Earning a living as a non-full time royal

[tommy100]

I'd love to one day see a royal working as a teacher of a doctor or similar. But I'd guess in this day and age it would be too risky - people sending their kids to their school or practice just to see teh royal.

 

[Sancia]

I'd love to one day see a royal working as a teacher of a doctor or similar. But I'd guess in this day and age it would be too risky - people sending their kids to their school or practice just to see teh royal.

Hasn't Infanta Elena worked for some months as a part-time teacher?

 

[PhillyMonarchist]

I'd love to one day see a royal working as a teacher of a doctor or similar. But I'd guess in this day and age it would be too risky - people sending their kids to their school or practice just to see teh royal.

Didn’t Ingrid Alexandra did this plus dish washing

 

[tommy100]

Yes I'd forgotten about Elena. She got a diploma asa teacher of secondary school and worked as and English teacher in the 80s/early 90s I believe.

 

[Curryong]

The present Duchess of Kent worked for several years at a London secondary school as a school teacher. She didn’t use her own name or styling but apparently everyone knew who she really was.

 

[fabaunty]

I believe the Earl and Countess of St Andrews have both had successful carers , he as a diplomat , and she as a academic . I do not know the profession of the Earl of Ulster , however his wife is a full time doctor .

 

[Somebody]

A scientific career is indeed a great option. The Japanese royals seem to do it as their non-controversial pastime.

In general, I would say that great-grandchildren of a monarch (such as the two earls) have quite a bit of leeway as long as they are not banking on their royal connection.

 

[Mbruno]

I believe the Earl and Countess of St Andrews have both had successful carers , he as a diplomat , and she as a academic . I do not know the profession of the Earl of Ulster , however his wife is a full time doctor .

Academic careers, especially in mathematics or natural sciences, should actually be a good option for junior royals. First of all, it is a type of career where one is probably the least likely to be accused of personal financial gain based on being close to the head of state. Second, although it is not 100% impossible that someone may be favored in this profession based on his/her family name, decisions on research grants, publications, or promotions tend to be based on scientific merit assessed by peer review, rather than social or family connections. Third, it is an occupation that, in my opinion, meets the aristocratic ideals of noblesse oblige , especially in terms of selfless pursuit of knowledge for the betterment of mankind or pure intellectual curiosity, with no immediate intention of personal profit or financial gain. Not surprisingly, many European scientists in the past were also aristocrats.

Unfortunately, few royals seem to be academically inclined and favor instead other career paths such as the military, the arts, or something related to management of land estates.

 

[GondorHasNoPants]

I believe the Earl and Countess of St Andrews have both had successful carers , he as a diplomat , and she as a academic . I do not know the profession of the Earl of Ulster , however his wife is a full time doctor .

The Earl of Ulster served in the British Army from 1998 to 2008, and apparently now works for The Transnational Crisis Project, 'a unique, stateless social enterprise dedicated to developing transnational security strategies for governments around the world'.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Sofia got salary when she worked as the Secretary General of Project Playground until spring 2015. Madeleine has been Vice Honorary Chair of World Childhood Foundation since December 2021, she doesn't get any salary. The problem perhaps is, that we or the Swedes don't know how much she works for WCF. Should we know that, I think not. She is working for WCF and that's it. [...]

Thank you for the response, but I don't think those facts explain why the Swedish public have criticized Madeleine for "not working" but have not criticized Sofia for "not working" (which was the point of my original response to Meraude). The public did not know how many hours Sofia worked for Project Playground, either, and whether the women accepted a salary or not is irrelevant to the question of whether they were working.

 

[Silverpot]

Thank you for the response, but I don't think those facts explain why the Swedish public have criticized Madeleine for "not working" but have not criticized Sofia for "not working" (which was the point of my original response to Meraude). The public did not know how many hours Sofia worked for Project Playground, either, and whether the women accepted a salary or not is irrelevant to the question of whether they were working.

I'm not aware that anyone is criticizing Madeleine for not working, maybe the idiot editor in chief of Svensk Damtidning, but it's not the common opinion.
She was criticized when she was young for her bratish behaviour, but nothing else. And that was more like, "get a job and a hair cut" kind of remark from older people.