Prince William's Suitability to be King

[BriarRose]

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?

 

[Archduchess Zelia]

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?

I mean, is reason Catherine has been brought into the discussion this time not that William's defenders have consistently been using her cancer as an excuse for his modest work tally for the past year? (Meanwhile, the husband of the other future consort you mention doesn't seem to have his work largely impacted by his spouse's illness).

It's a bit strange to decry the mention of Catherine only when it doesn't fit one's one narrative. If Catherine's illness has indeed been the reason for yet another unimpressive work count for William, it's only natural to question why she's fit to go skiing but somehow also unwell enough for them to need William home on a part-time sick leave.

 

[HenRach Dominion]

In all seriousness, does the opinion of HRH The Prince of Wales even matter?

I don’t mean in this forum. This is a place specifically created to discuss opinions on the matter. I mean outside of the internet.

As stated multiple times, TRH The Wales are very popular with the people they represent. But even if they were as unpopular as HRH The Duke of York, the constitution of the United Kingdom and many other constitutions have very few stipulations on whom can inherit the throne. Unless I’m wrong, laziness, violence, severe crimes, and others are not stipulations against being in the line of succession, let alone inheriting the crown. The abdication of Edward VIII was no easy task, and that was with a king who was jumping to quit.

Sure, the individual governments would probably work toward removing HRH The Prince of Wales from the line of succession in this case, but how long will that be, especially if HRH The Prince of Wales fights against it, and the next seven in the line are either despised or children?

You can think HRH The Prince of Wales is the best future king on the planet. You can think he is the second coming of Leopold II of Belgium. But at the end of the day, he isn’t going to become king because he’s likable, charismatic, hardworking, smart, etc, nor is he going to be denied the throne because he’s unlikable, boring, lazy, or unintelligent.

He’s going to be king because before he was born it was constitutionalized in many countries that he would be their future king.

 

[Hallo girl]

Has anybody stopped to think the impact on William of the illnesses of both his father and wife . What the future might hold for him and his 3 young children. I know others in the world have had to go to work regardless, we have heard it all before. I just wish some of you might show a bit of compassion for a man who lost his mother when he was 15, then was faced with the possibility of losing both his father ( and all that entailed for him as heir) and his wife and the mother of his 3 young children.
Maybe he just wants to spend time with them, free of the restraints of illness and treatment.
It is very easy to sit at a keyboard and criticise. Maybe we should walk in his shoes.

 

[BriarRose]

I mean, is reason Catherine has been brought into the discussion this time not that William's defenders have consistently been using her cancer as an excuse for his modest work tally for the past year? (Meanwhile, the husband of the other future consort you mention doesn't seem to have his work largely impacted by his spouse's illness).

It's a bit strange to decry the mention of Catherine only when it doesn't fit one's one narrative. If Catherine's illness has indeed been the reason for yet another unimpressive work count for William, it's only natural to question why she's fit to go skiing but somehow also unwell enough for them to need William home on a part-time sick leave.

I don't think comparing William to the other future King really makes William look less suitable for the throne. If anything, it makes the Wales' investment in raising their children correctly a worthy endeavor.

But my point remains: would we accept Catherine stepping down from any formal role, and does that even reflect on William? Because quite a few comments are saying that "they" could do more. Does a King today have to have a working consort? Does a consort's work reflect on their spouse's suitability for any role?

 

[duke of poliganc]

However, the current Prince of Wales has had the Royal Foundation since 2009 to assist him in learning and preparing for his future role.

Yes but it could have been equivalent to the prince of Asturias foundation in Spain where Lenore when she came of age did take over from her father!

 

[duke of poliganc]

I don't think comparing William to the other future King really makes William look less suitable for the throne. If anything, it makes the Wales' investment in raising their children correctly a worthy endeavor.

But my point remains: would we accept Catherine stepping down from any formal role, and does that even reflect on William? Because quite a few comments are saying that "they" could do more. Does a King today have to have a working consort? Does a consort's work reflect on their spouse's suitability for any role?

