Prince William's Service in the Royal Air Force


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No problem. It isn't really a similar article it's just the facts we were all discussing. It is confusing when the press regurgitate the same news all the time. Keep posting!
 
For people interested about what William does at work. On BBC iplayer, there is a 4 part show called Helicopter Rescue. Season 2 features the crew at Raf Valley including on Ft Lt Will Wales. Each episode is 1/2 hr long. Wills is in all the episodes but the first one has a longer segment where they rescue a person in a slate query and will is the captain for that one. Apparently when you leave Valley they throw you in a small water tank after your last mission. How many of them will be volunteering to throw the future king into a water tank? All of them. :)
 
Well it has been over 2 weeks now and still nothing on what Williams decision is about his military career. I thought we were going to know what he was doing by now. Any new information out there?
 
LadyGabrielle said:
Well it has been over 2 weeks now and still nothing on what Williams decision is about his military career. I thought we were going to know what he was doing by now. Any new information out there?
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It's been over a year since we "we're going to know". This years rumours started by saying January, then March, then end of April etc etc.
 
The image of them living simple, fairly normal lives with no staff disn't last for very long. Both their new residences will need many, many staff.
 
royal-blue said:
The image of them living simple, fairly normal lives with no staff disn't last for very long. Both their new residences will need many, many staff.
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It never was intended to be for more than a few years. Actually I think it was until William's stint at Anglesy ended. It remains to be seen what the size of their staff will be at KP and Anmer Hall.
 
It was shocking at the time that William was going to transfer to the RAF and train to be a SAR pilot. Everybody was saying he was going to leave the forces after his rotation thru the army and attachments to the raf and navy. He has been in the forces longer than most people thought went he went in.
 
Isn't it interesting that we still have not heard officially what William is going to do moving forward?

We were sure he would announce in December, then by February, etc. I admire him for the way he carries on while playing his cards very close to the vest. He simply refuses to stir up the media.
 
My thoughts exactly. We were waiting and waiting to find out and look, we are still waiting. Why would there be a delay in announcing what his intentions are? Is he waiting for Catherine to have the baby first? Maybe he has not even made a decision yet. Hmm.
 
He may choose to stay in the RAF for a while. That will afford them some amount of privacy while the child is still a newborn. I am sure the amount of media agencies will to set up shop in Wales would be minimal, and the people in the area would be more than happy to continue to give the family the relative anonymity that they have enjoyed in the past, and not willing to assist the media in hounding them.
 
Maybe their plans are open because of the bad health of Prince Phillip ...
 
We are waiting to see what William will do with his military career. I do think the Cambridge's will step up their royal duties though. I think they will take into account The Queen & Duke of Edinburgh are elderly and the realities of their health are more present than ever. I think they will do what they have to do to support the workings and purpose of the "Firm".
 
I think the reason they have not gone full throttle into royal duties, and continue with the lives they have had since their marriage is because they have not been asked to do so. I am sure discussions have occurred as to what will need to be done in the future, but the family has not found the need for this to take place yet. Once they go full steam into royal duties, there is no going back, and the family knows this. Who knows, it may occur when the apt at KP is ready. This will give them a few months of quiet bonding time as a family, and when he does become PoW, the people of Wales will truly feel that he is their prince and that the are a part of the UK.
 
DM stated (yes, I know it is the Mail, I'm just putting them on record). He's done in September:
"
For as soon as William returns to work following his two weeks’ statutory paternity leave, Kate plans to depart for her parents’ mansion in Berkshire.

She will reside there - on and off - for the next six weeks, while her husband completes his present tour of duty with the RAF in Anglesey, North Wales.

The prince will finish his posting as a Search and Rescue pilot at RAF Valley in early September, relocating to London while waiting for his next assignment, meaning the couple can enjoy some quality time together as a new family."
 
As much as I would like to see more of the couple, I would like for William to stay at his job for a bit longer since he is very fond of it. As a few members mentioned, it'll give them more privacy and more time as a family out there away from the media.

We will just have to wait and see what happens.
 
:previous: His time with SAR finishes in September. I think he'll return to the Blues and Royals, and be based in London.
 
dazzling said:
As much as I would like to see more of the couple, I would like for William to stay at his job for a bit longer since he is very fond of it. As a few members mentioned, it'll give them more privacy and more time as a family out there away from the media.

We will just have to wait and see what happens.
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Yes, I completely agree! I think it is a very good thing for William to continue in his job for as long as possible - especially as he enjoys it and manages to combine it so well with his official duties as and when they occur. Once his father becomes king and William becomes next in line to the throne, then I think his career ought to change to full-time next-in-line!
 
AdmirerUS said:
DM stated (yes, I know it is the Mail, I'm just putting them on record). He's done in September:
"
For as soon as William returns to work following his two weeks’ statutory paternity leave, Kate plans to depart for her parents’ mansion in Berkshire.

She will reside there - on and off - for the next six weeks, while her husband completes his present tour of duty with the RAF in Anglesey, North Wales.

The prince will finish his posting as a Search and Rescue pilot at RAF Valley in early September, relocating to London while waiting for his next assignment, meaning the couple can enjoy some quality time together as a new family."

