Duchess of Sussex: Future Duties, Roles and Responsibilities

[luluflossie]

Originally Posted by Pranter

I think she will join in on some of Harry's and keep her UN work too. Plus most likely take on some new ones as well.



LaRae

She gave one speech for the UN, she never worked for them. As for joining in on Harry's causes, he's been to Africa 3 times to date and she wasn't with him.

Originally Posted by CrownPrincessJava

I really hope she keeps up her UN work. I am looking foward to seeing the causes that are close to her heart

She never worked for the UN. As for causes close to her heart, your guess what that might be is as good as any, but for the life of me, I don't think she cares enough about anything except clothes.

Originally Posted by TortillaChips

As has already been said, I think she can slip into the Foundation work rather nicely, keep her UN duties and also perhaps have some work with the Duchess of Cornwall for women's rights as well.

She never worked for the UN. Besides, it's not a charity.

Originally Posted by Chloep

As mentioned above, I am hopeful she will continue her work with UN & and get involved with British Women's Rights initiatives.
I also would love to see her associate herself with youth organizations! I feel she has that engaging & energetic nature that would bode very well with something like that. (Unfortunately, not many in the RBF do... Actually, this could be a lovely project together with Harry!)

Markle never worked for the UN. She did a couple of things for UN Women, that's all. She didn't have a contract with them, she merely got the gig through her PR firm. She's not qualified to be a consultant or staff for UN. Incidentally, her one speech for UN Conference on Woemn, she never mentioned her mother. She did however, praise her father to the high heavens, stating "the world needs more men like my father .. men who stand up for what is right."

Originally Posted by loonytick

I suspect we'll see Meghan jump into royal duties fairly quickly. The palace was very wise to let Kate have time to ease into the role, given that she had no experience dealing with the public beyond being swarmed by paparazzi. Meghan doesn't need as much hand-holding and quite likely doesn't want that, given the amount of experience she has giving speeches, being photographed by the press and going out on humanitarian visits for World Vision.

My gut says we'll have to wait a little bit to know for sure which causes she's going to make her own in this role, though. I'm guessing there will first be a phase of her tagging along to all of Harry's events, but even after she starts doing things solo the first order of business will be getting her to as many different corners of the nation as possible so that she can get to know it first hand. There are always ribbon cuttings, anniversaries, etc. that can help KP send her all over the realm. A specific charitable agenda will take a little more planning and discussion, especially if they want to craft a focus that ties into the other work being done by William, Kate and Harry's trust.

Well, to date, Meghan has needed a LOT of hand holding, and hasn't adjusted to the role anywhere near as well as people expected.

Originally Posted by Somebody

I don't think she needs 'steering' in the direction of supporting women's causes as she already works in that area. Rescue animals would also be close to her interests, so I do agree that there are possibilities to work together - just didn't think of her in a more general mentor role.

Sorry, but what has she done for women's causes? Giving a speech at UN Women doesn't qualify her for that. She did one gig in India about menstruation. She's far from qualified.

[TLLK]

Originally Posted by Rudolph

Chris Ship from ITV said although there were some rumours of patronages being announced in the fall, they’re being told not to expect anything before the end of the year.

Rudolph-I had an opportunity to watch the Royal Rota broadcast on the Duchess' first 100 Day and found it very interesting. Thank you for pointing me toward it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJsH...ature=youtu.be

Regarding the announcement of her future charities and patronages, I find the timeline to be a reasonable one. Give the newest adult member the opportunity to adjust to a new way of life, a new marriage and a new nation. Meghan will likely be the patron of these organizations for decades so waiting until the end of 2018 for announcements is entirely reasonable to me.

[loonytick]

Originally Posted by luluflossie

Well, to date, Meghan has needed a LOT of hand holding, and hasn't adjusted to the role anywhere near as well as expected.

Not quite sure how you define hand-holding if you think she’s required a lot of it. I mean, yes, she literally holds her husband’s hand at times, but that’s not what I was talking about. She jumped immediately into engagements at the same pace as Harry right after they announced plans to marry. She worked the crowd on her own from the start. They pulled back on how close press get after her father started acting up, but KP/William & Harry have always seemed to look for any excuse to hold press at arm’s length anyway.

[Osipi]

Another things we'd do well to keep in mind is that it isn't solely up to Meghan what she does and doesn't do as a senior working royal. Meghan is part of a team called the "Firm" and many decisions and plans happen in conjunction with that "Firm".

