The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge 1: Ending Sep 2022


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Interesting Muhler, thank you.

To me it seemed a standard (and successful) short trip abroad and the UK press has written about it as such, despite being overshadowed by HMTQs health and Ukraine. It was pretty much in the same vein as William's trip to the UAE which has also been considered a success and was done both at the behest of the government and his own Earthshot promotion. Both are obviously different to the Danish way of doing things. The press says it's partly a working/fact finding trip and to officially congratulate QMII on her Jubilee.

The BRF typically uses their accompanying journalists to inform the public of the details of the visit, including more details on what Kate said and thought and why she went and who exactly everyone was, like this Telegraph article:

https://archive.ph/Gf5Rg

If she held an actual press conference or answered a lot of questions directly to camera it would probably be considered that she was trying to hog the limelight in the UK, rather than give "meat" to her visit. Perhaps it's a case of different cultural attitudes, I don't know. I also would have liked to hear more of her opinion but I'm not surprised that we didn't get that much.

We did get this snippet from their instagram page about her thoughts:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CaS4IzAgKAQ/

It is highly possible that she will give a speech that includes the concepts she saw in action here, at a later date with her Early Years Centre but it would have been unusual to hear one at this point. She probably listened more than anything.

We know she has put a lot of prep in for this visit because the CC has been listing her as on conference calls and zooms about it for weeks so most of the actual learning about the concepts and science behind the world class Danish childcare and educational systems had already been done.

The actual visit is a lot to do with PR and publicity for *both* countries as well as soft diplomacy - which doesn't seem to have worked with BT.


I agree Heavs with everything you've stated in your post. IMHO Catherine has demonstrated for a very long time that when it comes to the Early Years, that she is willing to take the necessary time to prepare and observe even if it takes years, before making any detailed announcement(s)on future proposals and plans for the Early Years program. She is part of a team that works together, not the sole individual so to have a press conference after a fact finding opportunity, is not her method of working for this extremely important program.
 
Interesting Muhler, thank you.

To me it seemed a standard (and successful) short trip abroad and the UK press has written about it as such, despite being overshadowed by HMTQs health and Ukraine. It was pretty much in the same vein as William's trip to the UAE which has also been considered a success and was done both at the behest of the government and his own Earthshot promotion. Both are obviously different to the Danish way of doing things. The press says it's partly a working/fact finding trip and to officially congratulate QMII on her Jubilee.

The BRF typically uses their accompanying journalists to inform the public of the details of the visit, including more details on what Kate said and thought and why she went and who exactly everyone was, like this Telegraph article:

https://archive.ph/Gf5Rg

If she held an actual press conference or answered a lot of questions directly to camera it would probably be considered that she was trying to hog the limelight in the UK, rather than give "meat" to her visit. Perhaps it's a case of different cultural attitudes, I don't know. I also would have liked to hear more of her opinion but I'm not surprised that we didn't get that much.

We did get this snippet from their instagram page about her thoughts:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CaS4IzAgKAQ/

It is highly possible that she will give a speech that includes the concepts she saw in action here, at a later date with her Early Years Centre but it would have been unusual to hear one at this point. She probably listened more than anything.

We know she has put a lot of prep in for this visit because the CC has been listing her as on conference calls and zooms about it for weeks so most of the actual learning about the concepts and science behind the world class Danish childcare and educational systems had already been done.

The actual visit is a lot to do with PR and publicity for *both* countries as well as soft diplomacy - which doesn't seem to have worked with BT.

Thanks. :flowers:

I read the Telegraph article and it was pretty thin!

I think the British press coverage was crap. Certainly what I have seen so far.
Kate deserves better.

I just watched the Danish news coverage on the main news tonight (on TV2). A four minutes segment, where we actually heard Kate say something.
We heard about why Kate wanted to visit the forest kindergarten and why she wanted to visit the women's shelter.
We heard something about what Kate was told, what she asked into, that she asked a lot of questions - half of which Mary answered due to her heavy involvement in women's shelters through the Mary Foundation. How Kate was presented to and explained about the backpack all children who seek refuge at these centers with their mothers are given. Which contains a couple of toys, a little stuffed animal for comfort, drawing material for the child to express itself and work on the dramatic experience it is to basically flee from dad.

