Duchess of Sussex: Future Duties, Roles and Responsibilities

[robsmom]

And I say you're premature with your calling her out. Based on multiple reports she has been very busy behind the scenes with private meetings, do these meetings count at all?

I agree. You can not judge the amount of work public figures do just on the appearances in public. Each hour in public probably requires 2 or 3 in private. In these early days it is probably even more.

Being a woman she is judged on her clothing and appearance in a way totally different than Harry. That means wardrobe appointments, hair, nails and working out. You or I could skip some workouts and gain 5 or 10 pounds if we wanted. If she does that she will be presumed pregnant.

In order to be a royal patron, she needs to learn about various organizations and meet the leaders. She needs to do some homework. As said above, she also needs to continue to learn protocol, procedures, etc. They are running a foundation that much require some attention from the Cambridges and Sussexes.

There are probably thousands of gifts to be acknowledged. I am not saying she is personally writing thank you notes, but decisions need to be made on what to keep, what to donate, what needs to be returned for ethical reasons etc.

I would assume that they are also working on a place to live longer term. They have stated that they want kids. They need to move.

 

[MARG]

Well they don't need to move just yet. They have no children yet and I would think Meghan is putting her own house in order, so to speak. She needs to learn about the UK for citizenship just to start out. She also needs to shop . . . (poor thing). But seriously, she needs to make Nott Cott her home and feel comfortable with how KP is run and how it works with CH and BP.

She has to lay a solid foundation with her husband and his family if this marriage is to flourish. I think both she and Harry have been working on the information supplied by the FO in preparation for the Irish trip. Knowledge matters and you don't get any brownie points for making gauche gaffs.

 

[Lady Nimue]

I would assume that they are also working on a place to live longer term. They have stated that they want kids. They need to move.

Exactly. This is one area I love to live vicariously through Meghan. We all have our 'thing'. For some its jewels and tiaras, for me it's houses. I love shopping for houses. In fact, I will stop for house sales just to do a tour. One of my favorite things to do. Like some people stop for garage sales, I stop for house sales.

The above being so, I know that house hunting can take a couple of years, and if they wind up building, there will be a huge amount of time and attention needed there (though all fun!) . So I agree they will be doing that even at this early stage, even if staying put at their current cottage is the plan. There is always so much to do decorating and improving.

 

[soapstar]

Let’s get back to discussing Meghan’s future duties. If you wish to discuss where they plan to live, take it to the Future home for Prince Harry thread.

 

[kathia_sophia]

I wonder when the Duchess of Sussex will start her own solo engagements. When was the first solo engagement of Catherine after she married William?

 

[Rudolph]

In Oct 2011. · The Duchess of Cambridge carried out her first solo engagement at a private dinner when she stood in for her father-in-law, the Prince of Wales.

 

[TLLK]

I wonder when the Duchess of Sussex will start her own solo engagements. When was the first solo engagement of Catherine after she married William?

I believe that once KP shares the information regarding Meghan's first patronages and charities we'll see her first solo engagement announced shortly afterwards.


Catherine's first solo engagement was about six months after her wedding. She was a stand in for her father-in-law as he was attending the funeral for the Saudi crown prince in October 2011.

 

[ACO]

Meghan might have a solo event during the tour.

 

[TLLK]

Yes she might.

 

[Pranter]

She and Harry have 2 joint duties coming up pretty quick.

I guess I don't expect them to do anything solo on the tour.


LaRae

 

[Dman]

The solo engagements are coming. Very possibly this fall.

 

[Winnie]

In Oct 2011. · The Duchess of Cambridge carried out her first solo engagement at a private dinner when she stood in for her father-in-law, the Prince of Wales.

Yes, that is correct and if I am reading this old engagement schedule correctly, her next solo engagement wasn't until March 2012 which was 5 months after. Please correct me if I am getting this wrong as I can't figure if that was also with William and not solo.

 

[Rudolph]

I’m not sure. There’s no yardstick for any of this. Camilla had a solo engagement just a month after her marriage but has only been out of the U.K. one time on her own since 2005. Catherine was scheduled for Malta but couldn’t go because of HG but she’s made solo visits to the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

I don’t think it really matters. Meghan will do solo engagements, group engagements and engagements with other combinations of royals. For the royals It’s a marathon not a sprint.

 

[O-H Anglophile]

Yes, that is correct and if I am reading this old engagement schedule correctly, her next solo engagement wasn't until March 2012 which was 5 months after. Please correct me if I am getting this wrong as I can't figure if that was also with William and not solo.

Williams was in the Falklands in February and part of March 2012, so Kate did the St Patrick's Day shamrocks by herself.

 

[Osipi]

We cannot use other royals as yardsticks to measure what should be, could be and possibly will be. Each has their own comfort level at doing things. Each has their own insecurities when it comes to working solo (such as public speaking, climate, self assurance etc). Each grows at their own pace in a solo role. There are no rules. There are no restrictions. Its not any kind of a race at all but a "Firm" working for the monarch.

Meghan and the "Firm" and her staff will draw up a daily planner expressly personalized to Meghan. We just get to sit back and watch it all happen.

 

[jacqui24]

Aren't we all forgetting schedule issues here as well? Sometimes, it depends on what kind of things that comes up in terms of when we'll see the first engagement. If Charles hadn't had a conflict, we wouldn't have seen Kate solo until March 2012. It does depend a lot on availability of the person and when things are scheduled.

 

[Lady Nimue]

Let’s get back to discussing Meghan’s future duties. If you wish to discuss where they plan to live, take it to the Future home for Prince Harry thread.

Hi, Soapster! Could you supply the link to the 'Future home for Prince Harry' thread? I can't find it and I've done a search, too. It's just not coming up. Many thanks.

 

[Osipi]

Its under the subforum for the British Royals called British Royal Residences.

The thread is here:

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f230/future-home-for-prince-harry-26891.html

 

[Lady Nimue]

Thank you, Osipi!

 

[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.

 

[luluflossie]

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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]

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. ?

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]

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]

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]

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.