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

[casualfan]

casualfan, in theory what you are saying is true. But in practice it's a far, far different story. I have praised the DoC's many beautiful outfits. I've made comments about her adorable baby. I've expressed relief that there is an anti-Kardashian for the press to focus on. But the only time, and I do mean THE ONLY TIME I ever get a response to something I post in a Cambridge thread is when I don't express gushing admiration for them.

[...]

Frankly I am tired of it. If you or anyone else really want to see what irrational, jealous hatred of the Royals really looks like, send me a PM and I'll direct you to a couple of sites. This place doesn't even come close I assure you!

This is supposed to be a public message board with an exchange of opinions, not a fan site. There are plenty of those on the Internet for posters who are interested.

There are very few on this particular boarding who can even be labeled as hating on this couple. Most express disappoint and disillusion with them; but ray is s there ever anything close to hate or jealousy. [...] There is also the option of the ignore button as well.

1. No thanks - I know of these other sites, and they're horrifying examples of the gutters of humanity, so no comparison between those and this forum, for sure.

2. I've had the same experience with usually not getting a response if I post agreeing with the general consensus, but I think this has more to do with a differing opinion "sticking out" or creating more interesting conversation than anything else.

3. It's totally fair to argue that one shouldn't use personal attacks to counter someone's argument (although there's a fine line - calling out someone's blatant misinformation, meanness or wrong statements shouldn't be characterized as a personal attack, either.)

4. Trust me - I've found the ignore feature of the forum and find it very handy. ????

 

[soapstar]

casualfan, in theory what you are saying is true. But in practice it's a far, far different story. I have praised the DoC's many beautiful outfits. I've made comments about her adorable baby. I've expressed relief that there is an anti-Kardashian for the press to focus on. But the only time, and I do mean THE ONLY TIME I ever get a response to something I post in a Cambridge thread is when I don't express gushing admiration for them.

If I say that Kate should get control of her skirt blow up issues, it's insinuated that I am jealous and what does it matter anyway since she has great legs and is wearing a thong.

If I express disappointment over what I feel is a lax attitude toward protocol, I am called "irrational" and "filled with hate" and subjected to unfunny satire by someone who fancies themselves a wit.

Frankly I am tired of it. If you or anyone else really want to see what irrational, jealous hatred of the Royals really looks like, send me a PM and I'll direct you to a couple of sites. This place doesn't even come close I assure you!

This is supposed to be a public message board with an exchange of opinions, not a fan site. There are plenty of those on the Internet for posters who are interested.

Eh...this is hardly a William and Kate thing. I know I've pointed this out before, but this kind of stuff can be found on any of the threads. I've seen posters called jealous for not praising Charlene and Albert, or called out because they don't like an outfit that the York sisters are wearing. It happens all the time, yet some only seem to have a problem when it comes to W&K's threads.

 

[Lee27]

I recall the media staking out Catherine's places of work which was a hardship for her co - workers and employer. Also there was some imitation that she either did not deserve the job or the company was courting the royals.

Much of the same happened with Sophie when she tried to continue her PR career.

European royalty seem to be able to have jobs and careers without the media following them around or questioning how or why they were hired.

as much as some appear to want Catherine to have a paying job or work some schedule of 3 days a week your guide, her role and duties will be shaped and controlled by the royal firm. Before her pregnancy there were some stories that POW was not happy with all the media attention focused on Catherine and what she was wearing, etc as distracting attention from what real work the RF was doing.


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[royal-blue]

I really think that while Kate is still young she should find a specific worthwhile role she can fulfil, otherwise all she will have achieved in life is being a wife and mother, and Queen of course.

I have enormous respect for HM, Philip, Charles, Anne and Harry, and would be prepared to stand a whole day in the rain waiting for a glimpse of them. I wouldn't do this for the Cambridges.

 

[HRHHermione]

I really think that while Kate is still young she should find a specific worthwhile role she can fulfil, otherwise all she will have achieved in life is being a wife and mother, and Queen of course.

