As many of you discussed in yesterday’s thread, the gossip around the UK papers is that William really is going to go back to his “non-royal work” as a pilot. Back in May, the Daily Mail reported that William – who is in the last months of a “gap year” – was considering going back to piloting as a career following his withdrawal from the RAF last year. Apparently, William misses flying helicopters and planes. And William hates royal work and anything having to do with “not having lots of time off to go on lots of vacations.” What’s interesting is that something actually came of it – William’s father and grandmother have not been able to talk him out of it. He’s actually going to take a position as an air ambulance helicopter pilot! PART-TIME.
Wills will allegedly work part-time in East Anglia and live with wife Kate and their son Prince George in a mansion on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. The Duke of Cambridge left his job as an RAF search and rescue pilot in September after a three-year posting. And last month he hinted he was ready to take to the skies once again when he was shown around a Scottish Air Ambulance helicopter in the town of Crieff.
The 32-year-old had asked through his office to meet the crew of the chopper and told people he wanted to do something that involved flying again. John Pritchard, lead paramedic on the helicopter, said: “[Prince William] was really really keen. He was really keen to see how we work.”
An announcement on William’s new part-time job is due to be announced within days, according to the Sunday Mirror.
A source said: “It is perfect for him. He can combine Royal engagements with spending time with his family and his passion for flying. He doesn’t want to become a full time Royal at this stage in his life. But this will leave him open to criticism as he is enjoying all the perks of being a full time Royal. He will spend more time at his home in Sandringham which will raise the question of exactly how much time he will be at Kensington Palace.”
I kind of feel bad for Kate. And for little Prince George. When William worked at the RAF in Anglesey, it often seemed like Will and Kate just lived separate lives – she was always with her parents in Berkshire, or in London shopping or whatever. Then when they moved to London post-RAF, William ran away again, this time to Cambridge so he could hang out with coeds and have some kind of “bespoke program” (in between vacationing with his ex-girlfriend). And now he’ll be at Anmer Hall half the time while Kate and George are where exactly?
Also – there’s this interesting tidbit at the Daily Mail about Kate and the Middleton family getting freebies. I know most of you don’t care, but I do. Kate and her people made such a big deal about how she wouldn’t accept freebies and how that’s frowned upon as a royal, but she gets freebies all the time. Stylists who want to get something into Kate’s hands just have to filter it through Pippa or Carole. And when they send something directly to Kate, she passes it off to her sister. Unless Kate likes it, then she has her people “send a request” for more freebies.
Photos courtesy of WENN and Pacific Coast News.
Nothing’s stopping Kate from living at Anmer Hall with him? She can ‘copter in for her two or three “work” appearances, like Prince Andrew. Conversely, if she was just in it for the title, ring and shopping, maybe she won’t care where he is — her mission is already accomplished.
I woke up feeling cynical! I’d better get more coffee.
LOL…………..I’ll join you in that second cup of coffee.
I think you pretty much noted what the situation with Will and Kate is. 🙂
“…if she was just in it for the title, ring and shopping, maybe she won’t care where he is — her mission is already accomplished.”
I pretty much said the same thing below. I believe that was her mission all along and she got what she wanted, so she could give a flying fig what the public thinks about her. She’s “won” and she probably doesn’t think that Britons will ever end the monarchy. I really think she is as clueless as Marie Antoinette was. She is playing house at her different estates and wasting millions of dollars while the rest of Britain and the world faces austerity cuts. Simply clueless and ignorant to the world around her.
Liberty I disagree.
Which I don’t think i’ve ever done with you! History in the making!
I think Kate cares. Remember when Kate was back with her parents and had George as a newborn. William was in the RAF and at their 5 bedroom cottage, but not said to be on a heavy schedule at the time for RAF. Just living there. Kate and Carole showed up with suitacses, but only stayed for a few hours and left again. Later citing Kate didn’t want to stay there because of mice.
Anyways, that is pretty much a decent example of what will stop Kate from living with William. William will.
And I think Kate loves William. I also think she’s likely incredibly dependent on him and needs his approval. Even in their engagement interview she stated (and it seems little has changed) the only opinion she cares about is Williams.
My take is Kate would love to be with William, but will do as she’s told. She will stay away. She will shop and watch her weight, primp her hair, and be ready when he decides to return to her.
The only 1 I feel any sympathy for here is George. William is able to see George so often right now. So, he’s taking a part time job and living away from his son.
Kate let it slip William was barely around for the start of George’s life and now he’ll remain distant from his son.
He’s just awful.
Hi FLORC — just to clarify (after second cup of coffee — sending a nice Limoges cupful to you, Vava!) — I didn’t say I think she didn’t care or didn’t love him. I was posing an “she can do this, or she can do that” set of options. If she cares, she can choose to move there, as bluhare says the reports are stating. If she cares, she can also stay in London and work, or decorate busily and see him as time allows. If she doesn’t care much and has all she needs, she can do as she pleases too. My “if” is the gate latch to my thinking today.
