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


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Yes, when I was young and freshly-educated, I was always a bit nervous before going on job interviews, or when meeting prospective in-laws, or when encountering new situations at my employment. And of course I got better at all those things over time. But I didn't always have the luxury of many days' advance preparation, either. And I certainly didn't have a raft of advisors to help me out, nor a suave prince by my side! But I had grit and intelligence and spunk and common sense, and I generally did well.

And of course Her Majesty could no doubt carry out her engagements while sleep-walking if she had to, after 8 decades of public life. But the nodding and smiling and hand-shaking won't be too hard for Catherine to master, and she will have superb counsel for the other duties and knowledge she will need to perform and acquire. And I think that people will be charmed by her as they were by Diana, even in the early days; she'll get the benefit of the doubt more often than not.

My point about Catherine's primary responsibility ties in nicely with what you point out. If she can be beside William for the majority of her early engagements, she certainly will be more confident and less likely to make serious errors. But if she is rushed into performing huge numbers of royal duties and having to be away from home in the early months and years, then the success of her marriage will be less assured. And if the marriage doesn't work, then it won't matter how well she performs her duties.

It seems to me that if HM thinks this is the right way to start "the kids" off in their lives together, then she is probably right.

I actually think you and I agree, Iluvbertie. Let William and Catherine settle into their own life together before requiring them to be movers and shakers in the Royal Family. Some seem to think that she must hit the ground running right out of the honeymoon gate regardless of anything else. She is mature, educated, and worldly- not a bad starting place. Youth, glamour and romance will help her immensely. And if there's no romance between the couple, there won't be between the couple and the people whom they serve.

PS- I don't know which Bertie you love, but I've just seen The Kings Speech, and I definitely love Colin Firth's Bertie! Wonderful movie.
 
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PS- I don't know which Bertie you love, but I've just seen The Kings Speech, and I definitely love Colin Firth's Bertie! Wonderful movie.


I actually have always had a soft spot for Edward VII probably from seeing the Edward VII series in my youth.
 
I actually have always had a soft spot for Edward VII probably from seeing the Edward VII series in my youth.

Me, too! I had just started dating the man I was to marry, and he sweetly agreed to watch with me. Soon, he was as eagerly attached to the series (and subsequent, similar, PBS-type shows) as I was. I was thrilled to find a man who preferred such programming. :wub:
 
Two or three things would be difficult I think: Being in the Royal Family means always being "on". In public, you can't be in a bad mood, be bored, or not be aware at all times of what's you're saying or the expression on your face. You always have to look terrific and make nice pictures for the cameras without being too obviously aware of them. What would be difficult as well is reacting appropriately to what people say to you doing walk-abouts. Someone might say something really unusual or odd, but you must be gracious. There's a constant performance going on, and I think that would be tremendous pressure.


Maybe I am just naive, maybe I am ignorant, but how difficult are these engagements?
 
Two or three things would be difficult I think: Being in the Royal Family means always being "on". In public, you can't be in a bad mood, be bored, or not be aware at all times of what's you're saying or the expression on your face. You always have to look terrific and make nice pictures for the cameras without being too obviously aware of them. What would be difficult as well is reacting appropriately to what people say to you doing walk-abouts. Someone might say something really unusual or odd, but you must be gracious. There's a constant performance going on, and I think that would be tremendous pressure.

LOL, somehow I don't think the Princess Royal got that message. :lol:
 
So,by now,Kate has quitted her job and she is free for any royal duties.
Kate Middleton Quits Party Pieces : People.com


I really don't think she will be doing any royal duties until late May or early June - after the wedding although she might appear at Easter. Just because she has quit Party Pieces doesn't mean she will start working for the royals but rather she will be spending her days getting ready to join them.
 
I really don't think she will be doing any royal duties until late May or early June - after the wedding although she might appear at Easter. Just because she has quit Party Pieces doesn't mean she will start working for the royals but rather she will be spending her days getting ready to join them.

