William & Kate 3

[anjulibai]

7 minutes ago, viii said:

It’s embarrassing that William’s 70 year old aunt works harder than he does. 

Right? He really should be doing more than any of the family, other than Charles and Camilla. But even Edward andSophie do more.

[viii]

14 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

Right? He really should be doing more than any of the family, other than Charles and Camilla. But even Edward andSophie do more.

William and Kate should have the third and fourth spots for working royals. Actually, I’d even argue that William as POW and heir should work more than Camilla. These two are often more like 6-7 spots though, which is just downright embarrassing. 

[Father Son Holy Goat]

I could understand Kate scoring low on the hard working royals call sheets during her pregnancies but she hasn’t been pregnant in quite a while. 

[rosamundi]

6 hours ago, viii said:

William and Kate should have the third and fourth spots for working royals. Actually, I’d even argue that William as POW and heir should work more than Camilla. These two are often more like 6-7 spots though, which is just downright embarrassing. 

If William wants there to be a throne for him to inherit, he needs to start showing up and doing the job he's paid for. It would be a very British way for the monarchy to end, with the people realising that the heir and his wife are lazy grifters who do less work than a 74 year old man and his 76 year old wife, and deciding that nah, we don't want to pay for that, thank you.

4 hours ago, Father Son Holy Goat said:

I could understand Kate scoring low on the hard working royals call sheets during her pregnancies but she hasn’t been pregnant in quite a while. 

They've both been coasting for rather a long time on the existence of the children. Kate was pregnant and then maternity leave - absolutely fine, I don't begrudge them that at all, there is a legal entitlement to maternity leave in this country. However, insisting on one of them being around to do the school run every day apart from when they're on a big overseas tour significantly restricts what royal duties they can undertake, duties they are, after all, paid to do. George is 10, Charlotte is 8, Louis is five. They have a nanny and other staff, they can do the school run a couple of times a week.

Furthermore, it is now August, the children will have been off school since at least mid-July, what royal duties have the Waleses done in those six weeks?

[prayawaythefundie]

So wild theory: William doesn‘t really want him or George to be King and since they could have an even lazier and more private life without the monarchy, he and Kate are trying bring it down slowly.

Ok, I‘m not really serious with that extreme but maybe William has some sort of indifference towards being the future monarch. Like, he‘s accepted the role while growing up but doesn‘t think it‘s worth too much effort. If they keep him fine, if not fine as well? He must realise he‘d still be keeping most of his privileges, if the monarchy ceased to exist. Someone has mentioned other „inactive“ royal families who are still considered peers. Is William sort of a quiet quitter?

Or Harry is actually right and Charles still doesn‘t want his son to steal the limelight.

[sableduck]

Harry may be an unreliable narrator in some ways, but I strongly suspect he was accurate in his book when he described how Charles purposely kept both William and Harry’s engagements low so they wouldn’t steal the spotlight. It rings true with what we can observe and William wouldn’t be able to publicly state that he’s being held back.

[viii]

1 hour ago, prayawaythefundie said:

So wild theory: William doesn‘t really want him or George to be King and since they could have an even lazier and more private life without the monarchy, he and Kate are trying bring it down slowly.

Ok, I‘m not really serious with that extreme but maybe William has some sort of indifference towards being the future monarch. Like, he‘s accepted the role while growing up but doesn‘t think it‘s worth too much effort. If they keep him fine, if not fine as well? He must realise he‘d still be keeping most of his privileges, if the monarchy ceased to exist. Someone has mentioned other „inactive“ royal families who are still considered peers. Is William sort of a quiet quitter?

Or Harry is actually right and Charles still doesn‘t want his son to steal the limelight.

That’s actually a really genius theory LOL 

[AmazonGrace]

13 hours ago, viii said:

William as POW

It took me an embarrassingly long to figure out it doesn't mean Prisoner Of War *rolleyes* 

I reckon the royal circuit probably starts to seem like a huge waste of time sooner or later. Even if they never attended another horse race or never blessed another school library ever again, what's really going to change?  Highways would still be getting buillt if the Prince of Wales never cut another ribbon in his life. And some people will be mad regardless.  If you don't go there will be bad press because you're so lazy, and what are they paying you for anyway if you just stay at home taking the kids to school. If you go there will be bad press because of what you wore and your carbon foot print and bloody royal clowns prancing around at pointless galas while their kids are being raised by the wolves nannies.

If I had all that money and me and all of my progeny were all set for cushy life regardless of whether I work my ass off or not I'd probably start wondering why I'm doing any of that eventually. Is it fun? Do I like it? Am I benefiting anybody? Would I be more likely to die of stress if I stop, or if I keep on doing it?