The greater point I failed to make clearly is that I am not so worried about them being apart, as she’s not exactly stuck with no money at a cab stand waving goodbye in tears to her hubby. She can follow him or amuse herself elsewhere quite easily, at a whim. She seemed a little bolder down under and could perhaps express dissatisfaction with arrangements too and have them recast — but she could also be cold-shouldered for doing so by William the Unconquerer. Maybe he really loves flying, though his hours issues in the past suggest more of a passing fancy that is occasionally useful to him as he dances around the core of his title. If this is all a real “got a job I love” thing, ok, maybe he’ll pack her along — if.
I agree with you on this: – the thing that will stop Kate from living with her husband is William herself. He seems….skilled at the sidestep and the getaway. A self-centered little beaver all in all. And I too feel sorry for little George if this is the case. George’s toughness maybe be providential at this rate.
FLORC,
Would Kate continue to ‘love’ William if he wasn’t a prince, and had far less money?
Liberty,
If he really loved flying and/or his job so much, why did he almost lose his wings? If he actually has this new job, I think it’s just another means for him to avoid his royal duties, full stop.
Liberty
Sorry! Rereading the comments I clumped the not caring in with yours. My mistake. I have been a scatter brain lately.
I’m not sure If William really loves this job or if flying is simply the best way for him to leave his troubles/responsabilities behind. I think the latter since he was so hot and cold with his duties to the RAF S&R. Flying seems like vacationing. A way for William to escape his duty.
Hmmm
You know the answer to that! Of course not.
This could be a long thread if we get into this.
Why else would she put up with a man cheating on her, dismissing her, having her feel she wasn’t good enough as she was so the weight loss began. Not to mention stringing her along for years and years. Would any woman put up with that all throughout her 20’s if there wasn’t some payoff?
And the “love” seems more of she’s dependent on him for approval and financial security. If they truly had a love that was mutual Kate likely wouldn’t have to live with her parents so often and wouldn’t have been scolded for making the “L” sign after she beat William in the sailing game. It would be understood to be in good fun.
Actually, I think the reports say Kate and George will base out of Anmer Hall to be with him. You know, so William can see George more than he does now. That explains why she’s been so “stressed” with the redo of this place.
I’m dying to see how much of it lands on the British public’s bill.
I think Kate will officially live wherever her husband is living, but I’m doubtful that will be true in practice, at least not on a full-time basis.
With AM
The secret is out. It’s rare they’re under the same roof together and if they are it doesn’t last more than a few week.
Should Kate go to Amner Hall and this is confirmed William will likely find somewhere else to be.
That’s cool, good for him.
+1
And also, where is Prince George? Makes my day seeing pictures of that little chubby cheeked bruiser….
I agree……I can smell the Palace’s “poor William, whatever he wants, he lost his mother” syndrome from here, which handed him an excuse he apparently seized upon happily. Poor William! Let him be a little lazy. Let him take it slow. He found the right slow-speed wife, in any case. Perfect pair.
It’s going to be up to Harry. I stand by this.
Ugh…Poor William, my arse. Harry lost his mother too and at a younger age. He seems to understand what comes with the title. He hasn’t always made the right choices, but at least, he isn’t using their mother’s death to do absolutely nothing and passive aggressively take swipes at their family.
And totally agree with you. William will not be king. It’ll be Harry, which I will applaud. Diana would be truly upset with the man that William has become.
Fully agree with the loss of a parent as an excuse. It’s just terrible.
It’s horrible imo that should William ever mention his mother t’s not to honor her memory and work like Harry does. Instead it’s to cry that things are unfair and he’s the son of Diana.
I would actually love if someone could post a link where William (without Harry) did some work with any of Diana’s charities. And by work I mean not a gala or party only.
I want to say he has done that, but it was ages ago.
I’m with you too, Liberty. Harry will make a much better King than William.
FLORC, I think right around the time they got married, William slept rough with Centrepoint, which was a Diana charity. I remember the charity person asked William if Kate would do it next year. Guess we all know the answer to that.
bluhare, I remember that Centrepoint thing too.
Harry has a shared history w William, and yet look at him do his bit for charities etc with a good nature. I understand that siblings will experience things differently, but in the end, Harry is proving to have the stuff William lacks. I keep wondering if at some point, bribing William to show up will become old and someone will make the switch of heirs — is that even possible, LAK? Probably not. William seems to like everything that comes w the job except the job, so I don’t see him taking his fingers off the golden ring. But Harry will probably carry on and be the People’s King, eh?
Mia: but how will Harry be King? If William isn’t King, George is next in line is he not?
•LNG•
There are debates on whether one steps away from the sucession if that includes any offspring as well. Both sides have valid arguments. For me the trump card is William clearly is a ‘reluctant royal’ so why would he curse his children in a similar fashion?
IMO there are two possibilities. In both cases William waits for the Queen to die before he finally decides what he wants to do. He doesn´t want the duties, but he also doesn´t want to hurt his granny.