That's standard press coverage here and that's what we expect. So why in the name of the holy banana-tree can't the British press do something similar?
I think it's lazy journalism.

I also believe it wouldn't hurt if Kate in this case said something prepared to the press. She doesn't even have to answer questions.
Something akin to: I wanted to see the kindergarten where the (inner city-children in this case, from families with social issues) children are outside all day, all year. I think Charlotte would love this - blah-blah...
I wanted to learn about how they deal with the traumatic experience children go through when they seek refuge at such a shelter with their mothers. And we really ought to address that issue. (That's akin to saying: We really ought to do something about children starving, no one can object to that.)
Then we would have a woman who not only appear on photos, but who actually says something meaningful to the public. Who has a message and an (not too controversial) opinion. - I think it would make Kate's already considerable popularity go through the roof in Britain.

As it is the concept is: Kate is going to DK to visit a Lego-family house, an outdoor kindergarten and a women's shelter - figure out yourselves why.
So yes, the press is going to opt for the easy way out: Photos, photos and more photos, and a few factual captions that has been googled.

I don't know if it's a cultural thing, but there is certainly a difference in coverage and interaction with the press here.
Mary (and our Marie as well) would be ripped to shreds and ridiculed if she only posed and didn't say something. In fact in the beginning Mary got some criticism for too much posing and too little substance in regards to Danish fashion (which is a major export sector, so her focus was actually valid and appreciated by the industry.)

It has been suggested in the DK press, based on something a British royal author said (don't know her, I guess there are so many that you can feed pigs with "royal authors" in UK) that is that W&K may want to be inspired by how the Continental royals do things.
I'm not so sure though. While I believe W&K will and needs to implement reforms for the BRF it will be their own version in whatever form that may be.
Another reason for my skepticism of that suggestion is that this was clearly a BRF event in Denmark, that only fleetingly involved the DRF.
 
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Muhler, I actually don't disagree with many of your thoughts, although I have a slightly different perspective on some things.

I actually do agree that the Telegraph article was pretty thin (it’s the first one I found that wasn’t a tabloid, sorry) and yes there’s a lot of lazy journalism going around but in general you get a few detailed articles and a lot of quotes from the people she met about their stories and the charity and often a royal reporter/correspondent on TV talking about the whys and wherefores of an important visit. I haven’t actually watched the TV news to see how it’s being reported today so can’t comment on that. You just don’t get a lot of camera quotes from the royals themselves unless they’re in the middle of something like Earthshot and even then it’s limited to the official speeches.

When Kate and the First Lady Jill Biden visited the school in Cornwall they actually both did take questions directly from the press (it was the one where Kate was asked if she had seen Lili yet and she replied no but that she was excited to). But that doesn't happen very often.

She is mentioned in UK press as talking about the fact that her kids were jealous that she was going to visit the Lego Lab and the importance of the places she visited. At other times she has used her kids as examples of something positive - like playing both netball and rugby.

I think the coverage in the UK has been somewhat muted by HM’s health worry and Ukraine but it’s also within reasonable standards of normal for the UK for better or worse. And it doesn’t help if some of the journalists left before the end! :rolleyes:

Kate, like Sophie, Anne, Camilla etc has prepared remarks and speeches for different types of engagements including her personal experience with difficult topics – like Action on Addiction which is the patronage which eventually lead to the creation of Early Years. But that’s usually if they’re opening something or announcing something, not visiting "to learn more about..."