I have enormous respect for HM, Philip, Charles, Anne and Harry, and would be prepared to stand a whole day in the rain waiting for a glimpse of them. I wouldn't do this for the Cambridges.

What precisely did her Majesty accomplish other than being a wife, mother and Queen?

/I say this with all due respect for HM, as that's actually quite a lot


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[Princess of Durham]

Thank you!!!! I'm guessing that some/most/all of the people who continue to use the term "only" in terms of motherhood and wife not to mention being Queen, having actually done none of the above. If they have done the two former roles then I think it's sad that they place so little importance on them. I agree .... with all due respect just what has HM done other than this with exception of doing it for a very long time. It's not as if Kings and Queen are RULERs as in the past.

 

[MichelleQ2]

I really think that while Kate is still young she should find a specific worthwhile role she can fulfil, otherwise all she will have achieved in life is being a wife and mother, and Queen of course.

.......

"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much" Jacqueline Kennedy

 

[Daria_S]

I really think that while Kate is still young she should find a specific worthwhile role she can fulfil, otherwise all she will have achieved in life is being a wife and mother, and Queen of course.

I have enormous respect for HM, Philip, Charles, Anne and Harry, and would be prepared to stand a whole day in the rain waiting for a glimpse of them. I wouldn't do this for the Cambridges.

And all I have to say to this is . I'm not saying you need to praise this couple constantly, but there's no need to demean someone for being a wife and a mother. Those are very, very valuable roles, and there are plenty of women who would give an arm and a leg to be able to do those things, and only those things in life. Just because you don't think something is worthwhile, doesn't mean that it actually is.

 

[Pranter]

Well the feminists can hopefully see their cause has gone a bit haywire when you now have women that choose to stay home be chastized and looked down on by other women who don't.

IMO it has not done society any good to have both parents out of the home leaving the children to their own devices.

LaRae

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I am genuinely conflicted on the issue of Kate's work. I do feel that if a woman makes the decision to bring a child into the world, that baby should and must be her number one priority. No if's or but's.

And as someone else very correctly pointed out, the purpose of the women's movement was to give women a choice. Women who did not want to be tied to the role of housewife should feel free to pursue a career. Women who want to devote themselves to their homes and families should feel that is just as worthwhile.

But...I feel that Kate is one of the rare handful of women in the world who can do both. I don't mean pursue a career, but she has the resources to devote quality time her baby AND use her extraordinarily high profile to make a difference where she is needed in Britain.

I don't get the feeling that her charities have gotten enough of a boost from her(in the three years she has been in the BRF) in the way that they could if she would increase her workload even by a tiny bit.

 

[Ish]

If a woman wants to be a homemaker and can afford to do so, then she should be allowed to. If a woman wants to work and has means of having her children cared for, then she should be allowed to do so.

Likewise with men, although people never seem to think that it's enough that a man be a father or a homemaker.

Kate's case is not this simple though. She did not simply marry a man, she entered into a job where there is an expectation of a certain degree of public work. She is failing to meet that expectation. If she had married the son of the younger child of the monarch, or the nephew or cousin of the monarch, the expectations of her would be very different. She would have stepped into a very different position and it would be enough that she chose to be a mother and a homemaker and nothing more. But that's not what she did. She married the eldest son of the eldest son of the monarch. She is expected to one day become the monarch's wife. As such there is a rather reasonable expectation that she do a certain amount of work.

I'm personally always a bit torn on whether or not I think Kate is meeting that expectation yet. I don't for a minute believe that her and William are doing less because the Queen and Charles have decided it, I think this is a decision on William and Kate's part that the Queen and Charles are choosing to allow. In that regards, I think they are failing to live up to expectations. They're both in their 30s and neither is new to the game - William has had literally his entire life to figure out what kind of role he wants to fulfill, and the argument that he must want to do something of worth and be simply more than a ribbon cutter is, in my opinion, extremely insulting to royals like Charles and the DoE who have done much more than this. Furthermore, while Kate is still a relatively new royal it's not like she and William had a whirlwind romance that quickly resulted in marriage. Sure she may have needed time to adjust to actually being royal instead of just being the girlfriend, but as she and William have been together for most of her adult life, I don't buy that this is nearly as much of an adjustment that people are making it out to be.

