Duke of Cambridge: What Now for William? Future Duties, Roles, Responsibilities

[HighnessN]

1. Being an air ambulance pilot is not a holiday, it's a full time job. I don't get how getting a proper full time job is being considered as " work shy"

2. It's around that time when royal finances are released and there is "outrage" regarding the spending of the royal family. They will be told to "cut" down and this usually involved suggestions of trimming the number of full time royals.
So should the other royals who have supported the Queen for years be pushed aside to make "space" for William, Catherine & Harry?

 

[Dman]

No matter what job William take on next, he and Catherine will have to find a better balance between that job and their official duties. William said for himself that when he was in the SAR it became increasingly hard to focus on military life and official duties. Now that he's out of the SAR, they can focus a great deal of time on their royal duties and charities.

Now they've taken on a full-time nanny for Prince George, have moved into their official residence and even taken on an Equerry. I think that means they will be increasing their official roles and I think it's truly time for them to do so. They will still have their private time and family time. We all understand the difference between the the Wales's and Cambridge's positions within the "Firm" but William & Catherine will have to be seen doing more.

 

[Osipi]

There are some who say the queen was too slow in forcing Charles and Diana to divorce, she could of saved the RF lots of embarrassment by acting sooner. There is more negative press regarding 30'somethings who don't have proper full time work and just coast through life waiting for the day when they become the heir to a throne. If Charles and the Queen are any indication, then W&C have a very long wait. So provide a good example to other people of their generation and stop leaching off the parents, get a job! This is not about showing the world they can recycle clothes, fly economy or take their own photos, this is about showing the world They Are Not Afraid To Work Hard!! This says I may have money & a title BUT are not afraid to do a hard days work.

A question: When, at what age, is it acceptable for W&C to work full time/more than they do now?

I don't think its a question of age but more of a question of need. I don't think that William and Harry are really needed to work as full time royals yet. We have to remember also that William, Kate and Harry have their own Royal Foundation and do participate fully in the Foundation's endeavors and things such as Harry's trek to the South Pole with Walking with the Wounded and some other things they do and participate in do not necessarily make the Court Circular or get media attention.

When Charles left the Navy in 1976 at 28 years old, he actually had to chart his own way as to what role the Prince of Wales would take. He took his navy pension of 7,000 pounds and established The Prince's Trust. 38 years later its grown by leaps and bounds and he's been dedicated to it over the years. He's still the Prince of Wales and he's still the heir.

William has left the military and also has his own road to pave. Along with doing engagements representing HM and his work with the Royal Foundation, he's patron/president of several organizations. On top of that, should he work for the EAAA as an air ambulance pilot (whether paid or volunteer), I think it is commendable and a wonderful way to serve to protect and guard the lives of those that need it.

When you think about it, as heir to the heir, he really doesn't have to do a danged thing but wait.

 

[MichelleQ2]

I also think it is very possible "the firm" is intentionally pacing William and Kate's public appearances. While the public (and press)may be clamoring for more... Their appearances sometime to shift focus from other messages by other royals . The past 2yrs have been carefully orchestrated as celebrating the diamond jubilee and passing the torch to Charles on a more rational stage - and in the commonwealth. William has very carefully been put in position of performing investitures and taking lessor roles on a national stage (I.e. The D day anniversaries). It makes perfect sense to me they don't want the celebrity aspect of will and kate to overshadow. It would not surprise me if we continue to see more released photos of private appearances after the fact as in the recent EACH appearance. The firm has learned from the past and I believe this is a well planned out map.

 

[Eden]

Well I'm not really distinguishing between royal duties and other employment. I just feel an example needs to be given, that birth rights don't negate work ethics. The royal family, in-my-opinion, epitomise an ideal of tradition and unity, and among the BRF, unity of the Commonwealth. The Queen set a real example of hard work, both during WW2 and afterwards, she is hard working, poised and endearing. To expect this from other members of her family, especially C&C and W&C is not asking too much. If Wills chooses to go into other employment and only do X amount of royal duties, fine. At least he is showing that he is not afraid of hard work and will go into his role as the heir with good standing.

