

He's coming across as spoilt, brattish, pompous and pathetic.

Oh, that's just being 'normal', he sounds like many 25 year olds!

[BeatrixFan]

Originally Posted by Luv2Cruise

My remarks are not directed at any one person personally.

Prince William did not "ask" for privacy. They merely want the paparrazzi to adhere to the section of the PCC code which expressly prohibits being pursued after being asked to desist. I do not think it is unreasonable for the press to adhere to a code IT created.

In between the righteous indignation and law of the jungle philosophy, I don't understand why this is such a difficult concept to grasp.

Also, both William and Harry DO HAVE JOBS. They are in the military, doing their civic duty and serving their country. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe William has been living off of this salaray, his father's duckets, and since he turned 25 his inheritance from his mother. So by that reasoning no public person is supporting him YET and can basically shove their "I have a right to see William brush his teeth because I pay for his lifestyle." You pay for nothing yet. And Kate Middleton is a PRIVATE CITIZEN and again her lifestyle is her business. Not yours.

Finally both princes are young and odds on that Wiliam will not take the throne until he has lost all of his hair and is soft in his midsection. Plenty of time for clubbing, growing tired of clubbing, marrying, and settling down. I realize that MANY of the people shouting about William's behavior aren't even as old as he is and hence have no perception of age and time, so they have NO CLUE that the person you are at 25 is wholly different from the person you WILL BE at 45, 55, and 65. This past weekend I attended a high school class reunion. Let's just say it's been a few years since I graduated and everything changes in that span. Someone 21 or 25 or 35 for that matter has no idea. William still has plenty of time to grow into his future role.

Nevertheless, if something awful happens and William takes the throne earlier, I belive he has a good head on his shoulders and will buck up. Ditto for Kate if she is his choice for consort.

Well, firstly, I don't call training in the army a job. It is for normal people because they'll go on to see active service but in William and Harry's case it's a matter of earning the right to wear a pretty uniform rather than do any real fighting. So if they are recieving an army salary something is seriously wrong because I don't see what they do to warrant it. Secondly, you say William's been living off of his father's assets - well the British people provided those and so everything William has had, we've payed for. Therefore, I'm entitled to a certain professionalism in my Royal Family and I don't get it from William. What you seem to miss is this; what he does now will not go away and won't be forgotten. Pictures of him acting the turd won't dissapear because of a suddent deferential air that sweeps over Britain one morning. If he becomes King, his old image doesn't just leave him. Look at Albert of Monaco for an example. William wants only good press, privacy, complimentary headlines, zero interest in who he marries and a celebrity lifestyle that he doesn't pay for and that the public aren't allowed to see. Well, he isn't going to have that because say what you like about the British, we're not stupid. We know when we're being taken for mugs and if William thinks he's got one over on us all and has the ability to snap his fingers and for everyone to join in a great show of appreciation for him, he better think again.

Kate is my business as I've said before. She'll be my future Queen Consort if she does marry him and I think I have a right to see her occassionally. Now, the press have been real bitches to them both but it's William who's to blame. Instead of a cosy weekend at Sandringham, he takes her to nightclubs where he knows they'll be photographed. Kate works hard, she has a real job, she's a sweet girl from what I can tell and I think she'd be an asset to Britain - but why she'd want to marry an attention seeking, no hoper of a Prince is beyond me. She deserves better, the Royal Family deserves better and quite frankly, the British tax payer deserves better. I'm all for sowing wild oats but if he's going to party, then he has to realise that it comes with the tag of "Party Prince" and you can't throw a hissy fit and complain when that happens.

[BeatrixFan]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

Oh, that's just being 'normal', he sounds like many 25 year olds!

Well yes. Quite true. But he's the only 25 year old who should be in training to be King isn't he?

[Luv2Cruise]

But what you call training really is irrelevant. He is in the army and he is drawing a paycheck. He is serving his country whether or not he is ducking bullets.

So what if he likes to toss back a few on his down time. He's allowed.

And it is no more William's fault that the press like to chase him and his girlfriend down the road for a couple of pictures to turn a buck than it was Diana's fault that the press stood over her snapping away as she lay dying in the street. It IS the fault of those who clamor for "pics!" and for whom the press harrass.

[BeatrixFan]

Is he? By running around in a field and bayonetting sacks? Come to that, his 'paycheck' is actually payed for by the British people. We pay taxes to upkeep the army surely, so we're paying his salary. I've said time and time again, I don't have a problem with him drinking when he wants to, what I do object to is his complaining that the press photograph him when he goes out to nightclubs where the press always camp out. It is his fault because he goes to these places. Go somewhere else for goodness sake. And I don't see anyone clamouring for pics, I know the majority really don't care. But we do care when he thinks he's above bad press because he isn't. The press aren't harrassing William, he's going to places they've always been - doesn't take a genius to work out the solution. His mother did the same thing, called in a few paps and then complained about the mob the press formed. If you can't stand the heat, don't set yourself up for the flashbulbs.