That said though, I don't believe we should ever expect Kate to do more public duties than William - not because she's a woman and a mother, but because he's the royal and she's the consort. We don't expect the DoE to do more than the Queen, Camilla to do more than Charles, Tim to do more than Anne, or Sophie to do more than Edward. Likewise, we shouldn't expect Kate to do more than William, and as long as William is acting the reluctant royal and insisting on delaying becoming a full time royal I don't think we can really criticize Kate for not becoming a full time royal herself. We may wonder what she's doing with her time, but we have no reason to expect more from her than her husband is willing to do.

I think if Kate wanted to improve her image while maintaining lower numbers she would be better to spread her events out more - rather than doing a bunch in a week then nothing else the rest of the month, do one or two a week. I firmly believe that if people saw her on a more regular basis then she could over come some of the hurdle of people only discussing what she's wearing and not what she's representing.

 

[casualfan]

I can absolutely see what you're saying, but isn't it also entirely possible that, while W and C aren't fulfilling your expectations now, they will do so in the future?

Also, isn't it possible that the Queen is allowing this because this kind of time with her young family is something she would have liked to have enjoyed, too, had it now been for the premature death of her father?

Just like Catherine is not just "any" mother, hers and William's situation is not like any other royal couple, either. They're still in the 3rd generation and could be waiting for the throne for the next 20-40 years. I guess my main point is: why begrudge them this time before the royal maelstrom?

 

[Grandma828]

Basically all the carping on this forum will not change anything. They do not read this forum, so they don't hear you. If you really want to influence their actions, a well written letter to the palace would probably do more good. Here you are just letting off steam.

 

[soapstar]

Maybe the media should focus more on her charities, instead of her clothes and whether or not she looks pregnant. Kate has been very hands on with her charities, yet the media chooses to ignores it, in favor of the frivolous. How many media outlets have reported on Kate and the M-Pact program?

Kate and William will be doing royal duties for the rest their lives, so I don't see why it's a big deal for her to spend a few years as a stay-at-mom/part-time royal. I have no doubt that if William and Kate were needed, they (along with Harry) would become full-time royals.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

soapstar...I couldn't agree more about the damn media and their obsession with "bump watch" and other silliness. It's beyond degrading!

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Basically all the carping on this forum will not change anything. They do not read this forum, so they don't hear you. If you really want to influence their actions, a well written letter to the palace would probably do more good. Here you are just letting off steam.

Virtually all public figures have people who search the internet regularly for what is being said about them, especially when their life is dependent on public opinion, or at least to watch out for threats. They are aware of what is being said.

 

[Rudolph]

William and Kate are very popular in Britain which is all that matters. The most recent example I can find is from June 15 2014

Prince William more popular than Queen - Telegraph

 

[Tiggersk8]

Eh...this is hardly a William and Kate thing. I know I've pointed this out before, but this kind of stuff can be found on any of the threads. I've seen posters called jealous for not praising Charlene and Albert, or called out because they don't like an outfit that the York sisters are wearing. It happens all the time, yet some only seem to have a problem when it comes to W&K's threads.

Actually it is. True there are Trolls and over zealous fans who post the same type of bitter venom fueled by jealousy/sad and twisted agenda postings/attacks on all of the other Section of TRF. No one to my memory has disputed that. But, here's the difference...

If you were to take a period of time, count up all of the postings that are nasty venom filled attacks, then split up and put all of those posts from the rest of the Board in one Category and then the Cambridge ones into another Category and look at the numbers? I am 99.9% positive there would be a very big majority result w/The Cambridge forum/thread numbers when tallied up and the comparison between the two made.