 

[Osipi]

Well I'm not really distinguishing between royal duties and other employment. I just feel an example needs to be given, that birth rights don't negate work ethics. The royal family, in-my-opinion, epitomise an ideal of tradition and unity, and among the BRF, unity of the Commonwealth. The Queen set a real example of hard work, both during WW2 and afterwards, she is hard working, poised and endearing. To expect this from other members of her family, especially C&C and W&C is not asking too much. If Wills chooses to go into other employment and only do X amount of royal duties, fine. At least he is showing that he is not afraid of hard work and will go into his role as the heir with good standing.

First off, I am by no means an expert and I will happily stand corrected if I am shown to be wrong on something.

Royal duties that are carried out representing the Queen are the official ones and are listed in the Court Circular. For a better understanding of this, our Iluvbertie has, for the past couple of years, done a weekly tally from the Court Circular. It will give you a good idea of who does what, where and what kind of engagements there were. http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f23/annual-engagements-for-the-british-royals-2014-a-36291.html

Royals also have their own patronages and charities that they sponsor. The Prince of Wales has his Prince's Trust and numerous others. The Princess Royal is mostly known for her Save the Children work. The Cambridges and Harry have their own Royal Foundation. The work they do for these organizations are not listed in the Court Circular and are not "official" Firm work but in no way are they less important.

It is my understanding that a full time working royal for the Firm spends quite a bit more time representing the Queen than other royals that are not full time such as William, Harry and Kate. If you see that W&H&K have done 20 engagements this year so far that have been listed in the Court Circular (seen sometimes here as just CC), those are just the "official" ones they've done representing HM. All the different things that W&K did on their tour of Australia and NZ ere "official" royal duties as they traveled to those countries as representatives of HM, The Queen. The CC doesn't include stuff like Harry's Walking With The Wounded trek to the South Pole, W&H playing polo for their own charities or Kate's private visits to hospices. Those are their own private endeavors.

I think there is a big misunderstanding when it comes to William being a "full time royal" and a "part time royal". People are noting that he's only done x amount of work for the Firm and doesn't realize that a lot of his own work, by choice, is not listed as a royal duty or engagement. So, when you add on the fact that William may be even adding onto what he already does by maybe flying air ambulance for EAAA, it all stacks up to William being a pretty busy guy. He is not a full time working royal as far as official duties for HM go.

Oh and on top of this, he's got a wife and child that he's responsible for also. He definitely is NOT a lazy man at all in my eyes.

 

[Iluvbertie]

A small correction - a lot of the official duties in the CC are for the various charities e.g. a week or so back William, Kate and Harry had a joint engagement for their Foundation.

Anne's many engagements for Save the Children are also listed as are the many engagements Charles does for charity - along with the rest of the BRF.

Charity work constitutes the majority of the work that they do in the CC.

It simply comes down to whom the Queen chooses to recognise as having done an official compared to an unofficial engagement e.g. during the Paralympics Kate and Eugenie both presented medals - same thing but...Kate was mentioned in the CC and Eugenie wasn't so presenting the medals was an official engagement for Kate but doing the same thing was not an official engagement for Eugenie.

Last week Beatrice had The Queen's permission to use the new helicopter to attend an engagement but The Queen didn't regard it as an official engagement as it wasn't mentioned in the CC. Had that been Kate or Anne or the Duchess of Gloucester who did that engagement it would have been mentioned in the CC.

 

[Dman]

All I know that whatever job he take on next, it should arranged where he and Catherine can remain focused on their official duties because William even mentioned that his last job was putting a strain on his royal life. They will have a great deal of criticism coming their way if they go back to performing one or two engagements then disappearing for several weeks or month at a time.

 

[Skippyboo]

All I know that whatever job he take on next, it should arranged where he and Catherine can remain focused on their official duties because William even mentioned that his last job was putting a strain on his royal life. They will have a great deal of criticism coming their way if they go back to performing one or two engagements then disappearing for several weeks or month at a time.

Exactly, they can't be seen to abandon KP and flee to Norfolk and go without being seen for weeks at a time like in the beginning of their marriage. The transition has to be to eventually to full time royal. It doesn't have be overnight but it has to build towards it.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

All I know that whatever job he take on next, it should arranged where he and Catherine can remain focused on their official duties because William even mentioned that his last job was putting a strain on his royal life. They will have a great deal of criticism coming their way if they go back to performing one or two engagements then disappearing for several weeks or month at a time.

