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

[Zonk]

My point is that this Richard Kay so everything that he says (as far as I am concerned) is with a grain of salt. We don't know if Clarence House has received a number of invitations for Kate to be a patron of a particular charity. If Clarence House called her Princess Catherine, Miss Middleton, or Duchess of Whatever. Or if he decided that its easier to just call her Princess Catherine. We just know what Richard Kay tells us, the same man who has in the past said some other things that haven't turned out to be the case.

My last comment is tongue in cheek, as there have been rumours that William is keen for Catherine to be Princess Catherine and not Duchess of Whatever. That's why I said, perhaps they know something we don't know. That after the wedding, she will in fact not be Duchess of Whatever, but Princess Catherine.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Ahh thank you for explaining it to me.
And agree with your explanation.

 

[Osipi]

I'm confused Zonk, I meant that it says "Clarence House says it has received a number of requests from causes keen to have ‘Princess Catherine’ on their official notepaper"

Surely Clarence House, knows she won't be Princess Catherine?

Perhaps that's why the title is in parenthesis as its inferring to the various charities asking for "Princess Catherine" and not Clarence House itself using that title.

 

[Hilda Thomas]

Judging by Royal protocal, Prince Charles is the prince of Wales and heir to the throne while Queen Elizabeth is still the "Figure Head", Charles and Camilla will take precident over William and Catherine. I daresay due to the Queen's age and Camilla's not so good health Catherine may be asked to be involved with duties not in line with her position as the daughter-in-law to the heir to the throne however the world's scene is changing rapidly.

 

[lancchick]

Kate Middleton: A Patron for Charity Already? : People.com

"Inevitably we have had approaches, but we are not making decisions before the wedding," says a palace spokesman. "Catherine wants time, once she is a member of the Royal Family, to come to a decision about what she wants to do. She wants to decide what her own interests are and develop those over time."

I only quote this given it looks official. I find it almost offensive that Kate needs EVEN more time to determine her interests. Isn't this a college educated woman who is very nearly 30? Given William and Kate talked about marriage for "a while," didn't anyone even Kate herself think a few years ahead and say, "I need a plan for my life other than hanging around entertaining William."

I never had an opinion about Kate before, either positive or negative but this whole situation is starting to look ridiculous.

 

[muriel]

Kate Middleton: A Patron for Charity Already? : People.com



I only quote this given it looks official. I find it almost offensive that Kate needs EVEN more time to determine her interests. Isn't this a college educated woman who is very nearly 30? Given William and Kate talked about marriage for "a while," didn't anyone even Kate herself think a few years ahead and say, "I need a plan for my life other than hanging around entertaining William."

I never had an opinion about Kate before, either positive or negative but this whole situation is starting to look ridiculous.

Not that I want to ascribe any credence ato this story. but I do think it is important that she chooses her charities carefully. IMO There is no rush to go out to go out and notch up 100 engagements in year 1, I would much rather she do fewer, and genuinely starts to engage with these charities.

 

[Zonk]

Actually, this is not an official statement. I believe People is paraphrasing an article by Richard Kay that appeared in the Daily Mail a couple of days ago.

And why should Kate start announcing her patronages before her marriage or even start thinking about them aloud. She might have some ideas but she certainly isn't going to state so publicly and share them with us. That's like putting the horse before the carriage.

 

[muriel]

Actually, this is not an official statement. I believe People is paraphrasing an article by Richard Kay that appeared in the Daily Mail a couple of days ago.

And why should Kate start announcing her patronages before her marriage or even start thinking about them aloud. She might have some ideas but she certainly isn't going to state so publicly and share them with us. That's like putting the horse before the carriage.

Quite right.

 

[lancchick]

I'm no journalist, but if you put something in quotes, doesn't that mean somebody said that exact thing? And it does say palace spokesman....

However, that fact is neither here nor there in my argument. I don't think Kate or the palace has to announce anything related to her future work. But, saying or implying that she requires even more time to figure things out is pretty silly.

I say this as a woman close to Kate's age who did go to college and started a career and didn't wait around hoping to marry someone wealthy or powerful. In general, I'll defer to the British on their feelings about Kate. But, my argument is certainly not new, I just think it's time to get it on.

