Duties and Roles of the Princes

[GovGen]

Originally Posted by ysbel

Having a job is extremely over-rated. I have one and I can avouch to that.

If someone gave me an income where I could do whatever I wanted for the rest of my life, you can bet I would jump on it. I wonder if many people's anger at Kate not having a job is because they themselves have to work to make a living....

Hi, my first post after registering in the summer!
… BOT, I don’t think that is the reason at all (public envy of her position). Probably moreso, many royal watcher's/publics impression of Kate stems from comparisons with young women who can be considered as equivalents to her (ie. working or developing careers when they really don’t need to because of family wealth, marriage,etc.,)
Examples: Ivanka Trump, seriously working within her fathers business … Holly Bransen, training as a doctor … Prince Joachim’s new French fiancé is in investment banking … Autumn Kelly, career in business management of some kind … Charlotte Casiraghi, interning at a British newspaper … Zara Phillips, elite level equestrian sportswoman … Kate ???

Kate Middleton showing no ambition isn’t doing herself any favours by doing very little by day and partying with a seemingly immature prince by night, she should be doing something constructive. The publicity that surrounds her as William’s girlfriend isn’t a valid excuse either.

At the same time, William is really not doing much for his own image. As a commissioned officer in the army, he can have a good time when off-duty but should not be over-drinking or making a fool of himself. He is representing the armed forces at all times and is a heir to the throne. And there is no reason why he (and Harry) can’t be deployed somewhere, if only to work inside the safety of the main base area that houses British soldiers, equipment, offices, etc.

[Elspeth]

Bumping this thread since it seems to be a current topic at the moment.

[christinacg]

Its a good topic. My feeling is that as long as the Queen is still alive, their limited roles in public events and chairty is ok. Her Majesty has four children to help represent her and I think that the princes should be devoted to their military careers. I think as they get older they should take on more duties, and especially when Charles becomes king, they'll be more responsible for doing things on behalf of their father.

[Luv2Cruise]

William has done everything expected of him and more. He has an undergraduate degree. How many of his uncles, aunts can say the same? He then enrolled and excelled in a prestigous military academy, and has now begun his tour of all branches of the military, as he should as future commander of these forces. He is then expected to take a diplomatic assignment, again I assume as preparation for his future role.

He has performed well in all of his endeavors thus far, done exactly what is expected and probably has been mapped out for him. I have every expectation that he will continue to do so when it comes time to assume his ceremonial duties.

He seems to be a very fine young man, and I have great hopes for and expectations of his future.

[Kat]

hmm, well I have to agree with rebafan81 and Luv2Cruise. I think that whilst some people might like to see William and Harry doing more (and perhaps it's good for their work ethic (public image) to be showing more responsibility at their age), at the same time, all the important royal duties are already being very capably handled by the Queen, her husband and children, leaving very little if anything to be done by Prince William and Harry (who probably only have to do them because they're in immediate line to the throne after their father).

I can also see that if they hold back on Prince William's training and experience in doing royal duties (until Prince Charles' reign) and Prince Charles has a short reign, there would, in fact, be very little time for Prince William to get all the training and experience (related to those royal duties) needed to fulfill the future role of King.

I think, who ever's involved with planning these boys careers as royalty, have to conduct a balancing act because as much as they may want the boys to get as much experience as possible from early on, they would not want to take away too much responsibility from their father, for example, so as to avoid a situation where the boys are doing just as much or more than their father. That would look bad. It would look like the Queen plans to overlook Charles and give the crown directly to William when she steps down.

However, if, theoretically, something were to happen to Charles to prevent him from carrying out his royal duties (grave illness or, God forbid, death) before the Queen steps down, then and only then, I would expect to see a situation where William takes on more responsibilities than his father.