[Duke of Marmalade]

[quote=Luv2Cruise;677410]

Also, both William and Harry DO HAVE JOBS. They are in the military, doing their civic duty and serving their country.

Are they? At least Harry is not allowed to serve his country and until now the only thing these two young men have done is providing a bad image for the army by bingedrinking and invading clubs when being off duty. I wonder what happened to other servicemen who not happen to be Mr Wales when ridiculing army service the same way the princes usually do.

And Kate Middleton is a PRIVATE CITIZEN and again her lifestyle is her business. Not yours.

That's the theory. In practice, any girl who dates the future King of GB will be pursued by the media. William should know better since his late mother was one of the people who thought they could control the media or use them one-way for their own purposes. You simply can't call them to show up and take pictures when you pose on a yacht with your lover and wear the most fashionable bathing suit but on other occasions expect them to stay away? This was a fundamental error Diana made and it's pathetic to blame the paparazzi for the circumstances surrounding her death.

[ysbel]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

Are they? At least Harry is not allowed to serve his country and until now the only thing these two young men have done is providing a bad image for the army by bingedrinking and invading clubs when being off duty. I wonder what happened to other servicemen who not happen to be Mr Wales when ridiculing army service the same way the princes usually do.

Bingedrinking and invading clubs when being off duty is pretty normal for the military. What I'm surprised at is that someone in Harry's group thinks more of selling pictures to a tabloid than keeping the group safe by keeping the bingefests secret. This tells you a little bit about the esprit de corps of the military now (it seriously appears to be lacking) and the ease at which others can get off for the same behavior. If the behavior in and of itself is so shocking Harry wouldn't be the only one getting into trouble. But apparently he is, so that tells you about the standards of acceptable behavior these days.

I think the pictures of Harry and friends are disgusting but the fact that people are only complaining about Harry's behavior tells me public indignation is a little bit hollow.

That's the theory. In practice, any girl who dates the future King of GB will be pursued by the media. William should know better since his late mother was one of the people who thought they could control the media or use them one-way for their own purposes. You simply can't call them to show up and take pictures when you pose on a yacht with your lover and wear the most fashionable bathing suit but on other occasions expect them to stay away? This was a fundamental error Diana made and it's pathetic to blame the paparazzi for the circumstances surrounding her death.

You may have a point there. William may be taking the worst routes of both his mother and father when dealing with the press. In the end he is a public person and he has to come to grips with that whatever his individual practices are.

However I disagree with you that the paparazzi should not be blamed for Diana's death. They weren't directly responsible because Diana's car made the choice of trying to outrun them but they were responsible for creating an atmosphere which could be dangerous not only to Diana but to themselves and innocent bystanders. Regularly engaging any celebrity in a highspeed chase for whatever the reason is going to create extreme danger for everyone around. Its a dangerous and very foolhardy practice and I imagine than more than one papparazzo has hung up his camera after almost getting killed in one of those chases having decided that he's had enough excitement for awhile.

[Duke of Marmalade]

[quote=ysbel;677493]

Bingedrinking and invading clubs when being off duty is pretty normal for the military. What I'm surprised at is that someone in Harry's group thinks more of selling pictures to a tabloid than keeping the group safe by keeping the bingefests secret. This tells you a little bit about the esprit de corps of the military now (it seriously appears to be lacking) and the ease at which others can get off for the same behavior. If the behavior in and of itself is so shocking Harry wouldn't be the only one getting into trouble. But apparently he is, so that tells you about the standards of acceptable behavior these days.

I agree but it's a disgrace. Harry went on a binge tour the same weekend several servicemen died on duty. I wonder why the british public only needs two seconds to find out that this is not appropriate behaviour (even for non-royals!) but first thing Harry can think of is accusing the media of mounting a campaign against him.

However I disagree with you that the paparazzi should not be blamed for Diana's death. They weren't directly responsible because Diana's car made the choice of trying to outrun them but they were responsible for creating an atmosphere which could be dangerous not only to Diana but to themselves and innocent bystanders. Regularly engaging any celebrity in a highspeed chase for whatever the reason is going to create extreme danger for everyone around. Its a dangerous and very foolhardy practice and I imagine than more than one papparazzo has hung up his camera after almost getting killed in one of those chases having decided that he's had enough excitement for awhile.

Of course I agree that anything that endangers people is wrong but there are always two sides of the story. In Diana's case the paparazzi were around but not behind the car when it crashed and the accident had more to do with a drunken driver who thought he could show these guys how fast his car can go after obviously having tipped the paparazzis off when and from where they would depart; Diana thought that a princess does not need a safety belt and Dodi's bodyguard obviously did not feel responsible for her or Dodi, his boss. There are so many things that went wrong that night, the paparazzi chase is just one issues among others.