What now for William & Catherine: Future Duties, Roles and Responsibilities, Part 2

[Ista]

This is a thread for discussion of both the current and the future duties, roles and responsibilities of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Discussion on those topics should take place here rather than in the General News or other threads.

 

[heingenes]

It will be interesting to see how the Prince and Princess of Wales balance tradition with modern expectations in their roles. William has already shown a focus on mental health, the environment, and homelessness, while Catherine has championed early childhood development. I imagine their future duties will continue to reflect these priorities, but perhaps with more international engagement once they take on greater responsibility as the next King and Queen.

 

[yukari]

My random musing.

I find it interesting that William's big projects have clear target timeline with Earthshot 10 years and Homeward 5 years and also that both projects result can be quantified too (eg how much carbon being reduced/captured, how much area of coral/forest being restored or how many people being housed from the street). In contrast, Catherine's are more long term and abstract with her Early Childhood (abstract parameters and obvious result can only be determined after the kids are adults).

Before anyone misinterpret me, I'm not saying that William's are better than Catherine's (although me being a STEM girl, I prefer his since it can be translated to numbers), but I think it shows that William understands that he has time limit. As king, he basically has to be seen to embrace everything (the plague unveiling, bread and butter engagements and all that stuff), he won't have the same freedom like now to be involved just with the field of his interest.

The timeline of his projects are relatively short, other than that he wants those problems being solved in timely manner also can mean that he recognises that his time before his accession will be short because even though he started both as the 2nd in line, considering his father's age, Charles' reign wouldn't be long.

So IMO, William can see the big picture and has his schedule and agenda which may not meet what some people want, but he knows what he's doing.

 

[Bubbly]

I too think that Kate's topic is a little bit more complex, because it's in a way even more about societal change (though homelessness is not just about having a flat, and has to do with mental health too) and IMO this is often hard to achieve and as you said, because the real impact can only be seen in decades from now. But I think that they will be able to quantify things that they see as important for having happier children. Like how many companies are offering part time jobs for parents, how many nurseries exist in certain areas and how many teachers do they have and so on.

And I agree with what you said about William. I may add that I think the projects are still designed in a way, that they could continue after 5 and 10 years. Maybe it won't be William who will be doing it, maybe he will. Who knows. But after 10 years, Earthshot will have 150 solutions and after they found them, they could concentrate on scaling them up instead of looking for even more new solutions forever. After 5 years of Homewards, they too will hopefully have solutions ready and it may be easier for other cities, that didn't take part in the project, to implement them themselves.

 

[tommy100]

I assume part of the reason may well also be that William knows he is unlikely to be able to commit as much in the same way to his causes when King whereas Catherine could continue hers as consort.
By giving them a natural time limit it allows for a review of William's other commitments with the chance of dropping or altering them. It is also fair to say that William's causes that Earthshot and Homeward require relatively significant funding to keep going, it is easier to secure such funding for shorter amounts of time than going on indefinitely.

 

[HenRach Dominion]

HRH The Prince of Wales is creating a monarchy that works both for himself, his family, the causes he's passionate about, and the people he will someday rule. Naturally, he will be a different monarch than his grandmother and his father; they're all different people, so that's expected.

But discussions about his current role tend to lead to throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Praise of his innovation leads to dismissal of traditional royal duties. Praise of him being a family man gets contrasted with his father's complicated balance of being both a father and a Prince of Wales. The Court Circular showing that older members are doing a lot more events than he is is contrasted with polls saying that he's more popular than they are regardless.

Many who argue that HRH The Prince of Wales's genuine accomplishments are being ignored because he is a different person than his predecessors will then undervalue those bread-and-butter events and the people who dedicate themselves to them just because they're not as popular. Given that the British Royal Family, in spite of the changes it has made over the entirety of its existence, is steeped in tradition and heritage, devaluing HRH The Prince of Wales's elders and their work seems like a bad call.

 

[Bubbly]

I don't have the impression that anybody said that bread-and-butter engagements are not valued, just that it's possible to do it differently without it being automatically less work, and that the public might agree with a new approach, based on the poll numbers. The public still can like the work that others do right now. I see that some people can get quite defensive of the family, but I have the impression that William and Kate sometimes are criticised too soon and that leads to myself giving them the benefit of the doubt, until more information is known.