My gut is that it was fully intended that with the birth of George, Will and Kate would move into Kensington and take up heavier positions within the Firm. It did not work out that way, and I suspect it is William, not the Queen, not Charles, and not Kate who loathes the idea of taking up royal life. Then we heard about the transition year, and the conservation projects, and introducing George to Africa " in the fullness of time." That did not seem to go over well with the public. Then we had the course at Cambridge. Now we're back to where he was last year, flying helicopters.

Why perform the remodel on Kensington - giving them the grandest apartment in the complex, including public rooms, if he was going to live largely as a private citizen until the Queen is no longer Queen? Doesn't make sense.

I think that the plan was always that Will would take up more duties at this time. Perhaps not Kate, as she has a baby, and no doubt will have at least one more, and let's face it, they don't want to create another "Diana" in the public eye. I think it's Will who keeps balking at the plan, and I think that the Firm doesn't know what to do about it.

 

[Dman]

My gut is that it was fully intended that with the birth of George, Will and Kate would move into Kensington and take up heavier positions within the Firm. It did not work out that way, and I suspect it is William, not the Queen, not Charles, and not Kate who loathes the idea of taking up royal life. Then we heard about the transition year, and the conservation projects, and introducing George to Africa " in the fullness of time." That did not seem to go over well with the public. Then we had the course at Cambridge. Now we're back to where he was last year, flying helicopters.

Why perform the remodel on Kensington - giving them the grandest apartment in the complex, including public rooms, if he was going to live largely as a private citizen until the Queen is no longer Queen? Doesn't make sense.

I think that the plan was always that Will would take up more duties at this time. Perhaps not Kate, as she has a baby, and no doubt will have at least one more, and let's face it, they don't want to create another "Diana" in the public eye. I think it's Will who keeps balking at the plan, and I think that the Firm doesn't know what to do about it.

Although we still don't know what job William will take on and joining the Air Ambulance is just one of the many options he may take, IMO, it really don't make sense for them to hire a full-time nanny for George if they're not planning to take on more official duties. It really don't make sense for them to add an Equerry to their court and and even moving into their Kensington Palace apartment when they are planning on moving their country estate for a long period of time.

I think the main goal was for them to "transition" over to increased royal duties and charitable causes. Due to them taking on a full-time nanny, William conducting Investitures and attending the Royal Diplomatic Corps Receptions, possibly participating in State Visits and conducting longer official royal tours. I even hear that William & Catherine have another tour coming up in the fall.

 

[Rudolph]

Actually if you go back and read the statement when William left the RAF, it says nothing about William becoming a full-time royal after his transition year. It states he will transition to a role of public service.

William is on pace for well over a hundred official engagements this year and frankly its insulting to both the Queen and the Prince of Wales to suggest that they don't have a handle on running the Firm.

I don't know what template people are using for William as there is no modern precedent for an adult heir to the heir.

William has always done the right thing and is one of the most dutiful of royals. He simply is not needed by the Queen to be doing any more than he is already doing.

To make all of this strictly about William as if he is somehow the puppet master of the BRF and that the Queen and Charles are just passive observers is pure flight of fancy

 

[Dman]

Well, William said that his SAR job was making it hard for him to focus on his royal duties and charities. I can understand if he go on to work at the Commonwealth office (which I think is one of the options) or something along those lines. I think that would allow him to work and focus on his official duties more better.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Although we still don't know what job William will take on and joining the Air Ambulance is just one of the many options he may take, IMO, it really don't make sense for them to hire a full-time nanny for George if they're not planning to take on more official duties. It really don't make sense for them to add an Equerry to their court and and even moving into their Kensington Palace apartment when they are planning on moving their country estate for a long period of time.

I think the main goal was for them to "transition" over to increased royal duties and charitable causes. Due to them taking on a full-time nanny, William conducting Investitures and attending the Royal Diplomatic Corps Receptions, possibly participating in State Visits and conducting longer official royal tours. I even hear that William & Catherine have another tour coming up in the fall.