Not only do I imagine that Kate has so much to do with the wedding that she really can't give full attention to duties at Party Pieces, but I imagine the "boss" also has a gazillion things to do to get ready. :)

I would imagine that Kate will definitely be participating in Trooping the Color, Ascot and all of the celebrations for the DoE's 90th birthday. Perhaps if William is scheduled to be on duty, she will even attend such functions with the royal family on her own.
 
I would imagine that Kate will definitely be participating in Trooping the Color, Ascot and all of the celebrations for the DoE's 90th birthday. Perhaps if William is scheduled to be on duty, she will even attend such functions with the royal family on her own.

I agree that Kate will certainly attend all of the above events (perhaps with the execption of Ascot), irrespective of whether William attends or not. Once the "summer calender" is over, you may then see a period when Kate s not that visible.
 
Not only do I imagine that Kate has so much to do with the wedding that she really can't give full attention to duties at Party Pieces, but I imagine the "boss" also has a gazillion things to do to get ready. :)

I would imagine that Kate will definitely be participating in Trooping the Color, Ascot and all of the celebrations for the DoE's 90th birthday. Perhaps if William is scheduled to be on duty, she will even attend such functions with the royal family on her own.


But these events are after she joins the family.

What she will be doing for the next three months is what I was referring to - she has left her job and doesn't marry for over 3 months. I doubt that she will be doing royal duties in that time, although, as I said she might appear at Easter (the week before she marries).
 
But these events are after she joins the family.

What she will be doing for the next three months is what I was referring to - she has left her job and doesn't marry for over 3 months. I doubt that she will be doing royal duties in that time, although, as I said she might appear at Easter (the week before she marries).

I'm sure that wedding preparations are taking up a lot of her time. Not only the dress fittings but all those little details that need to be gone over with the staff as to flowers, music, bridal party apparel and such. For a normal wedding its a very stressful time for a bride... hence the term Bridezilla so I can imagine with a wedding the size of this one and all the minute details, the stress is even greater. Of course she'll be wanting to be spending time with William also. I imagine though that if William does have an engagement on his calendar before the wedding, Kate most like would accompany him.
 
Excuse me, but wasn't she dating William for nearly ten years? I would believe that once it had been decided that Catherine would be his wife, only the wedding date being unknown, that during that time span I'm sure Charles, Camilla, William and even Harry and all their staff have all been "preparing" her for her new role...so I'm quite sure she is familiar with the basic etiquette of a member of the royal family. Though I would agree that no amount of preparation will null the nervousness associated with starting anything new.

A note on royal duties...again she will not be performing royal duties because she is unprepared, but simply they're no official duties for her to perform yet...they haven't come up with any...and I'm sure they'll need more than twelve months to create some especially with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics all occurring in less than twelve months.
 
Sherlock221B said:
A note on royal duties...again she will not be performing royal duties because she is unprepared, but simply they're no official duties for her to perform yet...they haven't come up with any...and I'm sure they'll need more than twelve months to create some especially with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics all occurring in less than twelve months.

They haven't come up with any official duties??
I can't believe that that would be the reason why. I'm sure there's a plethora of invitations mailed to the royal family in hopes of one them attending. The Queen herself turns down hundreds of engagements each year...so I think if they wanted to they could most definitely find something for Kate IMO.
 
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But these events are after she joins the family.

What she will be doing for the next three months is what I was referring to - she has left her job and doesn't marry for over 3 months. I doubt that she will be doing royal duties in that time, although, as I said she might appear at Easter (the week before she marries).

I personally think that there is enough work in organizing a wedding of that size even with considerable help.

But I can imagine that Catherine already has some ideas about what she will do once married and might already be meeting people from charities or from the Royal household in order to see if she can work with them. It wasn't eg not that much known that Fergie had such a keen interest in the Royal archives and spent long hours researching the correspondence of late Royals because she had plans to edit and publish them. Who knows? maybe Catherine already met the people responsible for the Roal collections and made plans to work there after the wedding? There are so many scenarios imaginable,so I tend to wait till we receive more information about her.
 