IMO what happened to them is partly due to their age and partly due to bad luck, and all of this started way before they even got married. Let's break it down. William met Kate in his very early twenties. Some other Crown Princes married their girlfriends after four years or less, while William did not. Then all of this waity stuff started, which apparently led to the assumption by some that Kate is just waiting and doesn't work at all. But she did have two known jobs. They were just not happening in public and she didn't seem to have an ambitious leadership position, but this shouldn't be a bad thing for a person in her mid-twenties. Likewise, it's not unusual nowadays to wait with getting married until approaching their 30s. I feel like their age was dismissed by some at that time. Then other Crown Princes already started to work for the monarchy, while William didn't have too many engagements. But he was working in a different job until 2017, while being only second in line. That still doesn't mean that he never does anything.

Then they became full time royals, Louis was not a baby anymore and subsequently, Covid happened. They were the only working royals with small children at that time and maybe had to deal with home schooling. After Covid, the Queen died and they had to transition into a new role, which didn't just mean being called a Crown Prince, but taking over responsibility for the duchy. After that, Kate became ill and it was always said that her recuperation will take time. Coupled with them not being seen often during school breaks and wanting to have less patronages, and do things differently, all of this was really bad timing.

I can understand where the assumption comes from, that they don't do much. If we're not looking closely, it might look that way, because they largely stayed out of the public eye as long as they could, while William still did have a job though, and had bad luck when it seemed like they are stepping up, which I'm basing on the impression that they started to launch their big projects mostly at a similar time.

As I said elsewhere, I think that at least William is being seen regularly nowadays but the old narrative still seems to stick with some people, at least in online discourse. I would recommend them to look at their PR and be more proactive and unambiguous, if they feel that the laziness claim spreads too much.

 

[tommy100]

Its interesting that looking at all the coverage of Anne's 75th birthday seems to see most articles talk about how hard she works, how she has visited most parts of the UK, this is equated to how hard she works and that is what brings about her popularity. As one article I'm trying desperately to find summed it up - the British secretly quite like to think their royals have to suffer boring engagements so the fact Anne treks around the UK visiting all sorts of places and going to some, let's be honest, boring engagements reinforces that idea that she is a public servant because she certainly isn't seen as doing it all for fun.

I think a huge part is that for a long long time we have had it almost ingrained into us that hard work, being public servants doing lots of engagements is what royals are meant to do. Changing that narrative will take time, a lot of time, because there will be generations like mine and older who are so accustomed to it.

 

[Blog Real]

It will be interesting to see if the Prince and Princess of Wales take on more official duties and responsibilities in the future. And don't forget that he has three children, and we'll see how George approaches his life as a member of the royal family in the coming years as he approaches adulthood.

I miss seeing William and Kate on official visits abroad, for example.

 

[tommy100]

Yes, I look forward to seeing them do more overseas trips. They are so important, especially to have royals able to do 'below state visit' trips but still garner lots of attention.

 

[Bubbly]

I'm quoting a post by @Ghost from the residences thread. I don't mean to circumvent the other thread, but I fear it might be off topic there.

I am glad that some criticism, fair or not, is creeping back on the now Waleses. It means the other ones have truly become irrelevant.
(Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan through and through, so much so that I was surprised at how much I was affected when Catherine made her announcement last March.)

I understand what you mean. I think it's in a way good for everybody (who doesn't know yet) to know, that they get criticised too, but I still wish them less criticism, because I don't think they behave badly. After what happened last year, they deserved a year long vacation IMO, but they still do show up and I think that's admirable.

 

[yukari]

I understand what you mean. I think it's in a way good for everybody (who doesn't know yet) to know, that they get criticised too, but I still wish them less criticism, because I don't think they behave badly. After what happened last year, they deserved a year long vacation IMO, but they still do show up and I think that's admirable.

You know what, sometimes I think maybe William and Catherine should behave badly, like making real big scandals so the criticism they receive would be for real issues instead of over small issues blown out of proportion, both by royal watchers and the media.

