Andrew 2

[tabitha2]

Beatrice and Eugenie have there own mothers Cancer to be stressed about and probably want to be with her as much as possible just saying. 

[Destiny]

It's almost like the whole "slimmed down" royal family mostly only including senior citizens was a shortsighted idea!

I'm not saying it was a bad idea per se, but they should have thought through including the younger generation better than they did.

Edited February 7 by Destiny
adding mostly

[tabitha2]

Right? Ann didn’t want it and that was settled 40 years ago but for some reason they have never recognized B&E who have been doing unofficial duties for more than decade and They really do need Edwards kids to be made official for at least for several more years. 
 

Other than that it’s 10 year olds and Octogenarians to choose from. 

[Loveday]

12 minutes ago, tabitha2 said:

Beatrice and Eugenie have there own mothers Cancer to be stressed about and probably want to be with her as much as possible just saying. 

Good point, that.

[Destiny]

I get where Charles was going, but seriously, this was totally foreseeable. The younger generation should have been better included, if for no other reason than training and getting them comfortable because inevitably the older generation will die. Institutional knowledge of how to do this stuff is key. If i'm not wrong, and I could be because I only pay close attention to tiara occasions, the only younger generation that are currently "working royals" is William and Kate. That's not going to be sustainable if they want to keep having royals do all the things they have done previously. Booting out the Weird Hat Girls was shortsighted IMHO and if my memory was correct they were doing stuff before they were booted (and I could be wrong).

(What are their names? I can still see the ugly hats in my head but I can't manage to keep their names in my head to save my life.)

[tabitha2]

Charles has only been king little over a year. The lack of planning and foresight for the future should mostly be laid at his mothers feet. She knew  her cousins were not going to be able to keep going much longer and of her Grandchildren Peter and Zara off the table. It was One heir, one spare and two Princesses thst never became official  until Edward had his children much later.  

Edited February 7 by tabitha2

[Coconut Flan]

I was reading last night that Charles has not mentioned slimmed down monarchy himself in years if ever.  It was one of those things he may have said in passing when the balcony was full to overflowing with cousins of the Queen and other hangers on.  I'm sure he realized the dwindling numbers of active family members.  The Queen, indeed, was the one who didnt bring Eugenie and Beatrice into the fold.  It could have been based on their preference as well.  Maybe neither of them wanted it.  Anne didn't seem to want that life for her children.  None of the King's cousins, nieces,, or nephews seem to want it like the Queen's cousins seem to have.  

Edited February 7 by Coconut Flan

[viii]

To be fair, a lot of the planning for the future of the monarchy included Harry and his spouse as being full time working, senior royals. I'm guessing they weren't accounting for him dipping. 

[tabitha2]

11 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

I was reading last night that Charles has not mentioned slimmed down monarchy himself in years if ever.  It was one of those things he may have said in passing when the balcony was full to overflowing with cousins of the Queen and other hangers on.  I'm sure he realized the dwindling numbers of active family members.  The Queen, indeed, was the one who didnt bring Eugenie and Beatrice into the fold.  It could have been based on their preference as well.  Maybe neither of them wanted it.  Anne didn't seem to want that life for her children.  None of the King's cousins, nieces,, or nephews seem to want it like the Queen's cousins seem to have.  

Actually he never even said it. A court official did and the world attributed it to him, ran with it  and became never questioned fact. 
 

The Girls have been working for the family with no recognition, official protection or pay for years. Making them legit seems just fair and kind of a no brainer at least to me. 
 

I can’t believe At least some of those myriad younger relatives wouldn’t  have pitched in if asked and still would if asked. It’s not forever and they are still close. 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

44 minutes ago, Destiny said:

I get where Charles was going, but seriously, this was totally foreseeable. The younger generation should have been better included, if for no other reason than training and getting them comfortable because inevitably the older generation will die. Institutional knowledge of how to do this stuff is key. If i'm not wrong, and I could be because I only pay close attention to tiara occasions, the only younger generation that are currently "working royals" is William and Kate. That's not going to be sustainable if they want to keep having royals do all the things they have done previously. Booting out the Weird Hat Girls was shortsighted IMHO and if my memory was correct they were doing stuff before they were booted (and I could be wrong).

(What are their names? I can still see the ugly hats in my head but I can't manage to keep their names in my head to save my life.)

Weird Hat Girls are Beatrice and Eugenie. They’re discussed on the previous page.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

2 hours ago, Destiny said:

 (clipped)

Booting out the Weird Hat Girls was shortsighted IMHO and if my memory was correct they were doing stuff before they were booted (and I could be wrong).

(What are their names? I can still see the ugly hats in my head but I can't manage to keep their names in my head to save my life.)

I always love the nicknames you come up with!

[Destiny]

Just now, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

I always love the nicknames you come up with!

My struggle to keep names in my head is real. I have neighbours I have said hi to and had random chats with for months now, and I can't remember ANY of their names and I've lived here too long to ask now. IDK why my brain refuses to remember names but it does. The nicknames are often a cover for the "I just plain forgot". 😱

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

21 minutes ago, Destiny said:

The nicknames are often a cover for the "I just plain forgot". 😱

I like that your nicknames are descriptive and helpful! My husband just refers to people vaguely, like "that guy", "that jerk", "what's-her-face", or (my favorite) "your sister-in-law". (Which one? I have 3!) 

When I forget names, I also often just forget the person, because I'm not great with faces, either. Not a good thing, believe me!

Edited February 7 by WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?
eta faces

[Destiny]

5 minutes ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

When I forget names, I also often just forget the person, because I'm not great with faces, either. Not a good thing, believe me!

OMG SAME. The amount of times I do the, "Oh hi, it's so nice to see you," routine and have no idea who the heck they are is WAY higher than it ever should be.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

@Destiny  -- It doesn't work in all situations, but whenever I can, I put all the information I know, or can gather, into my phone's contacts. When I have a new doctor, or my kids have a new teacher, I try to find a picture to put in their contact info. Seeing a face (as many times as I need to check it) to go with the name has helped me. And if I have contact info for someone, but no picture, I'll make notes of everything I remember from meeting them.

It doesn't work for more casual acquaintances, but it has cut down on the number of times I've forgotten what my kids' eye doctor looks like, or which of their friends they met where. On the other hand, it makes my contacts app look like an old yellow pages phone book! 

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

I think Queen is definitely on the hook for the slimmed down royals current situation. Even if Charles wanted it in the 70s or 80s - there were quite a lot more royals front and center then. They also lost Andrew only a few years ago now.  It's another reason why it was strange that the Queen didn't let Harry and Meghan do a reduced schedule situation. The behind the scenes rumors was the the palace staff people, who are notoriously very very very conservative about any changes advised her to go all or nothing with Harry. Who knows what Charles would have done if Harry had just gone to America quietly and bided his time for when the Queen died.