1) When the Queen dies and Charles becomes King, William will refuse The Prince of Wales title and officially step aside, means he will take himself and his descendants out of the game. He will tell everyone that his heart wants to be free blabla and that he wants his son to be a normal child. Then he will bring out the Diana-card so people feel pity for him.
My bets are on this:
2) He does the same as he does now. Working part-time with another pilot doing the most work. He will be the King, but only for ceremonies and state affairs, while his substitute (Harry) does the main work all “in the King´s name”. So William would still be the No.1 but with less duties. He knows his brother will save his butt, come what may. I think William planed for years that his Kingship will be a joint project with his brother.
Bluhare
I do remember that, but thought it was longer ago. Didn’t Kate say at a dinner she would do it? Or a member of the charity spoke out like that was confirmed and it never happened?
LNG/Dany
LadySlippers is right. It’s not as simple as William gets skipped and it goes to George. There’s still debate going on.
As it is Harry has already taken on much of what William should be doing. Assisting his father and relieving the Queen of her heavy schedule. All this why still being heavily involved with his charities and military.
William truly has no excuse. He is reluctant to work, but eager to keep his luxuries and press protection.
People think we just hate on Kate here, but it’s threads like this that get down to the core of the issue. William feels entitled by birth and relies on the press to make him sound better than he is.
I seem to remember something about Diana saying (when they were young boys) that it’s too bad William was born first, because Harry would have been a better King. She obviously saw something in him as a small child that resisted his destiny.
FLORC: I seem to remember Kate half heartedly agreeing too. 🙂
Liberty, I’m so with you on Harry. He’s down in Brazil now, even though England’s dead in the water.
Dany, if William doesn’t want the responsibilities that go with his position he should step aside. But I’m afraid you’re right and he’ll want his cake and eat it too.
•Lucky Charm•
Yes, William has been a ‘reluctant royal’ since he was a kid.
The story goes that after William proclaimed he didn’t want to be king, Harry stepped right up and said he’ll be king instead! And Diana then gave him his nickname of Good King Henry (GKH).
•Dany•
To remove oneself or anyone from the Line of Succession requires a bill to pass in the UK and the Commonwealth which is easier said than done (the absolute primogeniture is stuck right now).
However, I don’t think William will do a thang while his beloved Granny is alive (unfortunately) so I agree with you there. I think he’ll make more noise after she passes. I think he’ll totally drag his feet on the Wales investiture too (he wouldn’t want to steal the limelight from his father who was the greatest PoW of all time. Blah blah blah). Plus, he’ll be ‘happy’ with Cornwall and Rothesay title additions and wouldn’t want to burden Kate with comparison with his mother — the greatest PssoW of all time. blah blah blah (that’s the excuse we’ll get).
•Florc•
I think he’d shed his royal status faster than you might imagine. There are no perks of royalty that money can’t buy and he has friends with money and has a decent chunk of his own.
LadySlippers
Both sides have their arguments. I just struggle to think William would 1. Spend his own money and 2. give up his control of the press after jerking their chain for so long. He has a castle full of skeletons and I bet they are just itching to expose them. That time will be upon them when Harry is the one to be praised. And praising Harry will not be difficult.
So all that money they just spend renovating their new apartment wasted?
I also do not see the point in Kate redecorating Kensington Palace only to move to Amner Hall on Sandringham Estate. A total waste of taxpayer’s money so she could play house for a little while before moving onto renovating another estate. William is only getting a part-time job to further avoid his Royal duties.
I suspect Kate, at least, will still be making good use of KP as she seems to prefer London. Whereas I think William wants to see Anmer as home the way Charles sees Highgrove as home, despite having an “official” residence in London.
As an American, I am confused by this. W seemed to be into his piloting very much before he married. He was flying in the RAF, right? And now he wants to fly again. But why is it being said he is lazy? Is it because he isn’t fulfilling royal duties enough or something? I am not defending him, I just genuinely don’t know what is expected of him as Prince of Wales. Help me out, UK friends.
I’m American, too, but what I think is wrong is that he is supported by the public, but he’s “not ready to be a full time royal.” Then, live off your salary and pay for your own renovations on your own residence. He’s more than eager to take the benefits of being royal, but not willing to do the work. I’ve lost patience with him.
I said this briefly yesterday, but I think it’s obscene that he accepts a salary. Not only is he wealthy, but he already has his expenses paid for by taxpayers. He can’t let them put that money to something else?
Neither he nor his wife do nearly the public events and charity work that all the other royals do. Most are actually hard-working (Princess Anne, for instance, works tirelessly for Unicef and a number of other worthy charities but won’t play nice with the media so they ignore her.) Prince Edward and his wife Sophie are equally involved with many charities, and Harry is very active as well with his own charities.
