The Prince of Wales and Sporting Charities 2: Sep 2022-

[Maryrose]

What difference does it make flying 7 hours or 24. in this day and age people get on planes to do their job. It is a necessary part of life. I think people have more of a problem with frivolous uses of transportation. The World Cup final was planned years in advance for Australia. If he was so against flying a long distance as president of the FA then he should have stepped down..I think the Princess Royal would have been a great fit. She seems to always be out there showing support.

 

[FigTree]

What difference does it make flying 7 hours or 24. in this day and age people get on planes to do their job. It is a necessary part of life. I think people have more of a problem with frivolous uses of transportation. The World Cup final was planned years in advance for Australia. If he was so against flying a long distance as president of the FA then he should have stepped down..I think the Princess Royal would have been a great fit. She seems to always be out there showing support.

Oh please. There are a myriad of potential issues with a flight of that length. For 90 minutes. When the earthquakes happened in NZL William went. Short time and all.

 

[Maryrose]

Oh please. There are a myriad of potential issues with a flight of that length. For 90 minutes. When the earthquakes happened in NZL William went. Short time and all.

Oh please. Who said he only had to be there for 90 minutes.

 

[Erin9]

Personally, I see this as an indication that the Wales family is incredibly serious about treating their time with their children during school holidays as sacred and inviolable, and I have to admire that. Ultimately, it was a football match and it took place across the world.

They have 13 years left of having school age children, until Prince Louis turns 18, but an entire lifetime of royal duties. Ultimately, I think incredibly close and secure family bonds and relationships will do more for the monarchy’s future than anything else, so I support them making those trade offs in situations like this.

They’ll take some negative PR for it, but being truly good at the job often means thinking beyond a news cycle or two.

You make a very good point that being truly good at the job means thinking beyond a couple of news cycles.

I don’t think William could have “won” either way. People were going to criticize.

Personally- I think a 24 hour one way flight for a 90 minute GAME is a bit absurd regardless of one’s stance on the environment. I mean- it’s a game. I admit- I’m not a sports enthusiast, but end of day: it is a game. I think it’s great that the SRF opted to go. They looked like they had a blast. But I’m not going to judge either choice.

I think it’s worth noting William and Catherine did interrupt their holiday recently to attend the CP of Jordan’s wedding. They obviously are willing to make concessions on family time. Not sure exactly what William’s reasoning on missing the game was based on, of course, but we do know, there is a willingness to interrupt the kids holidays.

 

[FigTree]

Oh please. Who said he only had to be there for 90 minutes.

And where would you suggest he go? The cost to having such a high profile person in the country is immense. Security alone. Everywhere needs to be checked. Also the inappropriateness of someone who is the heir to that country but mo resident rocking up for a few days holiday is also not worth discussing. It was a complex no win situation. I would say nothing or little to do with the children's holidays. These things are incredibly complicated.

 

[Maryrose]

And where would you suggest he go? The cost to having such a high profile person in the country is immense. Security alone. Everywhere needs to be checked. Also the inappropriateness of someone who is the heir to that country but mo resident rocking up for a few days holiday is also not worth discussing. It was a complex no win situation. I would say nothing or little to do with the children's holidays. These things are incredibly complicated.

He is the president of the FA. The Lionesses made it to the final against Spain. We will not agree on this but I respect your right to your opinion.

 

[shady lady]

Oh please. Who said he only had to be there for 90 minutes.

And where would you suggest he go? The cost to having such a high profile person in the country is immense. Security alone. Everywhere needs to be checked. Also the inappropriateness of someone who is the heir to that country but mo resident rocking up for a few days holiday is also not worth discussing. It was a complex no win situation. I would say nothing or little to do with the children's holidays. These things are incredibly complicated.

Excellent point Fig Tree. There are so many factors and logistics involved.

Moreover, William has many responsibilities and duties, not just as President of the FA. There are always going to be clashes and issues trying to juggle them all.

The BRF has lost five prominent working family members in the last six years.

The workload left behind doesn't just disappear. It has to be distributed among those people who remain as working royals. So they have to work extra hard as a result.

When you have a young family to consider too, that's a lot of juggling.

As HRH Hermione said in her excellent post, time spent with the children is crucial and a great investment for the future, and it's needed; if that is the reason William did not attend, then I fully support it 100%.

Personally, my best guess is that it was a combination of factors that led to the decision. William would have been given advice. He may also have been instructed not to attend - possibly by the King himself.

William, Catherine and their children will devote their lives to the service of my country for many years to come; I say that with confidence. I am proud of them, and glad they are part of BRF. They will do so in the face of regular criticism, much of it unjust; but they will continue to serve, regardless.

In the case of William and the children, they didn't sign up to become members of the Royal family. They were born into it, but they are still human beings and I expect they will (continue to) do their very best to do their duty even if it's not always appreciated. That is something worth remembering.