Looking at the debate residence thread, I wonder why William gets those kind of strong reaction while the similar thing was done by Charles as heir was only earned shrugs. I can imagine the outrages if William bought new house with the Duchy money in Wales or Northern Ireland only to use it few weeks in a year, say to strengthen his connection with his future subject, then hired Pippa to decorate it (like what his father did). But then again, Charles (and Camilla) had their own bigger scandals in the past so maybe it makes the newer issues like new house or rude behaviour looks insignificant in comparison thus only get non-reaction not more than a shrug and becomes non-story.

We saw it few weeks ago with the yatch story when it's the Wales (which might turn out to be false story) as opposed to when it's Camilla (with photo as proof). For the former, there's an extensive debate by rota in their podcast and outrages all over social media while for the latter barely makes a ripple.

 

[HenRach Dominion]

The tabloids are bored with no glamorous royal event to talk about, and people are generally more invested in TRH Wales than any other royal, good or bad, so they draw the most aggro in spite other royals doing the same or worse. If it makes you feel any better, I strongly suspect that the criticism (or, at least, the extreme criticism) of TRH Wales will die down in about 5-6 days.

 

[muriel]

The tabloids are bored with no glamorous royal event to talk about, and people are generally more invested in TRH Wales than any other royal, good or bad, so they draw the most aggro in spite other royals doing the same or worse. If it makes you feel any better, I strongly suspect that the criticism (or, at least, the extreme criticism) of TRH Wales will die down in about 5-6 days.

I think you are right, it is peak silly season. No one is really around, there are few engagements, and still the same number of column inches to fill.

 

[Alison H]

I haven't really seen any criticism of the Waleses in the press, but, yes, it's the silly season, and, apart from Brooklyn Beckham falling out with his parents, there isn't really anything else to talk about. There hasn't even been a big Hollywood scandal for months!

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Looking at the debate residence thread, I wonder why William gets those kind of strong reaction while the similar thing was done by Charles as heir was only earned shrugs.

From all I have read, Charles as Prince of Wales received more regular, extensive and vituperative criticism than his son ever has (whether that is fair or not). (This is borne out by higher disapproval ratings.) For example, the criticism surrounding access to government seems to have been primarily directed at Charles rather than William, nor was William subjected to persistent rumors about valets squeezing his toothpaste for him or extreme public displeasure over his choice of wife.

 

[Bubbly]

I agree that it might just be silly season and it might die down in a few days. But I have the impression that the Wales get criticised fairly often, be it just by some people on the internet. Furthermore, they experienced some IMO unpleasant things additionally. Some criticism doesn't matter and I think they should live with it, but for me it's not about just one incident. It's about things like William and Harry having to meet people after their mothers death, the waity stuff and the paparazzi when Kate was younger, the talk about Kate's dresses flying up, the topless photos. This is what I recall just from the beginning and I think that's a lot already.

They have good poll numbers and that's reassuring for now, but they have to live in the age of social media, while someone like Charles had not when he was younger. I still can't believe how the frenzy was able to happen last year, as IMO they didn't behave in a way that should make people lose trust in them easily or something like that. If someone wonders why they keep a relatively low profile, well, maybe that might be why?

 

[tommy100]

I certainly think the Wales get away with some things others do not / would not. It has always been true that the more popular members of the RF can get away with things less popular / less known members can't. Anne being seen as blunt and no nonsense was seen as a huge negative in the late 80s/90s when she was unpopular, now she is much much more popular its seen as charming.

Any criticism of the house move, so far, has been very much column / opinion pieces. Columnists get attention for saying things others don't so in itself that isn't a surprise.

The DM's Amanda Platell had a piece on the new house and also what she thinks it might mean for W&Cs future roles

Wills's obsession suggests he's forgotten what the Queen stood for

What damage will William's tendencies and insistence on privacy wreak when he takes the Crown? What could his obsession with protecting his own family eventually do for the Monarchy?

www.dailymail.co.uk

AMANDA PLATELL: Prince William needs to man up. His new obsession sug…

archived 19 Aug 2025 16:34:31 UTC

archive.is

 

[jesam]

I certainly think the Wales get away with some things others do not / would not. It has always been true that the more popular members of the RF can get away with things less popular / less known members can't. Anne being seen as blunt and no nonsense was seen as a huge negative in the late 80s/90s when she was unpopular, now she is much much more popular its seen as charming.