Then there’s Willnot and Kannot. I think last year they did a grand total of 9 public service events. Nine. Compared to the Queen who did hundreds. At 88. Also the issue of taking endless vacations – they were always off on vacay in France, Mustique, skiing, etc., and William’s now taking a gap year. From working part-time. To take a “bespoke” agricultural course. The course only lasted 9 weeks and he needs a whole year? Because, well, they have such a busy life redecorating their homes and taking holidays I guess.
So yes, there’s a palpable dislike of them. He’s grumpy and arrogant, she’s vapid and unfocused. And yet they live a hugely lavish lifestyle funded, to a great extent, by the British taxpayers. For doing basically nothing.
•kri•
Those are great questions.
First, William isn’t the Prince of Wales — he’s the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. Just wanted to make that clear. 😊
Second, the expectations that go along with his position are tied to the fact that he’s a senior adult royal (he’s now 32 years old) and 3rd in the Line of Succession. Most other senior adult royals are performing 300-600 royal engagements a year. He struggles with 100-125 a year so while he might not be lazy per se — he’s severely lacking in numbers considering his age and energy level. And with a young family, most people would be quite comfortable with numbers in the 300-400 range so he can balance work and family but as you can see, he’s no where near those numbers.
As for the third point, back in late summer 2012 there was reports that William was seriously close to losing his wings. Mind you, you only need 15 flying hours A MONTH to maintain your wings which begs the question — what the h^ll was he doing to warrant almost losing his wings? That’s very rare to lose your wings — especially since the number of hours to maintain your wings are entirely and easily attainable.
And to make matters worse, he was still ‘struggling’ in Jan 2013 to get his flying hours up to snuff. Which is where and why people, in addition to coming in with subpar numbers of royal engagements, question his work-ethic.
I personally think the KP renovations are just another way to deflect the real criticism of William. He needs it though.
Here’s a great article from a well-respected veteran royal reporter that articulates what many have been dying to say for years.
Hope this helps.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2644414/He-wobbled-Kate-Now-Wills-wobbling-choice-thatll-define-life.html
Well said Bluhare
Kri
Just to add a summed up bit. If William didn’t neglect his RAF duties so often, Leave without giving notice, and using the RAF as an excuse from Royal duties rather than seeing it as a privilage and duty to his country people wouldn’t imo feel the way they feel.
But as it turns out he did do all those things and it’s quite shameful.
LOL, FLORC. I hadn’t commented yet. But I’m glad you thought my comment worthy enough to respond before it was posted! 😀
LadySlippers, thanks for laying that out so clearly. Maybe this new job will hold his interest more than that past commission….but. He’s gone to his special agriculture courses, he’s going to fly, he’s wobbling, he’s lost…come on. There’s the Duchy business of Charles’s for him to learn about…no. Charitable works…no. Flying, okay part-time a bit…while the Palace indulges and indulges. It’s like reading about some rambling heir from the 1800s.
•Madame Liberté•
I have no doubt William is a passionate man. However, your ‘but’ is key. What’s holding him back? Is it just that he wants to be normal (i.e. not royal) or what? He reportedly, enjoyed his Cambridge courses a lot. Same was said when he interned at another farm in his late teens/early 20’s.
But something (probably only William himself) is holding William back from becoming the royal most imagined him to be.
Bluhare
Lol!
I started commenting, but didin’t submit. The message came up when I started replying to this post. Gotta recheck more often.
Even so, Most of you comments are spot on!.
KRI,
Basically the UK taxpayers pay for William’s lavish lifestyle and his housing. In return he is expected to represent his country, head up charities, make multiple appearance each week at various events to bring attention to a cause or to support an organization. WILLS avoids those expected duties like the plague. Either going on vacations, claiming to be working (he commonly takes time of work too), or creating BS programs like his Bespoke college course that no one knows if he attends or not. This new part-time job is another effort to do Royal duties the tax payers expect in exchange for their money. Everyone else in his family takes their royal duties seriously and works more than he does, from Harry to Charles to the Elderly Queen and her husband.
Thank you FLORC. The feeling’s mutual! 😉
So disappointing, right? William had so much potential & I just don’t think it’s there anymore. What’s worse is I think he has the potential to be more annoying than Charles & Andrew in his entitlement & gross extravagence.
Will they be renovating this mansion as well?
Ugh! Since I am not a fan, on a superficial note, why does he not do something about his yellow teeth? I know I bitch about Hwood blindingly white veneers a lot but can this guy please get at least some Crest whitening strips?
By mansion you mean Amner Hall? If s they’ve already begun tthe large process of making an old building look old. Because that taks lots of money.
I mentioned “mansion” because that was how it was referred to in the article.
Yup! They’ve been working on it for a while.
LOL………..on the Crest strips.
Kate’s parents are self-made millionaires — you’d think a work ethic would be something she’d be familiar with. William was born with a silver (gold?) spoon in his mouth and was babied and coddled from day one – to a certain extent, his laziness is understandable.
I bet someone has to pay for all those refournishing bills.
(I am still laughing about yesterday “Willnot and Kannot”.)