Well, we can take other current examples. In Monaco, there was a lot of criticism for the princess’s absence for more than a year, although the palace stated multiple times that she was not well and suffering from an illness. Queen Camilla, who is by no means the most popular member of the royal family, recently took a sick leave, but I don’t think she got any criticism. On the contrary, she was seen as a strong person who took on much of the workload while her spouse was going through medical treatment. Another example is the Crown Princess of Norway, who is also suffering from a serious illness. In her case, she is getting sympathy, and a huge part of this, for me, comes from the fact that she tries to have as many engagements as she can, but also has to cancel some of them if she is not feeling well, which the public understands because they know how serious her illness is. The Norwegian situation was handled so professionally that I didn’t understand how the British royals mishandled the seriousness of the illness of their most popular and loved member, leading to criticism for it.

 

[TLLK]

Yes but it could have been equivalent to the prince of Asturias foundation in Spain where Lenore when she came of age did take over from her father!

Which was the choice of the Spanish Royal House. Why should the British or any other royal house have to follow that example?
As long as the heirs are receiving the training required to fulfill the role for their respective monarchy, does it really matter what type of charitable foundations they have? The Princess of Asturias inherited one. The Prince of Wales established his own in 2009 with his brother. Both types are doing good in their nations. Shouldn't that be the most important aspect?

 

[duke of poliganc]

Which was the choice of the Spanish Royal House. Why should the British or any other royal house have to follow that example?
As long as the heirs are receiving the training required to fulfill the role for their respective monarchy, does it really matter what type of charitable foundations they have? The Princess of Asturias inherited one. The Prince of Wales established his own in 2009 with his brother. Both types are doing good in their nations. Shouldn't that be the most important aspect?

I don’t disagree but in my original post I said “I guess the biggest missed opportunity was that the king kept the prince’s trust” this is my opinion, by no means the British royal family should follow my advice and act upon it, but for me it was a missed opportunity as the prince’s trust is already been in place for years now and have become very popular and reputable, why try set up something new that will need years to be on the same level of an existing foundation, Charles being king have increased his duties as a monarch and handing it over would have gave a learning experience for the new prince of wales while freeing up time for the monarch to do his duties!

Again this is my own opinion it’s not a command for the royal family to do as I say!

 

[Hallo girl]

Well, we can take other current examples. In Monaco, there was a lot of criticism for the princess’s absence for more than a year, although the palace stated multiple times that she was not well and suffering from an illness. Queen Camilla, who is by no means the most popular member of the royal family, recently took a sick leave, but I don’t think she got any criticism. On the contrary, she was seen as a strong person who took on much of the workload while her spouse was going through medical treatment. Another example is the Crown Princess of Norway, who is also suffering from a serious illness. In her case, she is getting sympathy, and a huge part of this, for me, comes from the fact that she tries to have as many engagements as she can, but also has to cancel some of them if she is not feeling well, which the public understands because they know how serious her illness is. The Norwegian situation was handled so professionally that I didn’t understand how the British royals mishandled the seriousness of the illness of their most popular and loved member, leading to criticism for it.

The princess of Monaco suffered as our own Princess of Wales did with social media trolls who appeared to think it is their right to know every aspect of somebody’s medical history. Once again I suggest we show compassion towards people suffering illness rather than using it as a stick to beat them with.

 

[Ista]

The moderating team has taken a look at the recent posts, and while criticism and discussion about William and how he is fulfilling his duties and his suitability for his future role as king is fine, make sure your posts pertain directly to that topic. As always, speculative and insulting posts are against forum rules. None of us has any idea about the cancer diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis of the Princess of Wales, and she is not, after all, the subject of this thread. Please bear that in mind when posting.

 

[Hallo girl]

I guess the biggest missed opportunity was that the king kept the prince’s trust and changed it to the king’s trust, just handing it over to next prince of wales would have gave a significant role for every heir to learn and prepare for his future role!

I am not clear on your point re the Princes Trust, why would this help William prepare for the future, he has set up his own foundation enabling a wider range of projects across both organisations.

 

[tommy100]

Potentially a big test coming up - as heir it would usually be William who would attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

 

[Mirabel]

I think that when the time comes, William will step up to fulfill his destiny. He's been aware of his future role from early childhood.

 

[Hallo girl]

Potentially a big test coming up - as heir it would usually be William who would attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

Is it or did Charles go because of the late Queens age at the time.