Any criticism of the house move, so far, has been very much column / opinion pieces. Columnists get attention for saying things others don't so in itself that isn't a surprise.

The DM's Amanda Platell had a piece on the new house and also what she thinks it might mean for W&Cs future roles

Wills's obsession suggests he's forgotten what the Queen stood for

What damage will William's tendencies and insistence on privacy wreak when he takes the Crown? What could his obsession with protecting his own family eventually do for the Monarchy?

www.dailymail.co.uk

AMANDA PLATELL: Prince William needs to man up. His new obsession sug…

archived 19 Aug 2025 16:34:31 UTC

archive.is

And they don’t get away with things others do—like Camilla holidaying on a yacht from a Tory donor. It works both ways.

 

[tommy100]

Absolutely. The more popular and "most well known" royals often have higher expectations on them as well. Though Camilla got just as much a drumming for her holiday as the Wales in some quarters. I think it was less of a fuss because people had tired themselves out over the same issue with the Wales when Camilla's holiday was then known about after.
The big issue I see for W&C is that their popularity isn't built upon all that much IMO. It is base don them having a lovely family, being down to earth and having causes that most people would see as important. What they do is great, but its not all that much to me and it makes them more susceptible to blips in opinions or a few bad mistakes because there isn't a firm foundation of royal duties to fall back on - as royals have so often done in the past.

 

[Rael]

A public leadership role will always come with criticism no matter how admirably one behaves. It is not possible for any leader to meet all the expectations of all the people consistently over time.

In that sense, while I'm sympathetic to Yukari's view and understand the sentiment, in my view, it's better that they are criticised for irrelevant things than for serious scandals or for the criticism to be seen universally as justified. As criticism is part and parcel of the role, they pay their criticism tax without it affecting their reputation or what people think of them. The impression stays with the public that they are a great couple that rarely put a foot wrong but are not let of the hook. That's where any leader wants to be.

I don't know them and have no evidence but it doesn't seem to me that W&C are bothered at all about this spate of criticism which largely seems to be from only a section of the media. I don't even think their aides are bothered. The press is entitled to criticise them and they are free to ignore it and get on with their lives. That's an instalment of criticism tax paid. I wouldn't really worry too much about it and agree with those that flag that this is more a feature of silly season.

I imagine they and their aides have and relish a greater sense of freedom in testing and sticking to W&C's convictions without having to pander to the media. In the years since they moved to London and became full time, they've weathered media storms (fair or not) around megxit, the interviews and books launched from across the ocean, the Carribbean tour, not going to Australia for the women's football world cup, the Mother's day photo, the whereisKate lunacy, engagement count etc and none of these have affected their polling. It indicates their social capital with the British public is rooted and agnostic to media storms or opinions of columnists.

This is good for William as a future Monarch. It is good for him to be seen to be criticised and good for the public to observe how he handles the criticism (or ignores it) and how he stays true to himself, how he sees his duty and his convictions, without fear or favour. I personally think that's part of his appeal as a leader. He doesn't tell people what they want to hear or do the 'simple things' that would calm the criticism. He is building the public resilience and trust he needs for when he becomes King and seeks to make significant changes whether the media is on board or not. He is also getting the public gradually socialised to his convictions. I think the ebb and flow of non-stick criticism works for him in this regard.

Interestingly, Hannah Furness of The Telegraph has a similar take:

A place to call home

A very on-brand royal relocation

royalappointment.telegraph.co.uk

Archived copy - A place to call home

Pertinent extract:

Full marks to Prince William for honesty this week.

He has made clear that he has no intention of living full time at Buckingham Palace, even when he is King.

Controversial, certainly. But there is something refreshing in letting it be known now, upfront, and getting any criticism out of the way.

The Waleses and their young family will be moving to Forest Lodge, a large-by-my-standards but small-by-royal-standards home not too far from their current residence Adelaide Cottage.