Click to expand...
If Catherine stays with her parents, that wouldn't give William a chance to bond with the baby after he goes back to work. I know the article claims that she will be staying there "on and off" but that is a lot of driving back and forth with the baby. I think it is more likely that Carole will stay in Anglesey until the baby is sleeping through the night.
 
Well we know they are in Bucklebury now so he won't go back to work for 2 weeks at least. He is done at Raf Valley in early September. That is only a handful of weeks. When he is working he is doing 24 hr shifts so he away from the baby anyways. It is easier for Wills to take the train back and forth from wales to London then take all the baby stuff out to wales. It will be like it was in dec/jan when Kate stayed in the city and wills went to work.

If he stays in the military and goes back to the army. One of the rumors is that he will become an adjutant to a senior officer of the blues & royals.
 
Skippyboo said:
Well we know they are in Bucklebury now so he won't go back to work for 2 weeks at least. He is done at Raf Valley in early September. That is only a handful of weeks. When he is working he is doing 24 hr shifts so he away from the baby anyways. It is easier for Wills to take the train back and forth from wales to London then take all the baby stuff out to wales. It will be like it was in dec/jan when Kate stayed in the city and wills went to work.

If he stays in the military and goes back to the army. One of the rumors is that he will become an adjutant to a senior officer of the blues & royals.
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Do you remember where you heard/saw that rumor?
 
I do think we'll see an increase in their official duties, despite if William stay in the military. I just think it's time for them to take up bigger roles within the Firm.
 
AdmirerUS said:
Do you remember where you heard/saw that rumor?
Click to expand...

The return to the Blues and Royals is an option and has been widely discussed in the press and on this forum.

His choices are:

1. Extend his secondment in the RAF and stay in SAR but this is unlikely as SAR is going to be privatised.
2. Extend his secondment to the RAF and move to another branch. This is a limited flying option because of his sight (not 20/20)
3. Return to his regiment (Blues and Royals) and basically accept that with no active service allowed, he has a desk job. But they are based in London/Windsor so that's good news. Desk job would mean that he could get more time for royal duties as well as his military ones
4. Quit the forces and go full-time royal
 
Three and four seem like the only likely options with the increasing demand for him to do royal duties. I think the adjutant job which is option 3 was on royal central based on a times article in early may.

In an ideal world, he could stay with SAR until it is privatized. But like his grandfather Philip he may have to end his military career early.
 
:previous: "clarity" becomes a stick to beat them with.
 
Homme said:
I think it would be extremely helpful if the Queen herself was to issue a document outlining who is a full-time royal and who is part-time.
William's place in the family is unique. Technically his uncles have precedence over him as sons of the Sovereign but we all know in practice William always comes ahead of his uncles. Creates confusion with the public.
The term 'royal duties' is rather ambiguous to me, most people mean charity work and William as well as Catherine do raise quite a sum on money through the Royal Foundation.
As far making public appearances day in and day out, this doesn't necessarily take any load off the Queen and Duke. Unless senior royals 'step-down' , it is rather difficult for the younger royals to step-up. I also think that the Queen and the Prince of Wales are hesitant about making William and Catherine the face of the Monarchy, which they would be to the public if they adopt a full-time role.
Again, I think if the Queen made crystal clear where everyone stands in her family, it will help the public and tabloids understand the roles of individual members of the BRF.
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That is interesting but I don't really agree with you. I always thought William took precedence over his uncles because he will inherit the throne.

I think William and Harry are considered part-time royals because they have full-time jobs. I'm not sure that there is any need for senior royals to 'step-down' because there are probably more demands on their time that they can possibly fulfill.

Finally, I have seen no proof that either the Queen nor Prince Charles are hesitant to making William and Catherine the face of the Monarchy. They will receive a lot of press attention. The same thing happened after Charles and Diana got married. It's only natural. It may bother them a little, they are only human, but it is inevitable. In 20 or so years, William and Catherine will start being upstaged by George and any other children. It's the cycle of life (or media).
 
EXCLUSIVE: Army role in London for Prince William | Royal | News | Daily Express

I don't know whether this is based on actual knowledge of just the fact that the Blues and Royals is one of the options we already know is open to William and the express have put one of the option we already know into an article with "exclusive"on it. Myabe next week we'll have the same but "William to leave military..." and then another "Williamto stay in SAR..."
anyway, from this article...

William, who holds the rank of squadron leader with the Royal Air Force, will rejoin his regiment, the Blues and Royals, as he takes up a role with the Household Cavalry’s elite Mounted Regiment, according to senior sources.

Based at Hyde Park barracks in Knightsbridge, he will carry the rank of captain, at last matching that of his brother Harry.

Tasks will include a role in mounted ceremonial parades, inspecting soldiers before they go on duty and drafting “career reports” for troops within his squadron for the unit commander.

He has taken part in dozens of air sea rescues since transferring to the RAF as a Sea King helicopter pilot in Anglesey. But the end of his three-and-a-half year tour of duty in September, coupled with the birth of Prince George and mounting pressure to be more available for royal duties made a change of direction inevitable.
 
Well the first sentence in that article is wrong -he isn't a Squadron Leader in the RAF , he is a Ft lieutenant .

It almost seems at this point, he should just leave the military. The logistics are too hard for him to keep flying which is what he really liked. The army can't send him to an active war zone so he would be stuck behind a desk. Why not leave and take more engagements where you can make a difference to people?
 
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