Meghan, herself, could actively feel like taking on a whole bunch more engagements and duties but has to adhere to the plans the "Firm" has. Sometimes too, events and engagements are planned months in advance. They don't happen overnight for the most part. There's probably a lot of behind the scenes getting the ducks all in a row right now while the BRF is on summer downtime.

[MaiaMia_53]

I think Meghan will be very much involved in the decisionmaking surrounding her future role as a member of the firm. She's also smart enough to quickly learn about all the royal protocol, with Harry there to guide her as well. Some things will eventually be changing down the road regarding old-fashioned rules and practices. The royal show will be interesting to watch for many years to come.

[TLLK]

Another things we'd do well to keep in mind is that it isn't solely up to Meghan what she does and doesn't do as a senior working royal. Meghan is part of a team called the "Firm" and many decisions and plans happen in conjunction with that "Firm".

Meghan, herself, could actively feel like taking on a whole bunch more engagements and duties but has to adhere to the plans the "Firm" has. Sometimes too, events and engagements are planned months in advance. They don't happen overnight for the most part. There's probably a lot of behind the scenes getting the ducks all in a row right now while the BRF is on summer downtime.

I agree. Much of their schedule would have been planned months in advance, but in time Meghan will be able to give more input.

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by luluflossie

She gave one speech for the UN, she never worked for them. As for joining in on Harry's causes, he's been to Africa 3 times to date and she wasn't with him.

She never worked for the UN. As for causes close to her heart, your guess what that might be is as good as any, but for the life of me, I don't think she cares enough about anything except clothes.

She never worked for the UN. Besides, it's not a charity.

Markle never worked for the UN. She did a couple of things for UN Women, that's all. She didn't have a contract with them, she merely got the gig through her PR firm. She's not qualified to be a consultant or staff for UN. Incidentally, her one speech for UN Conference on Woemn, she never mentioned her mother. She did however, praise her father to the high heavens, stating "the world needs more men like my father .. men who stand up for what is right."

Your message is clear

However, many royals 'work' for the UN in a role as ambassador. That term is normally used rather loosely. Given that UN women actively approached her (if I remember correctly) in the past, I wouldn't be surprised if she was approached another time at some point in the coming years to be an ambassador for one of the many UN branches.

Well, to date, Meghan has needed a LOT of hand holding, and hasn't adjusted to the role anywhere near as well as people expected.

I don't know what people expected. The fact that within a month after her marriage she was sent on an engagement with the queen without Harry suggests that they at least trust her enough not to need her husband by her side. Moreover, she had to adjust both to British and royal protocol at the same time. At times she is a little unsure regarding protocol which I subscribe to her being a perfectionist. She seems to thrive in direct contact with the people and behaves a little odd when they cheer from a distance.

Sorry, but what has she done for women's causes? Giving a speech at UN Women doesn't qualify her for that. She did one gig in India about menstruation. She's far from qualified.

Raise awareness as a young teenager, supporting women's causes as part of her work as an ambassador for World Vision, discussing it on her blog, and speaking about 'women's voices' at her very first Royal Foundation event. So, the issue is clearly close to her heart. Whether she is qualified enough is in the eyes of the beholder.

[MaiaMia_53]

In response to a query by Lady Nimue about the Duchess of Sussex and what the future may hold:

It's hard to know just how things are going to shake out. I would imagine that Prince Harry's words in the engagement interview will ring true:
"At the moment for us, we are going to make sure our relationship is put first, but we both have passions for making change, change for good ... The fact that I know Meghan will be really good at the job part of it is a huge relief to me because I know she will be able to deal with everything that comes with it. We are a fantastic team, we know we are and we hope to over time try and have as much impact for all the things we care about as much as possible ... Whatever we have to tackle individually or together will always be us together as a team... [Meghan's] capable of anything, and together there's a heck of a lot of stuff that needs doing ..."

Who knows what kinds of changes will occur in five to ten years time. There will indeed be some changes made over time which might enable Meghan to share her voice more on non-controversial topics and projects that can make a difference for individuals and communities. I feel certain that Harry admires Meghan's strength as a woman, and that he's not interested in her being a wilting wallflower without a voice.

[luluflossie]

By hand holding, I meant assistants and training and so on. They had 11 staff on the Dublin trip. And she still messed up.

She was promoted as someone who could adapt and hit the ground running. That hasn't happened.