Safe to say it is very on-brand for the Waleses...

It leaves a question around Buckingham Palace, although that is not, frankly, a new issue at this point.

Monarchy HQ has not been the home of a monarch since before Covid-19, and the King and Queen are happily living at Clarence House while the palace’s long renovation continues.

We have been told repeatedly that the intention is for the King to move in eventually but I’m not sure anyone really believes that anymore.

Like the old assurances that Camilla would never be known as Queen (the idea, 20 years ago, was that she would be “Princess Consort”), these things move on and the palace hopes that the public gradually gets used to something different.

It is to Prince William’s credit that he is being clear about his plans now.

 

[Hallo girl]

I certainly think the Wales get away with some things others do not / would not. It has always been true that the more popular members of the RF can get away with things less popular / less known members can't. Anne being seen as blunt and no nonsense was seen as a huge negative in the late 80s/90s when she was unpopular, now she is much much more popular its seen as charming.

Any criticism of the house move, so far, has been very much column / opinion pieces. Columnists get attention for saying things others don't so in itself that isn't a surprise.

The DM's Amanda Platell had a piece on the new house and also what she thinks it might mean for W&Cs future roles

Wills's obsession suggests he's forgotten what the Queen stood for

What damage will William's tendencies and insistence on privacy wreak when he takes the Crown? What could his obsession with protecting his own family eventually do for the Monarchy?

www.dailymail.co.uk

Has anybody considered the ' forever home' comment was intended to be tactful, what would we be posting today if he had said well when Pa dies and I am King I will be moving into BP or CH or evicting somebody to make way for my family. He would be slammed.
I also do not blame him for no live in staff, how many books have been written by ex staff who claimed to know the innermost secrets of the royals.

 

[HenRach Dominion]

It would be fascinating to see why HRH The Prince of Wales is so highly favored by the British people, as it could be a good predictor of his favorability as he matures as Prince of Wales and later King. Not knowing, I suspect it's a couple of things:

1. They like his personality (reserved with a dry wit, commanding and unequivocal, passionate about things that are important to him and short with things that are not, etc...)
2. They care about the issues he champions and his work on them (homelessness, environmentalism, etc...)
3. They like that he is a good husband and father
4. They like that he is young and handsome
5. They like that he is scandal-free and is seen as better than other relatives because of that
6. They like him because he's Diana's son

The first two will keep William popular forever, as he will more than likely keep and even emphasize these traits and interests as he grows older. The third will be greatly appreciated, but its effect on William's popularity will more than likely diminish as Catherine gets healthier and their children become independent of them (even if their positive adult lives are directly attributed to their parents providing such a stable childhood).

The last three, however, are very fickle, and won't guarantee long-term popularity. The appeal of him being Diana's son probably has very little effect on his popularity nowadays for many reasons, even though it was a large contributor when he was younger. And although William may continue to grow handsomely, he is approaching the age where he will no longer be considered young. Finally, people eventually get bored of scandals and the people around them, so constantly comparing William favorably to them will at best be greeted with apathy and at worse lead to demands about what he is doing rather than what he's not.

But of course, the future is the future. William may do something in the future to increase his popularity. Or maybe it will decrease. I'm sure he and his staff will adjust accordingly.

 

[yukari]

I certainly think the Wales get away with some things others do not / would not. It has always been true that the more popular members of the RF can get away with things less popular / less known members can't. Anne being seen as blunt and no nonsense was seen as a huge negative in the late 80s/90s when she was unpopular, now she is much much more popular its seen as charming.

I respectfully disagree. On the contrary, with them being popular and seen as never put foot wrong, it makes them standing on a bigger landmines than other because every little thing of them will be scrutinized. Sure Anne is popular now so she can get away to appear rude occasionally, but that won't happen to William. I mean, how many times was it that his words being picked apart, twisted, and used as a stick to beat him in headlines or social media?

From all I have read, Charles as Prince of Wales received more regular, extensive and vituperative criticism than his son ever has (whether that is fair or not). (This is borne out by higher disapproval ratings.) For example, the criticism surrounding access to government seems to have been primarily directed at Charles rather than William, nor was William subjected to persistent rumors about valets squeezing his toothpaste for him or extreme public displeasure over his choice of wife.