Spoiler

If I've been brought up to believe in the sacred royal duty and Grandma's holy traditions and all that jazz that's one reason to keep doing it but even "that's how we've always rolled and that's how it must always be in the future" must be eroding a bit after his brother decided to he didn't have to keep rolling like that. I am sure William doesn't begrudge being rich as a croesus but at some point any reasonable person would start questioning whether all those events with handshakes and speechifying  really are a productive occupation. It's not even an empire anymore and Charles is just a figurehead, and the sewing circle is probably fine without drinking tea with Kate.

JMO but at this point, the only reason to keep the royals anymore is sheer stubbornness.

 

[prayawaythefundie]

37 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

JMO but at this point, the only reason to keep the royals anymore is sheer stubbornness.

I think it‘s comforting nostalgia.

Edited August 23, 2023 by prayawaythefundie

[viii]

2 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

It took me an embarrassingly long to figure out it doesn't mean Prisoner Of War *rolleyes* 

I mean… if you asked Harry… 

[Jackie3]

Maybe he's thinking--what will happen if I stay home? 'll still be the POW, still be a billionaire, still be at the top of the LOS. 

 

 

On 8/23/2023 at 12:33 PM, AmazonGrace said:

If I've been brought up to believe in the sacred royal duty and Grandma's holy traditions and all that jazz that's one reason to keep doing it but even "that's how we've always rolled and that's how it must always be in the future" must be eroding a bit after his brother decided to he didn't have to keep rolling like that. 

I thought the same thing! Harry’s departure — and his questions about his upbringing — might have gotten William to start thinking outside the box a bit. Maybe he didn’t know there was a way “out” till Harry found it. 

After all, nothing bad really happened to him by skipping the game. They can’t take away his money or his titles for that. 

[Father Son Holy Goat]

Apparently the Cambridge’s are annoyed with the timing of Harry’s trip to the UK.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1806153/Prince-William-Kate-Middleton-fuming-Prince-Harry-return-UK

Given that he’s not a part of the family and doing this in the capacity of a private citizen I don’t see what the issue is. 

[prayawaythefundie]

9 hours ago, Father Son Holy Goat said:

Given that he’s not a part of the family and doing this in the capacity of a private citizen I don’t see what the issue is. 

Given that the Waleses didn‘t even comment and will ignore it according to some source, I don‘t see what the issue is. 

[prayawaythefundie]

So now we know: For the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth‘s death, William and Kate attended a church service in Wales. They had two more engagements in Wales later in the day - one at a lifeboat station and another one at a seaweed growing farm.

[TN-peach]

I thought that it was a nice low-key remembrance for the Queen.  Remembering her without a lot of fuss or formality just sweet and simple.

 

I don't know if anyone else has had a chance to watch "The Good, the Bad, and the Rugby" podcast,Youtube video with Princess Anne, Prince William, and Princess Catherine.  I really enjoyed it even though I know nothing about rugby.  I loved the interactions between Mike Tindall, Anne, William, and Kate.  It felt genuine.  I loved the story of William crying while watching Zara winning a gold medal at a European championship.   Anne was fantastic. 

[tabitha2]

Both the Queen and her husband were fussy and formal by their position and the circumstances life gave them. By nature they liked simple and straightforward unpretentious. I think she would have been satisfied by the way the remembrance went.

[viii]

1 hour ago, TN-peach said:

I don't know if anyone else has had a chance to watch "The Good, the Bad, and the Rugby" podcast,Youtube video with Princess Anne, Prince William, and Princess Catherine.  I really enjoyed it even though I know nothing about rugby.  I loved the interactions between Mike Tindall, Anne, William, and Kate.  It felt genuine.  I loved the story of William crying while watching Zara winning a gold medal at a European championship.   Anne was fantastic. 

I would have liked it better without William and Kate. Anne came across extremely engaging and humorous. William was a bit stiff but Kate was downright awkward to me. I didn't feel like either of them provided anything to the discussion that Anne couldn't have just covered herself.

And this might be BEC moment, but Princess Catherine is an inaccurate title, right? She's Catherine, Princess of Wales. She has no princess title in her own right. (I think, but I'm not 100% solid on this.) 

[Coconut Flan]

6 minutes ago, viii said:

And this might be BEC moment, but Princess Catherine is an inaccurate title, right? She's Catherine, Princess of Wales. She has no princess title in her own right. (I think, but I'm not 100% solid on this.) 

Quite likely strictly true, but I think the Princess Diana years took hold of the common parlance.  

[TN-peach]

12 minutes ago, viii said:

I would have liked it better without William and Kate. Anne came across extremely engaging and humorous. William was a bit stiff but Kate was downright awkward to me. I didn't feel like either of them provided anything to the discussion that Anne couldn't have just covered herself.

And this might be BEC moment, but Princess Catherine is an inaccurate title, right? She's Catherine, Princess of Wales. She has no princess title in her own right. (I think, but I'm not 100% solid on this.) 