I was on my laptop at one point last night due to the iPad being charged and visited the actual TRF site for the first time in quite awhile. The non Cambridge threads looked just like it does to everyone. The Will & Kate ones though? There were more posts hidden due to me having Members on Ignore than actual posts. In fact in one of the Cambridge threads last night, there was a three page stretch I went through of there being only one or two posts on that page thanks to the Ignore feature. I also know from chatting w/some other Members on PM, I am not the only one having that experience in the Cambridge threads due to this very sad trend going on in that area of the site.

I don't think that happens anywhere else at TRF. At least not in my experience.

If you want to keep thinking this isn't a "Will & Kate issue because it happens everywhere at TRF...", that's fine and you are entitled to that opinion. It still doesn't change the reality of it taking place in the Cambridge areas at a far higher rate than the rest of the site and it's just out and out plain sad that's the case too.


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[Moonmaiden23]

Tiggersk8, I think it's only because W/K are the most visible of the younger generation of Royals, partially due to the way the media hypes them. One media outlet recently gushed that "everyone loves Kate" as if it's an accepted fact. She is a very popular young woman, there is a lot to like about her. But to ignore the fact that there is a vocal and growing minority of discontent with her and William is just sticking one's head into the sand.

I went to the People.com website recently and was shocked. That site used to be a virtual Kate lovefest...but not anymore. So no, it's not just malcontents at TRF.

 

[soapstar]

...It still doesn't change the reality of it taking place in the Cambridge areas at a far higher rate than the rest of the site

No, I'm with you. I definitely agree that it's at a much higher rate on W&K's threads. But I wasn't really discussing that in my post. I was responding to the idea that posters can't critique W&K. I was just pointing out that there are many threads where posters get defensive about their favorite royal.

soapstar...I couldn't agree more about the damn media and their obsession with "bump watch" and other silliness. It's beyond degrading!

It really is.

 

[Lady Nimue]

Virtually all public figures have people who search the internet regularly for what is being said about them, especially when their life is dependent on public opinion, or at least to watch out for threats. They are aware of what is being said.

Not likely. If they have high-end security, maybe the security personnel are informed. Otherwise, no person wants to know any of this stuff. I believe Prince Charles, for an example, does not read his bad press, though the Queen apparently reads hers, or the BRF's. Could be misinformed on this.

I could see the Queen being briefed on the 'lay of the land', the public mood, as well as Charles, and so by extension William and Harry, but that is very different from the internet and very, very unlikely that they are going down that rabbit-hole.

JMO.

 

[Rudolph]

Unfortunately a lot of royal point scoring happens online with various blogs and forums. The Duchess of Cambridge isn't just well known in Britain, she's a worldwide phenomenon and this brings out the worst in a lot of people.

I notice this quite a bit with online comments. The people most critical of Kate usually also happen to be fans of a royal other than Kate.

For better or worse Kate gets more press in a month than the crown princesses of Europe combined get in a year and it seems to lead to resentment against Kate. Its like being the prettiest girl at school, all the other girls hate her.

The same happens with William. Look closely and most of the people criticising him are also big fans of Harry or sometimes Charles and for some perverse reason love to drag William down.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

For Will and Kate to be more popular than the Queen is alarming - no matter what one may think of William, given Her Majesty's years of service. It confirms for me that these are nothing more than shallow opinions based on youth and beauty and not on actual fact. Give it 10 more years and we'll see who's at the top of the popularity contests.

Amen, GG

If that poll is correct it's not only disturbing, it's offensive. Other than youth, there is no advantage William and Kate have over QEII. She has dedicated herself body and soul to Britain and the Commonwealth for two thirds of her life, through the example of sacrifice and duty.

William and Kate have simply accomplished a lovely wedding and an adorable baby, by comparison.

Every positive feeling I have about Britain is somehow connected to their monarch. W/K have nothing to do with it.