And William won't be harshly beaten by the press and social media if he did the same?

The thing is, IMO Charles been through several big scandals so his latter scandals seems insignificant in comparison while for William, some people and the press still gleefully waiting for his downfall so anything, no matter how small, will be used to bring him down.

Sure, royal rota have columns they need to filled, then how about Sophie visit to Canada? Surely she deserves more appreciation, because royal columns can be filled with positive stories not just negative stories or rage-bait only, right? Personally I think a senior royal visiting one of the realms is more important news than a future king moving house. But i digress.

Moving on, the topic of bread and butter engagements reminds me of other issues that often appear on discussion about the Waleses' future roles which is their patronages. Compare to the older generation, the Wales couple only have small numbers of patronages and after the death of the late Queen and DoE, their hundreds patronages which haven't gotten patron replacement. It makes me think should W and C take it over so they have more diverse patronages other than for issues of their interest?

Then I remember of this publication from few years ago
Royal patronages of charities don’t seem to help charities much
(Report in PDF)

Hundreds of patronages listed under their belts surely will look good for them, but what about for the charities? It surely worked for the past royals' image, but how long until those patronages listed will be seen as token for optic?

I'm not dismissing or undervaluing what the previous generation of royals have done and the older generation of Brits may be used of it and have no problem with it. But what about the younger generation? Would they think like what this publication imply? Because I remember when this reports was going around the social media, there's a lot of talk about quality over quantity or that the royals need to move from ribbon cutting to making real impacts.

But that was 5 years ago. Are people now care about the quantity again? Is that what the general public want or it's just royal watching audience who need their fill for the Waleses' appearances?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

And William won't be harshly beaten by the press and social media if he did the same?

What do you mean by "did the same"?

 

[tommy100]

I think its fine if they choose not to have hundreds of patronages, indeed doing so spreads them thinly and ensures they are never really more than "a name on the letterhead". But then I guess it is suggesting "quality over quantity", thus leaving it up to people to judge whether what they do is quality and is enhanced beyond what they could do if they did more public engagements as well as pursuing the key aims of their chosen causes.

 

[yukari]

What do you mean by "did the same"?

I mean with what you suggest in you your post, with toothpaste, chosen wife (which I assume as having affair and marrying his mistress), and gov access (the infamous spider letters). That he will get harsher reaction if William got entangled in something like that.

 

[Hallo girl]

And they don’t get away with things others do—like Camilla holidaying on a yacht from a Tory donor. It works both ways.

IMO the negative press was due to the Wales insisting on privacy for their family holiday. The media didn’t like it. Some of us can recall when William was younger and the photographers following the family on holiday, it was cruel.

 

[HRHHermione]

For me, I think I give the Wales couple a lot of grace on work load right now because of two things: Catherine’s health and the sure knowledge that they will only be parents of minor children for 11 more years but they will have major public roles until the end of their lives. I think it would get a lot harder to balance those roles if William became King earlier than anyone wants, but we have every reason to hope that King Charles lives as long as his parents, allowing William and Catherine time to see their children all the way through school and young adulthood.

It’s always seemed like a deliberate strategy to me- focusing on the children and not upstaging or undermining Charles and Camilla- and like they will step up accordingly when the time comes. If I’m wrong about that, I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll hold my criticism until then.

 

[Hallo girl]

For me, I think I give the Wales couple a lot of grace on work load right now because of two things: Catherine’s health and the sure knowledge that they will only be parents of minor children for 11 more years but they will have major public roles until the end of their lives. I think it would get a lot harder to balance those roles if William became King earlier than anyone wants, but we have every reason to hope that King Charles lives as long as his parents, allowing William and Catherine time to see their children all the way through school and young adulthood.

It’s always seemed like a deliberate strategy to me- focusing on the children and not upstaging or undermining Charles and Camilla- and like they will step up accordingly when the time comes. If I’m wrong about that, I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll hold my criticism until then.

I think that is a valid point regarding the upstaging, it is Charles time in the sun, he will never reign as long as his mother so in those terms it will be a shorter reign.