They haven't come up with any official duties??
I can't believe that that would be the reason why. I'm sure there's a plethora of invitations mailed to the royal family in hopes of one them attending. The Queen herself turns down hundreds of engagements each year...so I think if they wanted to they could most definitely find something for Kate IMO.

:previous:Right, official duties for her...Catherine...one cannot just conclude that she should be a fill in for the Queen...again what appropriate/relevant duties should a newly wed wife of the eldest son, a serving officer of the RAF, of the heir to the throne perform? I think the answer is more detailed than just "Oh, here's an empty spot...put her name down"...:D
 
Agreed. Anything that Kate does after the wedding will most likely be with William and she will not be filling in for the Queen. That's what they have Charles and Camilla for. As the Queen and DoE are getting older, Charles and Camilla have been picking up the slack (as has Anne, Edward and Andrew). William and Kate will pick up the slack from them as well as the Gloucesters and the Kents.
 
:previous:Right, official duties for her...Catherine...one cannot just conclude that she should be a fill in for the Queen...again what appropriate/relevant duties should a newly wed wife of the eldest son, a serving officer of the RAF, of the heir to the throne perform? I think the answer is more detailed than just "Oh, here's an empty spot...put her name down"...:D


I don't see why she should be doing anything until after April 29th.
Afterwards, I would hope and expect that Kate will be given the appropriate patronages, and duties relevant to her interests.

By the way, where did CrownPrincess5 say she should fill in for QE2?
 
I don't see why she should be doing anything until after April 29th.
Afterwards, I would hope and expect that Kate will be given the appropriate patronages, and duties relevant to her interests.

By the way, where did CrownPrincess5 say she should fill in for QE2?

She did not say that specifically, but I think it rather was CrownPrincess5's syntax that led Sherlock to make the comment about Catherine becoming a "fill in" for the Queen:

The Queen herself turns down hundreds of engagements each year...so I think if they wanted to they could most definitely find something for Kate IMO.

It can come across as if something for Catherine to do should not be that difficult to find from the engagements that the Queen has turned down. Kind of like when an actor/tress mentions in an interview that a certain role has been offered to him/her after actor/tress xxx turned it down.
 
Sherlock221B said:
:previous:Right, official duties for her...Catherine...one cannot just conclude that she should be a fill in for the Queen...again what appropriate/relevant duties should a newly wed wife of the eldest son, a serving officer of the RAF, of the heir to the throne perform? I think the answer is more detailed than just "Oh, here's an empty spot...put her name down"...:D


When did I ever say Kate will "fill in" for the Queen?? That's silly and I would never say that. I was giving an example, not a comparison. I should have said that there are many invitations sent to each member of the royal family... Charles, Will, Harry, Anne and all of them turn down many, many engagements per year.

What I'm trying to say is there's no shortages of official duties for Kate. Trust me, that is not the reason why she won't be doing engagements. Upon marriage Kate will be the most talked about member of the BRF for awhile and I'm sure there will be organizations, communities and committees clamoring for her attention and presence.


I'm sorry but stating that the royal family can't find anything official for Kate to do doesn't make sense to me. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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When did I ever say Kate will "fill in" for the Queen?? That's silly and I would never say that. I was giving an example, not a comparison. I should have said that there are many invitations sent to each member of the royal family... Charles, Will, Harry, Anne and all of them turn down many engagements per year.

Well, thank you for clearing that up.:flowers:

What I'm trying to say is there's no shortages of official duties for Kate. Trust me, that is not the reason why she won't be doing engagements. Upon marriage Kate will be the most talked about member of the BRF for awhile and I'm sure they'll be organizations, communities and committees clamoring for her attention and presence. I'm sorry but stating that the royal family can't find anything official for Kate to do doesn't make sense to me. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

No argument here about the popularity of Catherine following her wedding...I agree hundreds of organizations, communities and committees will request her patronage or just an appearance...but if they do not fit her new royal profile, she will not be allowed to perform such duty... her new profile will be as a newly wed wife to the eldest son, a serving officer in the RAF, of the heir to the throne...what official duties do they perform? :confused:
 
Well, thank you for clearing that up.:flowers:



No argument here about the popularity of Catherine following her wedding...I agree hundreds of organizations, communities and committees will request her patronage or just an appearance...but if they do not fit her new royal profile, she will not be allowed to perform such duty... her new profile will be as a newly wed wife to the eldest son, a serving officer in the RAF, of the heir to the throne...what official duties do they perform? :confused:

According to me, that is untreaded territory as of yet.
 