I think so too. But I think William really loathes royal duties, and at the end of the day by agreeing and then backing out he is getting all of the privilege of his position without any of the responsibilities.

 

[Skippyboo]

The Cambridges did not get the grandest apartment or public areas. The article in the Mail and such show the state rooms of KP. These are the areas open to the public year round. Apt 1a was used for storage and had not been touched since Margaret moved in the early 60s.

 

[PetticoatLane]

The Kensington Palace refurb will have had to be done anyway. A large part of the palace that's got problems with asbestos and hasn't had its electrics or plumbing updated couldn't be allowed to just sit like that for another X number of years, whether it was used as an office or a flat for royals or military officials. People cannot work or live in that sort of environment. What difference does it make for that work to be done now, rather than next year or two years from now? It was necessary.

Will and Kate need a London base, whether they're doing part-time or full-time duties. KP was really the only option for a young couple with a growing family.

The nanny is clearly on staff because there will be plenty of days when both Will and Kate are away from home working. It makes sense to take on a proper nanny and let George get to know this person, particularly given there's likely to be more children added to the family.

When the Queen was first married she not only didn't do much in the way of public duties, she and Philip lived out of the country. They were given Clarence House and had plenty of nannies. The King was pretty unwell and Princess Elizabeth was next in line, but still she wasn't at home taking the weight off her father. That didn't happen until her father was much more ill, close to the time when he died. She and Philip were living a 'normal Navy life' in the Med. In comparison, William and Kate are almost workaholics.

 

[cepe]

If William had stayed in the SAR it would have been a continuation of a full time job. That created the push/pull with royal duties. It also created issues because it meant beinng based in Anglesey or possibly north Scotland or Suffolk.

both some of the media and royal household have said that there would be an increase in costs if the Cambridges went full time to the exclusion of anything else.

In typical BRF fashion I think that with HMQ and Charles, they decided at this stage that p/t would increase and it has. And he would find something else to do as well. And part time EAAAS would cover that, as would working at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

It makes sense to me.

As for Kensington Palace, lets go back. they need a London base so where else were they going to go where they felt they had a home of their own in London? The building had to be worked on anyway. It might be £4m now, but it would be more expensive the longer its left.

Id like to correct something GracieGiraffe wrote. They have not got any public rooms for their own personal use. They are for hire to anyone who wishes to pay.
The pictures put in the weekend articles were misleading. none of those rooms are William and Catherines.

 

[GrammaSueSue]

Concerning KP; when the time comes for W/C to take on FT (DoC/PoW), they will have little time or desire to devote to restoring homes. Their home(s) is just one more loose end that needed to be tied up and one less thing to have to deal with during a "transition of power".

 

[Dman]

I think so too. But I think William really loathes royal duties, and at the end of the day by agreeing and then backing out he is getting all of the privilege of his position without any of the responsibilities.

I'm not sure he loathes royal duties but I think he can make them more meaning than just cutting ribbons and unveiling plaques. He and Catherine can put their own unique touches to these duties. Prince Andrew once said that you can either see royal life as a burden or an opportunity and I think once they see it as an opportunity, they can go on to do some amazing things as senior royals.

 

[Lady Nimue]

A small correction - a lot of the official duties in the CC are for the various charities e.g. a week or so back William, Kate and Harry had a joint engagement for their Foundation.

Anne's many engagements for Save the Children are also listed as are the many engagements Charles does for charity - along with the rest of the BRF.

Charity work constitutes the majority of the work that they do in the CC.

Dear Iluvbertie - I am always interested in your posts. They are always very fact-filled and grounding. So thank you. (There are other posters as well who lend a great deal of knowledge to the discussion - I just wanted to make a special mention to you at this juncture).

This is my question: given what you have said above, can we then assume that someone like Charles who is basically running several businesses and foundations, having innumerable meetings in a day or week, plus giving speeches associated with those businesses - is doing his CC charity-related, Queen-approved events (that get counted) in addition to his private workload running his businesses?

If your answer to the above is yes - then Charles is holding down a full-time job while he does what is considered full-time royal work. Am I reading this right?

It simply comes down to whom the Queen chooses to recognise as having done an official compared to an unofficial engagement e.g. during the Paralympics Kate and Eugenie both presented medals - some thing but...Kate was mentioned in the CC and Eugenie wasn't so presenting the medals was an official engagement for Kate but doing the same thing was not an official engagement for Eugenie.