I think it’s nice he’s getting a part-time job. Shows solidarity with the Brits who (I’m assuming) all have to get second jobs to pay for the palace renovations? Royals: They’re just like us?
I don’t feel bad for Kate. She had ten long years of putting up with his bullshit. She’s not that dumb–she knows what she got into. I just hope she feels it’s worth it.
Yeah, this is just my opinion, but I think she wanted to be exactly where she is now, she put up with a lot to get there and she’ll do what it takes to stay there.
Exactly! No poor Kate from me either. Their relationship has always and will always be about him and what he wants. Even now he never really attends any of her family’s occasions or ever do anything with her. I mean really do we ever see or hear them do anything together other then going on exotic beaches. It’s like they have nothing in common other then going to foreign beaches. Now she doesn’t cater to him that much and is choosing to spend time apart from him and not move with him wherever he wants to go but still all in all it’s still and always be about him when it comes to the bigger picture and she’ll just put up with it and return will be allowed to keep her family with her IMO.
No one should feel bad for her. She is living the life she and her parents wanted for her since she was a teenager. I think Kate has been taught to turn a blind eye to his indiscretions, immaturity, and bullshit because that is the price she has to pay to live in the lap of luxury, have a title, become famous, have an easy life, and give birth to the future King. The Middletons are social climbers. Kate does not even care about what the public thinks of her. She chooses to remain ignorant because she was never in it for anything besides the luxury of being a Royal.
I completely agree with this. Marry him has been her life ambition, and now that she has achieved it, there is not way she is giving it up. She is like the modern day version of Babe Paley (without the looks, style, natural elegance and charitable inclination of course) or any other society/nobility wife of the past century. As long as they remain the lawfully wife, they will ignore everything else.
I don’t either. She got what she wanted. I hope she’s enjoying it.
Right. I can’t imagine how anyone could feel bad for her. She’s awful and knew what she signed up for.
Like the others, I don’t feel sorry for her either. I just wish the biographies would be written! I want some of the inside scoop on what is going on in that marriage. I’ll probably have to wait about 10 years, but one day it will be revealed.
This is a strange marriage arrangement. Kate is obsessed with William, and William is using her for the role she can play (wife, mother of his offspring). It seems very dysfunctional to me.
Great, brilliant, for those of us with Republican tendencies William effing up the PR YET ONE MORE TIME can only be a good thing – GO WILLS!
Ha! “Kensington Palace is their one and only home” except for the one they’re actually going to be living in as William plays pilot.
Multi millions of dollars on renovations weren’t needed when the charity companies renting the space were there before they ‘kicked’ them out to move in. Roof sure. Asbestos please remove. If there was no running water, leaking roof and asbestos how on earth were they collecting rent on this place before?
What an odd thing to do — it’s amazing his father doesn’t set him straight and just tell his ass to do his royal duties. Like it’s so hard shaking hands!
No, it’s not hard, but it does sound mind numbing.
So can going to work for 8 hours a day, 50 weeks a year.
RobN
It does sound mind numbing. William just has to find his passion and build his duties around it. Charles did that with agriculture as we know. It gave him direction and focus. He could have been aimless, but he found something he was interested in.
William loves flying so he should build his duties around that. Yes he will run the dutchy as PoW, but if he really loves flying and helicopters he can absolutely work that into his role as a working royal.
Why he is putting this off makes no sense to me. Uness he only likes to fly and doesn’t enjoy the other aspects.
Ugh, typical Prince William.
I don’t mind him doing his pilot thing part time. However, he needs to stop getting the perks of a full time royal, he barely does the duties, and seems to vacation more than actually doing something, yet gets all the perks. Now he will be somewhere else so they probably won’t be living in KP for at least a year (depending on how long he wants to do his piloting)….unless Kate will be there while he is doing flying.
I was never a fan of William, I didn’t see what everyone loved about him and I am still not a fan.
He comes across as unmotivated and downright lazy. Let’s face it, though, none of them are on their feet breaking their backs working a regular full time job. No sympathy here.
Prince William & Duchess Kate: the best argument for a republic if ever there was one. Two people without little dedication, no work ethic, and a love of extravagance and privilege. All that money spent on KP and Kate will more than likely be living there with George while William plays the bachelor aristocrat at Amner Hall.
Yup which is what he wanted IMO. I think when he proposed the deal basically was privately not much change for WIlliam, he still gets his free time away from Kate as he chooses and she spends time with her parents, her mom , Baby, shopping etc, just as long as she doesn’t put pressure on him for time together,when he wants to play bachelor Prince.
Kate is criticized for letting Charles pay for her clothes, criticized when she wears repeats (apparently she is supposed to have a new outfit every day that Charles isn’t supposed to pay for), and now is being criticized for taking freebies. She just can’t win.
Royal are prohibited from taking freebies. She’s being criticized for something she knows she’s not supposed to do, hence getting around it by gifting things to her sister & mother or her sister and mother accepting things for her. It’s not allowed.
