Just a thought - this thread is about William. Yet it always seems to veer into Catherine. Technically, the consort has no government role, and the Princess of Wales has no formal role.
Does Catherine actually have to do anything? And does that reflect on William's suitability at all? Does a modern monarchy still demand that a spouse have an active role? Because I've seen people on this website decry a male consort having to give up his successful business upon marrying a Crown Princess- and it really opened my eyes to how we view male vs. female consorts. Do we always expect that the female consorts must have formalized roles?
Because we also now expect (I hope) that royals marry for love. So do future monarchs have a duty to fall in love with someone who wants to/is able to handle a significant amount of public engagements and the scrutiny that comes with it? At least one other future consort has a long term serious health condition and has set forth that her public engagements will be limited. Would we accept the same from Catherine?
Does Catherine actually have to do anything? And does that reflect on William's suitability at all? Does a modern monarchy still demand that a spouse have an active role? Because I've seen people on this website decry a male consort having to give up his successful business upon marrying a Crown Princess- and it really opened my eyes to how we view male vs. female consorts. Do we always expect that the female consorts must have formalized roles?
Because we also now expect (I hope) that royals marry for love. So do future monarchs have a duty to fall in love with someone who wants to/is able to handle a significant amount of public engagements and the scrutiny that comes with it? At least one other future consort has a long term serious health condition and has set forth that her public engagements will be limited. Would we accept the same from Catherine?