[kimebear]

Too true. Right now there are no shortages of Windsors to carry on the official functions. When Charles becomes king, William and his wife will take over Charles and Camilla's duties, Harry, his wife, Beatrice and Eugenie will take over the duties of Anne, Andrew, Edward and Sophie. This will enable Charles' siblings to take over the duties of the Kents and Gloucesters giving them a well deserved retirement. There is no immediate need for William and Harry to have full duty schedules now. To compare William to his grandmother at the same age is unfair as the circumstances were very different. Let them be young while they can.

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by kimebear

This will enable Charles' siblings to take over the duties of the Kents and Gloucesters giving them a well deserved retirement.

I do wish the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester would live forever. It'll be like the end of an era when they and the Kents are gone. Their descendents will blend obscurely into the aristocracy. The Wessexes & Yorks will be the Neo "minor royals" I suppose. But I'm in no rush for the handover. I like the royal family as it now.

[Duchess]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

William's displaying an heir of stupidity - Top Stories - News - Mirror.co.uk

wow...this article both annoyed me and had some good points. the media can find every excuse in the book why they should be allowed to continue to encourage photographers to harass their subjects. the worst part was his "point" about the danger of the car chase. the author seems to think that because william and catherine were in a car with a trained driver that no one was in danger...what about other cars and pedestrians? he also says that "I presume those photographers who allegedly jumped red lights and broke speed limits will be dealt with by the traffic police"....is he stupid or just naive? yes i agree that perhaps william should have given some thought as to whether or not he and catherine should appear in public together at the same time that the inquest into his mother's death is going but come on...when the paps chase them in that manner it'll never be a good time to go in public together. the other good point was that whether or not william likes it, he's going to have to put some thought and planning into outtings like this...leave by the back door, don't use a vehicle that will draw attention...don't go out the door together or if you do, pose for a picture and then at least you can say that you gave the paps a chance and they can't complain that you never cooperate...use a vehicle with darkly tinted windows.

[BeatrixFan]

I agree with the article in it's entirety. He makes a first class point and I especially loved the; "[Kate and her sister] have been labelled the Wisteria Sisters - decorative, fragrant and famously good climbers". Fabulous.

[Duchess]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

I agree with the article in it's entirety. He makes a first class point and I especially loved the; "[Kate and her sister] have been labelled the Wisteria Sisters - decorative, fragrant and famously good climbers". Fabulous.

do you think the middleton girls are social climbers? i guess i kind of do think they are but aren't most people? the term "social climbers" always denotes something negative but i think most people, not all but most, would marry up if they had the chance.

[bbb]

lol i found that label funny too
this behavior in my mind is hubristic and destructive (it killed JFKJR)
"hubris denotes overconfident pride and arrogance; it is often associated with a lack of knowledge, interest in, and exploration of history, combined with a lack of humility."
Hubris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
i see nothing wrong in young people partying (i did more than my share) but especially this week it seems unthinking and stupid to be photographed sloshed coming out of a club and then complaining when it seems they dared and egged on the paps showing up and coming out the front door when they knew they would be snapping at their heels (literally)

[BeatrixFan]

I dont really care whether they're social climbers or not actually, I just think the name is fabulous. I'm one of those people who gets goose pimply when they about the Mitford Sisters - I just love the name. So whether it fits or not, I think the Wisteria Sisters is a very glam thing indeed. Faaaabulous.

[Duchess]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

I dont really care whether they're social climbers or not actually, I just think the name is fabulous. I'm one of those people who gets goose pimply when they about the Mitford Sisters - I just love the name. So whether it fits or not, I think the Wisteria Sisters is a very glam thing indeed. Faaaabulous.

good point...i do like the name too.

[Al_bina]

Skydragon does an excellent job in selecting and posting articles.
It is not surprising that Kate Middleton has started getting the negative and sarcastic remarks from the press. She probably knows what she does and what impact such unfavourable press may have on her relationship with Prince William in the future. Hopefully, she has taken a useful piece of advice from Prince William’s stepmother. I have to confess that Miss Middleton and her mother do convey an image of foxes on the hunt for a royal engagement ring to me. I can not tell anything about the other Miss Middleton since I have not seen her pictures.
The fact that she is his long-term girlfriend, who has been introduced to Her Majesty, does not necessarily ensure that she will become a royal bride. As far as I have understood, there is a consensus of opinions in this respect.