Last week Beatrice had The Queen's permission to use the new helicopter to attend an engagement but The Queen didn't regard it as an official engagement as it wasn't mentioned in the CC. Had that been Kate or Anne or the Duchess of Gloucester who did that engagement it would have been mentioned in the CC.

So it's the Queen who decides, not someone in her household? The mention in the CC has not gone through an objective sieve? It's all on the Queen? If so, it must make for interesting family dynamics every now and again.

 

[Dman]

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to keep Kensington Palace as official residence-
Prince William and Kate Middleton to stay in Kensington Palace until Will becomes King | Royal | News | Daily Express

 

[HighnessN]

I was of the opinion that William should take on full time royal duties but I have changed my mind.
Should he increase his public duties? Yes. He has slowly taken more significant responsibilities but I think he should gradually increase his duties.

What I think would be a great idea is for him to take up a volunteer role with the air ambulance service. That way he has more a flexible schedule that allows for him to mainly focus on his royal duties ( that balance that Dman has been highlighting)

It is clear that he loves flying and I don't think that he should be "forced" to give that up when he is only 2nd in line and still has quite the wait ahead of him. He can spend 60-70% of his time on royal duties and 30-40% volunteering with the air ambulance service. Over time this would slowly evolve to full time duties

 

[irish_royalist]

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to keep Kensington Palace as official residence-
Prince William and Kate Middleton to stay in Kensington Palace until Will becomes King | Royal | News | Daily Express

This article states under a picture of Kensington Palace that "Charles and Camilla currently live in Kensington Palace".
Is this true? I thought their main London residence was Clarence House.

 

[Lumutqueen]

That's not true, the article even states further up that C&C live in Clarence house.

 

[GrammaSueSue]

It appears that the powers that be assumed they needed to get their ducks in a row after the last couple of years of DoE's hospital stays. William resigned from RAF; started work on a home; started preparing for PoW duties and full time engagements, etc. The Press got all hipped up thinking they would have W&C pics, pics, pics and now DoE is almost as spry as ever (also Duke of Kent) and all the plans have had to change. The reporters are not happy about any of the new plans...no more W&C pics...

 

[Dman]

Very true that the media would like to see more of the Cambridge's but I think many of them agree that William & Catherine should be stepping up to the plate and helping the aging Queen & Duke of Edinburgh in general. I happen to agree with some of them. This idea to leave their official home and move full-time to their country estate and reduce their number of official engagements will not go down so well.

 

[Rudolph]

It appears that the powers that be assumed they needed to get their ducks in a row after the last couple of years of DoE's hospital stays. William resigned from RAF; started work on a home; started preparing for PoW duties and full time engagements, etc. The Press got all hipped up thinking they would have W&C pics, pics, pics and now DoE is almost as spry as ever (also Duke of Kent) and all the plans have had to change. The reporters are not happy about any of the new plans...no more W&C pics...

^^ Exactly! Reporters are put out and now they are writing snarky articles. The Daily Express carried the quote from Charles private secretary stating the money just isn't there and yet Palmer et al are all in a tizzy over it.

 

[Rudolph]

Very true that the media would like to see more of the Cambridge's but I think many of them agree that William & Catherine should be stepping up to the plate and helping the aging Queen & Duke of Edinburgh in general. I happen to agree with some of them. This idea to leave their official home and move full-time to their country estate and reduce their number of official engagements will not go down so well.

Dman what does stepping up to the plate mean? You always say this and yet never acknowledge that its not up to William

 

[Dman]

This article states under a picture of Kensington Palace that "Charles and Camilla currently live in Kensington Palace".
Is this true? I thought their main London residence was Clarence House.

Must be a misprint. Charles & Camilla live at Clarence House officially. Their other residences are Highgrove and Birkhall. Camilla also have her own residence from her previous marriage, Raymill House.

 

[Dman]

Dman what does stepping up to the plate mean? You always say this and yet never acknowledge that its not up to William

I mean that they should be doing more and not backing away from royal duties. The correct funds should be provided for the Cambridge's to carry out more official duties.