 

[TLLK]

I mean he is flying to NYC for two days next month. A long flight for such a short stay...

London to New York is a far shorter flight than the UK to Australia. Nor does it involve two stops.

 

[Hallo girl]

Wanna bet on that? The Men's World Cup is in 2026, just under 3 years away - which isn't too far into the future. If he goes to any of the Lions' matches, social media will blow up - and rightfully so.

It will blow up with the usual suspects.

 

[tommy100]

It’s clear that many of the posts here don’t acknowledge William’s stance on climate is anything more than an excuse. Interestingly, it is the one official statement he’s made regarding his reason for not going ( long haul flight comment) . Although I feel that he’s scored an own goal ( another awful, deliberate pun) in not fulfilling his duties as FA president , I continue to think he is genuine in his belief it’s setting a bad example of unnecessary travel. If he is really serious about maintaining his stance about international travel, he has to demonstrate this across a range of activities, and take more alternative steps to restrict his carbon footstep. That or resign his duties of such organisations as the FA because he can’t fulfil what is expected of someone in this position. There’s no easy answer to these issues, but I don’t think he would renege on his duties and put family first for such a short trip .

The problem for a lot of people, I suspect is in this case the carbon footprint seems a convenient excuse to many as we know they family use to regularly travel by helicopter from London to Anmer despite trains or road being greener alternatives. The family also seem quite happy to fly 11hours plus to get to Mustique for holidays when it suits. This is always the issue with royals, any royals, talking about being more environmentally friendly, they have to walk the walk in private and in public duties.

I'm not the biggest footie fan so can't really talk in some ways, I only watched the last 10 minutes of the game never find flying 24hrs around world. However, I am not the President of the FA nor am I am a royal prince whose job it is to represent his country. As for breaking into family holidays, I'm a teacher so yes lucky to get the long summer break like W&C but even I've had to go in to to jobs, prepare for next year and meet with other staff and new pupils and parents. Sometimes work just has to be done.

It's done and dusted now, well done Spain and commiserations to the Lionesses on not winning this time but well done on getting so far!

 

[TLLK]

Upcoming Welsh rugby trip for Prince William.




The Prince of Wales, Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, will attend the Rugby World Cup 2023 Group Stage match between Wales and Fiji at the Stade de Bordeaux on Sunday 10th September, 2023.

 

[HRHHermione]

This is quite fun- I wasn’t sure where to put it because it involves Mike Tindall, The Princess Royal, and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

They’ve all appeared on a special episode of Mike’s podcast, The Good, the Bad, and the Rugby

 

[Somebody]

Wow, that's a nice trio being interviewed by another nice trio.

 

[HRHHermione]

Wow, that's a nice trio being interviewed by another nice trio.

It was a lot of fun to watch! You can tell that all four family members are very fond of each other and it seemed like they all had a great time. Apparently Kate likes to goad everyone into swimming in cold water at Balmoral so that was fun to hear.

 

[Prinsara]

"Eating over priceless furniture". It really was fun, and my rugby knowledge is miniscule.

Anne is always such a good interview, regardless of subject, and such a character. No wonder her popularity's gone through the roof.

 

[Kenya]

I loved Mike teasing Kate about how competitive she is, James saying Mike had compared William and Kate's competitiveness to Monica and Chandler on Friends, and Anne confirming how competitive the little Waleses already are. LOL.

I thought it was very sweet when William revealed the only time he'd cried over a sporting event was due to his pride at seeing Zara win the European Championships.

Princess Anne was, as always, witty and droll. I loved seeing her interactions with the rest of the group and how much they obviously revere her. Such a lovely and fun glimpse into the family dynamics.

 

[tommy100]

It is lovely to see how well they all get along and highlights how much time in private they must be together - Zara and Mike with the Wales' but also Anne and the Tindalls and Wales'.

 

[HRHHermione]

It is lovely to see how well they all get along and highlights how much time in private they must be together - Zara and Mike with the Wales' but also Anne and the Tindalls and Wales'.

Yes, it was nice to see Anne comment on how the Wales kids play together, showing she spends enough time around them to know the children well. It sounds like the regular holidays to Balmoral are becoming important to the next generation and I really like that. It’s nice that the Wales kids have their Tindall and Phillips cousins, especially given that Mia is right between George and Charlotte in age and Lena is the right age to play with Louis. And Isla is only a little older than George.

 

[Tirilschatz]

Since english is not my mother tongue, it's sometimes a bit hard for me to follow and understand *everything*, especially when more than two people talk at a time or when the accent is too strong.
Did I get it right that Princess Anne said, she drove a formula 1 car?

 

[Prinsara]

Since english is not my mother tongue, it's sometimes a bit hard for me to follow and understand *everything*, especially when more than two people talk at a time or when the accent is too strong.
Did I get it right that Princess Anne said, she drove a formula 1 car?