They had all three there because they are the patrons of the three rugby teams that are beginning to play in the World Cup. Ireland and Northern Ireland play as one team and therefore do not have a patron. 

I enjoyed the banter about being competitive but also the comments about how kids need to learn how to lose and be good teammates. Mike and Anne seem to get along really well. Anne also seems to know William really well and also William and Kate's kids.
 

Yes, I shortened the title because it was easier to type.  I also didn't refer to Anne as the Princess Royal or Royal Princess or however her official title is supposed to be said/written.  I also sometimes forget how Meghan spells her name not because I am trying to insult her but because I am typing quickly and forget that she spells her name differently than the way I've seen it. 

[viii]

Oh, no worries about the title! I was just clarifying for my own curiosity sake. You're not the first person to call her Princess Kate/Catherine and you definitely won't be the last. Diana was also inaccurately called Princess Diana but that was never going to change, especially after she died. I'm not a big stickler on titles, I mean, I called the Queen 'Lizzie' for most of my life. 😂

And the three of them being there as patrons makes sense. Thanks! I will agree with you that William seems the closest with Anne and her family. Harry has always hung out more with the York girls and both James and Louise were too young to really get in on the cousin hang outs, they're more like the older great-grands, even though they're not. I feel bad for them, they're in-between both age groups and probably aren't super close to either sides. (Maybe Sophie has some nieces and nephews around her kids' ages - that would be nice for them!)

Edited September 11, 2023 by viii

[TN-peach]

I agree about James and Louise.  They seem to be stuck in between the two groups.  Take the picture of the Queen with the two of them with the majority of her great-grandchildren.  Everyone seems to say "hey look at this cute picture of the Queen and her great grandchildren" forgetting that James and Louise are not great grands.

I am glad that William was (is from all appearances) close to his cousins.  Hopefully the Wales' children will play and be close to the Tindalls since they are a similar age.  There was a cute picture I saw of Mike, Kate, and William with three of the kids on their shoulders. Kate had Charlotte, Mike had George, and William had one of Mike's girls.  They will need people who understand the family traditions and formality but that are also not in the business to keep them grounded.

Edited September 11, 2023 by TN-peach

[prayawaythefundie]

Sophie and Kate are said to be close and I think it‘s telling that Louise is the first member of the royal family to pick St. Andrews university since William went there. But, yes, Louise and James are too old to hang out with the Wales children.

[tabitha2]

The closest Royal connected girl Louise’s age is  Margaret’s granddaughter  but 21 year old Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones lives in Paris and is living the life of a rich Socialite which is not what Lady Louise and her parents are about.  Most  likely Louise is looking at B&E examples instead. 

Edited September 11, 2023 by tabitha2

[Jackie3]

3 hours ago, viii said:

😂

And the three of them being there as patrons makes sense. Thanks! I will agree with you that William seems the closest with Anne and her family. Harry has always hung out more with the York girls and both James and Louise were too young to really get in on the cousin hang outs, they're more like the older great-grands, even though they're not. I feel bad for them, they're in-between both age groups and probably aren't super close to either sides. (Maybe Sophie has some nieces and nephews around her kids' ages - that would be nice for them!)

Why does it matter who is close to whom?
 

There’s this fantasy of a close loving family. Given all the money involved, I’ll bet there’s a lot more jealousy, envy and resentment.
 

If your big brother Charles got all the billions and the power, how close would you feel to him? If you had to beg your Uncle Charles for a house, and he gave you a smallish one, wouldn’t you feel more resentful than loving? Especially if a cousin got a bigger house?  I bet there’s a lot of that going around, and not much of the “cousins hanging out.” That’s just the public fantasy.

 

Isn’t Mike Tindall capitalizing and monetizing on his Royal connections?

I guess this is bad only when Meghan Markle does it.

 

7 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

Both the Queen and her husband were fussy and formal by their position and the circumstances life gave them. By nature they liked simple and straightforward unpretentious. I think she would have been satisfied by the way the remembrance went.

Unpretentious? The mattress she slept on cost over 125,000 pounds.

Elizabeth chose a very extravagant lifestyle. I realize some of her costly items belonged to the state and were part of the job. Nonetheless, she could have done a lot to make her life less extravagant — Like spending, say, only 25,000 on a mattress.

She abused her power. When Charles was rejected by both Oxford and Cambridge, she intervened to force Cambridge to accept him. 

She traveled with a huge entourage. She was extravagant and ostentatious. Few people in the world were more pretentious than she was. 

[Father Son Holy Goat]

Will and Kate are looking for a “low ego” CEO to take the place of palace aides. 
 

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/prince-william-kate-middleton-looking-for-ceo-with-low-ego-to-run-kensington-palace-4407028