Since when? They collect armfuls of freebies everywhere they go.
Megan
Thy’re not suppose to take freebies. If you’re calling the stuffed animals and flowers she gets from events it’s not the same as custom made jewelry, helicopter rides and racks of clothes.
For them to accept freebies appears like a bribe and shows favoritism. A stranger giving a stufffed toy is just not comparable.
And that’s the issue also. They do accept freebies and use them. Not heavily dicscounted freebies, but absolutely free freebies with names and businesses attached.
Like Georges clothes. Compan sends them to Pippa who gifts them to Kate who makes sure George wears them for huge events and the store gets credit so they will continue to gift more items.
Because they do it doesn’t make it right.
Kate has been taking freebies since she was Williams girlfriend. That designer Issa publicly clothed her with constant freebie dresses and her car was some kind of deal connected to William. Even many of the vacation homes were borrowed freebies when the Middleton’s went on vacation w And w/o PW.
….during the engagement the entire Middleton household of ladies were sent racks of designer clothes FREE from around the world and they accepted them, according to several reports from the shippers and Mail people who allegedly dropped items off
About William. I don’t really think he wants the role.
He wants the perks only. He doesn’t have his mother or fathers passion. IMO
Megan to the bigger point here. She can and does win. I think you neglect to put that in your coment because it hurts the “Kate can’t win” argument.
Kate has a massive wardrobe. She’s caught shopping almost daily for hours. She repeats almost only to have the thristy title on an article. And often her outfits are wore at the wrong events or not appropriate for a certain reason.
The Queen also repeats outfits, but she doesn’t repeat at the same annual event or within the same week. These are things Kate needs to learn.
What Kate does get praised for…
Working a few events within a week.
Wearing her hair up and out of her face.
Following protocol and having appropriate hemlines for events and in the presence of the Queen.
Managing to wear a dress and not flashing her bare bottom.
Wearing underwear with dresses.
Not looking bored at events and instead interested.
And Every time Kate puts on a pair of flats of sneakers for some kind of sporting event demo she shines! She gets loads of praise for that! LOADS!
So, she can win and does win. To say she can’t and never wins is an absolute exaggerration.
Bottom line. She’s a 30+ year old woman that had longer than most women to get acclimated into the BRF. That’s why people can be critical. Diana at 19 with a 6 month courting period figured things out faster than Kate a Univerity grad with 10 years of courting.
I’m not ready to lower the bar for an adult. She should be held to the bare minimum standards like anyone else and not coddled.
Where are these photos and news reports of her shopping “daily”?
FLORC, you’re on fire today!
@Megan, if you search twitter for Duchess Kate, you’ll find sightings of her in shops. Some people have been able to get pics. Most don’t because her protection detail prevents them from taking her pics. And what does she need with freebies anyway? She has Charles’ money and William’s too to buy things she wants.
She spends more time on shopping, exercising and hair than she does as patron of her charities. Her 6 charities. She’s living the life of princess and doesn’t give anything back to the country and people she will one day rule as Queen Consort.
Brava my lady! (couldn’t have say it better than that) And the end she did win, as she is married to the second in line to the throne.
Megan
Not only is it easily googled, but on this site go all the way back to post Canada trip. Almost every thread has a link in it about Kate shopping with either links to someones instagram/photobucket or an article written trying to spin her shopping trips into lessons of frugality.
Original Mia stated it well also.
My device is terrible at posting links, but they’re easy to find on this site.
Rough day ladies. Tired of coddling spoiled brats at work. My wave of sympathy from a few days ago has officially ended. Heads will roll!
Completely agree with you, dear FLORC.
Honestly, Kate has been cut so much slack, it’s really unbelievable. Just generally speaking, it is my opinion that she is a complete embarrassment to the BRF. William is, too.
… Maybe if she pays for her clothes herself with the money she earns, then she’ll win.
Now, when we say “part-time” pilot, do we mean the same level of intensity as his “part-time” royal duties and “part-time” husband duties? He seems like a very busy man…
lol probably. When you put all those together, it might be full time.
She doesn’t earn any money. She and William do not get a salary for their royal work.
This is true.
Instead they live rent free within several mansions, and have all living expenses including security and travel covered for them. And their accomidations are always the very best.
Ofcourse, William did take a full salary from the RAF and likely willtake salary from this new job, unless it’s been stated he won’t.
Maichan
I do wonder if he will be a true full time pilot. Regarding his RAF days he often took too many vacations and barely logged in enough flight hours to keep his wings month to month. Reportedly he took the helicopter to land in Kate’s parents backyard. It cost 40kpounds to do that stunt, but they later called it a training exercise. Will this new job be just as accomidating? Or will they treat him as anyone else who pulls those stunts and fire them?
I hear she’s a smart, well-educated woman who is slowly getting the hang of keeping her knickers covered. There’s always an option of being a “part-time” pilot. Apparently even her husband can do it.