[zhontella]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

Please you can't be serious. Nobody hounded Diana to her death, she died because her driver was drunk and she did not wear a seat belt.
No paparazzi was around when the crash happened.

Alleged by some.

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

Besides, the paps followed Diana all the time, sometimes she was pleased to see them, sometimes she wasn't, she used them for her own purposes and was used for theirs. Give and take.

It didn't start out give and take. They followed Diana all the time no matter what. She made the best out of the bad situation given to her and tried to turn it into something positive. Who can blame her? I hope William and Kate will follow her good example.

.

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by zhontella

It didn't start out give and take. They followed Diana all the time no matter what. She made the best out of the bad situation given to her and tried to turn it into something positive. Who can blame her? I hope William and Kate will follow her good example.

I hope her sons do not follow her example in regards to the paparazzi. I don't say this because I completely agree with Skydragon or BF. I don't 100% agree. I think both Henri Paul (the drunk, reckless driver) and the paparazzi (egging him on) were responsible for the crash. And I think that the paparazzi in London, especially that Marc forgot-his-surname-and-glad-to-forget-it, because he is a disgusting pig of a man who would have chased Diana to the dogs.... well, let's just say, that for all of Diana's manipulations, she didn't deserve to be hounded by the paps like she was. No one deserves that.
It may have been give and take like Skydragon said, but it was definitely more take on the part of the paparazzi.
Having said that, I do not wish to see William or Harry follow Diana's example there. It is a dangerous way to go. Dangerous and foolish. I love Diana, God rest her soul, but she was foolish about the media. Let her sons follow her example in ways where she truly was a champion, but not in this way. They will do better to follow the royal example in regards to the media. The royals are alive!

[cde]

Originally Posted by zhontella

Alleged by some.


It didn't start out give and take. They followed Diana all the time no matter what. She made the best out of the bad situation given to her and tried to turn it into something positive. Who can blame her? I hope William and Kate will follow her good example.

.

You want William and Kate to follow Diana's "good example"? So your saying if W+Kate get married and the marriage doesn't take, Kate should talk to the press in great detail about why it didn't work?
IMO I don't see how Diana talking to the press was really something positive. Her talking to the press pushed her divorce which she said she didn't really want, her talking to the press just made them pursue her even more which indirectly led to her death.Yes she should have been wearing the seatbelt and yes, the driver shouldn't have been drunk but he probably wouldn't have been speeding like he did if he wasn't trying to outrun the photographers. The press are vultures who can't be satisfied. If William and Kate follow anyone's press examples, I would hope they would pick BP.

[BeatrixFan]

Well, Diana did encourage the press by arranging for journalists to be in the right place at the right time. William must be following her example to go to somewhere where he knows the press are waiting for celebs to pap. Inheritance of stupidity and self-pity are of no use to man or beast.

[Duchess]

imo, i don't think diana's relationship with the media was necessarily a good thing. sometimes it worked for her - but mostly it worked against her. it worked when she wanted to downplay anything charles was doing but it ultimately failed her. in the beginning she chose to cooperate with the photographers and that in turn led them to expect it from her thus becoming overly comfortable - paps felt it was their god given right to photograph her in any and all circumstances whether public or private. she was naive enough to think that she could make it stop whenever she wanted but now we know that didn't happen. i think william and catherine need to take a long hard look at how they live their "public" moments. they probably won't like what the end up having to do - plan entrances and exits so as not to draw attention, even limit their outtings. the bar has been set very high as to what the public wants from it's media sources so celebrities are going to have to learn new ways of protecting themselves.

[Russophile]

Is Harry still active in the military? I was surprised when he was denied to go to Afghanistan that he ended up back in England and I haven't seen stories of him of late doing any military activity.