She said she got to do a couple of circuits on a course. Not in a race. (Although she also pointed out how dangerous eventing is.) But as Anne has driven everything from horse trailers on up and famously picked "lorry driver" as her career if there's no monarchy, I'm going to take the word of her relatives that she's an excellent driver and she can probably drive anything.

 

[Tirilschatz]

She said she got to do a couple of circuits on a course. Not in a race. (Although she also pointed out how dangerous eventing is.) But as Anne has driven everything from horse trailers on up and famously picked "lorry driver" as her career if there's no monarchy, I'm going to take the word of her relatives that she's an excellent driver and she can probably drive anything.

Oh yes, that it was three rounds and not in a race I understood, but I was not sure if I got the part that it was actually a formula 1 car right Thanks

 

[iceflower]

The Prince of Wales as Patron of the England Rugby Football Union (RFU), attended the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Wales and Fiji at Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, France, today, September 10:


** gettyimages gallery ** rex gallery **

 

[stunking]

Excellent show, great they all get along so well and were willing to do the show. I enjoyed it very much.

 

[Frelinghighness]

Since english is not my mother tongue, it's sometimes a bit hard for me to follow and understand *everything*, especially when more than two people talk at a time or when the accent is too strong.
Did I get it right that Princess Anne said, she drove a formula 1 car?

English is my mother tongue but I had trouble understanding everything also because they were talking so quickly, talking over each other and a few strong accents. Princess Anne however, beautiful elocution and so smart and funny.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

Since english is not my mother tongue, it's sometimes a bit hard for me to follow and understand *everything*, especially when more than two people talk at a time or when the accent is too strong.
Did I get it right that Princess Anne said, she drove a formula 1 car?

In the middle of it, I realized I could turn on cc- closed captioning. They talked over each other a lot when laughing so this helped me follow what they were saying. I’m glad that William has Mike in his life - they all seem very comfortable together. I liked hearing more personal stories.

Whoever coached Catherine to use her hands while she talks overdid it a bit in my opinion - she uses them a little too much which I found distracting. As an introvert, I felt for her with trying to get a word in edgewise with all the other participants. When she did speak, the others did stop to listen. Her love of cold water was surprising and interesting- pushing herself physically to see what she can do!?

Anne is absolutely amazing - so knowledgeable and what an asset to the RF!

A delightful interview - thanks for sharing!

 

[Hallo girl]

In the middle of it, I realized I could turn on cc- closed captioning. They talked over each other a lot when laughing so this helped me follow what they were saying. I’m glad that William has Mike in his life - they all seem very comfortable together. I liked hearing more personal stories.

Whoever coached Catherine to use her hands while she talks overdid it a bit in my opinion - she uses them a little too much which I found distracting. As an introvert, I felt for her with trying to get a word in edgewise with all the other participants. When she did speak, the others did stop to listen. Her love of cold water was surprising and interesting- pushing herself physically to see what she can do!?

Anne is absolutely amazing - so knowledgeable and what an asset to the RF!

A delightful interview - thanks for sharing!

I know what you mean, we needed Charlotte there to put her mothers hands down. I think Catherine is still a bit nervous when speaking. I loved the podcast though. As others have said a genuine relationship between the group, and they do appear to spend time together, we just don't always see it. Private down time for them all.

 

[Leopoldine]

I just watched the whole thing. Very enjoyable. Anne shines here. And Mike is not as much as a rough diamond as I thought. He's a very well-spoken and thoughtful person. The Wales couple were great.

 

[Hallo girl]

I just watched the whole thing. Very enjoyable. Anne shines here. And Mike is not as much as a rough diamond as I thought. He's a very well-spoken and thoughtful person. The Wales couple were great.

The image is the hard drinking rugby player, a diamond in the rough type. He is well spoken , he also appears close to William.

 

[Asteria12]

Agree with the comments above, and I too think that Mike and William have a particularly good relationship, which is great!

 

[Heavs]

The image is the hard drinking rugby player, a diamond in the rough type. He is well spoken , he also appears close to William.

Vert true that he's always been considered a "diamond in the rough" type because of his very public persona and fairly big size as a Center, but he actually had a pretty middle class upbringing going to a local independent school in Wakefield and his parents being a banker and social worker. Not that it would have mattered if that wasn't the case but a lot of people seem surprised to learn whenever it comes up that he went to private school for example.

It does seem like they all spend time together when they can which is nice to see, I think we have seen a lot of comfortable interaction between all the great grands in the UK to surmise that they know each other fairly well and see each other with some regularity.

IIRC it was Harry who said that many of the family were excited that Zara was marrying an international sportsman and captain of the England team (for those that support England) and that helped ease his entry in. Not that it's Mike's thread but his co-stars do have good natured humour in many eps about his in laws and that if he says anything vaguely related it's always "welcome Hello! readers, go to 5.37. "