 

[Stefan]

Is it or did Charles go because of the late Queens age at the time.

Who attended the 2 papal funerals in 1978? Certainly not HLM

 

[Alison H]

It used to be a thing that the monarch didn't attend funerals, but that's not so much the case any more.

 

[Stefan]

It used to be a thing that the monarch didn't attend funerals, but that's not so much the case any more.

So the King could prove it by going. It is the first time a Monarch has died since his accession.

 

[Hallo girl]

Who attended the 2 papal funerals in 1978? Certainly not HLM

I am not sure but this has been brought up on Williams thread as if it is set in stone that he should attend. I have no idea who should or will attend. If it isn’t William it should not be used as a stick to beat him, we do not have access to conversations behind the scenes.

 

[Alison H]

There's no rule that says he can't go. It's just been a custom that monarchs don't usually attend a lot of funerals.

 

[tommy100]

William travelled to Kuwait on the death of the Emir there, a role that would usually have been undertaken by Charles.

Foreign monarchs attended Charles' coronation for the first time so it isn't out the question he would attend the funeral of a Pope.

If William doesn't go because Charles wants to go and thinks it more appropriate nowadays for the monarch to attend then that it one thing and of course completely fine. If he doesn't go for other reasons than that is another matter all together. We will just have to wait and see.

Given Charles rearranged his wedding so he could attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II and in the last 70 years the custom has been for the Prince of Wales to attend it is fair to say it is expected William will attend, unless other arrangements are made and the custom is changed.

 

[Villager90]

William travelled to Kuwait on the death of the Emir there, a role that would usually have been undertaken by Charles.

Foreign monarchs attended Charles' coronation for the first time so it isn't out the question he would attend the funeral of a Pope.

If William doesn't go because Charles wants to go and thinks it more appropriate nowadays for the monarch to attend then that it one thing and of course completely fine. If he doesn't go for other reasons than that is another matter all together. We will just have to wait and see.

Given Charles rearranged his wedding so he could attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II and in the last 70 years the custom has been for the Prince of Wales to attend it is fair to say it is expected William will attend, unless other arrangements are made and the custom is changed.

I hope William attends. But I suspect it will be the Edinburghs who will represent KCIII. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if he attended himself as a defender of faith. As opposed to defender of the faith.

 

[TLLK]

Who attended the 2 papal funerals in 1978? Certainly not HLM

As far as I can tell from this article, the monarchs in attendance for the funeral of Pope Paul XI were from Catholic nations. Funeral of Pope Paul VI, 1978.
I'm not having much luck in finding information about the funeral of Pope John Paul I.

 

[Alison H]

I would think that either the King or William will attend. It might look a bit disrespectful to send anyone less senior. But we'll see what they decide.

 

[Ghost]

We’ll see. There were so many frustrations that he/they was/were not going to attend Easter mass only for them to go at St Mary Magdalene. Same for the Pope’s funeral - we only have one week to wait.

 

[tommy100]

I think some of the frustrations were not that they weren't attending church but that they were missing out on appearing in public.

 

[Ghost]

I think some of the frustrations were not that they weren't attending church but that they were missing out on appearing in public.

Bingo! Curiosity packed into worry for the CoE.

 

[hereditarytitles]

We don't know for sure whether Catherine is now completely cured. If she isn't, they certainly wouldn't share every setback or worry with the public. I always find it very worrying to conclude that they are neglecting their duties or are too lazy. They have had a very difficult time, a woman who gets cancer in her early 40s, with three young children. You could also think about what this has meant for this young family and not constantly reproach them.
But that's just my own humble opinion.

 

[muriel]

William and Kate went to an Easter service in Sandringham

The royal couple, along with Kate's parents and Prince George, 11, nine-year-old Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, six, slipped into the ceremony in Norfolk.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The Daily Mail has a story that the Wales family, along with Carole & Michael Middleton, did attend church at Sandringham yesterday.

 

[Hallo girl]

Bingo! Curiosity packed into worry for the CoE.

William could have arranged for the press to be there to record their visit to church but he didn’t which for me sums up his personality. He doesn’t feel the need for validation. They wanted a quiet family Easter, he got it. It was SM that wanted more just as they did when Catherine was ill.