 

[Zonk]

I agree to a point.

Can we get it on until after the wedding? And can we allow Kate to get her feet in terms of being a Royal (i.e. doing enagements with Wililam and other members of the BRF) before we throw her into the deep end of the pool by herself?

I think the BRF has learned from the past. Its wise to have a training period before one goes full time royal. Its one thing to be a royal girlfriend and live on the fringes of the life as opposed to be a true full time Royal. I think Sophie and Camilla are great examples of recent additions to the BRF. Upon their marriages, they shadowed their husbands and once they sifted thru all of the invitations to be patrons (can you imagine how many the BRF receive) they choose wisely and have become good additions to the BRF.

Honestly, I don't think having a college education has anything to do with being a patron and doing royal duties. Personal scandals notwithstanding...Diana didn't have a college degree and she did a great job regarding her royal duties. The Queen, is a perfect example of someone without a degree who has done very well. Perhaps its a not a fair comparison as she is the Queen but so have a lot of other members of the BRF but again they were born to the roles (i.e. Margaret, the Kents, and the Gloucesters).

 

[daspelin]

The party is definitely over for kate, she must get busy!

 

[rossop7]

When they say give her time to adjust, learn the ropes, avoiding mistakes of the past etc I don't see that as them saying that she has to learn the actual job as such I see it more as a means of keeping her out of the limelight a bit more than Diana was when she first joined the Royal Family & thus perhaps hopefully avoiding the same mass media hysteria that built up around her. I mean I basically see it as them giving an excuse to sort of gently expose her to the media rather than just throw her in straight away & potentially have the media go crazy.

Plus there probably is some sort of public relations training to do, how to do speeches, talk to media, what to expect during the course of royal duties etc. I doubt it would take that long to go over with her & probably the best "training" for it is to actually do royal engagements & appearances but I do suspect they're going to gently bring her into those things & gradually have her do more & more. Partly so she doesn't mess up anywhere & is comfortable with whatever she's doing & also partly to attempt to avoid having a crazy media exposure/following right away like Diana had. Plus I reckon both her & William will not do royal engagements on a huge level until William is done with the RAF, think they'll do things together, like what William already does now, & gradually increase the number they do until he's finished with the RAF & then they'll start doing full time royal duties & engagements, perhaps taking over many from the Queen/Prince Phillip to lighten their load & maybe some of Prince Charles'.

 

[Lady Gudgeon]

I find it almost offensive that Kate needs EVEN more time to determine her interests. Isn't this a college educated woman who is very nearly 30? Given William and Kate talked about marriage for "a while," didn't anyone even Kate herself think a few years ahead and say, "I need a plan for my life other than hanging around entertaining William."

I never had an opinion about Kate before, either positive or negative but this whole situation is starting to look ridiculous.

lancchick, I understand what you're saying and completely agree.

I don't think she needs to take on hundreds of causes/events her first year, but I do think she has plenty of time to figure out what causes are important to her and in which direction she may want to go with her patronages after she gets married. I don't think they (the Palace/RF/Kate/William) need to announce anything prior to April 29, but I do think if they get married and she "disappears" to Wales for the next 3 years to "figure out" which charities and causes she wants to get behind that it will look really bad for her, IMO.

Some articles (sorry, no, I don't have the links, so this could be totally untrue if the articles were lying) indicated that after Kate and PW got back together in 2007, they had an "agreement" that they would marry but that PW wasn't ready...so I feel that she - at that time - should have started to think seriously about future charities and causes so she'd be ready to get to work after the wedding.

And, quite frankly, I think she should/could have even been doing some volunteer work in the years since she's left college - this could have helped her figure out which charities/causes she felt passionately about without having to commit to one for the rest of her life (as I imagine it would be hard to drop a charity once you are a royal patron, but I don't really know how that works). Lots and lots of young people do charity work and have a job at the same time (even though, IMO, she hasn't even had a "real" job since graduating...but that's a topic for another thread).

 

[Zonk]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Lady Gugdeon.

But just so we are clear...the subject of this thread is Catherine's duties and roles after April 29th. Anything work or community service she could or didn't do is off topic.