I think in recent years Kate is someone who’s become more than a “person who only appears in photos” in the UK but she still doesn’t favour the direct approach – see her accompanying Tom Walker, whereas I think Mary enjoys a more direct way of dealing with the press and her role. And like I previously said, a lot of Kate’s engagements are designed to try and let the organisation shine themselves, not to be the one taking up all the publicity – not that Mary does when she answers questions, it’s just a different approach. William has begun a more direct approach, we’ll see if Kate follows. And it's obviously a personal opinion on what works or not.

Another reason for my skepticism of that suggestion is that this was a BRF event in Denmark, that only fleetingly involved the DRF.

I mean, yes that’s what it was. It was a “fact finding” mission/working visit to Denmark that only involved the DRF on the second day. But IMHO it seemed to suit both parties who both received benefits. On the Danish side Mary returned from Verbier to showcase her work with the Mary Foundation to anyone who doesn’t read the Danish or Australian press regularly and QMII received Kate for a brief reception without having to go to too much fuss. It wasn’t an official visit on behalf of HM and William wasn’t there either so no need for more formality.
 
Fine with me. The world would be pretty boring if we always agreed and the same approached was used everywhere. ?

I see potential. And I see potential that I feel is not utilized to whatever extent and form that suits Kate. That's a pity.

I honestly think the BRF approach is holding back Kate, perhaps William as well. That I'll leave for someone else to judge.

You can also turn it around and say: The British press gives Kate the coverage she gives them.
If she doesn't say anything, nor answer questions, then it's photos, photos and more photos with a few googled facts here and there.
If she says something, she will be criticized and make mistakes, but she will also show that she is genuinely committed to whatever it is, and then that whatever it is becomes so much more interesting!
I think that's something most Continental RFs have learned, often the hard way. And something a future, probably much smaller post-QEII BRF also needs to learn?

Kate, like everybody else, will learn to fly when she allowed to flex her wings. She will so to speak eventually fly from tree to tree rather than jump and glide from branch to branch.

Look at Frederik, he sucked at giving speeches. And listening to him being interviewed was often an ordeal. But he learned because he had to. He is still not very good at speaking to the press, but much better then previously.
His grandfather Frederik IX could get away with saying good morning to the press, give a speech and be heard small talking with the public. But the world has changed, the role of the DRF has changed, so Frederik now has to talk to the press and actually say something with substance.

I firmly believe that a future reduced BRF will have to face the same challenges. Not least because there will be so much more focus on the remaining members of the BRF.

It's very odd for me, to see the Danish press giving a better and more in-depth coverage of a foreign royal, who only briefly meets with members of the DRF, than the British press. She's your Duchess for heavens sake.
 
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His Royal Highness, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, this afternoon held a Meeting at Kensington Palace on the Earthshot Prize.
 
Awkwardly the Earthshot Prize was given £1million donation by DP World, the parents company of P&O...which just made 800 UK workers "redundant" (read fired) instantly and replaced with cheaper foreign workers. Already calls for William to intervene or respond.
 
Awkwardly the Earthshot Prize was given £1million donation by DP World, the parents company of P&O...which just made 800 UK workers "redundant" (read fired) instantly and replaced with cheaper foreign workers. Already calls for William to intervene or respond.

Why should he? At the end of the day, the operations of a company should not be made political by any Royal. That is what politicians are for. He should be listening to the Government in this instance.
 
It seems unwise to respond publicly to such a decision...
 
@RoyaNikkhah
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have appointed Amanda Berry @BAFTACEO
as the new Chief Executive of their Royal Foundation. Berry is well known to the Cambridges, as the longstanding chief executive of @BAFTA of which William is president. She will start her new role in June

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: “We are very much looking forward to working with Amanda and are thrilled that she has chosen to join us at The Royal Foundation. Her extensive experience will be of tremendous value as we continue our ambitious charitable work.”
 
ROYAL FOUNDATION OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE IMPACT REPORT 2021


The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has published an end of year impact report. The report details the great work the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have achieved during 2021, including the work they have done to increase the provision of mental health services for the emergency service community across the UK.