She might not earn it, but she knows how to spend it.
Her shopping was lately defended as being for either KP or Anmer Hall. Because she doesn’t use an interior designer.
It would be interesting to figure out what market rent would be for their home in KP. The one they pay no rent for.
Bluhare
Don’t some royals pay rent for their housing? It is heavily reduced rent, but it is something just to show they do?
Because William will one day have the keys to the kingdom shouldn’t he be the 1st to give back with the reality it will all be his someday?
FLORC – Kate isn’t the second coming of Diana. Stop wishing it to be so.
You’re pretty funny, Megan. Most of us don’t want Kate to be the second coming of Diana. (1) it’s a fruitless quest, and (2) it’s a fruitless quest. We just want her and her husband to earn the keep they’re pushing on to the taxpayers.
•Florc•
In the US military you cannot decline pay. Not sure that’s true in other countries. My guess is it’s the same for any work — you have to take the pay for work performed. What you do with it, is of course, your business.
And I know I took a little more than a week off due to ill health but since when did you want Diana re-incarnated as Kate? Did someone steal your name & avatar? Cuz colour me confused. 😉
•Blu•
Most? Most Blu? Isn’t a more accurate statement is ALL of us? (Minus the press of course because Diana used to sell stuff like hot cakes)
Ah!
Ladies! Did I? Ugh. I must have lost my mind.
Though I can’t find my post where I compared the 2 maybe this was my reasoning? As a reference point of someone who married in being afraid without direction. A woman often abandon by her husband to sink or swim. And all she accomplished with a legacy she left. And how Kate had every resources and still fumbles. Or how Kate will throw herself into work like Diana. Once endless shopping trips no longer fill the void of her absent husband… again like Diana.
Outside of that I wonder if my account was used elsewhere… Damn mobile device!
LS
For some reason I was under the impression William had the option to refuse pay. Something along the lines that he claimed that a his only source of income so he got more. Or something like that.
Welp, those are the perks. That is how a$$ backwards our society works. The rich get things free. It reminds me of a celebrity who once said something about how a restaurant will offer him a free meal when he can actually afford to pay for it, but that same restaurant probably wouldn’t offer a homeless person a free meal.
Oh, and did anyone really think that none of these royals take freebies? A lot of them probably do.
I fear, FLORC, that the “source” by calling it “part-time” job to accomodate his royal duties and family life is trying to diplomatically say “he’ll rock up when he’s not on holiday”. Honestly I didn’t know there is such a thing as a “part-time” air ambulance pilot. It’s a serious, intense job with heavy responsibility and high level commitment. I imagine that they wouldn’t be able to give him that big of a responsibility anyway (due to his attitude and holiday schedule)and already have people in mind to pick up the slacks for him. This will free him up to do important things such as… Umm….
maichan
In my line of work i’ve known a handful of air paramedics and pilots. It’s a job you must be on call for. William will either be on call or on standby for much of his time being employed as one. Unless it’s different from here in the states.
He can’t be as careless as he was in the RAF seen drunk at pubs when he claimed he was on duty. Peoples lives hung in the balance with S&R and it’s even more true for this job. It is NOT to be taken lightly.
This is a field i’m well aware of and how strictly it’s regularted (in the states at aleast). If he isn’t on point someone will die.
Also, if this is his passion he should step aside for Harry.
I’m quite upset about this chosen line of work, too. I’m sure he could find a boring, bespoke, part-time desk job he could leave whenever he fancies a holiday. But instead, he goes for a job with a strong sense of duty. A job with high responsibilities, needing full time commitment (yes, full time is a hint), where unreliability has actual and dramatic consequences.
My dad was a medic in swiss air ambulance so, yeah, I’m totally partial and invested in the subject. I don’t know if the requirements are different in the UK, but here you can’t be anything other than top notch to be only considered for the job. Which completely makes sense, it’s an emergency service ffs. And now, you have Mr/HRH “it’s such a pain to be royal you guys” demanding/obtaining such a position for no other reason but his title.
I hope that job is fully made-up and consists of him showing up from time to time to play in the garage with a mini helicopter toy. And not a real position which could turn up to be a hindrance (in terms of organisation, reliability, and costs) for his lucky coworkers and the whole air ambulance service.
Taking some courses to avoid royal work (or work altogether), I don’t mind. I roll my eyes because seriously…
But please let the grown ups work. This stunt is, for me, the difference between indulgent laziness and criminal laziness.
I’m really hoping this is all made up by the press and no such thing will happen. It boggles the mind.
Ah yes, thank you for reminding me about that 40K stunt. It does illustrate his sense of responsibility nicely doesn’t it? I would be very surprised if he is given any responsibilities with that stupid stunt under his belt.
Wasn’t it known his superiors were not pleased with him, but had to find a way to cover his stunts? Anyone else would have been removed from the job ages ago.