Sherlock221B said:
Well, thank you for clearing that up.:flowers:

No argument here about the popularity of Catherine following her wedding...I agree hundreds of organizations, communities and committees will request her patronage or just an appearance...but if they do not fit her new royal profile, she will not be allowed to perform such duty... her new profile will be as a newly wed wife to the eldest son, a serving officer in the RAF, of the heir to the throne...what official duties do they perform? :confused:

I get what you're saying.
That's a good question. She could always cut ribbons..I don't see how that would get in the way.
 
I know many want to see her/them out doing lots of public duties after their wedding (particularly her to show she has a work ethic or whatever) but I honestly think this supposed plan that was written about in the media of having the Queen basically allowing them to enjoy the first few years of married life relatively quietly in Wales whilst William finishes up with the RAF is the best idea. William even now is adding more engagements & appearances each year & I suspect that trend will continue & after the wedding Catherine will effectively tag along & slowly build up her own separate duties. I see no reason, as of yet, to rush them/her into a huge amount of duties.

I reckon it's fine if they attend the usual big family engagements, Trooping of the Colour etc & have her tag along to William's usual public engagements & as time goes by slowly increase the amount they both do & the amount that they do separately. I've no problem if they essentially go back to Wales as carry on as they have done but the only difference being that at the various things William attends to, Catherine turns up to as well & maybe 1 or 2 things she picks up for herself that follow some interest of her own. But then that's my own opinion, I know many want her to prove her worth straight away so to speak.
 
I agree, rossop7. No doubt the Queen, having seen the marriages of the 80s collapse and remembering her own time with Philip in Malta, has seen that it's better to let young couples just be couples for awhile without a lot of extra Royal pressure. I'd rather see Kate and William have a more private life if it means that they'll have a stronger life together over the long term.


I know many want to see her/them out doing lots of public duties after their wedding (particularly her to show she has a work ethic or whatever) but I honestly think this supposed plan that was written about in the media of having the Queen basically allowing them to enjoy the first few years of married life relatively quietly in Wales whilst William finishes up with the RAF is the best idea.
 
Of course when the Queen was a young wife, she would visit her husband when he had shore leave but otherwise she lived in London doing a full round of royal duties. She also left her children in London for months at a time while she went and spent this time with Philip staying in Lord Mountbatten's home. It isn't right to say that she lived there as a wife as she was only there when Philip was available. He commanded his own ship so spent most of the time at sea. They did have months together there but not full time - it was her holiday time she spent there - like she spends her holiday times now at Balmoral for two months and Sandringham for two months.
 
She must have treasured those brief times when she could be a semi-normal young married woman and perhaps wants something similar for William and Catherine although with much more time together. I suppose she thought that the children would be better off with their grandparents and staff rather than with her. I wonder whether she had a lady-in-waiting with her? This is getting seriously off-topic now.:lol:

Of course when the Queen was a young wife, she would visit her husband when he had shore leave but otherwise she lived in London doing a full round of royal duties.
 
If what this article says is true they will not have royal duties for a while......


William, Kate to stay out of public life for two years

I fail to understand why they can't work on their marriage and do royal duties. After all William will still be a rescue pilot, right? So why can't Kate at least attend a few duties a week. I am not advocating 4 or 5 a day. At least not yet:flowers: I am suprised that the Queen would make such a decision given that she seems like she works so hard even at her age. I feel that this attitude expressed by William and Kate could lead to them becoming irrelevant particularly at a time when people are struggling. After all the royal family is viewed through the changing attitudes of the society around them.
 
I fail to understand why they can't work on their marriage and do royal duties. After all William will still be a rescue pilot, right?

Completely agree, if this articles true then i'll be very dissapointed.
 
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