[Dalriada]

Originally Posted by luluflossie

By hand holding, I meant assistants and training and so on. They had 11 staff on the Dublin trip. And she still messed up.

You actually could be right about that according to the Irish Times and not just the tabloids.

[MARG]

Originally Posted by luluflossie

She was promoted as someone who could adapt and hit the ground running. That hasn't happened.

Oh for heaven's sake, she's only been married a little over three months and I wouldn't say that they exactly had a normal length honeymoon. Both her engagement and those three months have been learning about the BRF and how they do things, William and Harry's "The Foundation" and finding a niche for herself there. Any actual patronages etc. are vetted by HM and BP for the simple reason that one has to be invited to be a Patron. If she is and if it is deemed acceptable, then and only then will she accept and it will be announced by KP.

That is what the senior royals role is, supporting HM in a way that she finds best suits her. Running off half-cocked is not an option. HM may want her to wet her feet on a few mundane ribbon cuttings or plaque unveiling, we don't know. But one thing is for certain, the UK is not the US or Canada, they do things differently and whether you accept it or not, there is a cultural divide to navigate with sensitivity and understanding.

The way some people run on I think they expect her to be faster than a speeding train and leap over tall buildings in a single bound!

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by luluflossie

By hand holding, I meant assistants and training and so on. They had 11 staff on the Dublin trip. And she still messed up.

How did she 'mess up' in Ireland?

[sophie25]

Originally Posted by Iluvbertie

How did she 'mess up' in Ireland?

I think by saying she was glad the abortion referendum went the way it did, or words to that effect. I was amazed that she said it as it's still a very emotive subject in Ireland and as a royal she should obviously be keeping her political opinions to herself. I thought this is the first thing royals are taught, especially concerning a country that has nothing to do with them.

[Cocoasneeze]

Originally Posted by sophie25

I think by saying she was glad the abortion referendum went the way it did, or words to that effect. I was amazed that she said it as it's still a very emotive subject in Ireland and as a royal she should obviously be keeping her political opinions to herself. I thought this is the first thing royals are taught, especially concerning a country that has nothing to do with them.

She actually didn't say anything like this. All this speculation is based on one tweet, which basically said, that Meghan was pleased at the referendum results, the next tweet clarified, that the person tweeted that they interpreted Meghan being pleased at the result, that Meghan hadn't actually said anything to really suggest that.

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by luluflossie

By hand holding, I meant assistants and training and so on. They had 11 staff on the Dublin trip. And she still messed up.

The number of staff has nothing to do with being more or less experienced. William and Catherine take about the same number of staff with them when on a trip abroad.

Originally Posted by luluflossie

She was promoted as someone who could adapt and hit the ground running. That hasn't happened.

She did. She is adapting and started doing engagements the week of the engagement announcement and has been doing them ever since.

[Cocoasneeze]

Originally Posted by luluflossie

She was promoted as someone who could adapt and hit the ground running. That hasn't happened.

She did more engagements after the engagement announcement, than any royal fiancé before her. So her actions pretty much suggest, that it has happened.

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by sophie25

I think by saying she was glad the abortion referendum went the way it did, or words to that effect. I was amazed that she said it as it's still a very emotive subject in Ireland and as a royal she should obviously be keeping her political opinions to herself. I thought this is the first thing royals are taught, especially concerning a country that has nothing to do with them.

Hardly messing up at all.

It was a simple comment - if even made as the reference to it has now been removed from the twitter account - and not political as it was AFTER the vote had been taken. Had she said something before the vote that would be a different matter but not afterwards.

[sophie25]

Originally Posted by Iluvbertie

Hardly messing up at all.

It was a simple comment - if even made as the reference to it has now been removed from the twitter account - and not political as it was AFTER the vote had been taken. Had she said something before the vote that would be a different matter but not afterwards.

No I still don't think she should have said it.

[Iluvbertie]

The Queen made a clear interference in the Scottish referendum before the vote. That was unacceptable - even with the approval of the government of the day.

William made a number of 'pre-EU' statements in the lead up to the referendum - again because the government told him to do so.

These were attempts to interfere in the political situations.

Saying something after the event is not interfering in a political situation as the situation has been resolved by a democratic vote of the people concerned. There is nothing wrong with a royal supporting a democratic vote.

[Cocoasneeze]

Originally Posted by sophie25

No I still don't think she should have said it.

She didn't say anything, though. The person sge was talking to said, that they interpreted, that Meghan was pleased at the result. That Meghan said nothing political.