This has been discussed here several times before.
Most polls from 2002 until Williams engagement in 2010 showed that The Queen despite her age was the most popular member of the royal family. Most of these polls were performed during the golden jubilee and 80th birthday celebrations. In recent years, polls have shown that The Queen and William are the most popular members of the royal family, but the important thing is that HM, Charles and William have approval ratings that politicians can only dream of.

The Queen is most admired person in Britain says poll

Diamond Jubilee: satisfaction with the Queen and Prince Charles has never been so high - Telegraph

Queen satisfaction level among UK public is at record high as 90 per cent think she's doing her job well | Mail Online

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.ne...GovPolling-Monarchy-and-Jubilee-AW_fullPR.pdf

80% of Britons back the monarchy | London Evening Standard

BBC NEWS | UK | Poll respondents back UK monarchy

Another poll 27 july 2013 / ComRes survey for the Sunday Telegraph found. 26 percent said the Queen was the member of the Royal family the most admired, making her the most popular royal, 19 per cent said the Duke of Cambridge, 17 per cent said Prince Harry and 12 per cent the Duchess of Cambridge.

 

[soapstar]

we will have to agree to disagree.

1. It's highly subjective to say that William seems disinterested when he attends engagements. That hasn't been my experience or opinion at all.

2. It doesn't seem far-fetched to say that William isn't being given the time for his family when you cite the time that his grandmother and father have been given--and that when both his grandmother and father were next in line to the throne.

3. IMO more time away from the constant media attention of the full-time royal status will give them more time to build their family.

Agree. I don't see why it's far-fetched to believe the Queen and PC are giving him time with his family. They too were given time.

I also don't think William seems disinterested at engagements. From the photos and videos I've seen of him, he is very interested in the people he meets. Speaking of which, those who actually interact with him, say that he's very engaging and involved.

By the time William is Charles' age, I'm sure he'll have achieved quite a bit. Charles didn't come into his own overnight, it took time. I was reading an old People article (from the 80's), and it talked about how Charles was struggling to find something to do while he waited. The article even talked about how there was criticism because some didn't think he was doing enough.

 

[KittyAtlanta]

...In recent years, polls have shown that The Queen and William are the most popular members of the royal family...

Those articles are not current and nothing can be based on them. Likes and dislikes change with the wind.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Those articles are not current and nothing can be based on them. Likes and dislikes change with the wind.

This was in response to two posts, as you probably saw. The support for the monarchy and the royal family is very stable, that was what I wanted to show with these articles. Many of these polls is relatively new. I do not bother to discuss this too.

 

[KittyAtlanta]

Oh, sorry. Sometimes I am too far into data for my own good. I was just looking at the graph dates.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Is there any reason to quote long posts only to leave a one sentence comment?
William and Kate are popular because they R young, she is new, and she is pretty; it's not based on much foundation. To be honest the whole idea of monarchy today is just a beauty pageant that lasts for life; smile wave smile and wave.

 

[royal-blue]

This is very true, and the 3 abdications in Europe for younger, more glamorous couples shows this. It is disappointing that our future Queen (and to an extent, King) seems to be more interested in photo opportunities and looking flawless than real hard work. Princess Anne and the Queen are the role models Kate should aspire to be like.

 

[Dman]

You have to remember that Princess Anne carry out a great deal of engagements due to her given a great deal of responsibility on top of her own patronages and organizations. The Queen, Prince Philip and the late Queen Mother passed down some of their workload and charitable patronages to Anne. Once The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret died, a lot of their work was split up between the Queen's children and more was added on their plate.

No much responsibilities are being passed down to the younger royals. A few things here and there but not on the level of Princess Anne's workload. It will take years for the Cambridge's to get to that level and that's only if they're are willing to take on that much. Princess Anne takes on what she prefers to do.

Catherine could do more and she will. She knows it's her duty to help carry one the workload of the Monarchy in which she'll someday be sovereign of.