 

[Skippy]

Opinions and thoughts on this one will remain divided - people think that they should settle into married life and gradually begin the charity work, others think they should dive in straight away and again others think they should concentrate on having children first.

Three options so far (as far as I know), anyone have more?

 

[Mermaid1962]

I remember Princess Michael of Kent saying in an interview awhile ago that she felt that she was at a disadvantage in that she didn't have a mother-in-law to help her. So even for the so-called "minor" royals, it's a difficult adjustment. Kate is already getting a lot of coverage in the media, and I think that it will only increase once she gets married and has the full "princess treatment." I'm willing to give her all the time she needs if it means that she'll be better at the royal job than she would be if she were thrown in at the deep end and left to find her feet.

I think the BRF has learned from the past. Its wise to have a training period before one goes full time royal. Its one thing to be a royal girlfriend and live on the fringes of the life as opposed to be a true full time Royal.

 

[Lady Gudgeon]

Gotcha, thanks Zonk

 

[texankitcat]

Gotcha, thanks Zonk

You know it really doesn't whether she thought about which charities she became involved with, or would like to become involved once William proposed and they are married. The reality is she is going to accompany William in a supportive role in his charity work until she gains the experience of a "Royal" and is confident enough to take on her own charities, just as Camilla did. She will no doubt receive some coaching on public speaking as well during this time.

It is unreasonable to expect her to immediately choose charities and begin working as a patron as soon as the honeymoon is over. It won't happen, and it isn't realistic.

 

[Princess of Durham]

You know it really doesn't whether she thought about which charities she became involved with, or would like to become involved once William proposed and they are married. The reality is she is going to accompany William in a supportive role in his charity work until she gains the experience of a "Royal" and is confident enough to take on her own charities, just as Camilla did. She will no doubt receive some coaching on public speaking as well during this time.

It is unreasonable to expect her to immediately choose charities and begin working as a patron as soon as the honeymoon is over. It won't happen, and it isn't realistic.

Very true! If the requirement/expectations demanded by some people of Kate Middleton had extended to Camilla, she would have been out there immediately and on her own. There was no way for Kate to even know the possibilties for patronage before her marriage. I think she will do fine once the dust settles and she has had a chance to look at requests. It is all speculation at this point, for all me know there could be an announcement immediately following the honeymoon regarding patronages. As someone else said though it would be best to take that slowly as it would not be a good thing to later on find that a particuar one is not a good fit.

 

[Iluvbertie]

I feel sure that she has some ideas about what areas interest her and has let CH know but that she won't start doing anything for some time.

I wouldn't be surprised if she does disappear to Wales for the next three years or so and we only see her at major royal events and with William.

 

[georgiea]

I feel sure that she has some ideas about what areas interest her and has let CH know but that she won't start doing anything for some time.

I wouldn't be surprised if she does disappear to Wales for the next three years or so and we only see her at major royal events and with William.

Iluvbertie, I definitely agree with you about the couple's royal role for the next three years. Maybe, in the first or second year Catherine will become pregnant because of her age.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Iluvbertie, I definitely agree with you about the couple's royal role for the next three years. Maybe, in the first or second year Catherine will become pregnant because of her age.

Because of her age, she's 29?

 

[georgiea]

Because of her age, she's 29?

Yes, because of her age. Lumutqueen the heir of the heir needs to have an heir too.

 

[Iluvbertie]

I think that is part of the 'timing' thing about getting married now - they want to start a family.

They have done the living together to get to know you phase and now it is time to start the family and ensure the direct line succession.

A good time too with the York girls approaching the end of their education it opens up clear reasons why they can live more normal lives as the succession will be secure for the next generation.

 

[texankitcat]

I feel sure that she has some ideas about what areas interest her and has let CH know but that she won't start doing anything for some time.

I wouldn't be surprised if she does disappear to Wales for the next three years or so and we only see her at major royal events and with William.

I think 3 years is rather overboard. A certain grace period following the wedding will no doubt be allowed, but if she doesn't show herself as actively taking part and learning the ropes. she will face a tremendous amount of criticism from the public and the media, which William and the RF certainly wouldn't want. She will be expected to shadow William in his royal duties and charitable work, and she will of course be expected to attend most Royal events. I imagine she may also pop up without William in certain cases with other Royal members. The point is that we won't know until Clarence House or BP deems it necessary to inform the public.