Please visit the page if you'd like to read the report. It's only 17 pages (including cover) and quite to the point so it's just a short read. (For some reason, I'm blocked from posting the direct link to the report here. Possibly because the link has JavaScript)
 
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To mark this year's Mental Health Awareness Week (May 9 - May 15) the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will participate in the Mental Health Minute again and will attend various engagements related to the topic:


** Announcement **
 
Here's a video from today's visit by The Duchess of Cambridge to the Little Village hub.

 
Duchess of Cambridge to hold talks with ministers on early years development

The Duchess of*Cambridge*is to host a round-table event on the importance of early childhood development as research reveals that 70% of people think it should be prioritised more.

(...)

Alongside The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, the duchess will meet Health Secretary*Sajid Javid, families minister*Will Quince, representatives from the early years sector and officials from the*Department for Education*and the*Department of Health*and Social Care.

(...)

KP Announcement


Isn't this more or less similar to what Charles did with his spider memos? :ermm:
 
I think it is a great initiative to bring togethe the leading thinkers in the space to debate and discuss some of the key issues. Well done, Catherine. Clearly she now has the experience inthe space and the confidence to put events like together and particpate in them.
 
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Not really. The infamous "spider memos" were private and unsolicited from The POW to various government ministers so one-sided. Catherine's round table is open dialog that she is facilitating. Not the same thing at all.

The "spider memos" were certainly two-sided. The receipient was expected to reply and respond to the queries raised by the PoW.
 
I don't think members of the rf have any place in meeting with government ministers. It's not part of their role to tell government minsters anything really.

They are not elected. They are supported from state resources. Their only duty is to represent the crown.

It doesn't matter what the actual issue is. They would be best advised to stay very clear.
 
I don't think members of the rf have any place in meeting with government ministers. It's not part of their role to tell government minsters anything really.

Yep, but this is part of the two-sided face of the British Monarchy. Right, they are not elected - But they never were! They are leftovers from the days gone by, those days, in which they had a say...

But you are right! And I think, it is the consensus here in The Royal Forums, that political interfering - and talking to sitting government ministes, while not talking to their opposition counterparts, this is already political... - is only damaging for the Royals. Nothing good comes from it!

I like the idea of a kind of "King Artus" round table a lot btw. But they shoud be held by Prince William and intellectuals and bankers and so on of his age, to inform and teach the future King.
 
Yep, but this is part of the two-sided face of the British Monarchy. Right, they are not elected - But they never were! They are leftovers from the days gone by, those days, in which they had a say...

But you are right! And I think, it is the consensus here in The Royal Forums, that political interfering - and talking to sitting government ministes, while not talking to their opposition counterparts, this is already political... - is only damaging for the Royals. Nothing good comes from it!

I like the idea of a kind of "King Artus" round table a lot btw. But they shoud be held by Prince William and intellectuals and bankers and so on of his age, to inform and teach the future King.

It is important to draw the distinction between party political matters and any form of interaction with a government minister. I do not believe it is for the royal family to engage in any party political matters at all. However what the Duchess is doing here is convening experts from across the spectrum to discuss some of the key issues. Government ministers are part of that debate. There isn't a party political issue here, so I do not see any reason for concern.
 
CC Thursday: The Duchess of Cambridge, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, this afternoon held an Early Years Meeting via video link.
 
Yep, but this is part of the two-sided face of the British Monarchy. Right, they are not elected - But they never were! They are leftovers from the days gone by, those days, in which they had a say...

But you are right! And I think, it is the consensus here in The Royal Forums, that political interfering - and talking to sitting government ministes, while not talking to their opposition counterparts, this is already political... - is only damaging for the Royals. Nothing good comes from it!

I like the idea of a kind of "King Artus" round table a lot btw. But they shoud be held by Prince William and intellectuals and bankers and so on of his age, to inform and teach the future King.

I remember Princess Anne saying that she saw her role/ profile as an opportunity to bring people together to discuss joint interest/ concerns. An opportunity to share knowledge and find solutions.
 
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