More PR and fluff to distract the masses. What’s next? Kate making another secret charity visit in a “recycled” designer coat dress? SMH…
We are just like you, they said. We want to do normal things like common people (see the song of the same name by pulp), they said. Only with all the perks and benefits! This is the problem with many young royals who have a romanticize vision of their role in soicety.
Placing ourselves in different historical contexts that are not very comparable and there were many other factors on that, but when royals wanted to be “normal” and “live like a common people (with privileges and alll the honors of course, how could they not have them!), there is when trouble arised. When the very young Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette rose to the throne, the French people went gaga over watching a monarch who preferred to play with his children in the garden than to royally preside over the court at Versailles. The idyll lasted a few years. Marie Antoinette from a beloved queen, went to be dispissed and at the end we all know what happened. It was worth nothing that they tried to be the “people” (the end of the day, they were not and are not) and that they went away from the ceremonial the court of Louis XV. Hopefully history does not repeat, because when you give too much bait can you run out of meat.
I still think this “gap year” year thing is totally nonsensical. Last time I checked he’s a grown man and should have been doing charity work instead of taking expensive vacations for years now. William doesn’t need to be taking any part-time jobs. He should be doing full time charity work.
I hate how the media tries to portray them as “normal” and then Kate turns around and is accepting freebies.
I honestly wouldn’t mind if she was accepting freebies if the press didn’t make such a big deal about how she wouldn’t be doing that. She’s not “normal” at all and I didn’t expect her to be until everybody said she was. You know,I love this show called “The Middle.” They had a royal wedding episode and a character asked what Kate Middleton even did. The mother Frankie answered,”She landed a prince! That means she’s the fairest in the land.” That’s pretty much it.
Can some British posters please explain — how is this allowed to continue? Do most people in GB really revere the royal family so much?
•Lisa•
William is only a small (but very important) slice of the pie. There are numerous Royals that DO work and bring value to the UK. That and with a lot of other institutions, things are slow to change. We in the US have it too.
A link that may explain it far better than I.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10882899/Her-energy-undiminished-the-Queen-is-still-at-the-heart-of-Britains-national-life.html
I hope William steps out of line to the Throne one day, just so I can see the look on Kate’s face. 🙂
Bwahahaha!!! I love this!
LOL! That would be priceless, but he’d never do it. He loves the status, perks and luxuries to much. Queenie just gifted him a leased helicopter so that he and Princess Bottoms can visit their charities in style and Charles seems to have no problem helping them with palace and estate renovations, and paying for her expensive wardrobe so that she can play dress-up and make a pretense of working. In fact, everything they want or need is mostly paid for by someone else. What spoiled (spoilt), entitled person would give that up?
I’ll be watching Carole’s. 🙂
Hah! me too.
Just me, but I think that I’d enjoy having a royal who does something other than shake hands and pretend to be interested in the opening of a daycare center in east nowhere. If military service is an acceptable occupation, then I’m not sure why being an air ambulance pilot isn’t. There always seems to be a general acceptance around here that the European royals do it better, they run a little more low key and many have real jobs; I’m not sure why that doesn’t extend to the British. Perhaps a modern monarchy is less about hand shaking than it is about actually contributing something.
Well, it seems that William has been positively bountiful in contributing aggravation wherever his feckless desire takes him including his fake jobs.
You used feckless! I love it!
RobN
I do agree with parts of your comment. Also, If Harry can have a very busy schedule (that is rarely reported on) and was full time military, and worked heavily and in depth with all of his charities, and still vacation why can’t his brother? Why can’t William have his part time job doing what he loves and ease himself into his duties instead of putting them off completely?
Lots of Royals have real jobs and still do their duty. William isn’t getting younger and neither are his grandmother and father. Why must it be 1 reason after another that he refuses to take on more duties when everyone else is picking up his slack and taking care of their own responsibilities?
Waity is totes into shopping. Get this, she complained on her Australian tour in May that when she was in Sydney it was horrible been driven all around town and looking at all the shops and not being able to get out and shop. WTF, you and I would say something like that. Not a woman working whilst on a quasi diplomatic foreign visit. She acts like she’s a bloody WAG, not a Duchess. Has she had some kind of cra crash where her frontal lobe got damaged and we don’t know about it? What else would explain this degree of constant embarrassment. God willie was a real winner marrying this low down. I say “No home training!” Hell, he isn’t any better. And they say “Like attracts Like”.
Kate does have that scalp scar. All that was said about it was she had a major surgery there when she was young. I remember this because the press was short sighted to put out a statement that states a major cranial operation and give no other reasons. They could have simply said she hit her head or a mole was removed.
Yeah, and when she visited Santa Barbara she said she just wanted to come back & spend time on the beach in her bikini. Great diplomacy, that.
Kind of ironic: Kate is the one who understands what comes with being a royal and accepts it. Will just throws tantrums and wants to have his cake too.
Yeh sure Kate understands what being future Consort means…wearing no underwear on royal duties and stripping down topless and bottomless on open hotel balcony.,oh yes sure she’s all class. NOT!