 

[Osipi]

I think 3 years is rather overboard. A certain grace period following the wedding will no doubt be allowed, but if she doesn't show herself as actively taking part and learning the ropes. she will face a tremendous amount of criticism from the public and the media, which William and the RF certainly wouldn't want. She will be expected to shadow William in his royal duties and charitable work, and she will of course be expected to attend most Royal events. I imagine she may also pop up without William in certain cases with other Royal members. The point is that we won't know until Clarence House or BP deems it necessary to inform the public.

I think that one of the charities that Kate will continue to support is the Starlight Children's Foundation which she has been linked with several times in the past. Along with shadowing William on the royal duties that he does and perhaps starting a family, that sounds like a pretty full life to me. Both the summers of 2011 and 2012 are going to be very busy ones and we'll see Kate quite often with the entire BRF.

 

[wanderingnana]

IMO, she hasn't even had a "real" job since graduating...

I know this is off topic, but I just wanted to say that if anyone thinks working for your father is not a real job and just a sinecure- they've never done worked for their father! Other than that, I do believe Catherine has certainly had plenty of time to develop her interests. It wouldn't surprise me at all if she hasn't already done this and is just waiting till after the marriage to get on with it. Maybe not full time at first, but certainly gradually.

 

[texankitcat]

I think that one of the charities that Kate will continue to support is the Starlight Children's Foundation which she has been linked with several times in the past. Along with shadowing William on the royal duties that he does and perhaps starting a family, that sounds like a pretty full life to me. Both the summers of 2011 and 2012 are going to be very busy ones and we'll see Kate quite often with the entire BRF.

Yes, she has been involved with the Starlight Childrens Foundation, and I have read that she would like to continue after she is married. This would be a good "first" charity for her to patron as a Royal.

 

[jemagre]

I think 3 years is rather overboard. A certain grace period following the wedding will no doubt be allowed, but if she doesn't show herself as actively taking part and learning the ropes. she will face a tremendous amount of criticism from the public and the media, which William and the RF certainly wouldn't want. She will be expected to shadow William in his royal duties and charitable work, and she will of course be expected to attend most Royal events. I imagine she may also pop up without William in certain cases with other Royal members. The point is that we won't know until Clarence House or BP deems it necessary to inform the public.

I agree with what you are saying in regards to Kate's future duties. I don't think the public will excuse her from attending duties due to her having children.

As for the Starlight Foundation..I believe that William is the royal patron for that event. I could be wrong about the patron part but I do believe that he is involved with the foundation.

 

[Lady Gudgeon]

You know it really doesn't whether she thought about which charities she became involved with, or would like to become involved once William proposed and they are married. The reality is she is going to accompany William in a supportive role in his charity work until she gains the experience of a "Royal" and is confident enough to take on her own charities, just as Camilla did. She will no doubt receive some coaching on public speaking as well during this time.

It is unreasonable to expect her to immediately choose charities and begin working as a patron as soon as the honeymoon is over. It won't happen, and it isn't realistic.

Since it hasn't happened yet - and won't for 4 more months - I don't think you can say what is "reality" and what and will happen any more than I can (unless and until we are officially told by the RF). I was simply stating my opinion of what I'd like to see happen, which I think I'm entitled to. I'm sure she will shadow PW for a while but there should be nothing stopping her from doing her own thing as well, IMO.

All I stated is that I feel she's had enough time to figure out what she wants to do after she gets married and I hope to see her jump in and get to work right away. I don't think it's unreasonable or unrealistic at all to have given some thought and planning to your life after the churchbells stop ringing. Especially when you will be judged by several countries worth of people whose queen you will someday be - I think their opinions would matter to her. And I completely agree with what you said about facing a tremendous amount of criticism if she isn't seen to be making an effort...I guess I just don't think that only shadowing PW will be enough to save her from the critics, but maybe I'm being overly concerned and people/media will be more generous (especially, IMO, if she gets pregnant right away).